Chapter 128: A House Divided.
Leonardo's POV
I poured a drink and took a slow sip. The evening was too quiet. Then I heard my name.
"Leonardo!"
I turned to see Gabriel walking toward me, looking worried.
"Where have you been?" he asked, not giving me time to answer. "I've been searching everywhere for you. Come quickly - Father collapsed in his study. He's in the hospital."
I nearly dropped my glass. My heart started racing.
"What?" I asked, my voice sharper than I meant.
Gabriel didn't repeat himself. He looked serious and was breathing fast.
I forgot about my drink and set the glass down. I pushed past Gabriel and started walking toward the exit.
Father in the hospital? This can't be happening.
I moved swiftly, my mind racing as I stepped out into the cool night air.
Gabriel followed close behind, his breath ragged, and I could tell he had run all the way to find me.
"How bad is it?" I asked as we made our way to the pack hospital.
Gabriel's jaw tightened.
"Bad. He collapsed out of nowhere. One of the guards found him slumped over his desk.
He was barely breathing when they got him here."
A sharp pang shot through my chest. Father was the strongest man I knew seeing him weak, vulnerable, wasn’t something I was prepared for.
We reached the hospital doors, pushing them open without hesitation.
As we entered the hospital, the strong smell of cleaning supplies filled my nose. The pack's healer, Miriam, was standing outside a private room, looking serious and worried.
I barely slowed my stride. "How is he?"
She hesitated, and that hesitation alone sent a wave of dread through me.
"He’s stable for now, but he’s weak," she admitted.
"His body has suffered significant strain, and…" she trailed off, glancing between Gabriel and me.
"And what?" I demanded.
She sighed.
"He was poisoned."
The words hit me like a punch to the gut.
"Poisoned?" Gabriel echoed in disbelief.
Miriam nodded.
"The symptoms, the way his body is reacting… it’s not a natural illness.
Someone did this to him."
Rage flared in my chest, my hands clenching into fists.
"Who?"
"We don’t know yet," she said carefully.
"But it was deliberate. Someone wanted him out of the way."
I turned to Gabriel, who looked just as shaken as I felt.
"This wasn’t just an attack," I muttered.
"It was a betrayal."
A tense silence settled between us before Gabriel exhaled sharply.
"We need to find out who did this. And when we do—"
"They’ll pay," I finished coldly.
Without waiting for a response, I pushed open the door to Father’s room.
Inside, Alpha John lay on the bed, his face pale, his breathing slow.
The once-powerful presence that commanded respect now looked fragile beneath the dim hospital lights.
I stepped closer, my heart tightening.
"Father…"
His eyes fluttered open, barely focusing, but when they landed on me, I saw recognition. Relief.
He tried to speak, but his voice was weak.
"Leonardo… Gabriel…"
"Don’t strain yourself," Gabriel said quickly, stepping forward.
Gabriel urged, "You need to rest, Father."
But Father shook his head, his eyes flashing with determination despite his weakness.
He stretched out a trembling hand, and I took it, holding it tightly.
"Where's….. Alessandro?" Father whispered, his lips barely moving.
Before I could answer, the door swung open, and Rafael and Alessandro rushed in.
Their faces were tense, and their eyes widened as they saw Father's frail form on the hospital bed.
Alessandro stepped forward, his usual confidence replaced by worry.
"I'm here, Father," he said, his voice steady.
Father's gaze locked onto Alessandro, and he looked relieved. But when he tried to speak again, he struggled, his effort draining him. I saw the urgency in his eyes, he needed to tell us something.
Alessandro moved closer, his eyes locked on Father's.
"What is it, Father?"
Father took a shaky breath, his grip on my hand tightening.
"They're coming," he rasped, his voice filled with warning.
The room fell silent. Rafael exchanged a serious look with Alessandro.
"Who?" Alessandro pressed, his voice firm.
But before Father could answer, his body tensed, and his breathing turned shallow.
The machines beside him beeped loudly. Miriam and the healers rushed forward, pushing us back.
I clenched my fists, my heart racing. Whoever "they" were, they were responsible for Father's condition.
And we were going to find out who they were no matter what.
*****
When we stepped out of Father's room, I turned sharply to Alessandro, anger burning in my eyes.
"Where the hell were you when Father was poisoned?" My voice was low but filled with anger.
Alessandro met my gaze, confusion evident across his face.
"I don’t understand."
I took a step closer, my fists clenching at my sides.
"You’re the one who’s supposed to be there when Father needs you.
But when he needed you the most, you weren’t there. So, where the hell were you?!"
Alessandro’s face became more serious.
"I was handling pack matters, Leonardo. I came back the moment Rafael called me. You think I would abandon him?"
"You weren’t there!" I snapped.
"If you had been, maybe this wouldn’t have happened!"
Rafael placed a hand on my shoulder.
"Leo, stop. This isn’t the time for this."
I shoved his hand off. "No, Rafael.
You don’t get it! We almost lost him today!
Someone poisoned him our Alpha, our father and no one knows who the hell did it!"
I turned back to Alessandro, my breathing heavy.
"And where were you? Off somewhere while he lay there, fighting for his life!"
Alessandro's jaw tightened, but he stayed silent for a moment. Then, his voice came out cold, controlled.
"You think I don’t feel the weight of this, Leonardo? That I don’t care?"
I scoffed. "Then act like it."
Alessandro’s nostrils flared as he stepped closer.
"Then what about you, huh? Where were you when Father was in that state?"
Rafael raised his hands, stepping between us.
"Come on, guys. This isn’t the time to start blaming each other."
Alessandro ignored him, his voice filled with bitterness.
"I’m sure you were somewhere drinking, trying to forget your problems.
Problems you created yourself."
My jaw tightened.
"You bastard—"
"Enough, guys!" Rafael’s voice rang out, frustration clear in his tone.
But I wasn’t done. My chest heaved with rage, years of resentment bubbling to the surface.
"You son of a bitch!
You took away the one thing that mattered to me, and now you’re standing here, acting like you’re the damn victim?"
Alessandro’s brows furrowed, confusion flashing across his face.
"What are you talking about?"
I scoffed, shaking my head.
"You think I don’t know where you were, Alessandro?
You think I didn’t see what you and Aurora were doing?"
Alessandro took a step closer, his expression darkening. "What the hell are you talking about?"
"You kissed her!" I spat, my rage boiling over.
"You kissed my woman!"
Before he could react, my fist connected with his face, sending him stumbling back.
"Leonardo!"
Rafael grabbed my arm, but I jerked away, my breath ragged.
Alessandro straightened, running his tongue over his split lip before his eyes snapped up to meet mine.
"You're out of your damn mind," he growled.
"Am I?"
I barked.
"I saw you! I saw the way you looked at her, the way she looked at you!"
Alessandro clenched his jaw, nostrils flaring.
"You left her, Leonardo.
You walked away. And now you want to act like she was yours all along?"
"She was mine!" I roared, stepping toward him again.
"You had no right—"
"I had every right," he cut in sharply.
"Because she was never really yours, was she?"
My hands curled into fists, but before I could swing again, Rafael shoved himself between us.
"Enough!" he shouted.
"Both of you need to pull your heads out of your asses!
Father is in the hospital, and you two are standing here fighting like idiots over something that’s already done!"
Alessandro and I glared at each other, our chests heaving, our tempers barely in check.
Then Alessandro exhaled, his voice dropping.
"If you really loved her, you wouldn’t have let her go."
His words hit like a knife to the gut.
“I didn’t let her go. I was protecting her,” I bit out, my voice low and sharp.
Alessandro scoffed, crossing his arms. “Protecting her? Don’t make me laugh, Leonardo.”
I clenched my jaw.
“You and I both know that you weren’t even faithful to her when you two were separated.”
I froze, my breath catching in my throat.
Alessandro smirked at my silence.
“Oh… what?
You thought I didn’t know? You thought I didn’t know about Lena? And Mila?”
My eyes furrowed. “That’s none of your damn business.”
He let out a humorless chuckle.
“Oh, but it is, brother.
Because you stand here, acting like I’m the villain, like I stole something from you, when the truth is you threw it away.”
My hands curled into fists. “You don’t know a damn thing about what I did or why I did it.”
“Oh, I know enough,” Alessandro shot back.
“I know you cheated on her while still claiming to love her. I know that while Aurora was waiting for you, hoping you'd come back to her, you were busy warming someone else’s bed.”
Rafael stepped forward, trying to intervene again, but I ignored him.
"You don't know what it was like," I spat.
"You don't know what I went through, what I had to do."
Alessandro shook his head.
"Did you know the pain she went through?
How many times she hoped you'd get your sh*t together and come back to her?
Don't stand there and talk nonsense; it's all lies!
You pushed her away, and now you want to blame me?"
My chest tightened, the weight of his words pressing down on me.
"I never meant to hurt her," I muttered.
"But you did," Alessandro said simply.
"And that's why she's with me now."
I wanted to open my mouth and say something, anything, but Alessandro spoke before I could.
“Yes, Aurora is with me now, and I won’t do what you did,” he said, his voice firm.
“I will love her and take care of her because she deserves it. I won’t hide my feelings.”
His words burned like fire, but I refused to look away.
"You act like you're better than me," I said, my voice rough with anger.
"Like you're some saint who did everything right. But tell me this, Alessandro if you respected me, if you respected what I had with her, why the hell did you even go after her in the first place?"
Alessandro took a step closer, his dark eyes flashing.
"Because you left her broken, Leonardo. You made her doubt herself, doubt her worth.
And I—” he exhaled sharply, shaking his head
"I couldn’t stand by and watch her suffer because of you."
I let out a bitter laugh.
"So what?
You played the hero? You swooped in and saved her?"
His jaw clenched.
"No. She saved herself. I was just there, waiting, when she was finally ready to move on."
The words landed like a punch to the gut, harder than my actual fist had hit him earlier.
Rafael let out a frustrated groan, rubbing his temples.
"Enough of this.
We have bigger things to deal with than this damn love triangle. Alpha John is fighting for his life, and we’re here throwing punches over Aurora."
Neither of us moved.
“This isn’t over Alessandro.”