Chapter 143: To Take The Throne.
Leonardo’s POV
I left the café, shoulders squared and jaw tight. What had just happened didn’t matter. Soon, I would be Alpha.
And when that day came, the first thing I’d do was banish Alessandro from the pack.
He didn’t deserve any of this especially not Aurora.
Outside, my eyes were drawn to them again.
There they were… her hand in his. Laughing. Smiling. Like I had never existed.
The sight ignited something in my chest. Rage.
How could she do this to me?
After everything we’d been through after everything I sacrificed for her. What was I to her now? Mud beneath her shoes?
And Alessandro…
My own brother. He knew how I felt about her. He knew she was mine. And he took her anyway.
He stole the only person I ever truly loved.
I got into my car and gripped the steering wheel tightly, turning on the ignition.
One last glance at them.
Her.
Then I drove off, the rage in me building with every mile.
He’ll pay for what he’s done. Both of them will.
I sped through the winding roads of the pack territory, trees blurring past like ghosts in the night.
My thoughts were a whirlwind, but one image kept repeating Aurora’s eyes lighting up at him.
The way she leaned into his touch, soft and familiar. Like she’d forgotten everything we once had.
It felt like a dagger twisting in my chest.
I wasn’t going to let this happen. Not again.
Not to me.
Not when I was this close to everything I’d worked for everything I deserved.
My car screeched to a halt outside the old stone manor, tucked near the edge of the woods. Far from the packhouse.
Hidden from curious eyes.
Only a handful of people knew this place existed.
I stepped out and approached the heavy front door.
A tall figure stood in the shadows, cloaked in darkness and silence.
“You’re late,” the voice said smooth and cold, like venom wrapped in silk.
“I had to see it for myself,” I muttered, jaw clenched.
“They were together again. He’s winning.”
The figure chuckled darkly. “For now.”
I narrowed my eyes.
“You promised me the title. You said I’d be Alpha. That everything would fall into place.”
“And it will,” the figure replied, stepping into the dim light.
“But only if you stay the course. Emotions make you weak, Leonardo.
If you truly want the throne, you need to be ready to burn everything in your path… even her.”
My chest tightened. I flinched.
Even her?
“She was mine,” I whispered, barely able to speak past the lump in my throat.
“She is mine.”
“Not anymore,” the figure said coolly.
“Not unless you take her back.”
Silence fell between us heavy, suffocating.
And in that silence, a storm began to rise.
I met the figure’s gaze. My voice, though quiet, carried weight.
“I’ll do whatever it takes.”
The cloaked figure smiled. “Good. Then let’s begin.”
I sat down heavily, the burden of my choices pressing against my shoulders, while the figure remained standing imposing and composed.
“Some of the council members already favor you,” the figure said smoothly.
“We’ve been persuading them, planting seeds. Soon, the vote will swing your way.”
I frowned.
“But my father said he wouldn’t choose an Alpha until he recovers.
The council can’t go behind his back that’s never been done before.”
The figure stepped closer, voice calm but firm.
“Your father is weak, Leonardo. The moment he drank that poison, he gave up his power without realizing it.
The council wants stability. They want leadership. If we wait too long, they might throw their loyalty behind someone else. Someone like Alessandro.”
I clenched my fists. My jaw tightened.
“But it feels like betrayal. He’s still alive.”
“Yes,” the figure replied, tone icy, “but for how long?
And ask yourself this what matters more?
Honor... or power?”
I looked away, torn between the son I used to be and the Alpha I was being shaped to become.
The figure’s voice dropped lower.
“This is your chance, Leonardo. You want Aurora. You want the title. Then take them.”
I swallowed hard, then nodded slowly.
“What do I have to do?”
The cloaked figure’s smile widened, cold and deliberate.
“Good... all you need to do is make sure Alpha John never wakes up again.”
My brow furrowed in confusion.
“What are you talking about?”
“You know exactly what I mean. If you want to be Alpha, the reigning Alpha must fall.
Permanently.”
I stood up abruptly, the chair scraping against the floor.
“You want me to kill my own father?” I asked, shocked.
“Why are you surprised?” the figure replied, unfazed.
“You’ve already started. You gave him the poison, didn’t you? He’s barely holding on now.”
I took a step back, my breath catching.
“The poison is slow. If he lives long enough, he might recover just enough to name Alessandro as his successor.
Is that what you want?”
My stomach twisted at the thought Alessandro on the Alpha’s throne, with Aurora by his side.
The figure’s voice was like ice in my veins.
“Think about it. Alpha John made you choose duty over Aurora. He forced your hand. And what did you get in return?
You lost everything.
Because of him.”
I turned away, heart pounding.
“Don’t you want revenge?” the figure whispered.
“Don’t you want to take back what was stolen from you?”
I stood frozen, their words wrapping around me like chains. My mind was a storm.
“I didn’t mean for it to go this far,” I muttered.
“I just wanted… a chance. A way to be seen. To matter.”
“And now you have it,” the figure said.
“Power. Respect. Her.”
I turned back toward them, fists clenched.
“But this… killing him… it’s different.
I didn’t mean to kill him. Just weaken him. Buy time.”
“Time runs out,” the figure snapped, their cold mask cracking with urgency.
“If you hesitate, Alessandro will be named Alpha. And Aurora will never look at you the same way again.
She’ll belong to him. Forever.”
The word forever hit me like a blow.
I remembered her laugh. The way she used to reach for my hand. The way she looked at me before everything went wrong.
“What if I can get her back another way?” I asked quietly.
The figure laughed bitterly.
“You’re still clinging to that fantasy?
She’s not coming back to you willingly, Leonardo. She’s already chosen him.”
A sharp pain cut through my chest. I didn’t want to believe it but I knew it was true.
“So what’s your choice?” the figure asked, stepping even closer.
“Let your brother rise… or become the Alpha you were meant to be?”
The room felt colder. The air, heavier.
I stared at the ground for a long moment.
When I looked up again, my voice didn’t even sound like mine anymore.
“Tell me what to do.”
The figure’s smile was slow and pleased.
“That’s more like it.”
Just then, my phone buzzed in my pocket, cutting through the tension like a blade.
I pulled it out and checked the screen.
It was a broadcast sent to every member of the pack.
Pack Announcement:
By the will of Alpha John, all members of Shadow Pack are to gather at the Grand Hall by nightfall.
The Alpha will be naming his chosen successor. Attendance is mandatory.
A bitter scoff escaped my lips as I turned the screen toward the cloaked figure, jaw set.
“I guess the Alpha wants to choose his successor now.”
The figure’s eyes glinted, a cold smile spreading across their face.
“Perfect.
Then it’s time you take what should’ve been yours all along.
The council is behind you. Now all that’s left… is to make your move.”
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