Chapter 183: The Haunted Love Cabin
Alessandro's POV
Her lips were just a breath away.
I could feel her heartbeat fast and unsure, just like mine. For once, everything felt still, like the entire world had held its breath just for this moment between us.
And then—
Snap.
A branch.
She jerked back, eyes wide. “What was that?”
I was already on my feet.
“Aurora, stay close,” I said, reaching for her hand. My senses went sharp too sharp. The kind of alert only blood and adrenaline could bring.
She clutched my arm. “Alessandro, is it—?”
“Rogues.”
The word left my mouth low and firm, right before three figures stepped out from the shadows beyond the window.
I moved fast, positioning myself between them and her.
One of the rogues sneered. “Alessandro Prickett the future Alpha.”
I growled. “What do you want?”
The largest of them stepped forward, his eyes glinting with malice. “Let’s just say… someone doesn’t want you becoming Alpha.”
Aurora gasped behind me, and I extended my arm slightly to keep her shielded.
I didn’t wait for them to make the first move.
I shifted.
Claws extended. Bones cracked. My wolf surged forward and collided with the first rogue, ripping through him like he was paper.
The others came next sloppy, untrained. They tried to corner me, but I tore through them one by one, the cabin now a blur of teeth, claws, and bloodied snow.
Only one remained the leader.
He tried to flee. I grabbed him by the collar, slammed him hard against the frozen tree trunk, and shifted back, panting.
“Who sent you?” I snarled, eyes wild.
He spat blood, sneering through swollen lips.
“You’ll never know.”
Wrong answer.
I slammed my fist into his gut, then again into his jaw.
“I said… who. sent. you?!”
He grunted but stayed silent.
Tough bastard.
“Alessandro,” Aurora called gently behind me, her voice strained.
“You’re bleeding…”
I didn’t care.
I turned back to the rogue, grabbed him by the scruff of his torn shirt.
“If you won’t speak here, you’ll speak in the dungeon.”
I hoisted him over my shoulder like a sack of potatoes.
“Aurora, stay close.”
She nodded, still shaken, but brave. Goddess, she was brave.
We made it back to the pack house in record time. I stormed straight to the dungeons, the rogue still groaning against my shoulder.
By the time we arrived, Rafael and Gabriel were already waiting. Probably felt the shift in the wind like I did.
Rafael’s eyebrows shot up.
“Well… someone’s been busy.”
Gabriel’s expression darkened. “What happened?”
I tossed the rogue into the cell with a loud thud. He groaned, rolling over with blood on his lips.
“Rogues,” I growled.
“Three. This one survived.”
“Where?” Rafael asked, serious now.
“The cabin.”
Both of them went still.
Gabriel crossed his arms. “The love cabin?”
“Yeah,” I snapped.
“Apparently, someone didn’t like the idea of me playing Romeo.”
Rafael walked up to the bars, crouched beside the rogue.
“And who exactly sent you, asshole?”
The rogue coughed and said nothing.
Gabriel grabbed a chair, sat down across from the bars. Calm. Collected. Deadly.
“You know, I’ve always been the quiet one. But even I’m curious who thought it was smart to send you after our Alpha.”
“I’m not Alpha yet,” I muttered.
Rafael threw me a look.
“Don’t downplay it. You are. You think they’d come after you if you were just a nobody?”
He turned back to the rogue. “Start talking. Because if Alessandro loses patience, your bones won’t survive.”
Still no answer.
I slammed my fist against the bars. “I gave you a chance. You want to bleed in here or talk?”
The rogue smiled bloody and cruel.
“That’s what I thought,” I snarled, backing away.
“Then you can rot here until you’re ready to speak.”
I turned to Gabriel. “Keep him locked. I want full surveillance. No food until he talks. Water only.”
Gabriel nodded. “Done.”
Rafael stood beside me. “Want me to run scent checks around the territory?”
“Yes. And send two guards to the cabin. If there’s a trail, I want it followed.”
They nodded, but Rafael lingered.
He bumped his shoulder against mine. “You okay?”
I sighed, glancing over my shoulder. “Aurora could’ve been hurt.”
“But she wasn’t,” he said.
“You protected her. That’s what matters.”
I nodded.
But deep down, I knew this wasn’t over.
Whoever wanted me dead… wasn’t done yet.
And I had a feeling that love cabin just became the opening move of something much bigger.
Rafael’s voice broke through my thoughts. “Do you think it's Lena?”
I didn’t answer right away.
The name sat like poison in the back of my throat.
“There’s a possibility,” I said finally. “She would want to remove me from the equation so that she could push Leonardo into the Alpha seat. And if he’s Alpha—she becomes Luna.”
Rafael let out a low whistle. “That’s cold. Even for her.”
I looked at the cell where the rogue sat slumped against the wall, still refusing to speak.
“But there’s no way to prove she’s the mastermind,” I muttered. “At least not yet.”
Rafael frowned. “So what now?”
“Now?” I ran a hand through my hair, exhaling slowly. “We wait. We watch. And we don’t trust anyone.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Not even Leonardo?”
I paused. My jaw tightened.
“Especially not Leonardo.”
“You protected her. That’s what matters,” Gabriel said quietly.
I nodded, but something twisted in my gut.
No matter how much I tried to shake it, the feeling stayed. Heavy. Dark. Unshaken.
Whoever wanted me dead wasn’t done yet.
And that so-called romantic date in the love cabin?
It had just been the first move.
The first warning shot.
Rafael leaned back against the cold wall and crossed his arms.
“Do you think it’s Lena?”
I didn’t speak right away. My fingers clenched slightly at my side.
“There’s a possibility,” I said finally, voice low.
“She’s been circling Leonardo for years. And now she's pregnant and claims that Leonardo is the father.
If I’m out of the way and he becomes Alpha… she gets what she wants.
Status.
Power.
The Luna title.”
Gabriel gave a sharp exhale.
“It wouldn’t be the first time someone used love for a power grab.”
Rafael’s brows furrowed, studying me carefully.
Then he asked the question I’d been dodging, even from myself.
“Do you… suspect Leonardo?”
The words hung in the air like smoke. I didn’t answer immediately.
Rafael stepped forward. “Alessandro. That’s our brother.”
“I know who he is,” I said sharply. Then lowered my tone.
“I know. And I don’t want to believe it. God, I don’t.
But I’d be lying if I said I haven’t considered the possibility.”
Gabriel straightened, face tense. “What makes you think that?”
I took a deep breath and glanced at both of them.
“When Leonardo collapsed the other day… I saw her face. Aurora.”
Rafael blinked. “What about it?”
“She looked… wrecked. Shaken in a way I haven’t seen before.
And I could feel it, this pull she still has toward him. I don’t blame her. He was her first love. Their bond ran deep.”
Rafael frowned, arms still folded. “So, you think because Aurora still has feelings for him… he might use that against her?”
I ran a hand through my hair and let out a tired laugh.
“I don’t know. Maybe I’m paranoid. Maybe I’m just scared of losing her.
But if Leonardo and Lena are working together, and this rogue was sent to kill me…”
Gabriel cut in, “That’s a dangerous theory, Alessandro.”
“I know. But I’d rather be paranoid and breathing than naive and dead.”
Rafael whistled low, then said, “Still… our own brother?”
“I don’t want to suspect him, Rafael. But the signs are there. He’s been acting strange lately.
He avoids eye contact when we’re in meetings. He’s distant with Father. And I’ve caught him staring at Aurora when he thought no one was watching.”
Rafael shook his head slowly. “You think Leonardo would betray his own blood?”
“Well, it's not the first time.” I whispered.
“And that scares the hell out of me.”
Gabriel leaned forward. “Then what’s the plan?”
I stood straighter, voice calm but firm. “We don’t tip anyone off. We let them think I’m still blind.
Meanwhile, we watch. We collect proof. And if it is Leonardo or Lena…”
My jaw clenched.
“I won’t show mercy.”
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