Chapter 194: The Price Of The Heart
Alessandro’s POV
I stopped at the statement and turned to look at him.
“What about you, Dad?” My voice was low, but it carried enough steel to cut through the air between us.
“When you stole Uncle Raymond’s mate, didn’t you do it for love… or was it just a duty?”
Alpha John’s gaze hardened. He didn’t say anything; he just looked at me.
For a moment, the silence was heavier than any answer he could have given. His jaw flexed, but no words came.
I took a step closer, refusing to back down.
“It’s funny, isn’t it?
You expect me to choose power over love when you couldn’t even follow your own advice.”
His eyes furrowed. A warning. The kind I’d grown up recognizing.
But I’d outgrown being a boy who flinched under it.
Finally, his voice came, low but cutting.
“You think you know what love is?
You think you know what it costs?”
He stepped forward, closing the gap between us.
“I didn’t steal her for love, Alessandro. I stole her to survive. And in the end… it destroyed everything.”
My chest tightened. “Then maybe I’m willing to be destroyed,” I shot back.
His jaw clenched harder, but there was something in his eyes now—something that looked almost like regret.
“Don’t make my mistakes, son.”
I held his gaze, my pulse pounding.
“Then stop asking me to live your life instead of mine,” I shot back, my voice sharp enough to make the room still.
“You are not thinking straight, Alessandro.” My father’s tone cut like ice.
“Aurora doesn’t have anything or anyone. She’s a nobody who doesn’t have anything to her name.
What can she offer you, huh? Her love?” He scoffed.
“Would that be enough to strengthen the pack against other packs trying to take control?”
I stepped forward.
“Her love is worth more to me than any political alliance.”
“That’s not how an Alpha thinks,” he snapped.
“Tamara’s pack has the power we need to control Alpha Maverick. He’s always wanted to take over our pack. One wrong move, and he will.
So I’m asking you to think about the pack, not your childish feelings that will fade in time.”
“They’re not childish.” My voice rose, and I didn’t care.
“And they won’t fade. You think love is weakness because you’ve spent your life trading it for power. But I’m not you, Dad.”
“You will be if you want this pack to survive.” His words were a warning.
I held his stare. “Then maybe I’ll survive with the pack my own way or not at all.”
I turned to leave, my shoulders rigid, my heart pounding, but Alpha John’s voice cut through the air, sharp and unyielding.
“Alessandro, don’t think you can walk away from this. You are my son. You owe this pack everything, even your happiness.”
I stopped in my tracks, not turning back. “I owe the pack loyalty, yes. But I do not owe it my heart, Dad. And I refuse to sacrifice the only person who matters to me for politics and fear.”
His jaw tightened, and I could see the storm behind his eyes. “Aurora isn’t ready to protect you. She’s weak. She can’t give you the power, the influence, and the control you will need as Alpha. You’re being naive—dangerously so.”
I straightened, meeting his stare without flinching. “She doesn’t need to give me anything, because she already gives me everything that matters.
And if you think power without love is enough to make me whole, then you’ve already lost your way, Dad.”
The silence that followed was thick and heavy, like the room itself was holding its breath. Alpha John’s fists clenched at his sides, but I didn’t step back.
“You’re making a mistake, Alessandro. One day, you’ll regret defying me.”
“Maybe,” I said softly, my voice steady. “But at least I’ll never regret loving the right person.”
And with that, I walked out of his office, leaving him standing there, rigid and silent, the weight of my words hanging between us like a challenge.
I stormed down the hall toward Aurora’s room, my mind still racing from the argument with my father. I was almost there when Tamara stepped out of her room, standing in my path with that infuriatingly calm smile.
“What are you doing here?” I snapped, my patience wearing thin. “Did you come to her room for some reason?”
Tamara laughed softly and tilted her head. “Oh, Al… you always take things so seriously.” She didn’t answer my question. Instead, she walked toward me, deliberately slow, and slipped her hand around my shoulder like we were old friends sharing a secret.
Just then, the door to Aurora’s room opened. She stepped out and froze the moment she saw us. Her eyes darted from Tamara’s hand on my shoulder to me and then back at me again.
I could read it in her expression—anger, hurt, disbelief—and before I could speak, she turned sharply and walked back into her room, slamming the door behind her.
I took a deep breath, my jaw tightening. Slowly, I removed Tamara’s arm from mine and turned to face her.
“Tamara,” I said, voice low but firm, “look… whatever letter my father sent you about us getting married, it’s fake. I am not interested in marrying you. I already have someone I love.”
For a moment, her face changed. The confident, playful mask slipped, and I saw the hurt behind her eyes. I knew I had hurt her feelings, but honesty left me no choice.
“Alessandro,” she said, her voice trembling slightly, “you really are a cold piece of shit. You didn’t have to be so damn honest about your feelings.”
I met her gaze, unflinching. “I don’t play games with people’s hearts, Tamara. That’s the difference between you and me.”
Her lips pressed into a thin line, and she looked away, the playful spark gone.
I knew the conversation had ended for now, and all I could do was brace myself for the fallout, especially from Aurora.
“I heard Leonardo is getting married—to that annoying woman every pack hates.
And you know Alpha Maverick would want to control your pack just like he did with the Lion Pack. Your father explained that he needs more power to overpower Maverick so he won’t try anything funny.
Don’t you think our marriage could help your pack?”
I nodded slowly. “It could, Tamara.”
“So then, what’s stopping us from getting married, huh? Even though you have feelings for someone else, don’t you think it would be better to marry a woman who can give you the power to overcome this obstacle?”
I scoffed, shaking my head. “Power isn’t everything, Tamara. You think a marriage is just a tool, a shield, a weapon… But it’s more than that. It’s a life. My life. And I’m not giving it to someone I don’t love.”
Tamara’s eyes furrowed, her playful smile faltering for the first time.
“And what about the pack, Alessandro? What about the people who depend on you?”
I stepped closer, voice steady and cold. “I’ll protect my pack my way, not by being chained to someone I don’t care for. You can’t buy loyalty with a marriage certificate, and you sure as hell can’t make me love someone.”
Her hand twitched, almost as if she wanted to strike, but she didn’t. “You’re reckless. Stubborn. Do you even realize what you’re risking?”
I met her gaze without flinching. “I know exactly what I’m risking. But I’d rather risk everything than betray my own heart.”
Tamara let out a sharp laugh, half in disbelief, half in frustration. “You really are impossible, Alessandro. Cold, selfish, and impossible.”
“And you,” I said, leaning slightly closer, “need to understand that I will never let duty or power dictate who I love. Not now, not ever.”
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