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Chapter 160
288 Vouchers
Chapter 160
Darius
I couldn’t risk it anymore, and Casey seemed like someone who would willingly work with me.
Casey and I sat in the empty booth and spent at least one hour discussing Sheperd and Cruz.
I was amazed to learn how oblivious he was of their activities, and I was amazed to learn how extremely democratic their system in the east was. Wolves needed one leader, one they would listen to and follow. They can only achieve a little when given ample freedom of choice. In a situation like that, people like Cruz and Sheperd will get away with many atrocities as they already have. Wolves needed firm hands and definite action.
Casey wasn’t weak, as I had thought initially, but his environment made
him so.
Their democratic system was flawed, allowing people to meddle in other people’s affairs without consequence.
If Cruz and Sheperd had a say in whether Lori should be in Casey’s house, it was only natural they would vote for it because that was precisely what they were doing. There was no yardstick to measure moral compass or qualification to vote. It was chaos.
After he told me about Sheperd and Cruz and how best to deal with them, we delved into other matters.
“I am of the notion that Cruz did not orchestrate the initial attack against Gad’s borders,” I said, wanting to know what he knew before I divulged my truth.
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“He did say he did not do it, and honestly, I believe him. He isn’t that smart to do something at that scale. I have been investigating the incident since the attack happened because I did not want Zora’s sacrifice to be in vain,” he said and chuckled.
“Had I known she had gone to be where she would find love again, I wouldn’t have been bothered. But I had this hope of finding the culprit. and reporting the person to you, hoping you will give me back my wife,” He said.
Referring to Zora as his wife got to me, but I figured it was out of habit, so I let it be.
“And what did you find during your investigation?” I asked him, and he sighed.
“Well, Cruz’s men defected and were working against him.” He said, which corresponded with the information that we got too.
“Do you know who they were working with?” I asked him, and he shook his head.
“I am yet to find out, but I believe it is one of the eastern alphas because only someone very close to Cruz could do that magnitude of damage. We initially thought Hardy did it to force us to join forces with him and attack the north, but when I spoke to Hardy, I realised he just wanted to protect his people. He even believed you orchestrated to attack, so you will have a reason to come for us as punishment for going into alliance with the south,” he said. I could not believe how these people viewed me.
“I guess that is why I am called the Dark Lord Alpha,” I said, and he
smiled and nodded.
“You don’t want to hear the stories told about you. They make you sound like a heartless monster that kills at will. Seeing Zora’s joy has changed my perspective of you completely. Zora has a good heart, and for her to love you completely and deeply means you have a kind heart, too,” he
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said, and I gave a half smile.
“I will take that as a compliment, Casey,” I said, and he laughed.
He was comfortable enough for me to ask him a question.
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“I see Lori’s father is an Alpha, and Zora told me that is why I got lucky with her. If Lori wasn’t an alpha’s daughter, they wouldn’t have forced Lori into your home,” I said, and I could tell the memory was painful for him, and he shook his head.
“I made a silly mistake,” he said and sighed.
“Finding a fated was so rare that I was excited that I found mine. Instead of rejecting her as you did, I allowed room for conversation and let the bond thrive.
It thrived enough for me to kiss her and make out with her. In the process, her dress got ripped, but I did not do anything with her or accept her.
I planned to reject her, but I feared the weakness that came with it. So I tried to be passive.
I wanted to ignore her until she gave up and moved away.
I was unfortunate because she told her father I had accepted and taken her. So they fought me to get her into my home.
Ramsey asked me a couple of times, then threatened me. When that didn’t work, he began soliciting alphas to help him go to war against me. He claimed I defiled his daughter, so a meeting was called, and I was given a week to take her in, or they would come for me.
By then, my marriage with Zora was rocky. She had already given up on us, and my wolf did not want Zora, and she knew it, so I let Lori stay in my house.
I ignored her for a while, and one night, my wolf, overwhelmed by the
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bond and Lori’s scent, took over while I was sleeping and took me to Lori‘ s room to claim her. I did not know what had happened until we had claimed each other; by then, it was too late, and there was no going back,” he said, and his eyes were teary.
“Sage never betrayed me before, but he betrayed me that night. He let the mate bond overcome us, knocked me out and took over my body to claim his mate. When I found out what had happened, I had to accept it and live with it,” he said and bowed his head.
“I did not want to let her go,” he said and began to weep again.
The man was broken, and I doubted anything would put him back together.
“I am willing to let you continue your friendship with Zora,” I blurted out, and he looked at me in shock and wiped away his tears.
“Yes,” I said because his eyes asked if I was serious.
“You two have been friends for a while. She told me how you taught her how to pick locks..” I said and stopped.
“There is no happy memory Zora has about her past that you are not in. Besides what transpired between you, you were her family and best friend. That is why your betrayal was hard. You were all she had and her only relative in the world, so she was trapped until my men came and took her away,” I said, and he shook his head.
“She wanted to leave me. She had been trying to leave me. She saw your men as an opportunity,” he said, and I laughed.
“I know,” I said, and he was surprised that I knew that Zora had left him.
“She told me she wrote several letters to various alphas asking them to absorb her into their packs,” I confessed, and he nodded.
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“The day I heard she was writing letters to join other packs so she could leave me, I felt destroyed. I never imagined a day when Zora and Monica would want to be far away from me. We promised each other forever and always. She did not even take the locket with her. She let me go
completely,” he said, and I looked at him.
“Just because you two are no longer mates does not mean you can’t be friends. If you want to continue being friends with Zora, I will allow it,” I said, and he was still in disbelief.
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