Chapter 581-Alpha’s Home
Haiden:
With every step I took inside, my heart pounded harder. Emotions had completely overwhelmed me.
As soon as I entered, I realized my uncle had taken the crown only for indulgence. He did not care at all whether people around him were suffering or not.
He cared about nothing.
The entire mansion was in ruins. Files were piled up at the entrance, as if everyone who had come here had left them behind after reporting their problems.
But my uncle had not opened even a single file.
Then I understood that Fauna’s fear had been right. This man had definitely exhausted the people he used to torture. He had gotten rid of them.
Fauna suddenly stepped inside and began looking around.
As we moved toward the living room, a foul smell of alcohol hit us.
The entire living room was filled with bottles. For someone my age, seeing so much alcohol was overwhelming.
Some of my uncle’s friends were passed out on the sofas, while my uncle sat on a separate couch, shouting.
The moment we saw him, both Fauna and I stiffened. All our awareness snapped back instantly.
"Where the fuck are you? Did I not ask you to bring me my food?" my uncle continued to yell, probably at a maid or someone.
"Hilda, where the fuck are you?"
As soon as he called out my aunt, I saw Fauna place a hand on her chest and collapse to the ground, crying with tears of happiness in her eyes.
She was relieved. That much I knew.
"Did you hear it? Did you hear him?" she asked, turning toward me.
"I did," I replied, nodding.
But all the commotion had already caught my uncle’s attention, though not before my aunt stepped out, holding a tray with trembling hands.
The relief Fauna felt seemed to fade the moment she saw her in that state.
Her face was covered in bruises. Her eyes were swollen, barely open.
One of her fingers was missing, and that made Fauna’s jaw drop.
The sight was horrifying. It felt as if, after her finger had been cut off, she had not been given any kind of care.
She could barely hold herself together. She walked forward, trembling.
As soon as she bent down to place the tray, my uncle kicked it away.
"That’s enough!" Fauna screamed, running toward her mother.
Her mother looked at her in shock, her eyes wide, as if she were seeing a ghost.
And then there he was, my uncle.
He had kicked it on purpose. He already knew we had arrived.
"Ah, the assholes are back. I wonder for how long," he commented, smirking.
"Now go back outside. Haven’t I told you that you two are not allowed here?" he added, dismissing us with a wave of his hand.
Fauna was crying as she looked at every wound on her mother.
My anger toward Patrick kept rising. It only grew stronger.
He had the nerve to act like nothing would happen to him, even after causing so much pain.
I stepped forward, closing the distance between me and my uncle.
I kept my pace casual, relaxed.
I knew that if anything could scare him, it was calmness.
It made him realize the person in front of him was not panicking, which meant the situation was not in his control.
As I reached him, I saw him straighten his spine and sit upright on the couch.
Although he was still drunk, I knew he was trying his best to appear confident.
"What is it?" he asked, trying to keep his voice steady.
"Do you really feel no shame raising your hand on your wife like this?" I asked, shaking my head in disbelief.
"Oh, come on. It’s nothing new," he grunted.
I pouted slightly and nodded.
"You’re right. It is not the first time you have done that, which makes me wonder why you think you will never be punished for your sins, for your crimes," I said.
I sat beside him on the same couch, comfortably enough that he had to shift, trying to put distance between us.
"Oh, come on, don’t be so scared," I added, smirking.
"I am not here to attack you," I whispered, watching a visible gulp move down his throat.
"Of course you are not," he replied, trying to steady himself.
"You are a Crusader. You cannot commit a crime by taking matters into your own hands."
As he said those words, I realized they were not meant for me. They were for himself.
He was trying to convince himself that he was safe. That everything was fine. That I would not dare.
"Well, you are right about that. I am a Crusader. But you forgot that my job is to fight monsters," I commented, crossing one leg over the other.
Then I gave Fauna a slight nod, signaling her to take her mother away and tend to her wounds.
As soon as Fauna started walking away with her mother, her father whistled and snapped his fingers to get their attention.
"And where do you think you are taking her, huh?" he grunted, still trying to show aggression, even with me sitting right next to him.
I clenched my jaw, silently warning him not to do anything to my mate.
"You are seriously going to do that right in front of me?" I asked, my fist clenching as I watched him try to get up and go after my mate.
"Then you should tell your mate to stay away from mine," he hissed.
I chuckled in disbelief.
"That is her mother."
As I spoke, I stretched my legs and placed them across his lap, turning slightly on the couch, almost lying back comfortably.
I saw the fear in his eyes the moment I did that.
He realized I had the audacity. That meant I was no longer playing nice.
"So, that is what you think?" I asked.
"That you will be spared?" I chuckled.
"Maybe you forgot. My job is to fight monsters. You know what that means?" I added, a quiet chuckle escaping me.
"It means you, my dear, are the monster I am going to slay."
The moment I said that, he tried to push my leg away to get up.
But I moved faster.
I stood, grabbed him by the back of his head, and slammed him down onto the couch.
He lay there, regret flashing in his eyes for not changing his ways sooner.
"That will be enough. You cannot treat me this way," he hissed, raising his hand as a warning for me not to step any closer.
"And as for you coming into my home and threatening me," he added, clenching his jaw.
"I will speak with the Council. And if the Council is no longer there," he grunted, making it clear he knew what was happening in the world, "then I will find another way." I saw the fear in his eyes.
"I will call all the alphas together, because this is not acceptable," he yelled, his body shaking with anger as he began to lose control.
"And you know what I will you do?" I asked.
"I will challenge you to a fight. Will that satisfy your ego? Or do you want me to do something else to prove that I am taking over the pack?" I continued, a smirk forming on my lips.
From the look on his face, I could tell it was working. He seemed completely stunned.
"Even if I have to fight you, I will," he said.
And that surprised me.
"Yes, you heard me right. I will not give up my crown for you," he hissed, making me stare at him in disbelief.
"Well then, you are in luck," I replied. "I have plenty of time now that I am out of the academy."
As soon as I said that, concern took over his face. He had probably never thought the academy would shut down.
"Then I will be ready for a match with you," he said, though his voice faltered slightly.
"Sure. As a courtesy, I will give you one week to prepare," I said.
"I do not want you to claim later that you were too drunk to fight me."
I stood up, stretching, then cracked my knuckles.
"You know what? I will stay in my home until then," I added.
"When your friends wake up, tell them to leave. I will not allow drunken bodies here."
I rubbed my hands together, showing him a false sense of excitement at being back home.
The truth was, I was angry.
I was still angry.
And I would stay angry until I defeated him and took my pack back.
He kept staring at me, fear filling his eyes.
I knew he wanted to do something, to take his anger out on me or punish me, but he could not at that moment.
All he could do was sit there and watch me walk around.
"What have you done to my place?" I asked.
The more I called it my place, the more his anger rose, but he could not do anything about it.
"No worries. I will fix it," I said, a hint of drama in my voice.
I walked away to tell my mate that in one week, this mansion would belong to us.
She would be my Luna. The one who deserved to call this place her own and live here because she belonged, not by force.