Mated to My Intended's Enemy novel Chapter 38

Chapter 38: Chapter 38 Frame

Victoria

The afternoon dragged on like a slowly tightening noose around my neck. The air was thick with tension, everyone speaking in hushed, urgent tones as Tiny delivered his full report on Enzo’s disappearance.

"The blood spatter indicates the initial attack happened while he was in bed," Tiny explained, his massive frame seeming to fill half the room as he gestured to crime scene photos spread before us. "Defensive wounds on the headboard, sheets soaked through on the left side. Based on the pattern, someone caught him by surprise, but he fought back." 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

I hugged myself tightly, feeling unexpectedly cold despite the warmth of the room. The images of Enzo’s bedroom—a place I’d avoided at all costs during my years in that house—now transformed into a violent crime scene made my stomach turn.

"What about the message?" Leo asked, his voice steady but with an undercurrent of danger that made everyone in the room stand a little straighter.

Tiny slid another photograph across the desk. The bathroom mirror, splashed with crimson lettering that dripped down the glass: *THE DEBT IS PAID IN BLOOD*.

"Preliminary testing confirms it’s Enzo’s blood," Tiny added grimly. "And there’s something else." He hesitated, his eyes flicking toward me before continuing. "We found traces of a tranquilizer typically used to subdue werewolves—strong enough to knock out an Alpha."

Leo’s nostrils flared slightly. "Someone knew exactly what they were doing. This wasn’t random."

I stared at the gruesome photographs, my emotions a twisted knot of contradiction. Enzo had been cruel to me, had treated me as property, had sold me to pay his debts. By all logic, I should feel nothing but satisfaction at his suffering. Yet somewhere beneath the hurt and anger, a small voice whispered that he was still the boy who had once shown me kindness, before Aurora poisoned him against me.

"Victoria?" Leo’s voice pulled me from my thoughts. His hand found mine under the table, warm and steadying. "You’re pale. Do you need a minute?"

"I’m fine," I managed, straightening my shoulders. "I just... it’s complicated. I hate him for what he did to me, but—"

"But he’s still your brother," Leo finished for me, his expression softening slightly.

Gamma Carson cleared his throat. "If I may, Alpha. The timing of this incident is suspicious, coming immediately after Luna Victoria accessed her inheritance and legal rights to the Howlthorne Pack leadership."

"You think someone is trying to eliminate both heirs?" Leo asked sharply.

"Or setting up a power vacuum they can exploit," Carson replied. His cool blue eyes assessed me with a calculation that still made me uncomfortable, despite his growing acceptance of me as Luna. "Either way, I recommend we move quickly. The longer Alpha Enzo remains missing, the more unstable the Howlthorne territory becomes."

Leo nodded decisively. "Assemble a team. We leave for the Howlthorne pack in thirty minutes." He turned to me, his expression brooking no argument. "You’ll stay here with a security detail."

I straightened in my chair, feeling a surge of something primal and defiant rise within me. "No, I won’t."

The room went deadly silent. Leo’s eyebrows rose slightly, amber bleeding into his hazel eyes.

"Victoria," he said, voice dangerously soft, "this isn’t a negotiation."

"You’re right, it’s not," I replied, meeting his gaze steadily. "That’s my pack, Leo. My father’s legacy. My birthright. If someone is targeting Howlthorne blood, then I need to be there."

"Your safety—"

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