Mated to My Intended's Enemy novel Chapter 39

Chapter 39: Chapter 39 Aurora

Victoria

"Not just took him," Carson said from the doorway, where he’d been examining the blood spatter patterns. "They want to start a war. This was meticulously planned—the timing, the evidence, the message. Someone wants our packs to destroy each other."

"But who benefits from that?" I asked, my mind racing through possibilities. "If both Shadow and Howlthorne weakened each other..."

"A third party could move in to claim both territories," Leo finished, his voice ice-cold with rage. "It’s an old tactic. Create chaos, then sweep in as the ’peacemaker’ once both sides are decimated."

Carson moved closer, lowering his voice. "Alpha, I’ve analyzed the blood patterns. Something doesn’t add up. The volume and spatter suggest injury, yes, but not enough for a fatal wound. And the drag marks leading to the bathroom are inconsistent—as if they were created deliberately rather than from an actual body being moved."

"You think this was staged?" Leo asked.

"Parts of it, yes," Carson confirmed. "Someone very clever wanted us to find exactly what we found. No more, no less."

A chill ran down my spine as I realized the implications. If this was staged, then whoever took Enzo was several steps ahead of us already. They had planned this meticulously, knowing exactly how we would respond.

Leo seemed to reach the same conclusion. "We need to secure the Howlthorne Pack house immediately. Jackson, call an emergency meeting of all ranking pack members. We need to get ahead of any rumors before—"

A heart-wrenching wail from downstairs cut him off mid-sentence. The sound of pure maternal grief echoed through the mansion, followed by frantic voices trying to offer comfort.

"No! My son! What have they done to my boy?" The voice was hauntingly familiar, though I hadn’t heard it in years.

My blood turned to ice as I met Leo’s alarmed gaze. Without a word, we rushed from the bedroom and down the grand staircase, security scrambling to keep formation around us.

In the entrance hall, surrounded by shocked pack members, stood a ghost from my past. Her once-lustrous dark hair was now streaked with gray, her face lined with age and hardship, but there was no mistaking those cold, calculating eyes—the same eyes that had looked at me with disgust throughout my childhood.

Aurora Howlthorne,my father’s presumed-dead Luna, Enzo’s mother, and my tormentor—had returned from the grave.

Her gaze locked with mine as I descended the stairs, and beneath the theatrical grief, I caught a flash of something else—satisfaction. As if a carefully laid plan was unfolding exactly as intended.

"You," she hissed, pointing a trembling finger at me. "This is your doing. You brought him here!" Her accusation shifted to Leo, standing protective at my side. "Shadow Pack took my son! You monsters killed the true Alpha of Howlthorne!"

The gathered pack members murmured uneasily, some casting suspicious glances at Leo and his security team. The tension in the room was palpable, a powder keg waiting for a spark.

"Aurora," I said, struggling to keep my voice steady as I addressed the woman I’d believed dead for years. "Everyone thought you died with my father."

A cold, bitter smile twisted her lips. "How convenient that would have been for you, wouldn’t it? To have me out of the way while you plotted to steal what rightfully belongs to my son?"

Leo’s hand found mine, squeezing in silent support as he addressed the room with the commanding presence of an Alpha.

"No one from Shadow Pack has harmed Alpha Enzo," he stated, his voice carrying to every corner of the hall. "In fact, we’re here to help find him and bring those responsible to justice."

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