Chapter 611

It was Ace behind the door.
Just like that, Violet’s annoyance vanished away. She certainly could not kill the brother of her mate, although from the way she glared, it was a near thing. Orıginal content can be found at (.)net
Even Ace looked uncomfortable under her gaze. “Did he do something wrong to her?” he couldn’t help but ponder inwardly.
“Brother.”
At the sound of Alaric’s voice, Ace’s composure broke. He rushed forward and pulled his brother into a desperate embrace, his voice shaking. “I’m so sorry.”
Alaric blinked, taken aback by the intensity in his tone. “There’s no room for sorry,” he said, “You didn’t cause the attack, Ace. None of this is on you.”
But Ace shook his head violently. “You don’t understand,” he choked out. “It’s all my fault.”
Something about the trembling in his voice made Alaric still. Slowly, he pried his brother’s hands off and looked him in the eye. “What are you talking about?”
Ace looked up, his eyes already glistening. “I did it,” he whispered.
Violet’s expression hardened with suspicion. “What did you do, Ace?” she demanded.
Ace said with guilt written across his face. “First, you have to know I never thought it would come to this. I didn’t mean for any of this to happen.”
Alaric’s patience snapped. “What did you do?” His voice dropped low like that dangerous calm before the storm.
Ace’s lips quivered. “It was years ago, but I was the one who took the letter.”
Alaric’s brow furrowed. “What are you talking about? What letter?”
Ace swallowed hard. “Mother told me everything after she woke up. Finn only did what he did because Father ignored the letter he wrote.”
Alaric frowned deeply. “Wait—what in the world are you talking about?”
It dawned on Violet that Alaric had no idea about Finn’s betrayal, nor the attack on his mother. In the vision Alice showed her, Alaric had been summoned by his father, where the truth had been exposed, however, they ended up dying, unaware of the ongoing attack on the pack.
But Violet had woken up before that scene, altering the course of action. She had them rushing to the warehouse where they had stopped the destruction of the North pack. Except Alaric ended up getting shot, and here they are. In one word, Alaric had missed out on that revelation.
Well, not anymore.
Ace told him. “Your Beta is Patrick’s spy and aided him in the attack against the pack. He attacked mom last night and we couldn’t get any information because he destroyed the cameras. But mom just told me the truth. Finn’s mom and our father had been a couple. However, dad left her for mom and it ended up ruining her life. Finn returned to the North pack to get some sort of closure, so he wrote a letter to our father He paused this time, unable to continue.
“And?” Alaric demanded. He had an inkling where this was headed, but he needed to hear it from his brother’s mouth.
“I took the letter,” Ace confessed, his voice barely audible now. “I saw him sneaking out of Father’s office and got suspicious. I went in, found the letter, and read it. I don’t even know what I was thinking. Maybe I wanted to see what he would do next. Maybe… maybe I just wanted to play a little game.”
He looked down, tears spilling freely. “Mother and Father—everyone—always loved you, Alaric. Not me. I was the one in the corners, and always ignored. So I did something twisted. I manipulated Father into choosing Finn as your beta. Finn was a strong wolf in the first place, so everything fell nto place, easily. Father was proud of me for finally thinking about you, not realizing it was all selfishness. I wanted to see what would happen when the son of Father’s ex-lover became your right hand.”
Violet stood frozen, the weight of his confession sinking like stones in her stomach.
Ace wiped his tears with a shaking hand. “I swear, I didn’t think it would go this far. I thought maybe you’d fight, argue, hate each other a little… but then move on. I never imagined it’d end in blood, betrayal, not to mention, a war. I didn’t know Patrick was using Finn. I didn’t know he’d… he’d—” His voice broke completely. “Please forgive me, Alaric. Please. I never meant for any of this.”
Alaric froze, every muscle locked as the words sank in. For a long moment, there was no sound, just the echo of Ace’s confession looping in his head.
Then Alaric let out a dry, humorless laugh.
“Well,” he said bitterly, “it did end just the way you wanted.”
Ace flinched as if he had being struck. “Alaric, please—” he choked, “I swear, I’ll be a better brother. I’ll make it right, I’ll—”
“Don’t.” Alaric hissed the word like venom. His hand came up sharply. “Don’t touch me.”
Ace froze mid-reach. His tears fell harder now, but Alaric didn’t move to comfort him. His gaze was not hateful, but it was cold and hollow.
“I need some space,” he said finally, his voice breaking at the edges. Then he turned and walked away without looking back.
The sound of Ace’s sobs followed him down the hall, but Alaric didn’t stop.
Violet lingered a moment, staring at the younger boy. There was so much she wanted to say, but nothing would undo the damage.
Her eyes softened for a brief second, then hardened again. She shook her head, disappointed, and left.
When she went looking for Alaric, he was nowhere inside the packhouse. She searched quietly, following his scent through the night until it led her to the outside.
There Alaric stood, his back to her, while his gaze fixed on the empty stretch where the warehouse once stood, but was no more — all thanks to her.
Violet didn’t say a word. She only stepped closer and stopped beside him. For a while, neither of them spoke. They simply stared at the emptiness ahead, sharing the quiet moment between them.
Then Alaric asked without looking at her.
“How does it feel being an orphan?”