Abandoned by the Alpha, I Became the Lycan King's Mate-Chapter 384 Search

[Henry’s Perspective]

I stood up to stop her movement and spoke in a calm voice to explain, "It happened 15 minutes ago. After killing those on patrol, the attacker hid. Martha is on the east side of the island today, with many mercenaries around her. She’ll be all right!"

Upon hearing this, Licia sighed in relief, looked up at me, and said softly, "As long as your mom is fine, I’m relieved. Speaking of which, since you came to the island I haven’t heard you call Martha ’mom.’ You..."

She suddenly paused, seemingly hesitant about what she was about to say next.

She pursed her lips, her warm palm supporting my arm, and continued, "Haven’t you had a proper talk with her about the past? When she left you behind, it was out of desperation. You must understand her, right?"

"Your mother... she was running around with your father’s body, and she nearly died in the Demon Domain Forest several times! She mentioned those experiences to me a few days ago, and I wished I could have borne them for her! Of course, the events of those days are too complex to blame anyone for. I don’t want to see her dwelling in a river of hatred, and neither do I want to see you step by step down that path of no return!"

"Henry, do you understand what your aunt is saying? The situation is not beyond redemption. If you want, I can..."

"Enough, Aunt Licia! Please stop with this meaningless talk, okay?" My patience, seldom exhausted, finally wore thin as I coldly interrupted Licia’s lengthy speech.

I narrowed my eyes at Licia and continued in an icy tone, "You’re not me, nor are you Martha, so you can’t understand the depth of this hatred. Stop pretending to enlighten everyone from on high, alright? Even the Moon goddess doesn’t demand her people to be ’generous’ and kind!"

I finished speaking and took a slight breath, shifting my gaze toward the bedroom behind Licia.

"I know Aunt Licia has made many sacrifices for me and Martha, and that being caught between us and Donald must have been incredibly painful. But stabbing Donald in the back was your choice, and nobody but you can pay that price."

"Martha and I can accept you living here because we are rational and kind enough not to conflate you with Donald! So, please don’t get any greedier, okay?"

I signaled the subordinates behind me with a gesture, indicating they should start searching the entire house.

During my speech, Licia had been hanging her head, her expression filled with sorrow and pain. Watching the soldiers rush into her bedroom, she slowly lifted her eyes to me and asked hoarsely, "What are you doing?"

I did not respond to the disbelief and sadness in her eyes, and instead said firmly, "Since Aunt has declared there is nothing abnormal here, you shouldn’t oppose my routine search, should you?"

"Henry! You..."

I glanced sideways at her, my gaze not particularly soft, "I’m also doing this for Aunt’s safety. Please don’t overthink it."

Tears welled up in Licia’s eyes as she looked at me and managed a bitter smile, releasing the hand that held mine, and said faintly, "Sometimes I too find myself naive, to foolishly dream that I could single-handedly resolve the deadly feud between Alex and you and your mother!"

"Do you know, Henry, how happy I was when I found out Martha was still alive? She is my only sister, and you are my beloved nephew! You and I... we are family..."

"So what? Blood relatives separated by a distance can never compare to one’s own flesh and blood!" I said to Licia with cruel bluntness.

Something shattered within Licia at that moment, and her tears started to fall.

After a moment, she let out a bitter laugh and said, "In my eyes, you have always been as important as Donald. Because of my debt to Martha, many times I cared for you even more than Donald..."

"So you’ve always thought of me that way. When you saw me secretly helping you against Donald, did you think I was like a poor actor? Stupid and ridiculous?"

By the time Licia finished speaking, she was already weeping terribly, and if you added her self-mocking smile, she looked utterly pitiful and laughable. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

Seeing this, I suddenly let out a sneer, feeling an unexplainable pang of pity, but my words spared her no mercy, "You’re just now realizing this? Although it’s a bit late, I still congratulate you. It’s much better to wake up now than to continue deluding yourself. Since we’ve talked so much today, I might as well say a few more words."

I checked my sneer and turned away, adding, "Donald and I are in an irreconcilable struggle, and you should have been aware of this all along. So stop trying to change anything. I can arrange for someone to take you off the island if you want to leave before my final battle with Donald, but there won’t be such a chance later. As your ’nephew,’ that’s the last bit of courtesy I’m willing to extend to you."

After saying this, I didn’t wait for Licia’s reaction and walked away from the house.

A few minutes later, the soldiers returned from their search and reported to me respectfully, "No suspicious areas found, Sir. The attacker hasn’t been here!"

After their report, I slowly furrowed my brow, somewhat surprised by this outcome.