Alpha's mate is a male?!?-Chapter 191: Failing is not an option!

As they drive, Ace’s phone vibrates in his pocket.

He pulls it out, glancing at the screen.

Jun.

He picks up, and before he can say a word, Jun’s voice snaps through the speaker.

"Finally! You pick up my call!" he practically yells. "I fucking hate you guys, you hear me? I hate you! What the hell is going on? Is this how you were planning to update us? By ignoring us?"

Ace sighs, but there’s no real frustration in it. "Jun..."

Jun’s voice drops, quieter now. "How are you, though? Is everyone fine?"

Ace leans his head back against the seat. "Yeah, we’re fine. Just one more round of drama before we can finally come home- maybe. We’ll update you on everything when we get back."

Jun is silent for a moment.

"How are you guys? How’s Billie?" Ace asks.

Jun clears his throat. "We’re fine. Billie’s fine. Says he misses his daddies who are never home."

Ace chuckles, shaking his head. But even as Jun jokes, Ace can tell. There’s something else.

"...Jun." His voice turns serious. "What is it?"

Jun hesitates. A beat of silence. Then...

"They found Blake this morning in her room...," he says quietly. "Dead."

Ace stiffens.

"No shit," he breathes.

"Yeah," Jun confirms, voice tight.

After a few words,

Ace ends the call, staring down at his phone, processing.

Then, he exhales and turns to the others. "They found Blake, dead."

Kieran’s hands tighten around the steering wheel.

Silence.

No one speaks as the car speeds toward the station.

The car suddenly comes to a sudden stop.

Ace jerks forward slightly, pressing his palm against the dashboard to steady himself.

Max, who had been leaning against the window, sits up straighter, glancing at Kieran in confusion.

Lucy had passed out again.

"What is it?" Ace asks, his brow furrowing.

Kieran exhales sharply, gripping the steering wheel before turning to look at them. His eyes flicker with intensity, his mind clearly working through something.

"We might be acting blindly on this," he says. "We need solid proof that Mrs. Richards is innocent, something that can’t be dismissed."

Ace and Max exchange a look. He’s right. Just walking in and claiming Lucy wasn’t in control of her actions won’t be enough.

The police, the media, and the people who have been following the case won’t just take their word for it.

"Right," Max agrees, nodding. "But how do we pull that off?"

Kieran leans back against his seat, rubbing his thumb along his jaw in thought. "I know it’s not exactly fair to use Blake’s name now that she’s gone, but we don’t have a choice. Maybe she can save us in this."

Ace arches a brow. "How? I mean, they saw Lucy on the security footage, didn’t they?"

"Yes," Kieran nods. "That’s the tricky part. But if we twist the narrative... it could work."

Ace crosses his arms, intrigued. "I’m listening."

Kieran exhales, organizing his thoughts before speaking. "Lately, Mrs. Richards hasn’t been herself, everyone in the department knows that. Even before this whole thing escalated, I received reports that she was missing work, acting strange, being distant. We could use that to support our claim."

Ace’s eyes narrow slightly. As if he already knows where Kieran is going with this.

"So what if we say... you, me, and Lucy have been working hard to find Blake," Kieran continues. "At some point, we got really close, so close that Blake realized she was being hunted. It got tough. Lucy was attacked in the process. Blake dug her claws into her, and those wounds... they weren’t just claws. They were alive in some way."

Everyone sits up, now fully invested in the plan. "You’re suggesting we fake evidence of those claw marks?"

Rica asks.

"Yes," Kieran confirms. "We’ll have to make it convincing. We’ll give her those marks, edit a few images to make it appear as though Lucy was struggling with something unnatural. Then, we’ll claim that after the attack, she was never the same. That something from Blake had gotten inside her, manipulating her, controlling her actions. It was like she did what Blake wanted to do, but through her. We tried to figure out. She even at some point threatened to attack us."

Max whistles lowly. "Damn. That’s twisted. But it could work."

Ace tilts his head. "And how do we explain Blake’s death?"

"That’s where we tie it together." Kieran’s gaze sharpens. "All along, while this serial killer case was happening, we couldn’t stop thinking that Blake was behind it. She fit the profile too well. So we worked even harder to track her down. And when we finally found her... we had no choice but to end her."

Ace swallows, the weight of Kieran’s words settling over him.

"She’s dead," Kieran continues. "And the moment she died, Lucy collapsed- unconscious. When she woke up, she had no memory of what happened. No recollection of where she had been or what she had done. We explained everything to her, and it became clear, Lucy was never in control. But she has refused to accept that she is the one who did all those terrible things, and it’s true she didn’t. Just her body was used."

Silence falls over the car before Kieran adds, "We will assure them that The threat is gone. Blake is no more. The killings will stop, and Lucy has no reason to harm anyone ever again."

Ace shakes his head in disbelief. "When exactly did you even come up with this?"

Kieran smirks, leaning back. "When you’re close to me, I always think of the impossible."

Ace’s heart stumbles.

His breath catches in his throat, and warmth floods his face before he can stop it. Even his mind goes blank for a second too long. He didn’t expect that.

Max couldn’t help a scoff, "Oh my God. Are we going to flirt or work on bigger issues." he says with amusement.

Rica, who had been silent until now, snorts. "Someone unexpected seem to be blushing."

"Shut up. Guys, shut up!" Ace groans, slouching in his seat as if that will make the attention go away. It doesn’t.

Kieran, for his part, doesn’t react, not outwardly, at least. But Ace catches the slight upward twitch of his lips before he restarts the car, acting as if nothing had just happened.

But Ace knows better.

Kieran is amused.

Damn him.

Ace stares out the window, still feeling the echoes of embarrassment burn through him. Max and Rica continue to chuckle , muttering something under their breath.

The tension in the car has shifted, but the reality of what they’re about to do still lingers beneath the surface.

They have a plan.

And now, it’s time to make it work.

The car speeds toward the station once more.

By the time they arrive at the station, they have everything they need.

The plan is set, the story is solid, and now, all that’s left is execution.

Before stepping out of the car, Kieran takes a deep breath, then turns to Ace. His gaze is calculated, as if mentally piecing together every possible outcome before they even step inside.

"Ace, call Rey and Jun. Tell them to take Blake’s body to the morgue," he says.

Ace doesn’t waste a second. He pulls out his phone, pressing the speed dial for Jun. The phone barely rings twice before Jun picks up.

"Ace?" Jun’s voice is steady but cautious, as if bracing himself for whatever news is coming next.

"We need you guys to take Blake’s body to the morgue," Ace says, keeping his tone level. "Make sure it’s handled quietly."

There’s a pause on the other end of the line. Then Jun exhales. "Got it. We’ll take care of it."

Ace nods to himself before hanging up. He turns back to Kieran, who gives a small approving nod before shifting his attention to the station building in front of them.

Ace glances back at Lucy, still unconscious in the back seat. Rica and Max remain behind to watch over her, their expressions unreadable as they give small nods of reassurance.

With that, he follows Kieran, matching his stride as they enter the building.

The moment they step inside, the atmosphere shifts.

All eyes turn to them. Conversations drop into hushed murmurs, some stopping altogether. Officers glance between each other, their gazes flickering between curiosity and unease.

But Kieran and Ace don’t slow down. They move with purpose, ignoring the stares, ignoring the tension in the air.

They push forward, heading straight for the boardroom where Kieran had called for a briefing.

When they step inside, a quiet murmur hums through the space, detectives gathered around the long table. But Kieran notices immediately that they are not all there.

"Where are the others?" he asks, his tone cutting through the air like a blade.

One of the detectives stands a little straighter, clearing his throat. "They’re on their way back, sir."

Kieran exhales slowly. He strides toward a chair at the head of the table and sits down, his presence commanding. Ace follows suit, lowering himself into the seat beside him.

And now, they wait.

Failure is not an option.