Help! Five Beast Alphas Want To Breed Me!!(BL)-Chapter 235: Bram

Rydian;

I groan as I lift another bag of sand and empty it into the mixture the men before me are stirring into a consistency.

My skin is slick with sweat, so much so that sweat is dripping off my chin, and sand is sticking to me.

But it’s not like I expected to come out of construction work clean.

The afternoon sun stings my back as I lift yet another bucket of water, but I ignore it.

In the distance, Koda is working nonstop, directing and helping with work.

He’s been at this since morning and hasn’t taken a single moment to rest. If he hasn’t, why should I? He needs my help, and the least I can do is support him this much.

I place the bucket of water down beside the men who need it, and I feel a muscle pull in my leg, causing me to groan. 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

My shoulders are burning. My palms are aching. And every breath tastes like dust.

The entire village square is a mess of rubble and cracked stone, but for the first time in days, it’s starting to look like it’s taking some shape.

I can almost see the resemblance to the night of Koda’s wedding... All our hard work is finally paying off.

People of Gravemaw move around me... Working in mesmerising unity with Koda in the centre of it all.

I smile at my brother, who has his hair in a bun, and his skin glowing with sweat as he pints in a direction, instructing men on what to move and change.

They all stare at him with reverence and obey like his words are prophecy. He would make an excellent king.

One I would happily bow down to. His passion for his people is admirable.

This place... the warmth it carries is a womb for healthy lives... He’s lucky he came from a place like this.

Gravemaw may not be my home, but I admire it. So I will work. I will work till my bones scream, in order to have this place back up and running.

I watch omegas and betas work together, hauling debris, stacking stones, mixing mortar, and just... working as a team, and the sight renews my strength.

The air is thick with the sound of hammers, shouted instructions, and the occasional barked laughter from people trying to keep spirits up.

This is exhausting. But it’s worth it.

Rebuilding their damaged home seems to give the people of Gravemaw hope again, and that’s all that matters.

Feeling newly motivated, I bend and grip the handles of a crate filled with broken bricks. My back screams in protest, but I lift anyway.

Across the square, children dart around passing out water, and smoke rises from cookpots where some women are boiling food for the workers. The sight warms my heart.

Gravemaw might be bruised, but it’s far from broken.

It’s home. It still feels so warm despite what it’s endured. That’s a beauty that my own home has never had.

I carry the crate toward the new foundation we’ve laid for the central market and drop it into the waiting pile.

"Alpha Rydian!" someone calls, and I turn, wiping my forehead with the back of my arm.

It’s Larek... the boy who usually runs messages between the different rebuilding teams. His small chest heaves with exhaustion from sprinting... and probably due to all this dust too.

"I caught a messenger raven. It has a letter with your name on it." He says, as he holds out a sealed paper with Howleroot’s crest and the words.

To Alpha Rhydian

Boldly written on the folded paper.

A letter? For me?

From who?

It better not be my mother.

I take the letter from the boy, and he bows to me before running off into the dust clouds.

I rip the envelope open, too eager to know who it’s from to think about privacy. And the moment I see the writing, I instantly recognise the handwriting.

Ishu.

My aide.

I haven’t heard from him in so long.

The outside of the letter holds no greeting, no signature... just his quick, hurried writing, and this causes my heart to leap.

Has Mom died??

I glance around, and it dawns on me that there are too many eyes... Too many ears.

If I’m about to find out about my mother’s death, I think I’ll do it in private. Where I can... crumble in peace.

I step away from the workers and move behind one of the collapsed storehouses that we haven’t started working on yet. It’s quiet here. I lower myself onto a rock and break the seal on the folded paper, which has writing on both sides.

Alpha Rhydian,

As we hoped, I have found the truth about Bram.

And you must prepare yourself... I am sure it isn’t what you want to hear.

My spine straightens instinctively, and I swallow as my eyes move to the next line.

You removing Bram from Howleroot was a brilliant idea.

His absence has allowed me to dig deeper.

And I have discovered... horrors.

I swallow hard as my eyes drag over every line.

Bram has never been a victim.

Not once.

Every tale he ever fed you was crafted, rehearsed, and sharpened to pierce through your judgment.

He is a con artist of the worst breed.

First of all, I have confirmed beyond doubt that he indeed sold his own sister to a brothel.

My breath leaves me, and cold, bitter pressure builds in my chest.

Bram... sold his sister?

He actually... That weak-looking, always whimpy little... He actually sold his sibling to a...

My heart begins to hammer, violent and angry, and I force myself to read on because Isshu is never dramatic without reason. If he asked me to brace myself, then I need to.

Alpha Rhydian, it was Bram who approached your mother.

Not the other way around.

He offered himself to Alpha Liandria as a volunteer for the Omega-womb experiment.

He begged her to use him, to alter him, to make him something... what he is.

The queen did not coerce him.

He went to her willingly, asking that in return, she’d wipe his past and change his name.

He manipulated you into believing he was exploited so he could gain your sympathy.

The edges of my vision blur for a moment, and I struggle to lubricate my throat.

Rage...black and thick... twists through me like smoke as memories flash through my mind.

Memories of Bram crying into my chest... of him trembling, telling me he had been forced, abused, and experimented on.

Memories of him claiming he had no one but me. Of him looking up at me with those wide, pitiful eyes...

Lies.

All of it... nothing but lies.

The letter goes on, and seeing how much is left to read causes fresh beads of sweat to form along my back and forehead in fear.

He has been weaving schemes all across Howleroot for years.

Small cons, large cons. Debts he never intended to pay.

Favours he promised to return but never did.

He allegedly even got rid of people who refused to accept their losses to him and pressed him for their money... I am still gathering proof on that.

My lord... Bram is dangerous.

He is cunning.

He has harmed far more people than we realised.

My hands shake, and my jaw clenches so hard, I fear I might break my teeth.

I still myself and force myself to read the last lines.

You must understand, Alpha Rhydian.

Bram has never been a victim.

He has always been the architect.

You need to be careful.

I will continue digging and send updates as I can.

—Ishu

I stare at the last lines in silence for a few more seconds as thoughts and words rush and clash in my mind.

I slowly fold the letter back up, and the sluggishness in my movements is as if my body is terrified of what I just discovered.

I press the paper against my forehead and squeeze my eyes shut as realisation, regret, guilt and anger tangle and warp inside my system.

"Bram..." I whisper, and my stomach twists in response to his name.

My chest feels hollow, and beneath all of it, a wildfire of anger is spreading, scorching right through my veins.

He lied to me. He lied to everyone.

He sold his own blood. His sister.

He used my mother when she thought she was using him, he manipulated me.

He built his entire existence on deceit... and I let him get close to me with those lies!

He has been missing for days now, and I know it is not by accident.

He is absent because he is planning something.

Light, I want to find him!

I need to find him!!

I want to drag him by the throat into the light.

I want to confront him, demand answers, punish him for every soul he’s harmed.

For every lie he’s told me... for every hurt he’s caused.

I want justice!!!

My fingers curl slowly, crushing the letter in my fist.

A chill runs down my spine as I imagine all the terrible things this creature may be doing in the shadows.

Where did he go? Why did he go, and what th efuck is he up to!?

"What are you planning?" I mutter into the empty air, with my heart pounding in my ears.

I stare out at Gravemaw, vulnerable, rebuilding, and tired... and my heart falls.

Bram is out there somewhere... scheming.

Whatever he disappeared for...

Whatever scheme he is crafting...

It will not be small.

It will not be harmless.

And Light help us... I can feel it.

Trouble is coming.

Trouble is coming, and Bram... is at the centre of it all.