Mated To The Crippled Alpha-Chapter 201: I Am Back

I wasn’t trying to push Camilla.

But the scene unfolded almost exactly like it had that day.

Only this time, she was the one on the floor.

And I was the one standing above her.

My face wasn’t twisted with cruelty the way hers had been when I collapsed months ago. When I had crawled across cold tiles, leaving a red trail behind me, and she had laughed and told me to stop pretending.

"Baby... my baby..." Camilla sobbed, clutching her stomach. "Riley, please. Save my child."

Her voice snapped me back to the present.

I pressed the emergency button immediately.

Doctors and nurses rushed in, lifting her onto a stretcher. No brothers. No pack elders around her.

"Riley."

Lewis’s voice pulled me out of it.

I looked up. He was kneeling in front of me. His thumb brushed my cheek gently, wiping away tears I hadn’t realized were falling.

Only then did I notice I had been crouching beside the bloodstains, crying quietly.

"I’m fine," I said quickly, standing up and wiping my face.

"Let’s go," he said softly. "Staying here will only draw attention."

I nodded and followed him out.

In the car, the city lights blurred past the windows. Lewis spoke calmly, steady like always.

"I’ve arranged people at the hospital," he said. "The Morrigans weren’t guarding her properly. If someone from her hidden allies tries to contact her, we’ll know."

He paused.

"As for Silas, he’s out of surgery. I sent him back to the estate under Julian’s name. He’s still under anesthesia. We can’t question him yet."

"Okay," I murmured, but my thoughts were far away.

We passed a small flower shop on the corner.

"Stop!" I said suddenly.

Theo braked immediately.

I got out of the car and bought a bouquet without thinking too much. White lilies. Soft and quiet.

I turned back to Lewis.

"I want to visit Joy."

He didn’t hesitate. "I’ll go with you."

I had made a small empty grave for Joy. A place for my child to belong. A place my heart could return to.

The tombstone was dark and simple. No photo. No date carved deeply.

I stood in front of the stone and whispered, "It’s my fault. I didn’t protect you well enough. If I had been stronger... if I hadn’t let Camilla’s words shake me... maybe you would still be here."

"Elena," Lewis said gently.

"There is no ’what if.’"

His voice was steady, but warm.

"Joy knows how much you wanted him. How much you waited for him. He knows you loved him. He’ll watch over you. And we’ll find the real culprit. For you. For him."

I couldn’t hold back anymore.

I stepped into his arms and cried.

The wind howled around us, sharp and cold, but his embrace was firm. Protective. The kind that feels like home.

"Thank goodness," I whispered. "I’m lucky to have you."

He rested his chin lightly on my head.

"Don’t be afraid," he murmured. "I’ll stay with you. Always."

I nodded against his chest.

He brushed my hair back gently. "Stop crying. When you cry, my heart feels torn apart."

I let out a shaky breath and tried to calm down.

After a while, he looked at the small grave and said softly, "I’ll take good care of your mother. Don’t worry."

Some people might think I was being dramatic.

But that tiny life had once lived inside me.

How could I not care?

Lewis never once called me irrational. He never dismissed Joy’s existence. He acknowledged our child. He respected my grief.

With a mate like him... what more could I ask for?

On the way back, his phone rang.

"Hospital?" I asked quietly.

He nodded, expression serious. "Yes. Camilla’s child has been stabilized for now."

"Mm."

I looked out the window.

"I’m not cruel enough to wish harm on a child," I said calmly. "I’m not like Camilla. If it survives, it survives. Whether it carries Julian’s blood or Silas’s, it’s innocent."

Lewis glanced at me. "Do you care whose it is?"

I shook my head slowly.

"No matter whose child it is, it’s already a tragedy," I said. "The fact that it might even be born after all this... that alone would be a miracle."

Obediently, I leaned into Lewis’s embrace.

If not for the danger still circling us... if that hidden organization had not yet been exposed... I would truly want to have a child with him.

When we returned to the Bolton estate, we hadn’t even seen Silas yet before Jeffrey summoned us to his study.

He already knew about the chaos at the ceremony.

His aura filled the room the moment we entered, heavy, displeased, dominant. He had clearly been holding his temper all afternoon.

"I thought Camilla was only troublesome," he said coldly. "I never expected her to drag our pack into such disgrace."

I poured him a glass of water and placed it on the desk.

"It’s done," I said calmly. "In seven days, we’ll know the truth."

Jeffrey’s jaw tightened. "If that child isn’t Julian’s, we cut her out completely. I don’t want her shadow in this house anymore. Clean out her room."

"Alright," I replied.

After leaving the study, Theo led me through the backyard.

I had always known the estate was vast, but I never realized there was a small hidden room behind the old tool shed.

"Mrs. Riley," Theo said quietly, "this used to be a servant’s quarters. Silas is recovering here. Cameras cover every angle. He can’t escape."

I nodded.

When I stepped inside, Julian was already there. He had been smoking, but he crushed the cigarette under his shoe the moment he saw me.

Silas lay on a narrow wooden bed. For such a large man, it looked almost fragile beneath him.

"He’s awake," Julian said flatly. "But he won’t talk. No matter what we ask. The anesthesia is fading. He hasn’t made a sound."

Even injured, Silas gave off a stubborn presence. His breathing was shallow, his chest wrapped tightly, but his eyes were steady.

He was the type who would endure pain without begging.

Force would not work on him.

I stepped forward.

"I just came from the hospital," I said softly. "Camilla lost a lot of blood. She’s in critical care."

At the sound of her name, his eyes snapped to mine.

His voice cracked, rough and broken. "Is she... alive?"

"She’s luckier than I was," I replied calmly. "The child has been stabilized."

He stared at me, confused by my tone.

I moved a little closer.

"Silas," I said, "I was once pregnant too."

The room went still.

"The baby wasn’t fully formed yet. I was pushed to the ground by my former mate. While I was in the hospital trying to save my child, Camilla came to mock me."

My voice remained steady.

"That day, I lay on the floor, bleeding. I begged her to help me."

His pupils widened.

Recognition flickered across his face.

"You..." he breathed.

I took another step closer to the bed.

"We’ve met before," I continued quietly. "On my wedding night. By the river. You stabbed me from behind."

His face drained of color.

"That’s impossible," he whispered. "You were dead... you..."

Sweat gathered on his forehead. His breathing grew uneven, not from pain this time—but fear.

I leaned down, my voice barely above a whisper.

"Silas," I said gently, "I’m back."