Mated To The Crippled Alpha-Chapter 228: Lose it

Julian had always battled depression, and lately he’d been treating his own recovery like it didn’t matter. After everything that happened today, I was scared he would finally let go of the little willpower he had left.

It was strange, watching it all unfold. The people who hurt me were now walking straight into the kind of pain they once laughed off when it belonged to me.

The Morrigans were falling apart. Even the ones still breathing looked like they’d been crushed from the inside. Julian wasn’t any different. The illness was already eating at him, and now despair was finishing the job.

It felt like some invisible hand had lowered them into suffering slowly enough to keep them alive, but not enough to give them peace.

And I won’t lie... they brought it on themselves. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

Julian stared at me with dull, lifeless eyes, like he was waiting for one sentence to save him. In that moment, I realized I might be the only "light" he thought he had left.

He wanted forgiveness.

He wanted me to say it was over.

But I couldn’t.

I wasn’t the one who created this nightmare between us. The pain he gave me was real. The damage was real. And Joyce... Joyce was gone.

There was blood between us now. A line that couldn’t be erased with soft words.

So when he looked at me like he was begging, I didn’t comfort him. I forced myself to stay cold and logical.

"Julian, you have to stay alive," I said quietly. "If you really are Oliver’s son, exposing your identity could draw him out. That’s the only lead we have."

His mouth twitched like he’d been slapped. "So to you... I’m just a tool, right? A way to reach him."

"Yes."

The word landed hard.

He gave a bitter laugh, eyes shining with pain. "You’re heartless. You can’t even lie to me anymore."

"We’re not friends," I said, keeping my voice steady. "I’m not responsible for your feelings. Act like a man, Julian. Stop drowning in things that won’t change the truth. Don’t you want answers? After everything that’s been done to us, don’t you want to know who’s been pulling the strings?"

If Oliver was truly his father, I doubted he’d let Julian die quietly. Not before he got what he wanted.

I left him there with his smoke and his silence.

Life is fragile. Whether he held on or gave up... that choice was still his.

Silas had been moved into his room. By the time I got there, Camilla looked like she’d cried herself empty. Her eyes were swollen, her face blotched with rage and grief.

The moment she saw me, her expression snapped into something sharp.

"Riley," she hissed. "You did this to him, didn’t you?"

Silas lay on the bed, his body tense like he was fighting invisible restraints. His emotions were all over the place. With his tongue gone, he could only make broken sounds short, frantic noises that scratched at the air.

I didn’t respond. I just walked closer.

"Ms. Morrigans," I said evenly, "you’re really good at pushing blame. Did I ruin the Morrigans? Was it my fault you decided to play both sides until everything collapsed?"

Her breathing turned jagged. "You set this up. You manipulated everything. You drove him to this!"

Then her voice rose, cracking with fury. "Riley, you had no right to hurt him! We won’t let this go. You’re the next one to die! How could you do this to him?"

"Ah " Silas made a muffled sound, like he was trying to stop her, like he was begging her not to say more.

Before the tension could snap, the door opened.

Adam stepped in, and Sheila followed right behind him.

The second Adam saw Silas, something softened in his face guilt, grief, maybe both. He walked closer like he was afraid the sight would disappear if he blinked.

"My boy..." he murmured. "You’ve been through too much."

Silas stared back at him with empty eyes. No recognition. No warmth. Just a distant, hollow look, like Adam was a stranger passing by.

Adam turned to Camilla, trying to steady her with his voice. "Camilla, I watched you grow up. I don’t believe you’re a bad person. You know something. There’s no one else here tell me. I just want to understand how my son ended up like this."

Camilla shook her head, tears falling again. "Adam, I don’t know. I swear I don’t."

Then Adam looked at me, desperate now. "Riley... you and Lewis must have found something. Please. We’re family. Tell me what you know."

I didn’t flinch. "We’ve told you everything. Silas’s identity was wiped. His face is ruined. There are no fingerprints. If it wasn’t for the DNA test, we wouldn’t have known anything. Someone erased his life on purpose."

My eyes flicked to Silas. "And if he was willing to talk, he wouldn’t have bitten off his own tongue."

Sheila stepped forward, voice gentle like she was trying to lower the temperature in the room. "It’s horrible, but medical technology is advanced. Our team will do everything they can. Don’t worry too much."

Adam’s shoulders sagged. "I hope so. But his face..."

The damage was severe. Even if doctors could help, he would never look the same again.

Theo came in and firmly said Silas needed rest. He guided everyone out, and Camilla was placed under house arrest again.

We were waiting watching because if someone was pulling strings, they would reach for Camilla soon.

But even with all our preparation... we still weren’t ready for what happened next.

The next morning, a scream tore through the Hale residence.

Theo pounded on our door. "Sir, ma’am something happened!"

I jolted awake in Lewis’s arms, a cold unease sliding down my spine. Lewis sat up immediately.

"What is it?" I asked.

Theo’s face looked gray. "Silas is dead."

For a second, I didn’t understand the words.

Lewis’s voice came out sharp. "Dead? He was right here. Under our roof. He couldn’t even take care of himself how did this happen?"

Theo swallowed. "This morning his condition worsened. He started vomiting blood. The medical team rushed in, but it was too late. He died."

We ran.

Adam stood frozen at the door like his body had turned to stone. Camilla was already inside, frantic, barefoot, shaking so badly she could hardly stay upright.

She collapsed beside Silas, sobbing like her lungs were tearing.

"Silas... don’t do this to me," she cried. "You promised you’d stay with me! I’m still here how could you leave me?"

She clutched his face, kissed his cold skin, rocking like denial could bring him back.

"Open your eyes," she begged. "Please... just open your eyes."

Then she choked out, "What about our baby? What am I supposed to do now?"

That’s when I saw it.

Blood on her cotton sleep pants spreading slowly, dark and unstoppable.

My stomach dropped.

"She’s going to miscarry," I said, my voice turning hard with urgency. "Get the doctor. Now."

Camilla didn’t even seem to notice the blood beneath her. She kept stroking Silas’s face, whispering to him like he could still hear her.

"Please don’t sleep... please..."

I stood there, staring at the stillness of his body, feeling something twist inside my chest.

Silas was gone.

Just like that.

And no matter how many times I tried to force logic into my mind, one question kept rising anyway

How could someone disappear so fast when we had him right here under our noses?