Mated To The Crippled Alpha-Chapter 346: I Won’t Dodge

She grabbed my collar and yanked me closer, her voice turning sharp and ugly.

"Why aren’t you wearing it anymore?"

There it was.

Not fear for Yael.

Not anger for Vito.

Not even hatred for me, at least not first.

Her first instinct was Lewis.

It was obvious now. Whatever weak feeling she had ever shown Yael was nothing compared to what she felt for Lewis. The bowl of ravioli she once made for Yael had become some precious memory in his mind, but I could already see the truth. Over the years, she had poured far more care into Lewis.

When Lewis struggled to move, she sent Damian to look after him. When he built his power in a foreign land, she must have been the invisible hand clearing the path for him.

I had gambled.

And I had won.

I smiled at her.

"Amber, I should be thanking you. If you hadn’t told me about the Stone of Duality, I never would’ve known Lewis was willing to risk his life for me."

Her expression darkened at once. "What are you getting at?"

I let the silence stretch for a second, making her wait.

"Well," I said slowly, "since you know about the Stone of Duality, then you also know the stones only work for eighty-one days. So tell me... why do you think I’m no longer wearing mine?"

Her pupils widened.

I watched it happen and savored every second.

"Obviously, the time is up," I said. "I don’t need to wear it anymore because Lewis and I have already exchanged fates."

"Damn it!"

She snapped.

Her whole body lunged forward with the force of her rage, and she raised her hand to strike me.

I caught her wrist midair.

Then I turned the knife in her hand toward my own chest.

"Amber," I said calmly, "isn’t this what you’ve wanted all along? To kill me? Here. Let me help you."

I kept my voice light, fearless.

"But just so you know, Lewis and I have exchanged fates. If you stab me, maybe I’ll only end up badly injured. But Lewis..." I tilted my head. "Who knows what might happen to him?"

Her hand started trembling.

Not a small tremble.

Violent.

She understood exactly what that meant. Maybe better than anyone else alive. Amber knew that stone better than all of us.

I stood up.

This time, she stepped back.

Once.

Twice.

Again. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

So she was afraid.

Not of me.

Of what hurting me would do to Lewis.

I walked toward her slowly, making sure she felt every step. "Amber, isn’t this what you wanted? Why are you hesitating? Show me what you can do."

She had not expected me to seize control like this. That much was obvious.

Her dark eyes were full of hatred sharp enough to cut flesh, but beneath it was something even better.

Helplessness.

And I enjoyed it.

So this was what it felt like to be the villain.

I liked it.

I liked watching her want me gone so badly and still be unable to act.

"Amber," I said mockingly, "your hand is shaking. Are you low on calcium? Want me to help? I’ve already died once. I have experience."

Before she could react, I twisted the knife from her grip.

Then I pressed the blade against my own side, just above my kidney.

"This spot here?" I said. "This is where Silas stabbed me that snowy night. Straight through. But your little knife? I’m not even sure it could manage that."

Her face hardened.

At last, she understood that I had not come back to Blackwell territory by accident.

I had come with a purpose.

"What do you want?" she asked.

I had backed her all the way to the sofa. Her knees hit it, and she dropped into the seat with a dull thud.

I stood over her and smiled wider.

"I want a lot of things, Amber. Do you think you can give them to me?"

"Don’t call me that!" she snapped.

I laughed softly. "But I’m Lewis’s wife. We’re one unit. As his aunt, it’s only polite for me to address you by name."

Her eyes widened.

"You both know?"

"Of course," I said easily. "And really, I should thank you. If it weren’t for your care all these years, Lewis wouldn’t be where he is today."

I reached out and touched her face gently.

Her features looked nothing like Peter’s. Not even close. She had gone to great lengths to hide who she really was.

And while she was thrown off balance, I took my chance.

I grabbed at the edge of the false skin she wore and tore it away.

"Ah—Elena!"

I might have used too much force.

Good.

"Sorry, Amber," I said. "I didn’t mean to be rough."

My voice held no remorse at all.

I leaned closer and lowered my voice. "What are you so afraid of? You have such a beautiful face. Why hide it?"

Without the mask, her features were striking. Exotic. Sharp nose bridge. Deep-set eyes. Dark brows. But what stood out most were her pupils—jet black, not the usual brown.

A thought flashed through my mind.

Could she be Lewis’s mother’s twin sister?

"Elena, don’t get carried away," she hissed.

In the next second, she grabbed my wrist and threw me onto the sofa.

Her hand clamped around my jaw so hard it hurt. Her expression twisted with malice.

"Even if I don’t kill you," she said, "I have a hundred ways to make your life hell. Who do you think you’re playing with?"

Her grip tightened.

"You and Lewis swapped fates, didn’t you? Fine. As long as I leave you barely alive, he’ll survive. Do you know what imprisonment feels like? Being locked in a tiny dark room with no way out? I could keep you like a dog and break you little by little."

I stared straight into her eyes.

She was unraveling.

Trying to patch it over with threats.

"Why don’t you try," I said quietly, "and see how that ends?"

She narrowed her eyes. "What are you implying?"

I gave her a faint smile. "I should thank you for the inspiration. After Silas and Sheila died, I learned something useful from everything you arranged. Want to guess how I’d choose to go out?"

The moment those words left my mouth, she let go of me.

Fast.

Like she was suddenly worried I had explosives strapped to my body.

"You only just clawed your way back to life," she said. "You wouldn’t throw it away so easily."

"Why not?"

I sat up slowly, still holding the blood-stained dagger, almost dreamy now.

"In this second life, I found warmth with Lewis. I found my sister again. I don’t really have regrets anymore." I shrugged. "And if I die, Lewis goes down with me. Isn’t that perfect? In life, we didn’t get to be a peaceful bonded pair. Maybe in the afterlife we finally can."

I turned the dagger idly in my hand.

"Living is exhausting," I said. "Always guarding against your plots and your murder attempts. It’s not worth that much. Amber, if you want me dead so badly, why don’t you just do it yourself? Aim for my heart. Make it clean."

Her eyes blazed.

"Do you think I don’t have the guts to kill you?"

"Then do it." I lifted my chin. "I won’t dodge. I’ve already died once. What is there to fear? Just make sure Lewis and I are buried together. And when you visit his grave, don’t forget to pay your respects to me too."

"Shut up!" she snapped. "Who would visit you?"

I sighed dramatically. "Sorry, my mistake. Lewis and I don’t have children, and I don’t really have anyone else. You’re his aunt, so I thought maybe I could count you as family too. If I die and something goes wrong, I might come back and haunt you, Amber. I’ll cling to you forever."

"Don’t you dare!"

Her anger finally boiled over. "What the hell do you want? Spit it out!"

There it was.

Her cards were on the table.

So were mine.

I smiled faintly.

"First, remove the chip from Whitney’s body."

"Second, I want to take Whitney away."

"And third, I want the whole truth."

She stared at me coldly. "You’ve got a vivid imagination."

I tilted my head and gave her my sweetest smile. "Amber, we’re family now. You can’t even grant me these little requests? Then really, what’s the point of living? Maybe I should just die."

I spun the dagger once in my hand, then lightly pointed the tip at my own chest.

"How about I aim right here?"