The Biker Alpha's Obession

Chapter-7 Obsession

Leon’s POV

The familiar roar of my motorcycle echoed through the Black Banner compound as the wrought-iron gates slid open.

Black Banner's headquarters stood at the heart of the property, a sprawling industrial warehouse of weathered brick, black steel, and towering windows. One side housed the club's state-of-the-art garage, where members were bent over engines and stripped-down bikes, while the other opened into the clubhouse itself.

The compound was still buzzing with activity. Some members lounged outside with bottles in hand, others drifted between the garage and the clubhouse, conversations blending with the low growl of idling motorcycles.

As I rolled to a stop and cut the engine, several heads turned.

"Evening, President."

"Ayy, boss. Michael just got his hands on some good s**t. Fancy a smoke?"

“Not tonight,” I muttered.

I headed inside, the familiar smell of whiskey, leather, cigarette smoke, and motor oil filling my lungs. After acknowledging a few greetings with curt nods, I took the stairs two at a time and shut myself inside my office.

“Leon”

"f**k," I rubbed both hands over my face.

I could still hear the way she'd softly whispered my name, the shy smile on her full lips. Somehow, hearing Leon on her lips had sent an unfamiliar jolt straight through my chest, unsettling me in a way I couldn't explain.

She wasn't Evelyn. She couldn't have been more different.

Evelyn had been more mature, hardened by life, while Hope carried an innocence that seemed untouched by the world. She looked delicate and sheltered.

Just then, someone knocked on the glass door, and I gazed up to find Finn peeking inside. He shot me a grin and casually strolled into the office, carrying a black file in his hands.

“Hey, boss,” he said, giving me a salute. “I got what you asked. Everything on Hope Lancaster is here…” I blinked as he shoved the file towards me.

“That was quick,” I muttered, flipping through the pages.

“There is a reason why I am your Vice President, isn’t it?” he smirked, sounding proud as he dropped into the chair in front of me. “And anyway, it wasn’t hard to find info on her.”

"Brief me," I ordered, pushing the file back across the desk. Reading through pages of reports was the last thing I had the patience for.

Finn leaned back in his chair and crossed one ankle over his knee. "Hope Lancaster. Eighteen years old. Youngest daughter of Alpha Walter Lancaster."

My brows lifted slightly.

“Yeah,” Finn nodded. “The Lancasters are one of Ashbourne’s elite Alpha families. Walter’s also one of the most respected doctors in the country. His son, Gabriel, is a cardiothoracic surgeon—apparently one of the best around.”

“I already figured she came from one of Ashbourne’s powerful Alpha families,” I nodded, crossing my arms across my chest. “The girl just seemed so... pampered.”

The Moon Goddess had a twisted sense of humor pairing us as mates. I couldn't imagine anyone more wrong for her than me.

“You're only half right,” Finn said, pulling another set of documents from the folder and sliding them across my desk. “She did grow up privileged. But that's not the reason.”

Frowning, I picked up the papers. They seemed like medical reports.

Patient Name: Hope Lancaster.

Diagnosis: Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome

The report detailed years of hospital admissions, specialist consultations, surgeries, medications, complications, and follow-up treatments.

“She spent eighteen years fighting for her life. The heart transplant only happened a couple of months ago,” Finn said quietly.

I looked back down at the file, my grip tightening around the papers.

“Hypocrite,” my wolf grimaced, and he was right.

I'd judged her before I'd even known her.

"So," Finn muttered, picking up the photograph clipped to the front of Hope's report and studying it before placing it in the center of my desk. "Are you going to tell me why you suddenly wanted a background check on Hope Lancaster?"

I didn’t like the suspicion in his tone.

“Because she's my mate,” I grimaced. Saying it out loud sounded even more f****d up.

“I know that,” His gaze sharpened. “What I'm trying to figure out is whether that's the only reason you're interested in her.”

“What the f**k is that supposed to mean?” I scowled.

“I've known you since you learned to crawl, Leon. Look at her, then tell me with a straight face that this has nothing to do with Evelyn. Go on…tell me I’m wrong.”

Of course...I couldn't.

"I thought so,” Finn sighed heavily, looking exasperated.

"Don't start,” I grumbled, pushing away from my chair and heading over to grab a bottle of beer from the mini fridge. I needed something stronger, but this had to do for now.

“I'm going to start because somebody has to. I've watched you destroy yourself for three months, Leon. You shut everyone out, drowned yourself in whiskey, and left me to keep this club running. I understood it because you were grieving.”

His gaze hardened.

"But this can’t go on. You’re the President of BlackBanner….you've got way too much on your plate…” he hissed, looking frustrated. “I know what you’re doing here.”

“What the f**k is that supposed to mean?” I glared at him.

Finn narrowed his eyes on me. “You saw her resemblance to Evelyn. And now, instead of accepting that she is a different person and your true mate, you're trying to get Evelyn back through her, aren't you?”

“No,” I said, forcing the word out through my clenched teeth.

Of course he didn't believe me.

“Then tell me why you've rejected every f*****g woman we've tried to set you up with these past three months. You scared them all off. You haven't f****d anyone since Evelyn. Then Hope shows up, and you didn’t even wait to learn her name before you're already balls deep inside her!”

“I was drunk!” I snapped, only to realize how fake I sounded.

“You thought she was Evelyn. You can fool everyone else, Leon... not me,” Finn shook his head.

I dragged a hand through my hair, frustrated.

"Fine. You saw her picture. Don't tell me the resemblance didn't f**k with you too. It's damn near impossible, Finn. Yet there she was."

"Of course I noticed it." His voice softened. "But that doesn't make her Evelyn…you can't turn Hope into her."

“Maybe there’s a reason.” I gazed up at him.

“A reason for what?” he frowned.

“The Moon Goddess doesn’t make mistakes,” I whispered. “Maybe she gave me Hope because she knew what Evelyn meant to me. Maybe this is her way of giving her back to me.”

Finn stared at me as though I'd completely lost my mind.

"Leon, listen to yourself!” he exclaimed, looking frustrated. “Evelyn is dead. DEAD. She's been gone for months. You've got to get over her now, for f**k’s sake."

My expression hardened.

"She can't just die like that," I growled. "I still have people investigating it. Until I know exactly what happened to her, I'm not letting it go."

"Leon..."

"Evelyn was unfairly taken from me,” I snarled, startling him a bit. “She was the first person I ever loved. You know who I was before she found me."

"Okay. And where does that leave Hope?” he asked. “Who is she to you then?"

I pursed my lips. I didn’t have an answer.

"What happens when she realizes you've been treating her as Evelyn’s replacement from the very beginning? Have you considered the consequences?"

"She won't." Finn's expression darkened.

“You are playing with fire, Leon.”

"She'll never know." I looked toward Hope's photograph, my voice turning cold. "By the time she learns the truth, she'll already be so deeply in love with me that it won't make a difference."

Finn stared at me helplessly.

More than anyone, he knew what I was like once I set my mind on something. Once I wanted something, I pursued it with everything I had and never stopped until it was mine.

And this time, my obsession had a name.

Hope Lancaster.