Substitute Love: Her Fated Alpha

Chapter 4

I listened attentively as I hid myself in the bush while Kylie paid attention to our surroundings. Even though I had enhanced hearing, I still had to get closer to the Blue Moon Pack’s camp so that I could hear their conversations properly. When I was about to move closer, Kylie spoke up, “Adeline, you’re getting too close. It’s too dangerous.”

I gently brushed some grass aside for a better view. “Don’t worry, Kylie. I can do this. We promised that we would help Theo.”

I crouched down and inched toward the Blue Moon Pack’s barracks. Theo had been giving me special training recently, allowing my fitness to improve immensely. I was soundless when I moved, and no one in the Blue Moon Pack noticed anything unusual as I hid right next to their base camp.

Pleasingly, the risk I had taken paid off. In less than two minutes, I heard a man’s voice.

“Hey, Bill. What took you so long?”

“Tell me about it. The vice leader just gave us instructions to go dig traps in the Coral Jungle. We’ll be in groups of ten.”

“Coral Jungle? That’s where we fight against the Blood Moon Pack, isn’t it?”

“Yep. They wanted to make sure the traps were dug up before the Blood Moon Pack gets there. That way, half of the Alphas would fall into the traps before they even started. Then again, it’s such a pain to do the digging at night,” Bill complained in a low voice.

“That’s enough, Bill. If we beat the Blood Moon Pack this time, your group will be promoted. The vice leader gave you this opportunity because he appreciated you guys. Hurry up, our future hero!”

“I’d rather give up the opportunity, Tommy. How about you do the digging for me and have the medal instead?”

“No way...”

The rest of their conversation was no longer useful to me. After hearing their plans to dig traps along the Coral Jungle, I left immediately, running as fast as I could. I had to inform Theo as soon as possible. Otherwise, the Blood Moon Pack would suffer a heavy loss tomorrow!

Kylie was worried just a second ago, but now, she sounded excited too. “Adeline, faster! We need to be faster! We have to tell Theo as soon as possible!”

I returned to the Blood Moon Pack and rushed into Theo’s office directly, only to see a few elders and warriors seated at the table in a meeting room. They seemed to be discussing something serious.

“Oh ...Sorry... I’ll come back later.”

“Adeline, stop.” I heard my brother’s voice from the back.

“Theo...” I could sense something was wrong when I saw Theo’s expression.

“Where did you go? You were gone for five hours. I couldn’t find you anywhere.” Theo had a solemn look on his face. Feeling a little ashamed, I hung my head. “Umm... I... I went out...”

“Did you sneak out to the Blue Moon Pack barracks?”

“Huh? How did you...”

“Adeline, did you know how dangerous that was? I know you’re back now safe and sound. But what if something happened to you? Don’t you know the consequences?” Theo’s voice was full of anger and concern.

“But… I came safe, didn’t I? Also, I have news. Very helpful news. I’m sure you’d like to hear it, Theo!”

The elders also stepped in, trying to ease the tension when they saw Theo was angry. “That’s right, sir. Miss Adeline just wanted to help. At least she’s back safe. I’m sure she will be more careful next time.”

“It was great that Miss Adeline returned before we went out to search for her. Please forgive Miss Adeline. She had good intentions.”

Looking at my guilty eyes and the others who willingly jumped to my defense, Theo finally stopped scolding me. “All right. Tell us what news you have.”

I immediately repeated what I heard at the Blue Moon Pack barracks. Theo furrowed his brows while listening to me. “Adeline, your intel is useful indeed, but have you ever considered how trustworthy your source is? What if the enemy deliberately let you hear them so that they could trick you?”

“Huh?” Not expecting these words from him, I froze.

The elders and the representatives of the warriors started to whisper to each other when they heard my news. Some of them were not aware of my oversensitive hearing. Hence, it was only natural for them to think that I had made all of this up to avoid the punishment.

“Miss Adeline, we understand that you just wanted to have fun, but please take the battles seriously.” An elder looked at me like he was looking at a naughty kid. Many other elders who were of similar age to him also looked at me disapprovingly.

I clenched my fists and was ready to argue. To my surprise, Theo spoke up for me despite doubting me just a second ago. “Adeline is my sister. She may be outgoing, but she won’t take this kind of serious matter as a joke. We’ll change our battle plan tonight. The front troops must follow the new plan.”

“Sir, this will waste a lot of manpower.” An elder looked at my brother in disbelief.

“Elder Carl, I’m the leader here. If you want to give orders, wait till you become the leader yourself. Meeting adjourned!” With those words, Theo took my hand, and we left for home. Mr. Rupert, our butler, was left to take care of the rest.

I thought that was the end of Theo’s temper, but I was wrong. As soon as we got home, Theo whacked me on the head.

“That hurt!” I spoke like a spoiled sister.

“Good. Risk your safety again, and I’ll hit harder!”

I tugged at Theo’s shirt, my head hanging. I was determined to help Theo more because I hated to see the smug expressions of those elders. They wanted to see my brother humiliate himself, but I was not going to let that happen.

Theo definitely proved his leadership skills. Using the intel I brought back, he made new plans for the battle immediately.

The next morning, I stood on the outskirts of the Coral Jungle, looking at the giant stones being thrown into the traps that were well hidden. I was worried about the fight and being criticized by others. Theo gazed at me, patted me on the shoulder, and gave me a thumbs-up. “Well done, Adeline. That’s my sister for you.”

The unprecedented victory cheered up everyone. That night, they suggested holding a celebration party. As the person who delivered the news, I was naturally the main character at the party.

They danced around me and sang for me, passing me the most tender venison. Together, we also drank the finest wine. For the first time in my life, I was the center of attention, and I loved every minute of it. Ever since I was little, I had been mistreated by my foster family. Now, my life was different. When the party was near its end, I felt I was almost floating from happiness while intoxicated.

“Theo, I’m so happy!” I hugged Theo’s neck with a huge smile on my face, my cheeks flushed from the alcohol.

Theo did not speak. There was something unreadable in his eyes, but it soon disappeared. He ruffled my hair jovially as I buried my messy hair in his neck.

The next day, I officially held the key position in the Blood Moon Pack headquarters. Looking at all the strategies I drafted on the board, Theo nodded in approval. I knew he still believed in me and was proud of me. He was only upset yesterday because he was worried about me. After all, we were family, and he was only concerned about my safety.

Very soon, it was time for me to do some spying again. Making sure that I was fully armed, I sneaked into the Blue Moon Pack’s territory. This time, things were a little different. In order to get more accurate information, I got very close to their camp and even spied on their vice leader’s tent.

According to him, in three days’ time, the Blue Moon Pack would carry out surprise attacks using twelve small groups at midnight when the Blood Moon Pack was least prepared. These twelve teams would take down our outermost defense line first before the main troop entered the battle. They planned to surround us from three sides, starting with the Coral Jungle, and cut off our reinforcements entirely. Then, they would kill everybody in the Blood Moon Pack before finally taking over.

I almost stood up and condemned their shameless tactics when I heard their plan. However, being discovered on their turf was the last thing I wanted. Carefully, I turned around and ran back quietly to our pack. I had to update Theo without delay. The Blood Moon Pack did not deserve to be massacred.

Due to my outstanding performance previously, everyone showed their support when they learned about my intel this time. They followed Theo’s arrangements and carefully made preparations for the battle in three days’ time. I was also extremely confident, ready to make the Blue Moon Pack suffer tremendously.

Unfortunately, I made a great mistake. Our soldiers waited from midnight till five in the morning, yet not a single soul from the Blue Moon Pack came. As the clock hit six, everyone was exhausted, ready to return to their camps for a rest. That was when the Blue Moon Pack attacked, charging toward us from the Coral Jungle.

The Blue Moon werewolves were extremely ferocious, but we were exhausted from waiting all night. Watching as the Blood Moon warriors struggled to fight back, I held onto the tree beside me and stopped myself from losing my balance.

How could this be? I was sure I heard them say the attack was at midnight and not in the morning. Confusion flooded my mind as worry and sweat covered my face.

Everyone swarmed at me and demanded an explanation, but Theo stopped them all. My false news had such a catastrophic impact on the Blood Moon Pack. Even Theo could not suppress everyone’s fury despite being the leader. I was criticized for being a spy and a traitor. Theo tried to convince them that I was loyal and would never betray the Blood Moon Pack.

However, in order to ease the anger of the majority, my brother had to issue an order to jail me. When it came to something as significant as this, even he would have no choice but to abide by the rules of the pack. His plan was to alleviate their fury first and then dispatch his subordinates to investigate. Theo refused to believe that I would lie to him, so he wanted to find evidence to prove my innocence. It was likely that I was deceived.

Before Theo turned around, I tugged at his shirt with force. “Theo... What... What should I do to get out? How can I be trusted again?”

Two days ago, I was still the superstar who contributed to the big win. Now, I became a prisoner. This was enough to almost leave me in tears. The celebration party seemed like a dream.

My brother smoothed my furrowed brows with his finger. “I’m sorry, Adeline. I believe you’re innocent, but as the leader, I know it’s not real leadership if I only follow my heart. I need evidence. Trust me. I will find evidence to prove that you were tricked.”

I looked up at Theo. “But, Theo... I want to get out of here myself. I’m an adult now. You told me before that I shouldn’t rely on others all the time.”

My brother looked at me with an intense gaze. “If you want to do that, Adeline, then listen to me. According to Carl, the only way you can get out of here is to find some evidence and prove that you’re innocent. If you escape, the Blood Moon warriors will chase you down and kill you. Alternatively, you can try to get intel to help us win. Only by doing that will the elders and the warriors trust you again.”

I nodded and squeezed the key that my brother secretly passed to me in my hand.

Finally, it was completely dark. I unlocked the jail door gently and got out carefully. The whole pack was sound asleep. Without wasting any more time, I ran toward the Blue Moon Pack.

This time, I had to give it my all and come back with genuine information to make us win.

To my surprise, I was caught by the patrol the moment I arrived at the Blue Moon Pack’s barracks. He hit me with a baton, and I quickly lost consciousness. When I opened my eyes, I found myself lying on the red carpeted floor inside a luxurious tent.

A man was sitting in front of me with his legs crossed, looking at me calmly. It was Lucian, the person whom I had avoided desperately in the past.