Mated To The Crippled Alpha

I’ll admit — Theo’s taste completely caught me off guard. When I followed him to see the girl, she was fragile and delicate, yet so quietly beautiful that it almost hurt to look at her. It felt like something pulled straight from a story, the rough, battle-worn man drawn helplessly toward someone soft and untouched by the world’s ugliness. I was hooked just watching them.

Theo trailed her like a shadow, and I found myself holding my breath. If he felt something for her, why wasn’t he doing anything about it? Someone else would come along eventually and not hesitate the way he did.

Then the girl stopped. She turned in his direction, white cane in hand, and said simply, "I know you’re there."

Theo said nothing. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

"How long are you staying this time before you leave?"

He was quiet for a moment. "I’m not leaving Snowville. Not for now."

She moved toward him fast, nearly stumbling because she couldn’t see the path. He caught her before she fell, and that was all I needed to see. I smiled to myself. This was love. Why had I ever been worried?

"Carl, let’s go."

"Feeling better?"

Lewis pressed the gas, and we drove in comfortable silence past rows of roses lining the road. I sat in the passenger seat, something loosening slowly in my chest. I caught one last glimpse of Theo and the girl in the rearview mirror — the city alive behind them, the sky wide and scattered with soft clouds. In the distance, a street vendor lost his grip on a bundle of balloons and watched them drift upward, colorful and weightless. It was such a small, perfect thing.

But the warmth faded when my thoughts drifted to Whitney.

It had been two nights. Was she alright?

I fidgeted with my seatbelt. "Carl, has Whitney reached out to you?"

"Once. Just to let me know she was okay."

"You went after Sera and pulled in a few survivors. You must have something by now — some information on Luther?"

"Captain Tucker’s team has been working through them, but only Sera knows anything real about Luther. The others never got close enough to contact him. It depends on whether she decides to talk."

Lewis’s phone buzzed. He held it out to me. "Elena, can you check that?"

"Sure." We usually gave each other space when it came to phones, but after the one time he’d gone through all my things, I’d quietly decided to consider us even. I looked at the message from an unknown number, and my smile dropped instantly.

Change of plans. Boarding early.

Whitney.

With Sera out of the picture, it made sense that Luther would be moving. He was likely trying to slip away before the walls closed in. I gripped the phone tighter, fingers hovering over the keyboard, typing and deleting replies. I had no idea if they were using some kind of code between them, and one wrong word from me could put her in danger. But if she was boarding early, what did that mean for Lewis’s plan?

I told him immediately, and he pulled over without a word.

He looked at my face and said, "I’ve already planned for this. There are backups in place."

I let out a breath, though the tension didn’t fully leave me. "Have you reached Vito?"

"No. He changed everything after leaving Hale — new number, new contact details."

"So he doesn’t know Whitney is on that ship."

"Most likely not."

The cruise ship was enormous, but Luther would make sure to keep Whitney away from everyone. For him, she was simply an opportunity he wasn’t going to waste. I had no way of knowing exactly what was coming, so all I could do was trust that Lewis had it handled.

"Carl, what do we do now?"

"I looked into everyone who came back from one of these events. The exchange runs four days and three nights. The first two days are all distractions — money, company, everything the organizers throw at them. That means there’s still signal on the ship right now."

"So Whitney can still send her location."

"Yes." He nodded. "I’ve already mapped the route and arranged a cargo ship to follow at a distance for the first few days."

It sounded clean and controlled, but the real threat was Luther. Had he already sensed something was wrong? Would Whitney be able to hold it together?

My phone rang. Whitney.

She must have timed it carefully, keeping up her cover for Luther’s sake. I answered and steadied my voice.

"Whitney."

"Elena." Her tone was perfectly even, giving nothing away — you’d never have known we’d argued. "Our school arranged a four-day exchange trip. I’ll be back in a few days."

"That sounds nice," I said, keeping it light. "Just take care of yourself out on the water."

"I will."

"Come back soon. I’ll be here."

"Sure."

Even after the line went dead, I kept holding the phone. "Carl — I’m coming with you on that boat."

He didn’t argue. "Fine. But we keep our distance and hold a steady pace. No rushing in."

He meant it as a warning. Everything was in place, but that didn’t mean it was safe. If something went sideways, we wouldn’t be able to reach her in time. It would come down to fate.

I didn’t want to think about what fate had already put Whitney through.

We boarded the cargo ship from a separate port. I won’t pretend I felt steady about it. In another life, I had taken a risk just like this to find Julian and ended up stranded and drowning, alone in open water. Lewis was the one who pulled me back from that. The helplessness of those moments never fully left me. But sitting at home, waiting — that wasn’t something I could do either. Being close to her, even on a separate ship, even without being able to act, felt like the only thing that made sense.

We sailed for a full day and night.

Throughout that time, Whitney sent Lewis a steady stream of updates — the layout of the ship, the people moving through it, the routines she’d picked up on. The lower levels were a playground, built for indulgence and distraction, pulling people in deep. Most guests had come from ordinary places — company tours, discounted group trips — with no idea what kind of world they’d stepped into. By day three, they’d be completely absorbed. That was when the real exchange would begin, and those ordinary people would find themselves pieces in a game they never agreed to play.

Programmers, Whitney noted, were especially sought after. Even those with limited options could be funneled into a scam operation — not quite bought or sold, but not free either. Luther stayed glued to Whitney’s side the entire time, watching her, giving her no room to move without him noticing.

Then something unexpected happened.

That night, I couldn’t sleep — which was unusual for me. I felt the warmth beside me shift, heard quiet movement, and followed without thinking. I found Lewis already awake, standing with Theo in the narrow corridor, both of them tense in a way that made my instincts go cold before a single word was spoken.

Theo’s voice was low and tight. "Mr. Lewis, the plan has changed. The cruise ship altered its route. The entire ship’s signal has been blocked. We’ve lost contact with Ms. Morrigan."

"What?"