Alpha's mate is a male?!?-Chapter 113: Got Real Plan Now

Ace grips the vial tighter, feeling the cold glass press against his palm.

He watches the witches, their expressions smug, triumphant, convinced that they have him cornered. But they don’t know what he’s capable of.

Ace’s mind sharpens.

If he can manipulate his powers, his very essence, why not this? Why not take control of whatever they’ve given him before it takes control of him?

He lifts the vial to his lips.

The scent is sharp, herbal, with a bitterness that coats his tongue the moment the liquid touches it.

He swallows, forcing his body to remain steady, his will wrapping around the foreign substance like a shield.

He takes that opportunity to close his eyes and concentrate on his powers, leading them, pleading them to fight whatever the effect that that dark liquid is supposed to do to him.

Heat blooms in his chest, but the flames remain contained. It burns, not in a way that sears him from the inside, but like something is trying to take hold of him, burrow into his veins.

No.

Ace clenches his jaw, focusing, bending his power inward, forcing the substance to submit. He can’t let it change him.

His body remains still, his heart steady.

It’s working.

He keeps his face carefully neutral, letting only the barest hint of a grimace show, enough to convince them.

The witches are watching, waiting for signs of the potion taking effect. Ace sways, eyes fluttering, and he exhales sharply.

Behind him, Kieran growls low, a warning. Ace doesn’t dare look at him. If he does, he might falter.

The witch leader claps slowly, mockingly. "See? That wasn’t so hard, was it?"

Ace forces himself to sway again, stumbling slightly as if his legs are losing strength.

The leader chuckles. "And because we keep our promises..." He lifts a hand, fingers flicking lazily.

The elderly woman gasps as the invisible force holding her vanishes.

She stumbles forward, caught just in time by one of the warriors. Two more captives are released in the same fashion, dropping to the ground, weak but alive.

Gasps of relief ripple through the pack. Parents rush to their children, warriors steady their elders.

Ace exhales, allowing the tension in his shoulders to loosen just slightly.

He did it.

But the witches aren’t finished.

The leader tilts his head. "That was only three. Keep drinking."

Ace clenches his fist. He expected this.

Lifting the vial again, he takes another measured sip, letting the bitterness roll over his tongue.

His body remains still, his mind fiercely pushing back against whatever the substance is meant to do.

He focuses, controlling the way it settles inside him, keeping it contained.

Another wave of captives is freed.

Ace meets Kieran’s gaze just for a moment. He is rigid, fists clenched so tightly his knuckles are white.

His red eyes are blazing, his wolf barely restrained.

Kieran doesn’t want this. He doesn’t trust it.

Neither does Ace.

The final sip is the hardest. He knows this is it. He can feel the witches waiting for something to happen, for the effects to overwhelm him.

But he doesn’t give them the satisfaction.

Ace blinks slowly, lets his eyes flutter, staggers just enough to make it convincing. Then, with one last glance at Kieran, he lets himself fall.

His body crumples.

Kieran’s roar shakes the ground.

The pack surges forward, but the witches react faster.

Magic swirls, thick and suffocating. The air bends, twists. The ground trembles beneath them.

Then, in the blink of an eye_

They’re gone.

Ace vanishes with them.

The silence that follows is deafening.

Kieran stands frozen, his breath coming in harsh pants, his claws digging into his palms.

No.

This isn’t happening.

His wolf howls inside him, a wild, furious sound that threatens to consume him. He can still feel Ace.

Their bond may be severed, but his soul still reaches for him, still knows he exists somewhere beyond this moment.

But the witches have him.

Kieran’s snarl echoes through the forest as he slams his fist into a tree. The bark splinters beneath the force, shards flying, but it does nothing to ease the rage burning inside him.

Marsel and Elira exchange a look, their expressions unreadable, but something about their silence unsettles Kieran even more.

They knew something.

Kieran whirls toward them. "What now!?"

Elira hesitates before stepping closer, her voice low, steady. "Their magic, or whatever it was in that liquid_ did not affect Ace, he was pretending."

Kieran growls. "Okay I know that, but he is alone!"

Marsel’s gaze sharpens. "Is he?"

Kieran stills.

Something shifts in his chest, a flicker of something else beneath the panic. Ace had given him that look before he fell, that knowing look.

He had a plan.

But that didn’t mean Kieran could sit back and relax.

Jun arrives suddenly with Rey right behind him. I were not here during all that time, Marsel had given them a hint of the witches’s place. "We found their place, but it’s cover with so much invisible powers that we couldn’t ente... wait, where is Ace?" Jun asks after realising he is not around.

Elira goes closer to him, she knows that the moment he realises Ace was taken, he will make a scene. "We have a plan, Ace has a plan, he pretended to be affected by them."

"What you are trying to say is that, they took him?!" He asks, fear creeping in him.

"Yes but..."

Jun is not listening anymore, he snaps , heading back to where he just came from before Rey getting hold of him. "Jun, stop! They have a plan, if we want to deal with this victoriously_ then let’s follow it."

"If you know the place then what are we waiting for?! Rey, organise the ones that will take this people back, and this time I want strong security, everyone should be at the mansion! I don’t want to hear that others disappeared or taken again!"

Rey organises for the ones who were captivated back at the mansion.

"We need to find Ace!" Jun says, his voice barely above a whisper.

Kieran exhales, forcing himself to focus. "We don’t just find him." His eyes burn with fury as he turns toward the fading traces of magic in the air. "We end this."

Meanwhile,,,

Ace keeps his breathing slow and controlled. freeweɓnøvel.com

Darkness presses in from all sides.

The air is thick with the scent of damp stone and old magic, laced with something more sinister, something unnatural.

The burn from the potion still lingers in his chest, but it hasn’t taken hold of him. He made sure of that.

He remains still, his body limp, his breaths shallow. He listens.

Footsteps echo off the walls. Soft murmurs, hushed and urgent, ripple through the space.

Then...

"Is he dead?"

A scoff. "No, we can’t kill him just yet, we can keep him weak until then, no need to rush, don’t worry, with masrat running in his system, he won’t be able to do anything."

Ace keeps his face slack, his senses sharpening. So they are actually planning to kill me?!

A new voice speaks, lower, more hesitant. "Are you sure this is wise? He’s dangerous. How long will it keep him weak?! Are you serious about this?!"

"Yes. Which is why we will ensure he never becomes a threat again."

The soft clink of chains. A heavy door creaking open. The shifting of fabric as figures move closer.

Ace forces his body to stay still, his heartbeat steady. He needs to hear everything. He needs to understand what they plan before he makes his move.

A woman’s voice, sharp and commanding, cuts through the whispers. "Bind his wrists. Secure him properly this time."

Someone hesitates. "What if he wakes?"

"He won’t," the woman replies confidently. "Not after drinking that."

Ace almost smirks. If only they knew.

Rough hands grab his arms, yanking them forward. Cold metal snaps around his wrists, heavy chains locking into place. They tighten uncomfortably, but Ace doesn’t react. He lets them believe he’s unconscious.

A sharp tug_ his arms are pulled above his head, secured to something solid.

Stone, most likely.

The temperature is colder here, seeping into his skin. He hears more movement. Cloth rustling. Someone crouching near him.

"I don’t trust this," a male voice mutters. "His power is unlike anything we’ve faced before."

The woman huffs. "That’s why we’re doing this. We need to drain it from him. And can you stop with your negative attitude! I cannot take it anymore! I don’t want to hear anyone talk negatively again!" she snaps.

Ace files the information away. They want to drain his powers out of him.

Another voice joins the conversation, this one dripping with amusement. "You’re all so paranoid. Look at him, completely helpless." A hand grips his chin roughly, tilting his head. Ace feels the gaze burning into his face.

"He’s barely more than a child." The hand releases him with a scoff. "What’s so terrifying about this one?"

A low, dry chuckle from the woman. "You haven’t seen him fight."

A pause. Then the first man speaks again. "If he’s such a threat, why not just get rid of him?"

Ace waits, barely breathing.

"He should feel the pain of loosing what he treasures more, to know that without it_ he is nothing! He can not defeat us! Burn us! Only after that , will we end him completely!"

Ace clenches his jaw, careful to keep his face passive. So that’s their plan.

Ace’s lips twitch, just the faintest ghost of a smirk.

Let them think that.

Let them believe they have him.

Because when the time comes, they’ll regret ever taking him.

And they won’t see it coming.