Mated To The Crippled Alpha-Chapter 202: Your Face

Silas’ eyes widened like an animal caught in a trap.

For a second, the tough-guy act slipped. His breathing changed. His throat worked like he was swallowing panic.

"It’s... you," he said, slow, like the words hurt. "Did you ever think you’d come back?"

I looked at him the same way I had that night by the river flat. Cold. Not shaking.

Back then, my blood had soaked into the sand while the moon hung over the water like a witness. I remembered the smell of iron. I remembered how my body went heavy. I remembered him standing over me without a single flicker of mercy.

Now he was the one staring like the world had split open.

He had watched me die. With his own hands, with his own eyes.

So my return wasn’t just shocking.

It was a threat.

A warning.

I thought seeing him again would make my instincts explode, make my chest burn, make me lunge.

But the truth?

I felt calm.

Too calm.

My voice came out steady, almost casual. "Do you know how badly I fought death when you pushed it onto me?"

Silas’ jaw tightened.

"After I died, I didn’t disappear," I continued. "I watched. I followed shadows. I listened. I saw Camilla keep stirring trouble like it was a hobby. And now fate has handed me a second life." I leaned in, keeping my tone light. "So yes. I’m going to make her pay."

Silas seized the opening like it was his only air.

"So you were the one guiding Sadie," he said quickly. "You filmed those videos. You set it up."

"Yes," I answered. "If you don’t want people to know, don’t do it. Camilla is careful, but she still met you in secret a year ago. That means you mattered." My eyes dropped to his damaged body, then lifted again. "And you killed me for her. Didn’t you?"

His stare turned sharp. "What else do you know?"

I didn’t flinch.

"Camilla isn’t my real sister," I said. "My real sister is someone else. And your little group your people set traps for my family."

A flash of disbelief crossed his face. "You know that much?"

I shook my head slowly. "I don’t know enough. I don’t know who’s leading you. I don’t know what you truly want. I don’t know if my sister is alive." My fingers curled around the arm of the chair Theo had brought. "And I don’t know what you did to me after I died."

Even saying it out loud felt insane.

But I had lived through insanity.

I had learned how to smile through it.

Silas stared, then let out a dry breath. "So everything was planned. You waited until you could take me somewhere quiet. Somewhere you could squeeze answers out of me."

Theo slid the chair fully into place. I sat like I owned the room.

"Yes," I said simply. "Now you’re in my hands. It’s up to you if you cooperate."

Silas’s mouth curled. "You’re dreaming. I won’t tell you a thing about the organization."

A sharp slap cracked through the air.

Julian stepped forward, his aura flaring dominance rolling off him like heat.

"You don’t get to argue," Julian said, voice low and dangerous. "If you want to stay alive, you’ll start talking."

Silas laughed, even with blood at the corner of his mouth. "I’ve fallen into your hands. Speak or don’t speak... it ends the same. I’ll die. There’s no escape." His eyes hardened. "I won’t betray anyone. Kill me. Do whatever you want."

At least he was clear-headed.

I tilted my head. "Your fate might already be sealed."

Then I let the next line drop like a knife.

"But don’t forget Camilla."

Silas’ eyes flicked fast. Small. But I caught it.

"She’s carrying your child," I said softly. "Isn’t she?"

His face didn’t answer, but his body did. The tension in him tightened, like a leash being yanked.

I kept my tone calm. "I don’t want to alert your people yet. So I won’t touch her for now." I leaned forward, eyes steady. "But if you care about her, you should think."

Silas’ voice turned hoarse. "You wouldn’t dare."

I smiled, but there was no warmth in it. "You stabbed me by the river. You made me lose my child. You hurt my grandmother." My voice lowered. "I climbed back from a place you don’t want to imagine. What exactly do you think I wouldn’t dare to do?"

I could feel it my control, razor-thin. My heartbeat steady. My instincts quiet, but watching.

"Do you know what it felt like when I became nothing but a shadow?" I asked. "I used to dream about dragging you all down. Now that I’m here again, do you really think I’m still that kind, naive Elena?"

Silas’ stare went dead. "I don’t care who you are. I’ll never reveal anything about the organization."

"Then we’ll do this another way," I said.

I studied his face, slow and careful.

"I remember your eyes," I murmured. "Every time you appeared, you looked different. Lewis told me some people can change their features. Like old masks, but cleaner. Modern. Almost impossible to detect."

Julian frowned, thrown. "You can change faces?"

"Yes," I said, not looking away from Silas. "Touch his face. It’s fake."

Silas jerked, panic flashing again. "No. Don’t touch my face!"

There it was.

The crack.

Julian didn’t hesitate. Theo moved with him.

I watched Julian’s fingers trace along Silas’ jaw, his cheekbones, the line near his ear.

At first, nothing.

Then Julian’s touch paused.

His brows tightened.

"A seam," Julian muttered.

A thin layer so close to real skin it fooled the eye. Powder and foundation hidden at the edges, blended like art.

It was horrifying how perfect it was.

I felt my stomach turn, not from fear just from the sick reminder of how many lies could sit on a face and still look human.

Silas struggled, cursing, but his injuries stole his strength.

Julian’s grip tightened. Theo braced his shoulder.

And together

They pulled.

The fake layer peeled back slowly, stubbornly, like it didn’t want to let go.

Silas screamed.

The room held its breath.

And then the face beneath was exposed.

I froze.

My blood went cold, not because of the gore

But because of what I was seeing.

"Your face..." I whispered.

Julian’s expression matched mine, disbelief written all over him.

"How could it be?"