Alpha's mate is a male?!?-Chapter 128: Grievances.

At long last, all the groups arrived. Almost same reactions, and Kieran , Ace and Elira were able to convince them them stay for a solution.

But the Shadow Valley is no longer quiet. The air is thick with tension, the weight of unspoken words pressing down on everyone present.

The groups that came first sit stiffly, their gazes darting between each other, between Ace, Kieran, and most of all, Rika and her people.

The newer arrivals stand for a moment longer, hesitant, suspicious, scanning the unfamiliar faces before them.

They expected enemies, expected to face those they came to confront, but instead, they find themselves in the presence of the most feared and respected figures in the supernatural world.

For a moment, no one speaks.

They are still trying to process this, that Ace and Kieran are here, not just watching, but actively involving themselves.

And the hostility shifts.

Not gone, but redirected.

Some still glare at Rika and her group, resentment burning hot in their expressions, but now there is wariness, caution.

This is no longer just a personal vendetta against Hunter’s people. This is something bigger.

Kieran moves.

It is not a grand gesture, nothing forceful or aggressive, but his presence alone commands attention.

He steps forward, tall, unyielding, his dark eyes sweeping across the gathered wolves. His gaze lingers on no one and yet sees everything.

Ace remains beside him, silent but present, a force of his own. He does not stand as though challenging anyone, does not shift to assert dominance. He does not need to.

He is a wolf marked by the Moon Goddess herself, gifted with power that turns darkness to ash.

Witches speak of him in whispers, they acknowledge him with wary respect, and even those who do not know him can feel something different in the air when he is near.

Kieran lets them sit in silence for a moment, lets the weight of the situation settle.

Then, he speaks.

"Alright." His voice is calm, controlled, but it carries. It is not a request, not a plea, but a simple, undeniable statement. "We know we’ve kept some of you waiting for too long. But now that we are both here, we are ready to go."

There is no immediate response.

Some eyes narrow. Some jaws clench. But no one interrupts.

"Each of you came here for a reason." Kieran continues, gaze sweeping over them. "You have grievances. You have anger. You want justice for what was done to you."

The tension sharpens. That much is undeniable.

"So, speak. Let’s start with the first group." Kieran’s focus lands on the leader of the first arriving party. "Tell us what has been weighing on you. Tell us everything Hunter did to you. And if you were planning to take revenge on his people, we need to know that too. And how are you planning to end the conflict, how do you wish we solve this problem?"

The leader of the first group does not hesitate. He has been waiting for this moment.

He stands slowly, his gaze hard, sharp.

"Hunter was a monster." The words are blunt, heavy, filled with years of unspoken pain. "And I say that with full confidence because I lived under his rule. We all did."

Murmurs ripple through his people, some nodding, some gripping their fists, as if just his name is enough to bring back memories they wish they could burn away.

"We were forced to submit, forced to live under his cruelty." His jaw tightens. "He took from us. Not just our land, not just our people, but our dignity. He made sure we knew we were lesser under him, and if we ever dared to raise our heads, we paid for it."

His voice does not waver, but his people do.

Some lower their heads, their emotions more raw than they expected them to be. Others glare at Rika, at the wolves who once followed Hunter, their resentment carved deep.

"Rika, don’t stand there playing a victim! You helped him do this! Were you not his right hand!" Rika doesn’t say anything.

He adds, "And now you want to solve this problem?" He scoffs, his sharp gaze flicking toward Kieran. "How? By talking? For the lives that were taken from us?!"

There is a brief pause.

Then, Ace speaks.

The leader’s lips press into a thin line. "Words are easy. Alpha Kieran, I want to tell you that, that woman who is standing beside you is playing a victim! You might try to solve this, but she was happily helping that cruel piece of shit! She will follow right into his foot!"

Kieran looks at him, even though his eyes are not showing any harshness, he still flinches.

Kieran nodes to acknowledge his grievances.

The leader sits back, frustration bubbling in him more than before.

-

After the first group, the second follows.

Their anger is no less than the first.

Their voices do not waver as they recount their pain, the lives they lost, the suffering they endured under Hunter’s rule even if he was not their leader.

Their words are sharp, cutting through the air with the weight of past wounds that never truly healed.

The third group echoes the same grievances.

They speak of loved ones taken from them, of being forced to submit, of the cruelty they were made to endure simply because they were weaker, because they did not have the power to fight back.

Their voices tremble at times, but their rage does not.

And then the fourth.

By now, the place is heavy with emotion. The weight of grief, of bitterness, of years spent living in fear.

The accusations against Rika and those who stood with Hunter remain, they are still seen as the remnants of a past filled with suffering.

Yet, through all of it, Kieran does not interrupt.

He does not justify, does not argue, does not tell them they are wrong.

He listens.

His expression remains unreadable, his presence unshaken, but his silence speaks louder than words.

He is not dismissing their pain. He is not ignoring their fury.

He is simply letting them be heard.

And when the last group finally finishes, when the last words of resentment and grief settle into the tense silence of the room, Kieran exhales slowly.

He meets their gazes one by one, acknowledging their emotions, their suffering.

"I hear you. And I understand what you feel..."

Kieran is then lost of words, he looks back at Ace.

Ace steps infront.