Alpha's mate is a male?!?-Chapter 129: Truth That Can’t Be Ignored.

The moment Ace’s eyes sweep over them, some flinch, their bodies reacting before their minds can process it. It is instinctual, unbidden, fear.

Ace notices, and though he does not smile, there is something knowing in his expression.

He takes a step forward closer, slow, deliberate.

"Don’t worry," his voice is calm, smooth, yet it carries through the tense space, "there’s nothing to fear... unless, of course, you have reason to doubt yourself. Unless there’s something you’ve done, something you’ve been doing, something you know isn’t right. Something evil."

His words settle like a weight, pressing against them, against their chests.

"I never touch the innocent. I mean, not me but the power of judgement... it never touches the innocent." he continues, his voice unwavering. "And that is why Hunter is gone, because he was not innocent. His karma came."

The silence deepens.

Some avoid his gaze, others clench their jaws, as if forcing themselves not to react. But Ace doesn’t stop.

"I understand what he did to you," he says, softer now, "and I would never want you to think we’re here to defend him, or to take Rika’s side as if your suffering does not matter. But the truth is what it is."

He looks at them, one by one, unflinching.

"I saw it with my own eyes. He was cruel to even his own people, to those who served under him. To everyone."

His words cut deep, not because they are harsh, but because they are true. ƒreewebηoveℓ.com

"You say Rika helped him?" Ace shakes his head slightly. "She did not have a choice. She was forced into it."

There is a stir among them, but no one speaks.

"I want you to ask yourselves," he continues, his voice steady, "if you were a whole group, many of you, leaders, your assistants... standing together against him, and he still managed to make you suffer... then what do you think happened to those under him? Do you think they had a chance?"

A few eyes flicker toward Rika.

"They suffered just as much."

Ace’s voice does not rise, yet it holds power, a quiet command that keeps their attention locked on him.

"He even killed his own people."

He lets that settle.

"Even Rika. Even the ones standing beside her now. They lost their people too because of him."

His words shift something in the air. The tension does not disappear, but it bends, reshapes itself into something less rigid, less blind.

Ace lets out a slow breath.

"Please."

A single word, but it carries weight.

"Let’s not think like cowards because we know we are not. What’s the revenge for? Make his people suffer? Do you know what that even sounds like? You are going to make the innocent suffer, and that will make you as evil as he is! And you know what happens to the evils?! They face the consequences of their actions. What’s the need of making the people he didn’t even care about suffer? If his spirit will be watching, it will really be happy that you are doing it!"

A sharp inhale from someone in the crowd.

"Let’s open our eyes."

Ace sweeps his gaze over them.

"Let’s see where the real problem started. Let’s see each other’s pain, not just our own."

There is movement, subtle but noticeable. Some shift, exhaling, something in their postures easing just slightly.

"Be each other’s keeper."

Ace tilts his head, just slightly. "That’s why we’re here, isn’t it?"

He gestures toward Rika, but his eyes remain on them. "She has been unsettled since the day he fell."

The people around her tense, as if preparing for another accusation, but Ace does not give them the chance.

"She knew what Hunter caused you. She knew your pain, and she couldn’t stay still until she made things right." He pauses, then finishes, "And that’s why we’re here."

Silence.

A different silence from before.

It is no longer the silence of hostility, of barely restrained anger. It is the silence of something shifting, something breaking apart, not in violence, but in understanding.

Their anger has not disappeared.

Their grief has not faded.

But Ace’s words have settled over them like a quiet storm, changing the shape of their rage.

Not magic.

Just truth.

"By the way, am a victim too, because he tried to kill me, so we are together in this. Since our enemy is gone, why don’t we endure the pain he caused and try to build a better future for ourselves. Let’s work together, help each other, build each other." Ace adds.

He let’s his every words sink in them.

And since no one is fighting or saying anything, he turns to Rika, "Say something."

Rika hesitantly comes forward, afraid of their reaction.

She swallows, her hands clenching at her sides before she forces herself to step forward.

She can feel their eyes on her, watching, judging, waiting.

Even though Ace’s words have softened the hostility, she knows the weight of their anger has not vanished completely.

Still, she lifts her chin. And when she speaks, her voice does not waver.

"I don’t expect forgiveness," she begins, "but I need you to understand... I was never on Hunter’s side. None of us were. We didn’t serve him because we wanted to, we served because we had no choice."

A bitter breath leaves her lips, and her fingers tighten around the fabric of her sleeve.

"You lost people." Her voice softens, her eyes sweeping over the gathered groups. "So did we."

She hesitates, then takes a deep breath, forcing herself to say the words that still feel like a knife in her chest.

"Hunter killed my mother."

A ripple moves through the crowd, surprise, shock, disbelief. Even Ace’s head lifts slightly, his expression shifting.

Rika’s throat tightens, but she keeps going.

"She was everything to me. A healer, a leader, someone who always protected others... and in the end, that’s what killed her."

She looks down, blinking rapidly as her vision blurs.

"She tried to help." Her voice is a whisper now. "She tried to stop him, to get us all away from his grasp, and for that..." her breath catches, her lips trembling "...he ended her."

She wipes at her eyes quickly, but the tears keep falling.

Ace moves before he even realizes it.

He steps to her side and takes her hand, squeezing it gently.

The warmth of his touch steadies her. She exhales shakily.

"I hated him," she admits, "but I was afraid. Just like you. Just like everyone else."

Her fingers curl around Ace’s, drawing from his quiet strength.

"I never got to bury her," she whispers. "I never got to say goodbye."

The air is thick with emotion. Even those who had glared at her before now look away, shifting uncomfortably.

Their grief. Her grief.

It is the same.

Rika inhales deeply, gathering herself before lifting her gaze to the people before her.

"I don’t want to live in the past anymore."

Her voice is steadier now, but there is no mistaking the pain woven into her words.

"We have all lost too much."

She glances at Ace, then back at the crowd.

"If you are looking for someone to blame... then blame me. I won’t run. I won’t make excuses. I will stand here and take it."

Her voice does not break. But her tears do not stop.

The silence stretches.

No one speaks.

No accusations. No hatred thrown back at her.

The weight in the air is no longer heavy with anger.

It is grief. Shared. Understood.