Alpha's mate is a male?!?-Chapter 140: Unexpected

After some few minutes, Rey rushes back into the study room, slightly out of breath. He holds up a small vial, the deep red liquid swirling inside. "I almost missed it. They’re in the process of cremating him," he says, his voice steady but hurried.

Everyone’s eyes lock onto the vial. It feels like a strange, eerie relic, one final piece of Rehan still left in this world.

Rey steps forward and carefully places the vial on the table. The room remains silent for a moment, tension thick in the air.

Ace finally speaks. "Is that all you need?" His voice is firm, but there’s a hint of urgency in it.

"Yes," Rika answers without hesitation. Her fingers twitch slightly, eager to begin. Max nods beside her, already preparing himself mentally.

Without wasting time, Rika and Max move into position. Rika places both hands over the vial, her eyes fluttering shut.

Max stands slightly behind her, raising his hands as if drawing unseen energy toward them.

The air shifts.

A deep hum vibrates through the room, almost like the walls themselves are breathing.

The flame of a nearby candle flickers wildly before stretching impossibly high, turning a shade of deep blue.

Ace watches intently as thin golden threads of magic swirl out from Rika’s fingertips, wrapping around the vial. The blood inside reacts immediately, pulsing, almost as if it’s alive.

The room darkens as shadows coil along the walls. The atmosphere thickens, pressing down on everyone, making it hard to breathe. Then...

A sharp gasp escapes Rika’s lips. Her eyes snap open, but they aren’t their usual color anymore. They glow with an intense silver light. Max’s body tenses beside her, his own eyes flickering between gold and white.

A powerful force pulls them forward. The others become nothing but background noise as the world around them shifts, dragging them through an unseen portal.

Suddenly, they are elsewhere.

The air is damp, the scent of chemicals and sterilized metal thick in the atmosphere.

Cold, artificial lights flicker above. The room they’re in is sterile, white walls, a tiled floor, heavy-duty steel doors lining the walls like prison cells.

At the center of the room, a woman lies crumpled on the floor, writhing in pain. Her body trembles violently, sweat drenching her pale face. She clutches her swollen stomach, her fingers digging into her skin as if trying to hold something inside.

Despite being only two months pregnant, her belly looks unnaturally large, stretched to what should be a full-term pregnancy

-or even beyond.

Her gasps are ragged, her breath coming in short, panicked bursts. A pained whimper escapes her lips as another wave of pain washes over her.

Rika and Max barely have time to process what they’re seeing before voices cut through the air.

"I will not allow it, Adele!" a man’s voice booms, filled with rage.

Rika’s gaze snaps toward him. The man is tall, his posture rigid with authority.

His short, neatly cut salt-and-pepper hair and sharp uniform instantly identify him as military- no, not just military.

A commander.

The insignia on his shoulder marks him as someone high-ranking, possibly even the head of the military itself.

His features are set in a hard scowl, his hands clenched into fists at his sides. His entire body is tense, as though barely containing his fury.

Standing opposite him is a woman- Adele. Her presence is just as striking, though in an entirely different way. Where the man radiates discipline and control, she exudes cold calculation.

Her dark red hair is pinned back, not a strand out of place, and she wears a white lab coat over a sleek black dress.

There’s something unnerving about her eyes- sharp, unfeeling. She looks at the suffering girl on the floor with nothing but detached curiosity, as if she’s nothing more than an experiment gone wrong.

"You cannot have our only child for a science test!" the man- Richard, roars. His voice is thick with desperation, but also unwavering resolve.

Adele doesn’t flinch. Instead, she tilts her head, her lips curling into something that’s almost amusement. "Oh yeah? Richard, do you think she’s carrying a normal being in there?"

Her voice drips with condescension as she gestures toward the lady on the floor, who lets out another strangled cry.

"How are we supposed to explain this?" Adele continues, stepping closer, her heels clicking against the tile. "How do we tell people that our daughter is only two months pregnant, yet looks like she’s ready to give birth to a monster?"

Richard’s jaw tightens. "She is not a monster."

Adele scoffs. "Look at her. Coiling on the floor like a snake day in and day out. Does that look normal to you?" She narrows her eyes. "You know as well as I do that whatever’s inside of her is unnatural. And if we don’t remove it now, we may not get another chance."

A sharp gasp leaves the girl’s on the floor. Her head tilts back, eyes wide and unfocused, her lips moving wordlessly as if trying to say something- beg for something.

Richard shakes his head violently. "You’re talking about our daughter like she’s some failed experiment. She’s a person, Adele!"

Adele crosses her arms, exasperated. "And you think the world will see it that way if she gives birth to some unnatural abomination?"

Silence stretches between them, thick with tension.

Richard’s breathing is heavy. His hands tremble slightly, but his expression remains firm. "We’ll find another way."

"There is no other way," Adele snaps. "If we don’t do this now, we are going to loose her, she will doe! Can’t you see that?!"

Richard runs a hand through his graying hair, his expression darkening. "Most of people got the news that she is pregnant. And what exactly do you plan to tell people if she’s suddenly not pregnant anymore? What excuse will you come up with when everyone realizes she doesn’t have a baby?"

Adele’s expression falters for the first time.

Richard steps forward. "People will think she aborted the child. Do you have any idea what that would do to our reputation? What it would do to her?"

Adele’s lips press into a thin line.

The girl on the floor lets out another choked sob. Her body spasms violently, her stomach shifting unnaturally beneath her hands.

For the first time, a flicker of uncertainty crosses Adele’s face.

But just as the argument seems to escalate further...

Everything shatters.

The sterile room dissolves. The voices fade. The overwhelming tension vanishes as the vision comes crashing down.

_

Rika and Max gasp in unison as they snap back into the present. Their bodies jerk, the force of returning so abruptly nearly knocking them off balance.

Ace and the others immediately step forward.

"What did you see?" Ace demands.

Rika’s breaths come in quick, shallow pants. Her hands tremble slightly as she blinks, trying to reorient herself.

Max’s face is pale, his jaw tight. "We found her," he says, his voice hoarse.

Ace’s eyes darken. "Where?"

Rika swallows hard. "Somewhere we should have never expected."