<h4>Chapter 551: Losing a mate makes you mad</h4>


    Casaio was reading the newspaper when he sensed Gabriel’s presence. He lowered the paper to the table, saying, "Good morning, Gabriel."


    "Good morning, Cas." Gabriel took the seat directly across from his elder brother. "Did you punish those who hurt Idris?"


    "It was a kid of the same age as him who was bullying Idris," Casaio replied calmly. "I decided to make him understand with words rather than punishing him with force."


    "You can’t be kind to those who bully you," Gabriel replied, disagreeing fundamentally with the lenient approach.


    "I have different opinions on this, little brother. I made sure the boy would be a friend of Idris," Casaio stated firmly, defending his diplomatic solution.


    Gabriel looked at him in disbelief. "Your opinions should align with the mode of justice. Kindness isn’t an answer to violence all the time." He nced at the paper on the table and read the sensational headline. "The media got a way to earn high using you and Zilia. What have you thought? Dad was asking me again about taking the throne. Can’t you just take it despite this bacsh? Control the media after you sit on the throne," he muttered, suggesting a forceful, direct action.


    "It’s not the right way to do that," Casaio asserted, rejecting the hical suggestion. "Why don’t you consider bing the Alpha King after everything settles down for you?"


    "Cas, I may have found out things rted to my past, the reasons why my mother always detached herself from me or why my big brothers never truly tried to understand me, but that doesn’t mean I’ve forgotten the past. The wounds don’t heal in my case. I hate being in the pce. And I’ve only been here for Amelie’s sake, for Noah’s sake."


    "San Ravendale is the only ce that gives me peace. And if I be the King, I may be dered as a tyrant soon. You know my ways of handling matters. I know, for everyone else, I may seem like the perfect image for the Alpha King. But in my eyes, I’m not. I know myself better than anyone."


    Casaio nodded slowly, processing Gabriel’s fierce rejection of the throne. "Did you find out the full truth of the past? I’m sure Grandma did her work perfectly," he asserted.


    "Yes, she did. Strangely, she is the only Elder who understood me more than my own parents. I can’t believe I felt the pain of losing someone, especially an Elder," Gabriel said, lowering his eyes for a second, a profound sense of unexpected grief washing over him.


    "May her soul rest in peace," Casaio prayed sincerely.


    "I lost Amelie in thest birth," Gabriel confessed, the ancient pain still sharp. "Ophelia createdplete chaos in our lives. I was supposed to marry Amelie within a week, but everything ended right after I killed Ophelia’s daughter." He paused, the memory making him shiver. "Even thinking about it makes me shiver. I turned mad with grief after losing Amelie."


    Gabriel briefed him fully, gazing once again into Casaio’s eyes. "So, the witch is after you now because you killed her daughter, Anaya?"


    "Yes. Anaya was her name. She was actively trying to kill Amelie—she kidnapped her. A lot happened in that past life, Cas. And to end Ophelia, I must go to Aurevalis. That is the ce where my previous self lived. My previous life is calling me there."


    "The ce from where you received that strange, recurring message, right?" Casaio questioned, a spike of concern in his voice. "Someone is trying to lure you there. But that territory is practically in ruins. What if it’s a trap set by Ophelia?"


    "It wasn’t Ophelia’s doing. Someone knows me there, someone loyal. My final answers are there," Gabriel stated with conviction.


    "Who could have known you? It’s been years. Ophelia is alive because of her dark magic. But others can’t do that," Casaio remarked.


    "I don’t know. But the answersy in thatnd," Gabriel replied.


    "Should Ie with you, just in case?"


    "No. You have your own battles to fight and the throne to prepare for. I have my own. Carlos wanted to join me, but I’m thinking to go by myself. He’s still in the deep mourning phase for his grandmother, and I cannot allow Ophelia to win this time. That bloody witch has already taken too much from me," Gabriel muttered, his fury suddenly palpable.


    "By the way, I heard Dominick isn’t in the pce. He left for District Gridlock? Why?" Gabriel suddenly switched the conversation, moving to current royal affairs.


    "Illegal activities are happening there," Casaio replied, his expression growing serious. "Nick neglected a lot of matters in thest few days, you know, how things for him went with Juniper. Also, the Beta Hunters case is finally resolved. Dexton was behind it because we failed to find the murderer of his mate. He imed Betas killed his mate, so he decided to retaliate and annihte them."


    "A very poor approach he used," Gabriel stated, shaking his head. "I do understand him, though. Losing a mate makes you mad. You do things you’re not supposed to do."


    "Did you do the same in your past?" Casaio inquired carefully, sensing a profound connection to the emotion.


    "I did worse," Gabriel replied bluntly. "I nted so much security around, but they failed in protecting Amelie. I didn’t care about anything in that moment. What Dexton did, I can rte to it. But I also will say it wasn’t justified."


    He then shared the devastating personal cost. "My father died seeing me like that. I was brokenpletely. I wanted to die, but I couldn’t. That’s the kind of curse Ophelia put on me."


    Casaio’s heart wrenched hearing that confession. He couldn’t fully process the depth of the pain Gabriel had gone through in his past life.


    "So, where were we? What illegal activities happening in Gridlock?" Gabriel went back to their conversation.


    "Omegas are being sold as ves," Casaio answered.


    "Nick took the right decision. He needed a break from here," Gabriel affirmed.