CHAPTER 38: ALPHA RAEL

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Chapter 38

~Seraphina’s POV~

The bond pulsed like a slow-burning brand beneath my skin, calling me to her.

I didn’t think I’d be falling for any girl so soon, but here she was—the girl the Moon goddess chose for us. She defied me, and I hated it, but it made me want to challenge her even more and claim her, then put her underneath my body.

But things weren’t in the game for love and sex anymore. She just lost her father while he tried to kill one of my brothers.

I clenched my fists where I stood.

How was I to act when her father committed a grave offence, and knowing the elders, they must have gotten wind of it?

They’d come for her no doubt and...

"Dad?"

Rhainnon stirred a little in her sleep, muttering a word that made my heart clench even more.

"Dad. Dad."

I step back further.

She didn’t need to wake up and see the war I was losing behind my eyes. Didn’t need to see how close I was to surrendering to something I can’t afford to feel.

She needed stability, love and support right now, and deep down, guilt gnawed at my insides. I had prevented her from seeing him hours ago when I could have, and now...

I knew Rhiannon would hate me.

"She’ll break us," Karl said quietly. "Or save us. There’s no in-between."

I clenched my jaw.

"Whichever she does, I need to be here for her, but now, I need to figure out how to play the elders and not let her be branded a traitor.

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~Seraphina’s POV~

Seeing them contemplate on how he defeated the guards and if he had inside help and all made me jubilate within.

There was no way the Alphas could ever figure out it was all my doing. No freaking way.

I had enhanced my strength and fought with the strength of ten men. There was no way they could overpower me.

Killing them was swift, easy, and orchestrated in a way to make them believe Ryan actually did kill them.

My mind recalled the look of shock in their eyes when they spotted me close to them. At first they had dropped their guard and smiled at me.

"Lady Seraphina. What brings you here at this hour?"

"Alpha Darian isn’t here tonight," the second guard had asked calmly.

None of them had suspected a thing, and I used that to my advantage. Though they had been warriors who I had made friends with, in order to get my plans activated, they were necessary sacrifices.

I inhaled deeply, feeling satisfied with my achievement.

Rhiannon’s father’s dead. Now, all that’s left is Rhiannon herself.

The night air clung to my skin as I stepped out of the packhouse, the cold wrapping around me like a warning.

Rhiannon’s scream still echoed in my ears, but I kept walking calmly.

I had done what needed to be done.

I looked down at my hand holding the moonstone.

What I had given Ryan was the pack’s stone. I had another one with me.

Unlike the sacred moonstones blessed by the Elders, mine had been created in secret. Not with prayer and ritual, but with blood and dark alchemy.

A risky imitation. One that allowed me to cross the boundary unseen and undetected.

I whispered the incantation.

The forest shimmered at its edge, parting briefly for me as I slipped through. My feet moved, guiding me deeper into the woods until the thick pines gave way to a clearing, hidden from even the keenest wolf senses.

There, nestled among shadows and dead vines, stood an old wooden shed.

I stepped inside.

The scent of blood and ash lingered in the air. Dust coated the floor. But I didn’t flinch, not even when I saw him.

He stood facing the wall, his broad back rigid, hands clasped neatly behind him. Red blood hair spilled past his shoulders to his back, brushing the collar of his black cloak.

"Report," he said coldly.

The sound of his voice struck something deep inside me. A familiar terror I tried to keep buried.

And at once, I dropped to my knees. "Alpha Rael," I whispered, keeping my head bowed.

His aura flared instantly, a wave of dark pressure that made my spine bow involuntarily. I lowered myself further until my forehead brushed the floor.

A second passed. Then another.

He turned slowly, and then he walked towards me, his steps heavy against the creaking wood. His eyes found mine, and I met his.

They had their usual amber hue, and then they transformed into slits of glowing red.

"Report," he growled. "Why has it taken you so long to deliver me a report? What is the delay?"

"There’s... been an incident," I said, trying to keep my voice steady.

I dared to look up, waiting to see his anger but instead he just looked at me with irritation in his eyes.

"The Alphas," I began, "they took a bride. She’s a wolf."

"I heard. Seraphina, no news gets by me. I also know that Alpha Solaris and Aiden came to visit."

"And she’s their mate."

He blinked once. "Then kill her," Rael hissed. "It shouldn’t be hard. That’s what I sent you for."

"I—I cannot blow my cover. She’s protected. I tried to get her out of the way but—"

"All I hear is failure." His voice lowered, sharply and venomously. "Not death."

I shuddered.

Quickly, I straightened and raised my voice, desperate to keep control. "I made a move today. I got her father killed. By one of the Alphas. It’s sowing discord between them."

A flicker of satisfaction passed through his expression, but he said nothing.

I took a cautious step forward, but Rael’s hand moved like lightning. He grabbed my chin in a bruising grip.

At once, pain radiated through my jaw.

"And why haven’t you used your siren voice on her?" he demanded, his breath hot with fury as they fanned my cheeks. "Like you did your precious Alphas. Or have you lost your touch?"

Tears threatened to blur my vision, but I knew better than to let him see me weep.

"I—I can’t," I admitted, voice cracking.

"You can’t, or you won’t?" Alpha Rael snarled.

"I tried. It doesn’t work on her," I said quickly. "I think... I think she’s protected."

Rael’s disgust was palpable. "You useless, half-bred mutt. Sirens used to command armies, sink fleets, and turn kings into dogs. And you—you can’t even bend one weakling she-wolf."

He released me with a sharp push. I stumbled back, barely catching myself.

"I don’t need to remind you what happens if you fail again," he taunted in a low, dangerous voice. "I’ll give you my men. Let them use you. Just like the worthless mixed-breed you are."

My chest burned. Not from shame, but fury. Still, I bit my tongue and crawled forward again.

"I will not fail, Master. I will remove her. And when I do, the Alphas will be weak—open for your devouring. For the invasion."

He exhaled slowly, his aura pulsing with approval, but the dangerous pressure in the air did not subside.

"Do so," he said. "My alliance with the werecats and werebears is nearing completion. When the time comes, we strike. I do not want any delay from my side, else I lose control of this alliance."

"Yes, Alpha," I whispered.

"You better hear me. I will not let you ruin this alliance even if you tried."

"I won’t alpha."

"Dismissed," his deep voice bellowed, sending shivers down my spine.

I stood, trembling, and turned to leave.

But befpre I could do that, his voice snapped out again. "There’s something else, isn’t there?"

I froze.

"I... Alpha, no," I lied.

Rael’s eyes narrowed. "Don’t lie to me, Seraphina. You fidget with your nails when you hide something."

My hands stilled at once, fingers stiffening. Of course, he noticed.

"It’s just..." I hesitated.

His gaze sharpened.

"It’s just that tonight," I blurted out, "I discovered something else about the Blodfang’s Alphas’ mate. Rhiannon. She—she’s a red wolf."

A moment of silence passed before his hand struck me hard.

The force of the slap sent me crashing to the floor. My lip split against my teeth. Blood filled my mouth.

"You stupid girl," he hissed. "Lead with that next time."

The tears I had managed to push back immediately filled my eyes. I didn’t rise. I couldn’t. My limbs trembled beneath me. But my thoughts raced.

My grandmother had been a full siren. My mother, a half-siren, half-fox shifter. Still, my mom went ahead to fall in love and marry my father.

If it had ever been love... still, my father was a werecat.

I was born without a clear form, a mistake in the bloodlines. I couldn’t shift. My siren powers were fractured, unreliable, and not as strong as any true breed.

My voice worked mostly on lower werewolves and werecats. And even on alphas, it wasn’t full control, just a subtle hold I had over them, especially more than one.

And I could not use it fully on them lest they discovered who I was.

I was a flaw. And I was his.

The only reason Rael ever kept me was because when I turned eighteen and returned to my mother’s pack, in hopes of finding my mate, I had bonded to him.

He had been wrath with rage but I decided to be useful before I met my end. I had promised to let him use me as a tool for infiltration.

A spy.

A slave, dressed in silk, to weaken the werewolves from within and give him their lands.

All I wanted was to rise, to prove my worth. So that when the dust settled... I would no longer be seen as a mistake but be worthy of being called his queen.