Alistair's public defense of Sera at the Board Meeting sent seismic shockwaves through the Pack and the city's elite. Sera was no longer the inexplicable human bride; she was the calculating genius who had survived the Alpha's mother.
The silence in the penthouse, however, was worse than the confrontation. Alistair treated her with a cold, almost distant deference, the respect she'd earned somehow making their contract even more rigid.
Two days later, Alistair made a formal demand.
"We have been invited to a private dinner with Alpha Kael of the Serpent Ridge Pack," Alistair announced as Sera worked through a pile of Foundation documents. "He is our only true rival in this territory. You will attend, Seraphina. This is a critical diplomatic mission."
"Understood," Sera replied, without looking up. "What are the terms of engagement? Which weaknesses is he likely to exploit?"
Alistair paused, a flicker of something unreadable in his golden eyes. "He will exploit you. Kael is a known misogynist and ruthless. He will test my commitment to a human Luna."
"Then I will ensure his test fails," Sera affirmed, finally meeting his gaze.
* * *
The dinner was held in Kael's private mansion—a sprawling, opulent estate dripping with aggressive wealth. Alpha Kael was physically less imposing than Alistair but possessed a chilling, slick cruelty. He had dark, hooded eyes and a permanent, unsettling smirk.
Kael's Luna, a stunning wolf named Lyra, watched Sera with pitying contempt.
The entire dinner was a subtle, psychological skirmish designed to expose Sera's human fragility.
"So, the great Thorne Alpha has chosen a human pet to warm his bed," Kael drawled over the expensive wine, his eyes fixed on Sera with insulting insolence. "I hear she knows how to manage ledgers. Are you preparing her to be a bookkeeper, Alistair? Or merely a trophy?"
Lyra snickered, earning a sharp look from Alistair.
Alistair remained impassive, but Sera felt the dangerous tightening in his shoulders, a visceral signal of his brewing Alpha fury. Sera knew she had to intervene before Alistair broke the diplomatic silence.
Sera placed her fork down precisely. She met Kael's gaze with her calm, icy blue eyes.
"Alpha Kael," Sera began, her voice clear and refined. "I am managing the consolidation of Thorne & Co.'s human assets. I am also currently overseeing the restructuring of the Pack's Foundation, which your Pack's charitable arm has consistently failed to outperform."
She leaned slightly forward. "You wish to know if I am a bookkeeper or a trophy? I am the woman who saved the Thorne Pack millions in tax exposure in two weeks. Perhaps you should ask your Beta to audit your own ledgers before insulting the intelligence that protects your rival's future."
The silence was instant and brittle. Kael's smirk vanished, replaced by a cold, calculating fury. He hadn't expected the human to speak, let alone cite financial rivalry.
"You have spirit, little human," Kael finally managed, his voice dangerously soft. "But spirit breaks easily."
"Then it is fortunate," Alistair interjected, his voice deep and rumbling, asserting dominance over the entire room, "that her spirit is mine to protect."
* * *
The car ride back was tense, yet strangely satisfying for Sera. She had won the skirmish without Alistair lifting a finger.
They arrived back at the penthouse. Sera turned to thank him for his intervention.
"Your defense of me was appreciated, Alpha," Sera said, her gaze steady.
Alistair didn't reply immediately. He took a heavy step toward her, the proximity instant and suffocating. The Pack business, the contracts, the politics—all faded, leaving only the raw power of the Mate bond.
"You were magnificent, Seraphina," Alistair admitted, the compliment delivered as a low, guttural growl. "You humiliated him, you asserted our dominance, and you proved your value."
His large hand lifted, not in anger, but in a slow, agonizing reach toward her neck. Sera felt the heat of his touch before he made contact.
"But you also put yourself in danger," Alistair hissed, his golden eyes burning with a mixture of possessiveness and frustration. "When he looked at you—when he insulted what is mine—the instinct was to rip him apart. I had to restrain my Wolf."
His fingers finally brushed the silk scarf around her neck, a delicate gesture that felt like a brand. He leaned down, his pine-and-musk scent overwhelming her.
"The contract demands no intimacy, Luna," Alistair whispered, his breath warm against her ear, "but the instinct demands satisfaction. You are testing my control to its absolute limit."
Sera could only gasp, the heat from his proximity making her legs weak. This was the true cost of her success: pushing him closer and closer to the breaking point.
He pulled his hand away, spinning on his heel as he had done before, disappearing into his private chambers with a fierce, controlled silence.
Sera stood alone, trembling, realizing that the greatest danger wasn't the rival Alpha or the Pack Elders. It was the volatile, destructive attraction burning between her and the Alpha who was forbidden from touching his Mate.
END OF CHAPTER NINE.