Alpha Voren Ashkael of the Grimroot Pack was not merely powerful. He was absolute.
His name alone carried weight across America's business circles. He was the strongest Alpha to ever rise from the eastern territories, his wealth rivaling entire councils and nations, his looks the kind that turned heads.
With a single command, corporations bent, and with a single glance, Alphas reconsidered their ambitions. Submission followed him as naturally as breath.
Yet for all his dominance, everyone knew one thing. Alpha Voren was the only Alpha who hated women. Some said he was gay, and others side he was allergic to them.
And that was precisely why whispers followed him wherever he went, why the packs wondered why the most coveted Alpha in the nation had never taken a mate, why the Grimroot Pack remained without a Luna.
Those who knew Voren understood that when he wanted something, he claimed it without hesitation. So why hadn't he claimed any woman?
Seraphine's foot caught on the uneven stone path, her weakened leg betraying her before she could steady herself. She would have fallen hard if not for a strong hand gripping her arm, pulling her upright with controlled force.
"Watch where you're going," Voren said calmly, his voice was as cold and sharp as ever, a blade honed by years of command.
Seraphine did not look at him for long. "Thanks for catching me," she replied, bitterness threading through her tone like poison beneath silk.
Then she pulled free. Gone like the wind, her figure disappearing down the corridor before Voren could say another word. His gaze followed her longer than he cared to admit, jaw tightening slightly as her scent faded into the air.
Seraphine did not slow. Her legs carried her instinctively to the only place that mattered, the pack hospital.
If answers existed anywhere, they were buried there. The corridors were quiet, unnaturally so. White lights hummed above her as she moved from room to room, opening cabinets, rifling through archives, pulling files with trembling hands.
Records, research notes, birth logs, death certificates. Anything, anything that could tell her how her daughter had supposedly died.
Her heart pounded painfully in her chest, but she did not expect help. "Corvine," she said quietly when she noticed him lingering by the doorway, "are you not afraid of your Alpha?"
Corvine stiffened. He opened his mouth as if to speak, then closed it again, swallowing hard. "Luna… what are you looking for?"
Seraphine turned fully to face him. Since the moment she entered the hospital, everyone had avoided her like a disease. Nurses averted their gaze, researchers disappeared behind doors, and doctors who once respected her work now pretended she didn't exist.
She had led most of the pack's medical research, developed cures, saved lives. She had even created the compound that countered the chemical attack that left her paralyzed.
And now? She was an outcast, but none of that mattered. If she found even the smallest clue about her deceased daughter, if there was even a sliver of hope, she would leave this pack without hesitation.
"Corvine," she said softly, precariously calm, "tell me the truth, anything. What do you know about my daughter? How was she killed?"
Corvine's shoulders sagged, shame darkened his features as his gaze dropped to the floor. "Luna… they ordered me to kill her."
Seraphine's hands froze mid-motion, documents slipping from her fingers.
"But I couldn't," he continued hoarsely. Her head snapped up, hope blazing in her eyes so suddenly it hurt. "So she's alive," she whispered. "She's alive, right? Please, tell me where she is."
Corvine shook his head, anguish written across his face. "I don't know. That night, I saw a woman passing through the outer borders. I panicked and gave the child to her before the warriors caught up to me. I didn't even get her name."
He clenched his fists. "I killed a wild animal instead, burned it, and brought the ashes to Alpha Ravyn as proof."
A breath Seraphine hadn't realized she was holding finally escaped her lips. Relief crashed into her like a wave, knees nearly buckling as renewed hope surged through her heart. Her daughter had lived.
"Can you describe the woman?" she asked urgently.
Corvine shook his head again. "It was dark. Visibility was terrible, I'm sorry. I hated you then, I truly did. I wanted to follow orders, but her cries…" His voice broke. "I couldn't do it."
A joyful tear slid down Seraphine's cheek. "Thank you," she said, voice trembling. "If I had known this, I would have signed the divorce papers a long time ago." She wouldn't have waited until the seventh time he betrayed her.
She turned back to the archives, fingers flying now, pulling out folders with precision. Corvine frowned. "Luna, what are you doing?"
"They tried to kill my child," she said coldly. "Why should I leave them my life's work?"
She moved to the sample cabinet, opening vial after vial, pouring irreplaceable compounds down the drain. Years of research, breakthroughs that could save hundreds.
"Let Daisy use her own skills," Seraphine continued. "If she has any."
Glass clinked softly as the last sample disappeared. She had wanted to leave peacefully, but they had destroyed her heart. From this moment on, she had nothing, to do with the Centenary Pack.
When she returned to the pack house, night had already settled in. Laughter echoed from Ravyn's study, sharp and mocking in the quiet halls. Seraphine did not stop to look.
She went straight to her room, showered quickly, washed away the scent of the pack, and changed into clean clothes. The only thing she carried was a stack of research reports, the work she had poured seven years of her life into.
Just as she reached the door, a voice cut through the hallway. "So you finally realized you don't belong here." It was Daisy.
Seraphine turned slowly, the corner of her lips lifted in a smirk. "Now you're showing your true colors, ha?"
Daisy stood confidently, eyes gleaming as she glanced around like she already owned the place. "You thought being a beta's daughter made you a Luna," she sneered. "You were wrong. I'm the one in charge now. I have your man, had your child killed, but you raised mine."
Seraphine smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes. "This is your time," she said calmly. "Enjoy it."
Daisy's expression faltered. This wasn't what she wanted. She wanted Seraphine broken, destroyed, and begging. If that wouldn't happen willingly, then she would make it happen.
Her eyes flicked around the room. She grabbed a knife from the fruit basket, dragged it sharply across her own wrist, then dropped it as a shrill scream tore from her throat.
"Help!" Daisy cried. "Ravyn, Luna Sera wants to kill me!"
Footsteps thundered down the stairs. Ravyn rushed in first, followed closely by Alpha Voren. Seraphine hadn't realized Voren was still in the pack house.
Ravyn gathered Daisy into his arms like fragile porcelain, his eyes turning icy as they locked onto Seraphine. "You, how could you?"
The corner of Seraphine's lips curved into a slow, mocking smile. "You believe anything she tells you," she said lightly. "Fine."
She stepped forward, picked up the knife, and without hesitation stabbed Daisy's other wrist.
"Now," Seraphine said, eyes glowing with cold fire, "I really did it. What are you going to do about it?"
Both Alphas froze. But it was the look in Seraphine's eyes, unrepentant, fearless, that sent true terror through Daisy's veins. The shock was so comprehensive it wiped away her tears entirely.
For the first time, Daisy realized, Seraphine was no longer someone anyone could control, not even Alpha Ravyn…