Chapter 2 – The Alpha Reactions

The body was still at the door.

Blood seeped into the snow,and became dark and heavy against the white. The words carved into the dead man’s chest seemed to stare back at me. And to me it's a silent warning, a cruel reminder that no matter how far I ran, the curse always found me.

Your mate will die.

The message wasn’t for Kieran. It was for me.

I knew it. He knew it. But neither of us said a word.

Kieran Stormclaw stood beside me, arms loose at his sides, gaze locked on the corpse. He didn’t move, didn’t react—not in any way a normal person would. Most wolves would have snarled, barked orders, something. But Kieran?

He just looked.

Not with rage. Not even with concern. Just calculation.

His silence grated on me.

“"Huh. Didn’t expect you to take it this well," I said under my breath. I kept my arms at my sides, resisting the urge to cross them.

Kieran shot me a quick glance.”Kieran’s eyes flicked toward me. Cool. Detached. "Would panicking change the situation?"

The casual indifference in his voice made my skin itch. "No, but I don’t know—maybe a little concern would be nice. Someone just dumped a body at your doorstep."

"I expected a body."

I stilled. "Excuse me?"

Kieran turned fully to me now, and that cold, unreadable mask didn’t shift even an inch. "The second I signed that contract, I knew something like this would happen. Someone wants you dead, Seraphina. I assume you already know that."

The words shouldn't have cut the way they did. Of course, I knew that before. But hearing it from his mouth—so plainly, like it was a fact that’s undeniable, like there was no possible world in which I wasn’t a target, that's what made something tighten in my chest.

I swallowed the feeling down. "Great. And you still thought this arrangement was a good idea?"

Kieran barely reacted. ‘'I don’t let emotions make my choices.'’

‘’Yeah, there is no surprise there. We’ve known that before.’’

As I tried to collect my thoughts,I ran my fingers through my hair, letting out a frustrated sigh.

"So what now? Just business as usual? Pretend there’s not a fresh corpse right outside?"

"Not pretend," he said easily. "Adapt."

His lack of reaction burned more than I wanted to admit. Because it reminded me that I wasn’t his problem—I was his responsibility. A contract. A deal. Nothing more.

I clenched my jaw. "You are deeply unpleasant."

Finally, Kieran moved. He moved closer, unhurried, intentional. He wasn’t touching me, infact, he wasn’t even that close—but the intensity of his gaze actually sent an involuntary shiver that raced down my spine, leaving me unnerved and acutely aware of his presence.

'Get used to it,' he murmured, his voice was unreadable.”I wanted to snap something back. Something sharp, something mean. But then—

A low growl vibrated from beyond the hall.

More alphas.

I turned just as Caspian and Cian entered, the twin alphas of the Moonshadow pack. Neither of them looked ready for a formal meeting. Cian wore a loose hoodie, his sleeves pushed up, muscles tight—like he was ready to swing.

Caspian, on the other hand, stayed calm. He wore a dark coat, standing tall, his gaze sweeping over the room like he was taking notes.”

And the second they saw me, something shifted in the air.

Cian stopped short. "Huh."

Caspian’s gaze locked onto me, but he wasn’t just looking. He was studying.

Kieran exhaled. "You’re late."

Cian barely spared him a glance. His eyes were still on me. "She smells wrong."

I tensed. "Excuse me?"

He ignored me and turned to Caspian. "Tell me you feel that."

Caspian’s lips pressed together. "I feel it."

Well. With that I’m not filled with confidence.

"Okay," I said, holding up a hand, my tone was a little sharper than how I meant it to be, "are you going to actually explain what’s going on, or is this whole vague, cryptic thing just your idea of a good time? Because honestly, it’s getting old.”

Cian took another step closer. "There’s something off about this bond."

Kieran’s jaw twitched. "The bond hasn’t even settled yet."

"Exactly," Caspian murmured. "And yet, we already feel it."

I didn’t like the way he said that. Because I felt it too.

That strange feeling inescapable one—like an unseen thread was the one pulling us together, no matter how much we resisted.

Cian let out a long, slow breath, his hand rubbing against the rough stubble on his jaw like he was trying to make himself steady . "This is... a lot," he said quietly, his voice thick with something I couldn’t quite put my finger on—may be,frustration, or disbelief. He paused, then shook his head, almost to himself. "This is insane.”I crossed my arms. "Oh, now you’re catching up?"

He grinned at that, a little sharp, a little wild. "I like you."

"How lucky for me."

Caspian exhaled through his nose. "This is a mess."

Kieran didn’t react. "We handle messes."

Cian tilted his head, still watching me. "And what about her?"

"What about me?" I shot back.

"How do we know you didn’t cause this?"

The question shouldn’t have hurt. But it did.

Kieran sighed, the sound low and heavy,the thing was just like he was already losing patience with the whole conversation. "Look," he said, his tone sharp but measured, "if she were behind this, trust me, she’d be a hell of a lot smarter about it. This? This isn’t her style.”

I raised a brow. "Was that a compliment?"

He didn’t answer.

Cian snorted. "Alright. This should be fun."

Ronan was waiting for me when I left the hall.

He didn’t stand stiff like the others. Instead, he rested against the wall, dark hair falling into his eyes, his face giving nothing away.

'’You stayed quiet in there,'’ I said, pausing a few steps away."

He lifted his gaze. "Didn’t need to."

My arms tensed. "You know something."

Ronan was still. Then—"I know you don’t belong here."

The words shouldn’t have made me uneasy.

But they did.

"Wow," I forced out, "you really know and good on how to make a girl feel welcome."

He didn’t smile.

Didn’t do anything except watch.

I hated it.

"Just say what you mean," I snapped.

A long, stretched silence. Then—"You’re not what they think you are."

My mouth went dry.

"Who do they think I am?"

Ronan hesitated. It was barely there, but I caught it. And I realized then—he wasn’t speaking with doubt. He was speaking with certainty.

"I don’t know yet," he admitted. "But I’ll find out."

A shiver rolled through me.

For the first time since stepping foot in Black Moon Pack, I had the strangest, most unsettling feeling—

That he already had.

The night stretched long. Sleep wouldn’t come.

I stood at the edge of the balcony, watching the dark treeline, my mind churning.

A second body. A stronger pull toward the alphas. A bond that didn’t behave like it was supposed to.

And Ronan’s words, still sharp in my ears.

You’re not what they think you are.

A shadow shifted in the trees.

I still went.

Then—

The distant gleam of eyes watching me from the dark.

And just like that, I knew.

Another body would come.

And next time?

It wouldn’t be a warning.

It would be me.