Chapter 8: The Alpha's Final Verdict

Alara’s POV 

The pack hall pulsed with tension so sharp it scraped against my skin. Every warrior, elder, servant, healer — every single member of the Blood Crest Pack — stood assembled under the glittering chandeliers, the air crackling with unspoken accusations.

My wrists trembled as I stood alone in the center. Emily was pushed to the far side, held back by guards. Jacob stood tense beside her, fury twisting through his features. Vivian lingered near Kael, her hand resting protectively, dramatically, over her stomach.

And Kael… Kael stood at the front of the hall like a judge overseeing an execution — eyes cold, jaw clenched, rage radiating off him in waves.

He didn’t even look at me like I was a person anymore.

Just a problem.

A stain.

A threat.

My stomach tightened with nausea — not just from fear, but from the life growing inside me. The life that had set all of this in motion.

Kael raised his hand for silence, though the room was already quiet enough to hear the beating of my terrified heart.

His voice thundered across the hall. “My pack deserves the truth.”

Emily lurched forward. “Alpha Kael, don’t—!”

“Silence!” he barked, and she recoiled.

Jacob stepped up instead. “Alpha, maybe this should be handled privately—”

Kael turned on him like a predator baring fangs. “You forget your place, Beta.”

Jacob stiffened.

“You do not speak against your Alpha’s judgment.”

The sharp dismissal stung even me. Jacob’s loyalty had never wavered, yet Kael threw him aside like an inconvenience.

Kael stepped forward, gaze locked on me with icy disdain. “This wolf—” he motioned at me as though I were some filth “—brought shame to the Blood Crest Pack.”

A murmur rippled through the crowd, some horrified, some eager for gossip.

“She lay with an outsider,” Kael continued, voice chillingly controlled. “Not just any outsider — a Lycan.”

Every head snapped in my direction.

Gasps.

Shock.

Disbelief.

My vision blurred.

‘Xavier… was a Lycan?’

My mind reeled. My heart stumbled painfully. I had suspected he was powerful, different, but never even my wildest imagination did I ever think of him being a Lycan.

Lycan blood was sacred. Forbidden. Lycans never mixed with wolves. Their offsprings were rare, revered, dangerous — hybrids carrying immense power that wolf packs feared and Lycan clans guarded with their lives.

Why… why me?

Kael wasn’t finished.

“She allowed him to mark her under my roof.”

I instinctively reached for the crescent mark on my wrist, which pulsed faintly as if in response to being exposed. My stomach twisted.

“And she carries his child.”

The hall erupted — shouts, disbelief, disgust. Someone whispered abomination. Someone else cursed. A few looked terrified.

I felt naked. Seen. Judged.

Emily fought against the guards restraining her. “Kael! Stop this! She didn’t know—”

“She chose this,” Kael snapped. “She chose to betray her pack and her duty.”

I tried to speak, but no words came out. Everything inside me — fear, heartbreak, disbelief — clawed at my throat.

Vivian stood straighter, smug satisfaction dripping from her every breath. Her smile was small, victorious, venomous.

Jacob couldn’t hold back anymore. He stepped forward, voice rough with anger. “Alara has served this pack for years. She’s fought beside us. She’s risked her life for you. For all of us. You owe her the chance to defend herself—”

Kael turned slowly.

And the hall fell silent again.

“You forget yourself, Jacob,” Kael said quietly… too quietly. “I am your Alpha. Your superior. Your command.”

Jacob tensed, fists clenched, but he lowered his gaze.

Kael swept his gaze across the hall. “All of you, leave. Now.”

No one hesitated. The Alpha’s command thundered through the pack bond, forcing obedience. Even Emily and Jacob were dragged along by compulsion, both shouting for me but powerless to resist.

Within seconds, the hall was empty.

Except for Kael.

Vivian.

And me.

But even Vivian paused at the doorway. “Should I stay, Kael?”

His voice was like winter. “No. I will handle her alone.”

Her eyes lingered on me, cruel delight glittering in them, before she turned and walked out with a satisfied sway.

The room felt enormous, quiet and cold.

Kael descended the steps toward me slowly. Each click of his boots echoed like a countdown.

I braced myself.

He stopped in front of me, looking me over like I was a disappointing weapon. “You should have told me.”

I laughed once. A broken sound. “You rejected me.”

“That doesn’t erase your responsibilities to me or this pack,” he snapped. “You were born here. Raised here. You owe your loyalty to Blood Crest.”

I swallowed hard. “I didn’t betray the pack.”

“You slept with a Lycan,” he hissed. “A Lycan whose name you don’t even know.”

I winced.

He leaned closer. “Do you realize what that makes you? What that makes your child?”

I raised my chin despite the tremble. “A life. My life.”

Kael’s nostrils flared. “It makes you a liability. A threat. An instability to the hierarchy I am building.”

I held his gaze. “It’s my child. Not yours.”

His jaw ticked. “Exactly.”

Then he stepped back and inhaled deeply — as if coming to a decision.

“I am offering you a way out,” he said.

My stomach knotted.

“It will be painful,” he continued, tone half-soft, half-patronizing. “But preferable to execution or exile.”

I froze.

“What way out?” I whispered.

He paced once, then met my eyes with practiced calm. “You get rid of the child.”

My breath stopped.

“And you allow me to sever the Lycan’s mark.”

Ice slithered into my bones.

“You remain here. Safe,” he added. “Sheltered. Under my protection.”

My voice was barely audible. “As what?”

He didn’t hesitate.

“As my mistress.”

A silent crack tore down the middle of my chest.

My stomach churned until I thought I might be sick. “You can’t be serious.”

“It is the only path that protects you,” he said mildly. “You will have a place. A purpose. I will keep you close, cared for. No one else needs to know.”

I stared at him, at the Alpha who once stood beside me as an equal, who once saw a future where I would be by his side, who had torn that bond himself… yet wanted to keep me tucked in his shadow for convenience.

Revulsion burned through me.

“No,” I whispered.

Kael stilled. “Alara.”

I shook my head, tears slipping silent and hot. “Even if I don’t choose him… I would never choose you.”

The words rang in the empty hall like a blade.

Kael’s expression cracked into pure fury.

“You ungrateful, reckless—”

“I’m done letting you control me,” I said, voice trembling but firm. “You rejected me. You broke the bond. You made your choice.”

He stepped forward, voice low and dangerous. “And you have one week to make yours.”

I blinked. “What?”

“One week,” he said again, his face composed but eyes burning. “To decide whether you end the pregnancy and sever the mark… or be cast out. Permanently.”

My knees weakened under the weight of his words.

“You think a Lycan will come for you?” he scoffed. “You think he cares? You were a warm body for a night. Nothing more.”

I stepped back, hand over my wrist instinctively.

Kael’s eyes flicked down to the glowing crescent — and his lip curled.

His voice turned sharp enough to cut flesh. “Guards.”

Two warriors appeared instantly from outside the hall doors. Strong. Expressionless.

“Take her,” Kael commanded.

My pulse erupted into panicked thunder.

“Kael… don’t do this,” I whispered.

“Lock her in the cells,” he said coldly. “She will remain there until she comes to her senses.”

“Kael!”

But he had already turned away from me — dismissed me.

One guard grabbed my arm. Another clamped a hand around my waist.

I struggled. “Let me go! I’m pregnant—you can’t—”

But they dragged me forward anyway.

My feet slid across the polished floor, my heart hammering against my ribs. My breath tore out in choked cries.

Kael never looked back.

The heavy doors swung open, icy night air rushing in.

And I was dragged out of the hall — pregnant, marked, cornered, and more alone than ever.