Chapter 2

Killian took a step back.

I saw the flicker of fear in his eyes—the instinct of an Alpha facing an unknown threat.

"Sera, are you insane?" he stammered. "Look at your hand!"

I glanced down at my palm, still dripping blood, the shards of glass still embedded in my flesh.

It didn't hurt.

Not compared to the feeling of my heart being ripped in two.

Just then, Killian pressed his fingers to his temple, his face twisting.

The mind-link.

Mia. Crying again.

"What is it?" His voice was instantly gentle, a stark contrast to the coldness he'd shown me.

I couldn't hear her words, but I could see the anger rising on Killian's face.

"Who dares to defy your orders?"

A moment of silence.

"Alright, I'll handle it. From now on, you have full authority over the Alpha's Guard."

He broke the mind-link and turned back to me.

"You see? Mia is trying her best to manage things, but some of the more stubborn warriors won't cooperate."

"Those warriors have followed me for eight years."

"And now they'll learn to respect their new Head Warrior, even if she is an Omega."

New Head Warrior?

I hadn't even been officially stripped of my title, and she was already taking my place?

A smug smirk crossed Killian's face when he saw the shock in my eyes.

"Yes. Mia will be taking over your duties. She has a real gift for leadership."

"She doesn't even know basic battle formations!" I hissed in disbelief.

"She'll learn. And she won't question my decisions the way you always do."

I laughed.

So that was the real reason.

It wasn't that I wasn't gentle.

It was that I had a mind of my own.

I pulled the largest shard of glass from my palm, ignoring the fresh surge of pain, and wiped the blood on my pants before walking toward the door.

"Sera, where are you going?"

"Back to my quarters. Since I'm no longer the Lead Beta, there's no reason for me to be here."

The door slammed shut behind me. I could hear Killian cursing inside.

Back in my room, I opened the pack app.

My screen was flooded with notifications.

[System Alert: You have been removed from the War Council channel.]

[System Alert: You have been removed from the Strategy & Intel channel.]

[System Alert: You have been removed from the Pack Leadership channel.]

One by one, my permissions were being revoked.

Everything I had built in eight years, gone overnight.

I switched to the public channel. The number one trending topic was:

Mia The Gifted Head Warrior

I clicked on it. It was filled with praise from Killian's cronies.

"Head Warrior Mia showed incredible wisdom in settling that dispute."

"Her gentle nature soothes the warriors' aggression."

"This is the kind of leader the Blackwood Pack needs."

I scrolled down and saw something that stung even more.

An official announcement appeared on the pack's main channel:

[Official Blackwood Pack Statement: Effective immediately, Seraphina is relieved of her duties as Lead Beta. The position will be filled by Mia. We thank Seraphina for her eight years of service and wish her the best in her future endeavors.]

Eight years of service, dismissed with a cold, corporate "we wish her the best."

The comments section was exploding.

"What is happening? Seraphina is our strongest warrior!"

"What right does Mia have to take her place?"

"Has the Alpha lost his mind?"

But soon, those dissenting comments were deleted, replaced by a uniform stream of praise.

Someone was clearly controlling the narrative.

My phone buzzed with a private message from Killian.

"Stop stirring up trouble. You're not the Lead Beta anymore. Let go of your pathetic obsession with power."

Obsession with power?

The blood I shed for this pack, the honor I won for him—in his eyes, that was just an obsession with power?

I replied directly to the public announcement:

"An Alpha who has to steal credit from his warrior to feel powerful isn't fit to lead anyone."

I hit send.

The app froze, then went black.

[System Error: Server overloaded.]

My post had crashed their entire network.