Chapter 3

Seraphina

 Right in my eyes, my soldiers loyal to me begin to die at the hands of those whose loyalty is obviously bought.

 I freeze on the spot, not knowing what to do. But one thing is certain, I will not let him win this. 

 I howl so loud, reminding them who their alpha is. I feel my eyes glowing red as the surviving soldiers turn to me, blocking their ears.

 They drag their feet towards me, their palms on their ears. I glance at Raze, his eyes are wide in shock, fear emerging out of it as him and his mistress blocks their ears as well.

 I stop and they all have a sigh of relief.

 “I am Alpha Seraphina Moondance,” I say, throwing my gaze at my soldiers, ten of them. “The last Moondancer, the only sovereign ruler of the DarkenMoon Pack….” I return my gaze to Raze, desiring to have a glimpse of the disappointment in his eyes. “I order the arrest of Raze Parker, my husband and Alpha Consort….”

 “You can't do that,” he blurts out, “You love me!”

 “Raze… what's happening?” The girl asks, standing firm.

 I scoff, “I did love you Raze.. not anymore.”

 That was a lie. Looking at his alluring blue eyes still makes me wish all this is a bad dream I will wake up from. I have always adored him, and dedicated all my writing works to his name. And even untill now, all I desire is that he hugs me tightly and whispers that he was under duress or manipulated.

 For a heartbeat, I let myself drown in those blue eyes. My chest tightens, stupid hope trying to rise even now. Maybe he’ll step forward and explain everything to me.

 But his jaw twitches. Then his gaze flicks toward the soldiers behind me as he nods.

 Instantly, a bullet tears through my back and I feel a scorching pain explode through my spine. My breath catches in a strangled gasp and another bullet follows.

 I whirl around, claws shooting out instinctively, but they didn't stop. They fire again and again.

 I groan in pain, my legs buckling but I force myself forward. I ran in a direction.

 “GO AFTER HER!” Raze growls.

 Quickly, I pick up a gun from a dead body. Spinning, I begin firing, targeting their hearts.

 Five drop dead. I whimper, feeling the pain of my bullet wounds. I hold myself together and keep running. It's going to take more bullets to kill an alpha.

 I feel the remaining five rushing towards me and I turn in a direction. Instantly, I smear my palm across the bullet wound on my shoulder and slap it against a tree, then I hurriedly hide in a different direction.

 I press a hand to my mouth to muffle my breathing, while I apply the mud on my open wounds, hoping it reduces the scent of my blood. The soldiers burst through seconds later and my heart begins to beat faster.

 I hold my breath. I cannot risk them hearing my heart beat as well.

 “This is her blood!... She went that way!” I hear one say.

 They follow the false trail and I have a breath of relief.

 Their voices fade. 

 Instantly, I begin clutching the dirt, my fingers trembling uncontrollably as the pain grows worse.

 Tears rush down my cheeks as I breathe heavily. This shouldn't be happening. I am no ordinary werewolf. Unless, their bullets were laced with something that can affect an alpha bloodline.

 Would Raze really go to such length? Why exactly is he doing all this?

 My eyelids grow heavy, the world dimming to a faint blur. The cold earth beneath me feels distant, like I’m drifting somewhere far away.

 My eyes close, my consciousness slipping from my grasp.

 ******

 A sound breaks through my unconsciousness and I wake. Beneath me, I feel hard wood, perhaps, I am laid on a table.

 I feel people standing around the table, their scents too strong, and for that, I don't open my eyes. I don't know if I should, I don't know if they are loyal to my husband.

 “Do you think he would know?” A feminine voice asks.

 “No … I've made the necessary precautions to avoid that.” a deep voice replies.

 “Then it's settled, Alpha Evander will be here in a jiffy.”

 Alpha Evander? The Alpha of the Moondrift Pack and the most feared Alpha in all of the ten packs of Lunaris.

 My heart skips a beat and I fly my eyes open. 

 My breath catches in my throat as the world sharpens into focus. 

 The ceiling above me is lined with streaks of dangling wires. I am obviously in a laboratory.

 “And she is awake..” the only lady in their midst says, smiling.

 I gaze at all of them, my heart beating so fast. Their black uniforms are marked with a silver insignia stitched over the chest; a crescent moon entwined with a snake biting its edge.

 I've seen this insignia before, the men who we attacked their SUVs had this same insignia on their uniform.

 My heart drops. I am in the territory of the Cindersteel Creed.

 “Hello dear,” the lady says. “You happened to be the only female we found unconscious at the border…. And luckily for you, we saved your life.”

 They obviously don't know who I am. If they did, they wouldn't have bothered to save the life of the Alpha who attacked their vehicle and killed their men.

 Regardless, I am still curious as to why they even bothered to save me.

 “I still think we should have let her die,” The man on my right hand side says, looking anxious. “This is pointless..”

 My heart drops, my eyes wider in shock.

 “And what would we tell Alpha Evander when he comes for Kenna Starclaw?....” The lady asks.

 Kenna Starclaw? My husband's fated mate? The same one my men died for in pursuit of rescuing her from the Cindersteel Creed? None of this makes any sense to me.

 I push myself up slightly, and the sharp sting in my arm makes me flinch. My skin still burns where the bullets tore through.

 To worsen it, there’s a needle still lodged in my vein, connected to a tube that trails toward a blood bag.

 “We can't start pursuing Kenna, we don't have the time and the resources…… We've already lost a lot in her escape…. Besides, Alpha Evander doesn't know what she looks like, this dying girl we found is the solution to our problem.” The lady continues, not acknowledging me further.

 They all nod and that makes my heart shatter. I throw my gaze at the door, three figures are standing before it, their backs half-turned to me.

 I feel like screaming, like fighting my way out but I don't have the strength to. My whole body still aches.

 “All we ask from you is simple,” One of the men on my left hand side says.

 “Pretend to be Kenna Starclaw and do whatever Alpha Evander desires from you.” The one adjacent to him, completes his words.

 My heart begins to race. I should pretend to be Kenna Starclaw, my husband's mistress, the same lady my husband left me to die for. 

 This is ridiculous.