Chapter 1: My Shattered Night

SERYN POV 

“Let go of my brother.”

The man holding Caius, my brother barely even glanced at me. “Hey. Little girl, go back inside.”

“I said let him go,” I spat, my hands curling into fists as I stepped forward.

Caius struggled against the man’s grip, his breath coming short and fast. His face was bruised, his lower lip split and bleeding down his chin.

“Seryn,” he warned, his voice shaky. “Don’t. Please.”

For a second, I hesitated.

Caius rarely asked me for anything. Hearing him beg me to stay out of this should have been enough to make me stop.

It wasn’t.

There were four of them standing in our small living room, all dressed in matching black armor. They stood between me and my brother like they had every right to invade our home.

“What did he do?” I demanded.

The tallest man looked down at Caius, his expression completely blank. “Your brother stole something that doesn’t belong to him.”

Caius said nothing. He just stared at the floor avoiding my eyes. 

I scoffed. Of course, I didn’t want to believe them. “What did you steal?” I asked, looking directly at my brother, my voice dropping to a low whisper.

“That’s not your problem. Get Nyla and Elio inside, now,” Caius commanded.

“Sister…” Nyla and Elio cried from behind our bedroom door.

I heard them but my attention remained fixed on Caius. “Caius.”

His eyes met mine for a second. They were filled with something  I couldn’t fully read before he looked away again.

I moved toward him, tears already tracking down my cheek.

The man holding Caius shoved me back aggressively with one hand. I stumbled over a chair leg, catching myself before I hit the floor. 

“Don’t touch her!” Caius’s voice changed instantly. It wasn’t fear I heard anymore; it was a sharp, dangerous warning.

The man smiled, utterly unimpressed. “You’re not in a position to give orders, thief.”

He yanked Caius toward the doorway as the others followed close behind.

Something inside me snapped. 

I surged forward and grabbed the man’s jacket. “Let him go!”

He turned and shoved me again, much harder this time. My shoulder slammed right into the wall. A sharp pain shot down my arm, making my eyes water.

Nyla screamed from the back hallway. “Seryn! Get off my sister, you monster!”

“Stay there!” I shouted back, pressing my hand flat against the wall to steady myself.

I knew I was outnumbered. I knew they were stronger than me. I knew that picking a fight with four armed strangers was probably the stupidest thing I could do.

But Caius was my brother. 

If I let them take him without trying, I would never forgive myself.

I pushed myself off the plaster and went for the man again. I didn’t think about the consequences. I just fought.

I drove my boot straight into the back of his knee. He cursed sharply, his leg giving out for a split second - just long enough for Caius to twist his arms free.

“Run, now!” I yelled, my voice cracking from the strain.

Shockingly, Caius didn’t move.

“Caius, don’t be stupid. Go!”

Then the room went dead silent. Every single person stopped moving. The two men by the door went rigid, their heads snapping toward the entrance.

Caius’s also looked terrified. 

I turned my head toward the doorway to understand why they looked like they had just seen a ghost.

A man was standing there. He hadn’t made a single sound coming up the stairs, moving so quietly that no one had even noticed his approach.

He was tall, wearing a black suit with no jacket, the sleeves of his shirt rolled up over his forearms to reveal his thick muscles. His dark hair was slightly messy, like he had far more important things to worry about than looking perfect.

But it was his eyes that made me freeze. They were cold, completely unbothered by the chaos in front of him.

He moved his gaze slowly from Caius to me, then to his men without uttering a single word.

Finally, the man who had shoved me lowered his head, his eyes glued directly to the floor. “Alpha.”

My eyes narrowed. Alpha?

I had read about Alphas in old stories, but I had never believed they actually existed.

The stranger walked inside, his boots echoing off the floor. “Is he the one?” 

The man who had been holding Caius answered immediately, his tone clipped. “Yes Alpha.”

“The one that what? I looked at Caius with a piercing gaze. 

The stranger gaze shifted straight to me. “And you are?”

I lifted my chin, forcing my posture straight despite the dull ache in my shoulder. “His sister.”

Nyla and Elio suddenly burst from the room and ran toward me, hugging me tightly from both sides.

The man stared down at them, then back at me. Something flickered in his dark eyes - a brief, sharp flare of light that made my back straighten instinctively. “Name.”

“Why?” I stared at him, refusing to look away first.

He took one slow step toward me. “I don't repeat myself.”

“Ser… Seryn.” My voice came out shaky.

His eyes stayed locked on mine, unblinking. “Seryn what?”

“Verya.”

The moment the name left my lips, he looked genuinely surprised. Though it lasted for just a second.  

And suddenly, I wanted to know why my surname has affected him. 

“Take him,” the Alpha said quietly.

Two of the men immediately stepped toward my brother and threw him forward. 

I threw myself in front of their leader,  locking his legs. “No. Please.” 

One of the men stepped up from my left and reached out to grab my arm away. 

“Don’t touch me!” I slapped his hand away.

He grabbed my wrist anyway, hard enough to guarantee a bruise. I sharply jerked against his grip.

Then something strange happened.

A sharp flash of heat rushed straight through my palm and up his arm.

The man’s fingers suddenly went weak. His eyes rolled back slightly, and his knees dropped down by my side. He hit the floor with a heavy crash.

I froze, pulling my hand back against my stomach. “What the…”

The second man lunged at me from behind. I stumbled backward in panic and blindly caught his wrist to block him.

The same violent fire shot through my skin.

His face twisted in sudden agony. The strength in his massive hand vanished so fast that he dropped straight to one knee, gasping for air.

Caius stared at me like he had never seen me before in his life. Nyla had both hands clamped over her mouth, and Elio stood frozen beside her.

I let go of the man’s arm sharply. He collapsed sideways right beside the first man, groaning on the floor. 

My heart hammered against my ribs like a trapped bird. I looked down at my hands. They looked completely normal - ten fingers, short nails, no marks or glow at all. It was like nothing had happened.

“What did you do to them?”

I snapped my head up. The Alpha was staring directly at my right hand, his brow furrowed deeply.

“I… I don’t know,” I breathed out.

Elio stepped closer, his eyes wide. “Seryn… did you do that?”

The Alpha approached me slowly, his eyes still fixed on mine.

Caius’s raspy voice came from behind me. “Seryn, don’t let him touch you! Get back!”

But he was already right in front of me. Before I could pull away, his fingers wrapped tightly around my wrist.

The heat returned instantly, rushing toward his skin like a flood. For one terrifying second, I expected him to collapse onto the floor just like his men.

He didn’t.

Through my palm, I felt his pulse racing fast and wild beneath his skin. Then suddenly, it stopped. The harsh look on his face visibly melted away. His shoulders relaxed. He inhaled slowly like a man who had just been holding his breath underwater for hours and had finally hit the surface.

He slowly released my wrist, staring at me like I had just done something unusual to him. 

I stared back at him, my eyes wild as my arm dropped to my side. “You’re…you’re not affected.”

“No,” he said softly. His voice was much quieter now, stripped of its harshness as he stared down at his own hands. “Neither are you.”

“Huh? I don’t understand. What does that mean?”

He looked down at my hand again, then past me to Caius. “Which clan does she belong to?”

Caius took his eyes off me, staring back at the floor like he always does. “I haven’t told her yet.”

“Told me what?” I moved toward Caius, but he ignored my question completely.

The Alpha moved toward the door, then turned back toward the two remaining guards. “Take him.” He paused, his eyes returning to me. “Bring her too.”

“No!” I stepped between them again, planting my feet.

The Alpha’s eyes hardened, the softness from a moment ago vanishing entirely. “You’ve already seen what happens when my men touch you. So move.”

I dug my heels into the floorboards. “I don’t care. I’m not going anywhere with you.” I wanted my voice to sound strong. I wanted him to believe that I wasn’t afraid. 

He stepped closer, his shadow completely blocking out the hallway light. 

“You are,” he whispered, his voice dropping into a chilling tone. “Because if you don’t walk out that door willingly, Seryn, I will have my men take your little siblings instead.”

"You leave them out of this," I whispered back, my voice shaking despite my desperate attempt to sound brave.

He smiled, a slow, humorless curve of his lips that didn't reach his eyes. "Then make your choice, Seryn. The clock is ticking, and my patience is low."

Author Note: Hey, my loves! Seryn’s world has just changed forever, and Kael is clearly not an ordinary Alpha. What do you think makes him different? Tell me your theories in the comments!