Chapter 10

Seraphina’s POV

The old man’s words hung heavy in the cold air, sharp and clear as the moonlight filtering through the branches. Viktor Volkov. Kael Rainer. Names that had only ever been whispers in dark rooms, names tied to blood and loss and every terrible thing that had happened to both our families. Now they were not just names. They were here. They were moving. And they had come to finish what they started twenty years ago.

I tightened my grip around Luca’s hand, feeling his small fingers curl tight around mine. He stood straight beside me, not trembling, not afraid — his face serious, his blue eyes bright and steady, watching everything, understanding more than any child his age ever should.

“Who are you?” I asked the old man, my voice calm but sharp, every sense stretched tight. “How do you know all this? And why have you waited until now to speak?”

He bowed his head slightly, his weathered face softening just a little as he glanced at Luca. “My name is Corin. I was advisor and guardian to your father, Julian Romano. And before that, to his father and his father’s father. I served this family when it was whole, and I stayed hidden when it fell, waiting for the heir to return. Waiting for the bloodline to show itself again.” He looked up, his eyes hard and bright. “And when the boy howled tonight… I knew the time had come. There is no more hiding. No more waiting.”

He turned toward Alexander, his gaze shifting from respect to something heavy and grave. “Your father trusted me too, Thorne. He knew the truth about the alliance between our houses. He knew the Romanos and the Thornes were never meant to be enemies — that was the lie they built to tear us both apart. He died trying to expose it. Just like yours did.”

Alexander went still, his face pale and tight, every muscle locking down as the weight of it settled deep. “They told me my father died in an accident. They told me your family murdered him.”

“And they told me your family ordered the killing of mine,” I said quietly, the pieces sliding into place, sharp and jagged and perfect. “They built a wall of lies between us. So we would fight each other while they took everything.”

Corin nodded grimly. “Volkov and Rainer have been playing both sides for decades. They fed you lies. They fed us lies. They killed leaders, stole power, and sat back while two great houses destroyed themselves from the inside out. And now… they want what is left. They want the boy. He carries the strength of both lines. With him in their hands… they rule everything.”

A low, distant howl cut through the night — long, sharp, angry. Closer this time.

Corin’s head snapped up. “They are here. They brought men. They brought wolves. They are surrounding the estate right now.”

I looked at Alexander. He looked back at me. No hesitation. No doubt. No more old arguments or old hurts. The enemy was at the gate, and for the first time since we met, we stood on exactly the same side.

“Luca,” I said, kneeling in front of him, keeping my voice steady and firm. “You have to go back to the house with Corin and the others. You have to stay safe inside. Do you understand?”

He looked between me and Alexander, his expression serious beyond his years. “I can help. I can call the wolves. I can make them listen.”

“I know you can,” I said softly, brushing hair back from his forehead. “But you are the most important thing we have. You are the heart of everything. You stay safe… and we fight.”

He nodded slowly, then turned his gaze to Alexander. “You protect her. You promise?”

Alexander went down on one knee, level with him, his voice low and rough and absolute. “I swear it on my life. On my blood. On everything I am. I will protect her. I will protect you. And I will not let anyone take what is ours.”

Luca reached out, small hand gripping Alexander’s sleeve for one second, firm and sure, then turned and walked toward Corin, the three great wolves falling into step beside him like royal guards.

 

***

Alexander’s POV

I watched them go, my chest tight and burning, every part of me screaming to follow, to stay close, to never let either of them out of my sight again. But I knew my place now. I knew my duty. I stood up straight, turning to Seraphina, every instinct focused, sharp and ready.

“They will attack the main gates first,” I said, my mind racing through every defense, every weakness, every plan I had ever made for war. “Volkov likes to strike hard and fast. He wants to break us before we can organize. Kael… he knows how we think. He knows our protocols. He knows exactly where we are strong and exactly where we are weak.”

“He knows your side,” Seraphina said, her voice cold and precise, already calculating. “But he does not know ours. He does not know what the Romano family has kept hidden. He does not know what we have built while we were gone.”

She turned toward the path back to the house, her posture tall and proud, every inch the heiress she was born to be. “Elena has a private security force — trained, loyal, lethal. Silas has hidden defenses and old protections built into the very walls of this estate. And we have something they never expected.”

She looked back at me, her eyes bright and fierce, dark and glowing with power I had never seen before. “We have each other.”

The words hit me deep, straight through every wall I had built, every mistake I had made, every moment I had spent believing I was alone. For five years I had ruled and fought and stood alone, convinced that strength meant carrying everything by myself. And now here she was — sharp, brilliant, dangerous, and strong enough to lead armies — standing beside me, not behind me, not under me, but equal.

“Seraphina,” I said, my voice low and raw, “I know I have no right to say this. I know I have done nothing to earn it. But from this moment… I will follow your lead. You command. I will execute. Whatever you decide. Whatever you need. I am yours.”

She stopped, turning fully toward me, her expression softening just a fraction — not into kindness, not into love, but into something deeper. Respect.

“Then do not just follow,” she said quietly. “Stand beside me. Lead with me. Because if we do not do this together… we will not survive it at all.”

We moved fast, running back toward the main house, the sound of distant howls and heavy voices rising louder every second. Lights blazed across the grounds now — floodlights cutting through the dark, guards taking positions, weapons ready. Elena stood at the front entrance, her face hard and sharp, holding a tablet and a weapon, shouting orders to men in dark uniforms.

She looked up as we arrived. “They are at the outer perimeter. Fifty men. At least twenty wolves. And more coming. They demand we open the gates. They demand we hand over the boy — and you, Seraphina. They say you belong to them by right of old law.”

Seraphina stepped past her, walking straight to the top of the entrance steps, looking out over the walls toward the dark shapes moving in the distance. She stood tall, her head high, her voice ringing out clear and cold and loud enough for everyone to hear — friend and enemy alike.

“Tell them I am Seraphina Romano. Heiress of this house. And I belong to no one but myself. Tell them if they want us… they will have to come and take us. And tell them this — no one ever takes from the Romanos and lives to boast about it.”

She turned back to us, her eyes flashing. “Lock the gates. Seal the walls. Activate every defense we have. And prepare to fight.”

Then she looked at me, sharp and direct. “Alexander — your packs. Your men. Can you call them? Can you bring them here?”

I pulled out my phone, already dialing Marcus — my Beta, my oldest friend, the only one I trusted completely. “I can. And I will. But Seraphina… if I bring them here… if I call the full force of the Northern Pack… there is no turning back. This becomes war. Open, bloody, total war.”

She looked out again, toward the dark line of trees where enemies gathered, toward the house where our son waited safe inside, then back to me — her face set, her eyes burning with resolve.

“Then let it be war,” she said, quiet and fierce. “They started it. But we will finish it.”

I lifted the phone to my ear. “Marcus. Bring every available fighter. Bring the whole pack. Now. We are under attack. And we do not surrender.”

I ended the call and slipped the phone away, stepping up beside Seraphina, shoulder to shoulder, facing the dark together.

Below us, the shadows moved closer. Voices rose. Shapes grew clearer. And then, from the front gate, a loud, booming voice echoed across the grounds — cold, triumphant, and deadly familiar.

“Seraphina Romano! Alexander Thorne! You have nowhere to run! You have nowhere to hide! Surrender the boy… and we might let you live! Resist… and we will burn this house to the ground!”

Seraphina laughed — sharp, bright, terrifying. She leaned forward, her voice ringing out loud and clear, cutting straight through the darkness.

“Burn it then! But remember this — fire does not belong only to you. And when the flames rise… you will find out exactly what you have woken up.”

She turned to me, her eyes shining bright, wild and dangerous and alive.

“They think they have us trapped,” she whispered. “They think they have us cornered.”

I looked at her — at the woman I had once called weak, the woman I had thrown away, the woman who was now the strongest, most powerful thing I had ever known — and I smiled, sharp and fierce and hungry.

“Let them think that,” I said softly. “Because they have no idea… that they just walked straight into our trap.”

Far behind us, inside the house, a single, clear howl rose up — loud, strong, and commanding — and from the woods, from the streets, from every dark corner of the city… hundreds of voices answered.

Seraphina’s eyes widened. My breath caught.

And then — from the gate — the voice came again, lower, colder, and full of terrible promise.

“You think you have power? You think you have strength? You have no idea what you are holding. You have no idea who you really are… Seraphina.”

Silence fell. Dead, heavy, freezing silence.

And then the voice spoke again, soft and venomous, words that changed everything we thought we knew.

“Because you are not just a Romano. You are not just a mate. You are the very thing we have been hunting… since the beginning of time.”