Chapter 9

Seraphina’s POV

I burst through the front doors, cold evening air hitting my face hard and sharp, clearing my mind instantly. Panic flared hot and wild in my chest, but I crushed it down — fear would not help Luca. Only speed and focus would.

“He left through the side garden gate,” Silas called out from behind us, running fast to catch up. “It was unlocked. He took the path toward the old parkland bordering the estate grounds — the woods where wild packs sometimes roam.”

I ran faster, heels clicking hard over stone and grass, my coat flying behind me. Five years I had guarded him. Five years I had built walls and guards and plans to keep him safe. And now he had walked out alone, chasing wolves that answered his call — wolves that could be dangerous, wild, loyal to anyone but us.

Alexander was right beside me, long legs eating up the ground, his face set in stone, every line of him fierce and locked tight. He did not run ahead. He did not order me back. He kept pace exactly, his eyes scanning every shadow, every tree, every dark shape in the distance.

“He knows what he is doing,” he said, voice rough and steady, cutting straight through the noise in my head. “He heard them answer. He wanted to find them. He wanted to know what he is.”

“He is five years old!” I snapped, breathless and sharp. “He does not know what is dangerous and what is not. He does not know there are people who would tear him apart just for what he is.”

“I know,” he said, and there was no argument in him, only deep, heavy guilt. “I know. And this is my fault too. I was not there to teach him. I was not there to warn him. But I am here now. And nothing will touch him.”

We reached the edge of the woods. Tall old trees rose up high, branches twisting together overhead, turning the path into a tunnel of shadow and dim light. Somewhere deep inside, a wolf howled — long, low, close.

I stopped short, hand tightening around the small weapon I carried. Alexander stopped beside me, lifting his head, his eyes changing — shifting to bright silver, glowing faintly in the dark, his senses opening fully, the Lycan King taking control.

“He is in there,” he said, quiet and absolute. “Half a mile in. And he is not alone. There are three wolves with him. Large. Strong. And they are not attacking.”

 ***

Alexander’s POV

I could feel it — the pull, the bond, the sharp bright spark of my son’s presence deep in the trees. And around him… power. Old, wild, powerful power. Not hostile. Not dangerous. But ancient.

I stepped forward, moving slow and careful, every instinct stretched tight. I could hear voices — soft, clear, a small boy’s voice speaking calm and proud.

“…you answered me. You came when I called. That means you belong to me, right? Like knights belong to their King.”

Then a deep, rumbling sound — like a laugh, like a growl, like something huge and happy.

I pushed through the last line of trees and stopped dead.

Luca sat on a large flat rock in a clearing lit by moonlight, legs swinging, face bright and excited. Around him sat three massive wolves — fur thick and dark, eyes glowing gold and silver, bodies huge and strong, bigger than any wolf I had ever seen. They sat perfectly still, heads bowed low, ears forward, watching him with absolute attention and respect.

The largest one — easily the size of a pony — rested its heavy head right on Luca’s knee, and Luca stroked its thick fur gently, like he had done it a thousand times.

He looked up when we stepped into the open, his face lighting up even more.

“Mommy! Look! They came! They heard me!”

Seraphina moved forward instantly, fast but careful, her hand outstretched, her eyes wide and amazed and terrified all at once. She reached him in seconds, dropping to her knees, checking him over head to toe, her hands trembling as she held his face.

“Are you hurt? Are you safe? Luca, you cannot run away like this — you cannot leave without telling me!”

“I know, Mommy, I am sorry,” he said, earnest and serious. “But I had to know. I had to see who would come. And they came. They said they have been waiting for me. They said I am their Alpha.”

I walked slowly into the clearing, eyes locked on the three great beasts. They lifted their heads, turned toward me — and stood up, tall and massive, bodies tense. Seraphina froze, pulling Luca behind her instantly, stepping between him and them.

But they did not move toward her. They stepped toward me.

The largest wolf stepped forward, slow and heavy, and looked me straight in the eye. Then it bowed — deep, low, full and formal respect. The other two followed, heads lowered, bodies bent.

My breath caught.

These were not ordinary wolves. These were pack elders. Ancient lineages. Wolves who had served the Northern Packs for generations, who answered only to the true bloodline.

And they bowed to me — but their eyes kept flicking back to Luca.

He is the heir. He is the true future.

I looked down at Luca, peeking out from behind Seraphina’s arm, his bright blue eyes wide and proud, and I realized something huge and terrible and wonderful.

He did not just have my eyes. He did not just have my blood. He had the power to command them. The power to draw them. The power that made Kings.

And that was exactly why people wanted him. That was exactly why the Council wanted to lock him away. That was exactly why we had to be strong enough to keep him.

I looked up at Seraphina. She looked back at me, her face pale, her eyes wide, the same realization hitting her hard.

“They are not here to hurt him,” I said softly. “They are here to protect him. They have been waiting for him to show himself.”

“Waiting?” she whispered. “Who are they?”

“Old allies,” I answered, my voice low and tight. “Allies my father used to speak of. Guardians who serve the true heir. They vanished when he died. No one knew where they went. No one knew they were still here.”

The big wolf turned its head and looked toward the dark trees deeper in the woods, and let out one short, sharp bark.

From the shadows, a figure stepped out — old, bent, silver hair and lined face, dressed in rough dark clothes, eyes sharp and bright as fire. He looked straight at me, then at Seraphina, then down at Luca.

“Welcome, Thorne. Welcome, Romano,” he said, his voice rough and deep, carrying like thunder through the quiet clearing. “And welcome, little King. You have finally come home.”

He looked at us both, his expression grave and serious.

“But you have come just in time. Because the enemies are moving. And they know exactly where you are.”

He stepped closer, eyes hard and cold.

“They sent men tonight. They came to take the boy. And if these three had not gotten here first… they would have already had him.”

Seraphina went white as snow. She gripped Luca tighter, her knuckles turning white.

“Who?” she asked, voice barely audible. “Who sent them?”

The old man looked at me, then at her, and said two names that turned the air cold and heavy around us.

“Viktor Volkov. And Kael Rainer.”

My blood ran cold. Viktor — head of the Council, leader of the rival packs, the man who had hated my family for decades. Kael — my own Elder, the man I had trusted, the man who had stood at my side for years.

Traitors. Enemies. Working together.

And they were coming.

The old man pointed back toward the path we had taken.

“They are already here. They are already surrounding the estate. And they have one thing they did not have before — they know exactly who you are, Seraphina Romano. And they know exactly what you carry.”

He looked at me, hard and fierce.

“You wanted to know who killed your parents? You wanted to know who destroyed both families? It was them. And now they have come to finish what they started.”

I looked at Seraphina. She looked at me. No words needed to be said. The war was no longer coming. It was here.

I turned back to the old man.

“Then we fight,” I said, clear and hard and absolute. “We fight. And we protect what is ours.”

Seraphina stepped forward, her hand still holding Luca’s tight, her face calm and cold and fierce. She looked at the wolves, at the old man, at me.

“No,” she said, her voice ringing out clear and strong through the trees. “We do not just fight. We win. And we make them pay for every single thing they have ever taken.”

She turned to me, eyes bright and burning.

“Alexander — get back to the house. Get everyone inside. Secure every gate. And get ready. Because this time… we do not run. We do not hide. We stand our ground. And we show them exactly what happens when they try to take from a Romano… and from a Thorne.”