Chapter 2:The son he stole

By sunrise, I had nowhere to go.

The forest beyond Bloodfang was cold, and my thin ceremonial dress offered little protection against the morning wind. I had spent the night beneath a cedar tree, refusing to return to the packhouse even when hunger gnawed at my stomach.

I had lost my position, my home, and the man I once believed I would grow old beside.

But I still had one reason to return.

My son.

Kael was barely two years old. He wouldn’t understand why his mother had disappeared or why the familiar arms that carried him to sleep were suddenly gone.

I had promised myself that whatever happened between Lucien and me, our child would never suffer for it.

By the time I reached the packhouse gates, my determination had hardened into something fierce.

Two guards crossed their spears.

“You’re not permitted to enter.”

I stared at them. “Move.”

“Alpha’s orders.”

“I’m Kael’s mother.”

Neither guard looked comfortable, but neither moved.

I stepped forward, and one of them caught my arm.

“Please don’t make us use force.”

I wrenched myself free.

“Then don’t stand between me and my child.”

Before the argument could escalate, the packhouse doors opened.

Lucien emerged, dressed impeccably in black. Princess Isolde followed, her hand resting possessively on his arm.

I barely spared her a glance.

“Where is my son?”

Lucien’s expression remained unreadable.

“Kael is safe.”

“Then bring him to me.”

“We need to discuss his future.”

A terrible feeling settled in my stomach.

“What future?”

He glanced at the guards.

“Leave us.”

Once they were gone, he faced me.

“Kael is my only son and the rightful heir to Bloodfang. With my marriage to Isolde, his position becomes even more important.”

I stared at him, waiting for the rest.

It never came.

“You intend to keep him here.”

“I’m his father.”

“And I’m his mother!”

My voice cracked across the courtyard.

For the first time, Isolde looked away.

Lucien’s expression hardened. “He will remain in Bloodfang, where he belongs.”

I stepped closer.

“He’s two years old, Lucien. He still wakes at night looking for me. He won’t sleep unless I hold him.”

“That will change.”

The casual cruelty of those words nearly brought me to my knees.

“You cannot separate us.”

“I can, and I will. Kael is the future of this pack. He needs stability, not a mother who has chosen to abandon her home.”

I recoiled as though he had struck me.

“Abandon?”

I had spent years defending his borders. I had risked my life for his warriors. I had stood beside him when other packs questioned his authority.

And now he was using my refusal to become his second wife as proof that I was unfit to raise our son.

“You rejected me,” I whispered. “You rejected our family. Don’t rewrite history to make yourself the victim.”

His jaw tightened.

“Think carefully about what you do next, Seraphina. If you challenge my decision, I will have no choice but to treat you as an enemy of Bloodfang.”

I looked at the man standing before me.

Once, I had known every expression on his face. I could recognize his moods from the smallest change in his eyes.

Now, I couldn’t recognize him at all.

“Let me see Kael.”

“No.”

One word.

One final door slammed in my face.

I turned toward Isolde.

“You’re going to marry him. You’ll live in my home and raise my son. Tell me, Princess, can you honestly look at yourself and call this a victory?”

Her lips pressed together.

“I didn’t force Lucien to choose me.”

“No. You simply accepted everything he stole from me.”

Her eyes flashed.

“Perhaps you should have offered him something worth keeping.”

I moved before I could stop myself.

But Lucien caught my wrist.

“Enough.”

I looked down at his hand, then back at him.

“Take your hands off me.”

He released me.

I stepped away, my heart pounding, and forced myself to breathe.

Fighting Isolde here would accomplish nothing. Neither would begging Lucien to remember the man he had once been.

I needed power.

I needed allies.

And most importantly, I needed a way to bring my son home.

I looked Lucien in the eye.

“You can keep him from me today. But you will never convince him that his mother abandoned him.”

Then I turned and walked away.

This time, I didn’t look back.

I had barely reached the old boundary road when the first raindrops fell.

By noon, the sky had darkened, and my legs ached from walking. I had no money, no provisions, and no pack willing to shelter me.

I stopped beside a fallen tree and pressed my hand against my stomach.

My wolf stirred restlessly.

We need to survive, I told her.

A low growl answered from somewhere beyond the trees.

I froze.

The scent reached me a moment later—strange wolves, at least three of them.

Rogues.

I reached for the small hunting knife strapped beneath my dress.

Three figures emerged from the mist.

The largest smiled when he saw me.

“Well, look what the forest has given us.”

I shifted my stance, putting the tree behind me.

“Keep walking.”

He laughed.

“You’re alone, dressed like a princess, and standing on unclaimed land. You don’t look like someone who can afford to give orders.”

“I can afford to make you regret ignoring them.”

His smile vanished.

The first rogue lunged.

I ducked beneath his arm and drove my knife into his shoulder. He howled, stumbling backward, while the second caught me across the ribs.

Pain exploded through my side.

I struck him with my elbow and scrambled away, but the third wolf shifted halfway, his claws tearing through his gloves.

I couldn’t fight all three.

Not injured. Not without a pack.

The largest rogue grabbed my hair and dragged me backward.

“Let’s see whether that pretty face fetches a price.”

I slammed my heel into his knee.

He cursed and loosened his grip.

A deep, terrifying growl rolled through the forest.

All three rogues went still.

Even my wolf fell silent.

A black horse emerged from the mist, carrying a man dressed in dark leather. His presence seemed to drain the warmth from the air.

Behind him, several armed warriors appeared between the trees.

The rogues released me immediately.

The rider dismounted.

He was tall, broad-shouldered, and strikingly handsome, with dark hair and eyes so cold they seemed almost silver beneath the overcast sky.

He surveyed the injured rogue, then looked at me.

His gaze paused on the blood staining my dress.

“Who did this?”

The question was quiet.

That somehow made it more frightening.

The rogues dropped to their knees.

“Alpha Veyr, we didn’t know she belonged to you.”

The man’s expression darkened.

“She doesn’t.”

He drew his sword.

“But you should have known better than to attack a woman who was already fighting three of you.”

What followed happened so quickly that I barely had time to breathe. His warriors seized the rogues while he wiped his blade clean.

Then he approached me.

I tightened my grip on my knife.

“Stay back.”

He stopped.

For a moment, something almost like amusement touched his face.

“You’re injured.”

“I’ve noticed.”

“And stubborn.”

“That’s none of your concern.”

He studied me, his gaze shifting to the silver ceremonial fabric and the crest embroidered at my waist.

Recognition flickered in his eyes.

“Seraphina Vale.”

My blood ran cold.

“How do you know my name?”

Instead of answering, he glanced toward the distant Bloodfang territory.

“I heard Alpha Draven found himself a new bride last night.”

I lifted my chin.

“Then you’ve heard enough.”

“Not quite.”

He stepped closer, and I caught his scent—cedar, smoke, and something dark beneath it that made my wolf stir in sudden confusion.

His eyes narrowed, as if he had sensed it too.

“I’m Darius Veyr, Alpha of Nightthorn.”

I knew that name.

Every wolf in the Seven Territories did.

The cursed Alpha.

The man whose potential mates were rumored to die before they could claim him.

He looked at me as though he were weighing a decision.

Then he offered his hand.

“Come with me, Seraphina Vale. I believe we can help each other.”

I stared at his outstretched hand.

I had just lost everything because one Alpha had decided I was no longer useful to him.

Now another was offering me shelter.

I should have walked away.

Instead, I asked the only question that mattered.

“What do you want from me?”

Darius’s silver eyes held mine.

“A wife.”

My breath caught.

He continued, his voice as cold and steady as the rain gathering in the trees.

“And in return, I’ll give you the one thing Lucien Draven never will.”

“What?”

Darius smiled without warmth.

“Enough power to make him fear you.”