Chapter 5: He Has No Right

I was halfway through breakfast when Alexander entered the dining room.

Something about his expression told me the morning wasn't going to be peaceful.

"Is everything all right?" I asked.

He pulled out the chair opposite mine.

"Someone came from Blackthorn territory."

My spoon stopped halfway to my mouth.

"Damon?"

"His representative."

I slowly put the spoon down.

"What does he want?"

"He says Damon wants you returned."

For a moment, I couldn't believe what I had heard.

Returned?

As though I were a missing possession.

I let out a short, bitter laugh.

"That's interesting. He was quite happy to throw me out yesterday."

Alexander watched me carefully.

"Do you want me to send the man away?"

I nodded.

"Please."

He stood, but I spoke again.

"Wait."

He turned.

"I want to speak to him."

Alexander hesitated.

"Are you sure you're ready?"

"No. But I'm tired of people making decisions about my life without asking me."

He studied me for a moment before nodding.

"All right. I'll stay nearby."

A few minutes later, the representative was brought into the sitting room.

He was a tall man in a dark uniform. I recognized him immediately as one of Damon's senior guards.

His eyes widened when he saw me.

"Serena?"

"Good morning, Marcus."

He cleared his throat.

"Alpha Damon has ordered me to bring you back."

I almost smiled.

"Did he forget that he rejected me?"

Marcus shifted uncomfortably.

"He believes there has been a misunderstanding."

"A misunderstanding?"

"Yes. He wants you to return so the matter can be discussed properly."

I looked at him.

"Did he send Vanessa too?"

His face tightened.

That was answer enough.

I stood up.

"Tell Damon I have nothing to discuss with him. He made his decision, and I am making mine."

Marcus lowered his voice.

"Serena, you should understand that things are complicated at the pack."

"Then he should discuss them with the woman he chose."

Alexander, who had been standing near the doorway, stepped forward.

"She has answered you. You may leave."

Marcus looked at him.

"With respect, Alpha Draven, this is a Blackthorn matter."

Alexander's expression remained calm.

"Not anymore. Serena is under my protection because she asked for help. She is free to leave whenever she chooses, but nobody will force her to return."

Marcus looked between us.

Then he reached into his jacket and placed a folded document on the table.

"Alpha Damon instructed me to give you this."

I didn't touch it.

"What is it?"

"Your formal release from the Blackthorn pack."

I stared at the paper.

I had already been rejected. What else could Damon possibly want to release me from?

Marcus continued.

"Your name has been removed from the pack records. You no longer have any rights or responsibilities within Blackthorn territory."

I swallowed.

It was official now.

There was no going back, even if I wanted to.

"Fine," I said quietly. "Tell him I understand."

Marcus nodded and left.

For several seconds, I remained standing beside the table.

Alexander didn't interrupt.

He simply waited until I finally sat down.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"I think so."

I looked at the document.

"I spent years imagining what my life would be like as Damon's Luna. I never imagined I'd be sitting somewhere else, looking at a paper that says I no longer belong to his pack."

Alexander pulled out the chair beside me.

"Belonging to a pack doesn't determine your worth."

I nodded, but my throat felt tight.

Then I noticed something.

There was a second sheet beneath the release document.

I pulled it out.

It was a copy of an old pack record.

My eyes moved across the page until they stopped at one line.

SERENA VALE — MATERNAL LINEAGE: UNREGISTERED.

I frowned.

"Alexander?"

He leaned closer.

"What is it?"

I pointed at the words.

"Why does this say my mother's lineage was never registered?"

Alexander read the document twice.

"Where did you get this?"

"It was underneath the release paper."

He looked towards the door through which Marcus had left.

"That's unusual."

I turned the page over, hoping to find an explanation.

There was a faded official stamp at the bottom.

It was dated eighteen years earlier.

My hands went cold.

Eighteen years ago, I had been a child.

And someone in Blackthorn territory had already been investigating my family.

I looked at Alexander.

"Why would Damon send this to me?"

He didn't answer immediately.

Then he said something that made my stomach tighten.

"Perhaps he didn't know it was included."

I stared at the document.

For the first time, I wondered whether the people who had raised me had told me everything about my family.

And I wasn't sure I wanted to know the answer.