Chapter 2: The Alpha’s Little Pup

Serena Blackwood had been hunted since the day she took her first breath.

As the sole heir to the Northern Pack’s bloodline, she was a walking target. Too many wolves wanted her dead, their greed for her territory outweighing their loyalty.

Alpha Magnus, the fearsome Lord of the North, had scoured the lands to find four elite warriors to serve as her personal guard. These weren’t just maids; they were lethal weapons.

Shadow was one of them.

In the blink of an eye, a blur of white motion materialized in front of Prince Xiao Chuan.

*Thud.*

A palm struck the Prince’s face with bone-rattling force. Before he could react, a boot slammed into his chest, sending him skidding across the cobblestones.

Xiao Chuan coughed, spitting out a mouthful of crimson.

"Serena Blackwood! You bitch! You dare touch me?"

But as the Prince roared, blood and saliva sprayed through the air. His voice carried a strange whistle.

His front teeth were gone.

The crowd gasped, their eyes snapping to the ground. There, lying in a pool of royal blood, were the Prince’s incisors.

Terror washed over the onlookers as they turned their gaze to Serena. The scent of fear spiked in the air.

*She’s insane! She’s absolutely lost her mind!*

Serena Blackwood had truly gone rogue! She had just returned from exile, and her first act was to knock the teeth out of a Royal Prince in broad daylight! Did she have no fear of the Alpha King’s law?

Serena arched a brow, her expression bored. "I called you a fool, and you insisted on demonstrating exactly what a fool looks like. You’re already lying in the dirt, yet you still ask if I *dare*?"

Xiao Chuan scrambled to his feet, his eyes flashing with a murderous glint. "I’ll kill you!"

He tried to lunge, his inner wolf surfacing, but his entourage of beta subordinates tackled him, holding him back.

They had assumed that after being banished from the Royal Capital, Serena would return with her tail tucked between her legs. When Xiao Chuan said he wanted to teach her a lesson, they had followed, tails wagging in anticipation of the show.

Who could have known that Serena would return more arrogant than before?

Her shadow guard was too fast; the Prince’s enforcers were no match for her. If anything permanent happened to Xiao Chuan, the Royal Consort Shen would have all their heads on pikes.

Serena looked at the group of trembling nobles, her gaze cold. "That tripwire across the road... did you all have a hand in that?"

The group of spoiled whelps fell silent, the stench of their anxiety pungent. She had just beaten a Prince; they were nothing to her.

Serena let out a sharp, mocking laugh. "A pack of cowards who dare to act but not to admit it."

*Crack!*

Her whip snapped through the air like a thunderclap. Her white stallion reared, and with a precise lash, she knocked the group of nobles to the ground.

"Wait for it," her voice rang out, dripping with dominance. "This Lady will come to each of your territories to settle the score personally!"

Shadow vanished as silently as she had appeared.

Panic began to set in among the crowd.

"What do we do? That she-devil is going to hunt us down!"

"Why are you panicking? The 17th Prince will protect us!"

"Exactly! Once the 17th Prince goes to the Palace and tells Consort Shen, she will demand blood for this."

But one of them, rubbing his bruised arm, muttered internally. *With the way Serena acts... does she really fear Consort Shen or the 17th Prince?*

Xiao Chuan stared at Serena’s retreating back, kicking over a street stall in a fit of impotent rage.

"Let’s go! We’re going to the Palace to see my mother!"

***

Serena did not return to the Northern Pack’s estate. instead, she rode straight for the Royal Palace.

Alpha King Alaric had sent a command earlier—she was to present herself immediately. Her grandfather, Alpha Magnus, was also there, waiting for their reunion.

The Royal Enforcers guarding the palace gates went pale. *The ancestor is back!*

And she was daring to ride a horse directly toward the palace gates—a privilege reserved for the highest rank.

The guards hurried forward. "Greetings, Lady Serena."

Serena vaulted off her horse with practiced grace. Without looking back, she commanded, "Shadow, take Cloud back to the estate."

She would likely be staying in the Palace tonight. There was someone inside who had probably been pining for her return.

Shadow materialized from thin air, took the reins, and led the horse away toward the Northern Pack’s manor.

A new guard, unfamiliar with her scent, stepped forward sternly. "Riding before the Palace gates is a capital offense! Halt!"

Suddenly, a veteran guard sprinted over, panting. "Shut your mouth! That is Serena Blackwood!"

He turned to Serena, bowing low. "Lady Serena, forgive him. He’s a new recruit, a pup who doesn't know the ways. Are you heading in to see the King?"

Serena looked at the veteran. "Li Jin? Three years and you’re still stuck guarding the door?"

Li Jin grinned, his beta instincts deferring to her aura. "You tease me, My Lady. Shall I summon a palanquin for you?"

It was a joke to think he could rise easily. Without a powerful pack backing him, a low-ranking wolf like him was lucky to guard the Royal Gates.

Serena nodded, noting Li Jin’s familiar, slippery nature. "Do it. I’ll wait."

The new guard, confused, whispered to Li Jin as he hurried off. "Brother Li, palanquins require a direct command from the Alpha King or the Queens. How can you authorize that?"

Li Jin hissed back, "You’re fresh meat, so listen closely. The Alpha King adores this little she-wolf. She was raised at his knee. Keep your eyes open if you want to keep your pelt!"

Forget a palanquin; this girl had ridden in the Alpha King’s personal carriage more times than the Princes had.

The palanquin arrived quickly, stocked with fresh fruit and pastries.

Serena glanced at it, then casually ripped a gold-inlaid jade token from her belt and tossed it to the new guard.

Li Jin caught it with a grin. "Thank you for the reward, My Lady!"

The young guard stood jaw-dropped. That jade was worth a thousand silver coins, and she tossed it like it was a pebble.

Li Jin watched Serena disappear through the gates and nudged the rookie. "Learn from that."

***

The palanquin was carried directly to the Royal Gardens.

The summer heat was oppressive. It was the hour when Alpha King Alaric held court with his high council in the open air.

A palace attendant approached the gathering. "Your Majesty, Lady Serena requests an audience."

Instantly, a white-haired elder with an aura as vast as a mountain sprang to his feet.

"Let me see my little pup!"

The faces of the council members darkened. Most of them had suffered because Serena had dragged their grievances before the King in the past, demanding 'justice' that usually ended in their humiliation.

Serena Blackwood was a demon in human skin. Three years ago, when she was exiled, the entire court had breathed a sigh of relief. They couldn't fathom how the terrifying Alpha Magnus could call this menace his "little pup."

The palanquin drifted to a halt before the council.

The passenger inside didn't move. A folding fan covered her face.

She was asleep.

The ministers bristled with indignation. This was blatant disrespect to the Alpha King!

But Alpha Magnus, seeing his granddaughter sleeping without anyone fanning her, felt his heart ache.

"What is wrong with you lot?" Magnus growled at the attendants. "My grandbaby is asleep and none of you are fanning her? Are you trying to roast my heart and soul?"

He strode forward to the palanquin, his fierce face melting into a look of utter adoration. He whispered, his voice uncharacteristically soft, "Little pup... wake up. Look who it is. It’s Grandpa."

Who would believe that this old man, cooing like a nursemaid, was the legendary Alpha Magnus who had slaughtered the generals of eleven enemy packs?

Beta Prime Marcus could take it no longer. "Your Majesty! This girl has no discipline! To lose her composure and sleep before the Alpha King is a grave insult!"

Magnus whipped his head around, his eyes flashing. "Lower your voice! You’ll scare my granddaughter!"

Just then, Serena’s hand moved sluggishly. She pulled the fan from her face, opened one eye, and groaned.

"So noisy..."

Magnus looked at the Prime Minister as if he had committed a war crime. "See? I told you to keep it down. You woke her up."

Beta Prime Marcus looked at Magnus as if he were hallucinating. *You old fool, do you hear yourself?*

The other ministers shook their heads. The Northern Alpha spoiled the girl rotten. A loving mother ruins the child; no wonder Serena had grown up to be such a lawless tyrant.

Suddenly, Alpha King Alaric’s voice cut through the tension.

"Beta Marcus, do not be angry. I will teach this unruly child a lesson myself."

Beta Prime Marcus turned sharply, his eyes widening in shock.

*Your Majesty, you say you’re going to teach her a lesson...*

*Then why are you whispering so she doesn't get startled?!*