Betrayed Bloodlines: The Alpha’s Final Penalty のすべてのチャプター: チャプター 41 - チャプター 50

“Isaias, what are you doing here? I expected room service, not a territorial intrusion into my private suite.”“The concierge was incompetent. I took the tray myself. We need to communicate, Serena, and I refuse to do it through a locked door while you’re hiding in this hotel.”“I’m not hiding; I’m reclaiming my internal peace. You ignored my existence for the duration of that gala. You didn’t even acknowledge the silks I wore, and you allowed those Graves vultures to circle me without a single word of support. Why would you demand my presence if you were going to treat me like a stranger?”“I wasn’t ignoring you; I was actively suppressing the urge to turn that entire ballroom into a slaughterhouse. Every time I looked at you, I saw them. I saw Dominic Graves’s shadow. I saw the way Richard was posturing. I was fighting to keep my wolf from tearing his throat out in front of the Council. That isn’t neglect, Serena—that is extreme, agonizing restraint.”“Restraint? It felt like absolu

“Serena, stand back. I’ll handle the threshold.” I opened the heavy oak door of the Graves Glass Estate to find Evelyn Nightwood standing there, looking like a ghost of her former self. Her hair was pulled back in a frantic, unkempt knot, the deep mahogany streaked with premature grey. Her eyes were hollowed out by exhaustion, and she looked more like she was retreating from a battlefield than paying a social call.“Mother? Everything seems... off. Why are you here?”“I had to see you with my own eyes, Serena. I’ve been spiraling. Fred provided the coordinates, but he swore on his life that if I leaked them to Valeria or that vulture Lucian, I’d never see my granddaughter again. I just needed to know you were still breathing.” She wrung her hands until the knuckles turned white.“Enter, Evelyn. It’s safer inside.” I waved to Caleb, who was already retreating down the drive, then gestured toward the living area. “Serena, introduce us.”“Mother, this is Rowan Ashcroft. Rowan, this is my

“Serena, I’m departing for the Inner Den. I should be back before the moon hits its peak.” Rowan called out, pausing at the threshold of the sun-drenched atrium.I was hunched over the canvas, refining the portrait of my grandmother. It was finally beginning to capture the feral, untamed spirit I wanted to immortalize.I glanced back, catching the raw, lethal grace in his movement. “By the spirits, you look like you’re ready to dismantle a rival pack. You’re looking delicious, Rowan.”He let out a low, vibrating rumble of a laugh. It had been over a moon-cycle since I’d taken refuge in his territory, and I could say, without hesitation, it had been the most liberating period of my existence. With the protection orders secured against Lucian, Valeria, and that parasite Trent, the last month had been deathly silent and wildly creative.Rowan had been drowning in the administration of the newly acquired territory, grappling with the fallout of the hostile takeover he’d executed. In the e

“You’re brooding, Serena.”“I am not.”“You most certainly are,” Valeria retorted, flicking a spray of water from her brush directly onto my face.I recoiled, shielding my canvas. “Cease that. You’re going to cause more ruin than you’re fixing. Look, you’ve splashed the pigment.”“Have you received word from him?”I checked my device, my gaze lingering on the blank screen. “He reached out at midday,” I murmured, “two hours ago.”“He’s been away for three sun-cycles. You’re sullen, melancholic, and on the verge of tears.”“I am not crying,” I snapped, giving her a sharp look. “I am merely experiencing severe primal frustration.”Valeria chuckled, a low, teasing sound. “I imagine so. If I had grown accustomed to nightly ruts with a wolf like Rowan and then had that taken from me, I’d be howling, too.”“It’s agony. It doesn't help that he knows exactly how to drive me to the brink. He sent a calculated image of his hips this morning, noting he wished my tongue were tracing the v-line rig

"I’m with pup," I murmured, the words hitting the stillness of the Inner Den like a death knell.Freya and Valeria didn’t even blink; they merely swapped the test kits on the stone table, their expressions unreadable. Caleb, my brother, gripped my shoulders, his claws digging deep into the fabric of my tunic until his knuckles were stark white."You need to alert Alpha Lucian immediately," Caleb growled, his voice a low, warning rumble that vibrated through the floorboards."He’s at the Northern Border, hardening the pack scouts," I countered, my throat tight as I pictured his cold, calculating gaze. "If I broadcast this over the encrypted pack-link, he’ll perceive it as a tactical move to tether him to this territory. He’s already molding me for a future that benefits his command—he doesn't want a whelp to complicate his strategy.""Serena," Freya interjected, sliding a glass of spring water toward me. "The Blackthorn Legal Council can draft the severance papers. You don’t have to ke