Home / MM Romance / The Alpha’s Regret: My Ex-Mate is a Mafia Legend / Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

All Chapters of The Alpha’s Regret: My Ex-Mate is a Mafia Legend: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

56 Chapters

11

"Sharon's words weren't just a blow; they were a death sentence for the life I’d known for twenty-five years. Our daughter is Seraphina Duskryn. The name felt like silver-laced glass in my throat."I stared at the woman who had scented my hair every night for two decades. My pulse, usually steady enough to draw micro-sigils, was a frantic, erratic mess."What kind of twisted game is this, Elara? Seraphina is a Duskryn. She’s the wolf who dismantled my marriage piece by piece. How can you stand there and claim her as blood?""The blood doesn't lie, Xender. We ran the resonance test three times. You’re a placeholder—a stray we picked up because we were desperate to fill the silence in this den. All those years you spent playing the perfect heir, you were occupying the space that belonged to her. I look at you now and I don't see my son. I see the reason my true blood was rotting in the southern wastes.""So, that's it? Twenty-five years of loyalty, every blueprint I designed for the Sto

12

"I won't let you drag my son through the mud while your blood rots in the gutters, Nyx! You have no right to speak on pack dynamics when you're just a stray from the Calderon line."Elara’s voice cracked through the room like a whip, her hand shaking as she pointed a finger at Nyx. She looked like a woman possessed, her maternal warmth replaced by a cold, sharp-edged fury."You poured energy into raising him? Elara, you raised a tactical genius, an architect who built the very walls that keep you safe! Xender didn't ask to be your placeholder. He was a child!""A child who stole twenty-five years of the love meant for Seraphina! Every meal, every hug, every scrap of Stormriven heritage—it was all a theft. I look at him and I feel sick knowing he was living in luxury while my real flesh and blood was struggling in the southern wastes. He’s lucky I don't demand every breath back."I watched them from the bed, my fingers digging into the thin hospital sheets until my knuckles turned whit

13

I told you once, Lucien, I don't need a babysitter. My wolf is healing just fine."I looked up from my tablet, my fingers still stained with the digital ink of the Nightfall weaponry schematics. Lucien Varkane was leaning against the hospital doorframe, but he wasn't wearing his usual tactical armor or the heavy, iron-pressed suits of a Dynasty King. He was in a simple, charcoal-grey sweater that made him look less like a predatory Alpha and more like... a man."And I told you, Xender, that the Varkane Dynasty doesn't leave its high-value assets to wander out of the surgical wing unassisted. I heard your discharge papers were signed. I’m here to ensure you reach your Den in one piece."I felt my pulse kick—a sharp, annoying staccato that had nothing to do with my recovery. Lucien was a force of nature, a man who moved whole battalions with a whisper, and yet here he was, playing chauffeur for a disowned designer."Nyx is already on her way. We have it handled.""Nyx is currently being

14

"So, you’re suggesting the Varkane Dynasty should bet its entire arsenal on a pup who hasn't even grown his full winter coat yet? My designs have held the Nightfall borders for a decade. Why should this Stormriven cast-off lead our new weapon launch?"The lead engineer of the Varkane weapon division glared at me, her eyes flashing a predatory amber. We were deep inside the high-security vaults of the Nightfall Territory, where the air tasted of ozone and gun oil. Lucien Varkane had poured billions into this new specialized gear initiative, and the woman across from me had been eyeing the Chief Architect seat for years. She wasn't about to let a 'ghost' take her throne."Your designs held the borders because the enemies were predictable, Raze. But the world is changing. A successful launch now means total territorial dominance. Are you sure you want to compare track records?"I didn't blink. I stepped toward the massive holographic display and tapped a sequence into Lucien’s personal c

15

"Look at the screen, Xender. Your little 'ghost' just went viral, and not in the way a shadow-broker should."Nyx’s voice was a jagged edge over the phone, cutting through the silence of my new living room. I didn't need to ask for a link. My tablet was already pulsing with notifications. The headline was everywhere: Varkane’s Secret Flame: Who is the King’s Nightfall Companion?The photo was high-res, taken from the perfect angle. The Silverfang Hall’s violet lanterns cast a glow over us that looked far too intimate. Lucien was caught mid-smirk, his predatory eyes softened by the dim light, and I was leaning in, my profile sharp against the obsidian backdrop. Even with my hood partially up, the intensity between us was unmistakable."Millions of hits in twenty minutes, Xen," Nyx continued, her tone shifting from alarm to a low whistle. "The whole Territory is obsessed. They're calling you the 'Ice Prince' of the Varkane Dynasty. This is the first time Lucien has been seen with anyone

16

"You think I’m afraid of a stray dog like you? I’ve survived worse than a failed bond, Tristan. Take your threats and bury them in the dirt where you found your new bride."The slap had left my palm stinging, but the sight of Tristan reeling, his face mottled with a mix of shock and rage, made the pain vanish. I pulled my hand back, shaking, the disgust rising in my throat like bile. He was a coward who hid behind pack status to mask his insecurity."You’ve clearly been poisoned by that Varkane mongrel! You want a divorce? Fine! You think you’re so independent, Xender? You’re nothing without the Blackmoor name!""I was something long before I met you, and I’ll be something long after I finish scrubbing your stench off my skin. The divorce decree is already drafted. Don’t expect me to sign away my soul just to keep your ego intact."He sneered, his wolf hovering just beneath the surface, eyes flickering that predatory, sickening yellow. "You’re delusional. When the Council finds out yo

17

The stinging heat of the impact bloomed across my cheek, my head snapping to the side. I stood frozen, my palm throbbing where I’d struck Tristan, my heart a frantic, betrayed bird in my chest."Don't you dare group me in with your filth, Tristan. You think because I’m no longer under the Stormriven umbrella that I’m some lost pup you can kick? You’re the one who poisoned our pack with your infidelity. I didn't divorce you for a new Alpha. I divorced you because I finally woke up to the rot you call a marriage!"I stepped back, my hand trembling as I wiped the grit from my face. He looked at me with eyes that were no longer human, the yellow of his wolf-eye bleeding into the white."Your arrogance is your death warrant, Xender. The moment the paperwork is finalized, you’re nothing. A stray. A ghost. Keep clutching your Varkane collar—you’ll find out soon enough that he doesn't keep pets, he keeps tools. And you’re already dulling."He spun on his heel and stalked toward the darkness.

18

"You want me to strike you, Seraphina? Careful what you ask for, because your performance is getting tired, and I'm losing the last shred of my patience."The sound of my boot connecting with her knee was sharp, a wet, sickening crack that sent her sprawling onto the hospital concrete. She hit the ground with a shrill, theatrical scream, clutching her leg like I’d put a blade through her."Tristan! He attacked me! He's gone completely feral!"Tristan stepped forward, his massive frame vibrating with a suppressed, hulking rage. His eyes were wide, glowing that putrid, predatory yellow. "You psychotic animal! I told you to stay in your lane, Xender! I’m going to make sure you never walk out of this territory upright."I didn't flinch. I looked at him, truly looked at him—the man I’d shared a life with, the man who’d sold his honor for a pack alliance and a mistress who thrived on chaos. "Go ahead, Tristan. Take your best shot. But remember, the Varkane King is currently inside that buil

19

"Don't you dare touch my clothes, Tristan. And don't you ever step foot into the Evergreens again, or the next time you try to intimidate me, you’ll be leaving in a meat wagon."The air in the hospital corridor was stale, thick with the scent of antiseptic and the lingering, bitter musk of the Blackmoor pack. I didn't wait for Tristan to respond. I slammed the door to Lucien’s ICU suite, the lock clicking home with a finality that made the walls shake. I was shaking, too—not from the slap my mother-in-law had landed on my face, but from the sheer, burning audacity of the entire situation."You're making a scene, Xender," Lucien’s voice was a low rumble, barely audible over the hum of the heart monitor. He was watching me from the bed, his dark eyes tracking the pulse jumping at my throat."I’m dealing with a pack of vultures, Lucien. There's a difference."I walked to the bedside, my hands still trembling. I’d brought the soup to ground myself, a simple, human act in a world that was

20

Answer me, Blackmoor. Do you want an alliance, or are you just calling to hear the sound of your own cowardice?"I leaned back against the headboard of the ICU bed, the sterile sheets scratching against my skin. The phone pressed to my ear felt like a brand. Tristan Blackmoor was on the other end, his voice a frantic, low-pitched whine that set my teeth on edge."Lucien, listen to me. The Blackmoor pack is bleeding. The trade routes are paralyzed. I need a back-channel to the Nightfall Atelier. You’re the only one who can sign off on it. Just give me the introduction to their lead artisan."I let out a sharp, jagged laugh. "You want the Atelier? You, who sold out your own kin for a seat at a table that doesn't want you? You're delusional, Blackmoor. The Atelier chooses their own wolves. I don't dictate their contracts. I simply enforce their borders.""Lucien, you're the High Alpha! Just one word—""Go find another way, Tristan. And if you call this private line again, I’ll personally

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