Chapter 5
Back at the Hale packhouse, Dominic paced his office like a caged animal. The meeting with the Alpha King had rattled him more than he'd ever admit. Kael Blackmoor's power was staggering—oppressive in a way that made Dominic's own alpha aura feel like a candle next to a wildfire.
But that wasn't what haunted him.
It was the scent. Faint, almost impossible to detect beneath the pine and earth of Blackmoor territory—but unmistakably Sera.
She was alive.
The door opened, and Vanessa swept in wearing a silk robe, her blonde hair cascading over her shoulders. She smiled that sweet, practiced smile that had ensnared him months ago.
"How did it go, baby?" she purred, sliding her arms around his neck.
Dominic grabbed her wrists, pushing her back. "She's alive."
Vanessa's smile froze. "What?"
"Sera. She didn't die in the Deadlands. She's in Blackmoor territory. The Alpha King has her."
Vanessa's face paled for a moment before her composure returned. She pulled her hands free and crossed her arms, her expression hardening.
"That's impossible. You severed the bond. She had no wolf—she couldn't have survived."
"And yet she did." Dominic's eyes were wild. "If she talks—if she tells anyone what really happened at the ceremony—"
"She won't." Vanessa's voice was ice. "Who would believe her? She's a rejected nobody. And you're an Alpha with a full pack behind you."
"The Alpha King believed her enough to deny me access." Dominic slammed his fist on the desk. "Kael Blackmoor doesn't protect strays for no reason. He knows something."
Vanessa was quiet for a moment, her green eyes calculating. Then she spoke, her voice soft and dangerous. "Then we need to get her back. Before she becomes a problem we can't solve."
Dominic looked at her. "How?"
Vanessa's lips curved into a smile that held no warmth. "I still have friends in high places. The Elder Council owes our family favors. If we petition them—claim that Sera stole something from the pack before she fled—they'll demand her return. Even Kael Blackmoor can't defy the Council."
Dominic considered this, his jaw working. "And once she's back?"
Vanessa stepped forward, pressing her hand against his chest. "Once she's back," she whispered, "we make sure she disappears. Permanently this time."
Dominic's wolf stirred—uneasy, guilty. The mate bond, even severed, left an echo. A hollow ache he refused to acknowledge. He'd chosen Vanessa. He'd made his decision.
But somewhere deep inside, a voice whispered: *You made the wrong one.*
He silenced it.
---
Meanwhile, in Blackmoor territory, Sera couldn't sleep. She lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, her hand pressed over her heart. The pulse was stronger now—a drumbeat beneath her skin that grew louder with each passing day.
She closed her eyes and focused on it, trying to reach whatever was awakening inside her. For years, she'd been told she was wolfless. Defective. Less than. But this—whatever this was—didn't feel like nothing. It felt like a storm building behind a dam.
A soft knock at the door pulled her from concentration.
"Come in," she said, sitting up.
The door opened to reveal Dr. Maren, holding a folder. The physician's expression was uncharacteristically shaken.
"I got your blood results back," Dr. Maren said, closing the door behind her. "The secondary analysis."
"And?"
Dr. Maren hesitated. "Sera… your bloodline. It's not what we thought. It's not what anyone thought." She set the folder on the bed. "You're not wolfless. You never were. Your wolf was suppressed—deliberately, chemically, from a very young age. Someone drugged you for years to keep your wolf dormant."
The room tilted. "What?"
"And that's not all." Dr. Maren's voice dropped. "Your blood carries markers of the Lunaris line."
Sera stared. "That's… that's the royal bloodline. The original wolf queens."
"Yes." Dr. Maren met her eyes. "Sera, you're not a nobody. You're a direct descendant of the First Luna. And whoever suppressed your wolf knew exactly what they were hiding."
Sera's chest constricted. Her entire life—the weakness, the mockery, the rejection—all manufactured. Someone had stolen her wolf from her on purpose.
And she was going to find out who.
But that wasn't what haunted him.
It was the scent. Faint, almost impossible to detect beneath the pine and earth of Blackmoor territory—but unmistakably Sera.
She was alive.
The door opened, and Vanessa swept in wearing a silk robe, her blonde hair cascading over her shoulders. She smiled that sweet, practiced smile that had ensnared him months ago.
"How did it go, baby?" she purred, sliding her arms around his neck.
Dominic grabbed her wrists, pushing her back. "She's alive."
Vanessa's smile froze. "What?"
"Sera. She didn't die in the Deadlands. She's in Blackmoor territory. The Alpha King has her."
Vanessa's face paled for a moment before her composure returned. She pulled her hands free and crossed her arms, her expression hardening.
"That's impossible. You severed the bond. She had no wolf—she couldn't have survived."
"And yet she did." Dominic's eyes were wild. "If she talks—if she tells anyone what really happened at the ceremony—"
"She won't." Vanessa's voice was ice. "Who would believe her? She's a rejected nobody. And you're an Alpha with a full pack behind you."
"The Alpha King believed her enough to deny me access." Dominic slammed his fist on the desk. "Kael Blackmoor doesn't protect strays for no reason. He knows something."
Vanessa was quiet for a moment, her green eyes calculating. Then she spoke, her voice soft and dangerous. "Then we need to get her back. Before she becomes a problem we can't solve."
Dominic looked at her. "How?"
Vanessa's lips curved into a smile that held no warmth. "I still have friends in high places. The Elder Council owes our family favors. If we petition them—claim that Sera stole something from the pack before she fled—they'll demand her return. Even Kael Blackmoor can't defy the Council."
Dominic considered this, his jaw working. "And once she's back?"
Vanessa stepped forward, pressing her hand against his chest. "Once she's back," she whispered, "we make sure she disappears. Permanently this time."
Dominic's wolf stirred—uneasy, guilty. The mate bond, even severed, left an echo. A hollow ache he refused to acknowledge. He'd chosen Vanessa. He'd made his decision.
But somewhere deep inside, a voice whispered: *You made the wrong one.*
He silenced it.
---
Meanwhile, in Blackmoor territory, Sera couldn't sleep. She lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, her hand pressed over her heart. The pulse was stronger now—a drumbeat beneath her skin that grew louder with each passing day.
She closed her eyes and focused on it, trying to reach whatever was awakening inside her. For years, she'd been told she was wolfless. Defective. Less than. But this—whatever this was—didn't feel like nothing. It felt like a storm building behind a dam.
A soft knock at the door pulled her from concentration.
"Come in," she said, sitting up.
The door opened to reveal Dr. Maren, holding a folder. The physician's expression was uncharacteristically shaken.
"I got your blood results back," Dr. Maren said, closing the door behind her. "The secondary analysis."
"And?"
Dr. Maren hesitated. "Sera… your bloodline. It's not what we thought. It's not what anyone thought." She set the folder on the bed. "You're not wolfless. You never were. Your wolf was suppressed—deliberately, chemically, from a very young age. Someone drugged you for years to keep your wolf dormant."
The room tilted. "What?"
"And that's not all." Dr. Maren's voice dropped. "Your blood carries markers of the Lunaris line."
Sera stared. "That's… that's the royal bloodline. The original wolf queens."
"Yes." Dr. Maren met her eyes. "Sera, you're not a nobody. You're a direct descendant of the First Luna. And whoever suppressed your wolf knew exactly what they were hiding."
Sera's chest constricted. Her entire life—the weakness, the mockery, the rejection—all manufactured. Someone had stolen her wolf from her on purpose.
And she was going to find out who.