CLAIMED BY THE RUTHLESS ALPHA

Darius and Saraphine POV

The men’s laughter grew louder as they reminisced, their voices dripping with cruel nostalgia.

“You remember that blonde girl? The one who did nothing but cry all the time?”

Melody.

I kept my face carefully blank, lifting my mug to hide the storm raging behind my eyes.

Leo grinned widely. “Beautiful girl, but damn she stank of fear. Especially around me. What about you, Ash? You remember what she smelled like up close?”

Another man snorted. “Who cares what she smelled like? Remember that pack run when we”

They spoke about my fated mate like she had been nothing more than entertainment. A toy for them to break.

I smiled faintly, imagining tearing out every tongue in the room one by one. “What’s this about a pack run and a girl who cried?”

Leo eagerly launched into the story, jumping between Eden and the “blonde girl.” How they had tormented them for sport. How some outsider had shown up, killed the old alpha, and disappeared.

My wolf howled for blood, clawing at my insides.

From the corner of my eye, I saw Seraphine pressed against the far wall, hands tucked tightly behind her back. She hadn’t stood like that earlier. She was hiding trembling fingers. Hiding rage.

I wanted to destroy everything in this room.

When the conversation circled back to Eden, Jax leaned forward. “You were questioning Seraphine about Eden the first night. We all heard through the door.”

I leaned back in my chair. “Yes. I knew her years ago.”

Leo’s smile turned sly and suggestive. “So you wanted to pick up where things left off with her, huh?”

I stared at him until the grin melted from his face.

Eventually I stood. “I’ve chosen my beta.”

Silence fell like a hammer.

I pointed my chin directly at Seraphine. “Her.”

Chaos exploded. Voices overlapped in outrage and disbelief.

Jax raised one hand and the room fell silent almost instantly. Interesting. He held more sway here than I had realized.

“She’s a woman,” Jax said coldly. “And a submissive wolf. One you yourself exposed on the first night. She cannot possibly serve as beta.”

I shrugged, keeping my voice calm. “I’ve made my decision.”

A red-haired, heavily muscled shifter named Kaylen shot to his feet. “I challenge you. You’re not one of us, and this pack doesn’t”

“No need for long speeches,” I interrupted. With one powerful shove, I sent the heavy oak table scraping violently across the floor. Chairs toppled. Men cursed as they scrambled out of the way.

“Here is fine,” I said.

Kaylen barely had time to react. I shifted in seconds, clothes tearing, bones snapping and reforming. My massive dark brown wolf form slammed into him before he could finish pulling off his shirt. My jaws clamped around his throat. Hot, metallic blood flooded my mouth as I bit down harder.

He didn’t suffer nearly enough for what they had done to Melody and Eden.

When it was over, I released the corpse and turned on the rest. They dropped to their knees, eyes glued to the floor in submission.

All except her.

Seraphine remained standing. Her silver eyes met my wolf’s gaze without flinching defiant, burning with something deeper than fear. My wolf wanted to pin her to the ground, strip away every lie, and claim what already felt like mine.

I took one threatening step forward before catching myself.

No. I had a mate. Melody. Seraphine was part of this poison.

As I stalked past Leo, her sweet peach scent clung heavily to him. My entire body trembled with the need to end him.

But the image of that silver necklace flashed in my mind. If cheap gifts and rough hands were what she wanted, then she and Leo deserved each other.

I turned and walked out of the bloodied dining room, leaving the men on their knees and the taste of death on my tongue.

As Darius walked out, the men on their knees stood up and walked out as well, leaving Leo and i Saraphine in the dining room. He moved to me, trying to cares me by my breast. Leo’s hand squeezed my breast hard enough to leave fresh bruises.

I winced but stayed pinned beneath him on the cold, hard ground behind the dining hall. His mouth sealed over my throat, sucking aggressively. Another hickey I would have to hide tomorrow.

When he finally eased back, I sighed in relief, until his tongue dragged slowly over my racing pulse. I jerked at the unexpected sensation.

His weight shifted above me. “You’re quiet tonight, Seraphine.”

I forced a small, breathy smile. “Just thinking about next time.”

He grinned against my skin. “Good girl.”

Disgust churned in my stomach, but I buried it deep beneath layers of survival instinct. I needed him distracted. Needed him cocky and careless so I could finally strike. One clean kill and Leo would be gone. Then only Jax would remain on my list.

But Darius’s voice kept echoing in my head. His announcement. Naming me beta in front of all of them.

He might as well have signed my death warrant.

Leo finally rolled off me, satisfied with the marks he’d left on my body. “Don’t keep me waiting too long.”

“I won’t,” I whispered, sitting up slowly and brushing dirt from my shorts.

As he swaggered away, I touched the silver locket hidden beneath my shirt. The metal warmed my palm the last tangible piece of my parents. Their faces inside the tiny photos were the only thing keeping me going after all these years.

Darius’s emerald eyes flashed in my memory. The raw hunger when his wolf had looked at me after killing Kaylen. The way power had rolled off him so effortlessly. My own wolf whimpered inside me, torn between pure terror and a dangerous, magnetic pull toward the strongest male she had ever encountered.

I stood on shaky legs, ribs and knee still aching from earlier injuries.

Two days were almost over. The pack was fracturing. Jax was already plotting in the shadows. Darius watched my every move like a predator deciding whether to devour or protect me.

And I still had blood to spill.

I straightened my spine, fixed my expression into careful neutrality, and headed back toward the farmhouse. The night air felt heavier now, thick with the scent of coming violence.

Whatever happened next whether Darius’s protection held or the pack turned on me completely I refused to break.

Not yet.

Not when I was so close to finishing what I had started eight long years ago.

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