The Alpha Christmas claim

Chapter 13: The Alpha Heir is Born

The Stress of Treason

The Blackwood Hall was teetering on the edge of chaos. Commander Tiernan was secured but refusing to speak, and Victor was still waiting at the hunting lodge, unaware his accomplice was compromised. Rhys was rushing back to the Command Room to coordinate the immediate capture, his urgency transmitted to Lila through the Mate Bond.

Lila was planning the next move with Evelyn when the piercing shriek echoed from the eastern wing—a sound of raw, uncontrolled pain and wolf panic.

It was Seraphina.

The Pack Healer's assistant rushed into the Command Room, face white. “Luna! The she-wolf in confinement has gone into premature labor! The stress of the arrests and the alarm—it triggered the birth! She’s hemorrhaging!”

The Mate Bond immediately flooded with Rhys’s terror and fierce responsibility. He was the Alpha, and this was his blood.

“Evelyn, contact Rhys and tell him to prioritize the Hall! Victor can wait!” Lila commanded, grabbing a medical kit. “We cannot let the heir die on our watch, or Victor wins the propaganda war.”

Lila didn't wait for permission. She ran to the secure wing, her human medical training—a discipline her wolf had usually muted—snapping into absolute focus.

The Alpha’s Blood

The birthing room was a scene of animal intensity. Seraphina, unable to control her immense physical pain, was raging, her dominant she-wolf scent choking the air. The assistant healer was paralyzed with fear.

Lila took control instantly, ignoring the overwhelming Alpha musk of the room and the crushing political weight of the situation.

“Assistant, stabilize the environment! I need clean water and towels!” Lila’s voice was sharp, steady, and utterly clinical. She moved past the primal terror and focused on the mechanics of saving two lives.

The labor was fast and brutal, driven by panic and premature urgency. Lila coached the struggling she-wolf, guiding her through the impossible pain.

After a desperate, exhausting struggle, a final, ragged roar escaped Seraphina's throat.

Lila, sweat plastering her hair to her forehead, carefully lifted the infant. He was small, frail, and silent for a terrifying second before he let out a thin, demanding cry.

Then, the moment of undeniable truth.

As the tiny male infant opened his eyes, they were clear, startling, and flecked with molten gold. The unmistakable mark of the Blackwood Alpha Lineage.

Lila felt the revelation hit her like a punch: This child was the living, undeniable proof of Rhys’s blood and Seraphina's worth.

The Throne Claim

Rhys burst into the room, having abandoned the hunt, drawn by the Mate Bond and the profound, terrifying scent of birth. He saw the child in Lila’s arms, the small, golden eyes, and the sheer, biological reality of the new life. The fatherly pride hit the Mate Bond with agonizing force.

Seraphina, though weak, saw the confirmation in Rhys’s eyes. She pushed herself up onto her elbows, her exhaustion replaced by a sudden, cold fire of ambition. She completely ignored Lila.

“Rhys,” Seraphina whispered, her voice husky but commanding. “The Goddess has judged. The blood has spoken. You had your Mate of destiny, and she bore you nothing. I, the strong she-wolf, have given you the golden-eyed heir that secures your line.”

She looked pointedly at Lila, who still held the infant. “The human has proven useful in delivery, but the spiritual claim is void. The Pack needs a Luna who can bear Alpha blood and command respect. That position is mine now. The child will not bow to a human Mate.”

The scent of Seraphina's dominance, fueled by the sheer power of having birthed the heir, surged in the room.

Lila felt the sudden, terrifying shift in the atmosphere. The Pack wolves clustered outside the door—the assistant, the guards—were whispering, their loyalty wavering. They had witnessed the confirmation of the Alpha blood and the successful maternity of Seraphina. Lila’s human claim felt impossibly fragile.

Rhys walked toward them, his gaze sweeping over his son, then fixing on Seraphina, his face a mask of iron control.

“The child is my blood, Seraphina,” Rhys stated, his Alpha voice cutting through the tension. “And he is safe. But my Mate is Lila. The Mate Bond is absolute, and it is the law of the Pack. You gave birth to the heir, but you are not the Luna.”

Seraphina smiled, a cruel, dangerous expression. “For now, Rhys. But the Pack Elders are not fools. They will weigh the Mate of Destiny who cannot give an heir against the Mother of the Golden Eyes who is now ready to claim her throne. And I will remind every one of them that a human Mate has no place commanding a true Alpha Pack.”

Lila, still holding the fragile evidence of her potential downfall, felt the true war begin. This was no longer about Victor; it was about the primal, ruthless battle for the Luna title, and Seraphina now held the most powerful weapon possible. Lila’s life—and her claim to Rhys—was now dangerously at risk.