Forsaken By The Alpha

chapter 9

Chapter 9: The Alpha's Warning

Lucian's POV

The estate was quiet, save for the faint crackling of the fire in my study. I sat in my chair, the weight of the night weighing on me. Elara's face haunted my mind-defiant, afire. Infuriating. She was supposed to break, to bend under the weight of my will. That had been the plan, simple and clear.

But nothing with her was uncomplicated.

She was different from any person I'd ever known-resilient in ways that irritated my patience. I'd caught her, dragged her back, made my warnings crystal clear, yet I could see it in her eyes-she wasn't done fighting. She wouldn't give in.

I should have been angry, livid even. And I was. But there was something else, something I couldn't quite name. A tension that simmered just beneath the surface, unsettling in its unfamiliarity.

A sharp knock at the door pulled me from my thoughts.

"Enter," I called, my voice steady despite the storm raging inside me.

The door creaked open and Aric, my Beta, stepped inside. His expression was grim, his usual calm edged with tension.

"What is it?" I asked, leaning forward.

Aric shut the door behind him, his movements deliberate. "We received a message," he said, holding out a sealed letter. "It's from Alpha Kael of the Bloodfang Pack."

The name brought a flicker of recognition; swiftly following it, the anger surged. Kael, of course. He had been an arrogant thorn in my side for so long with his ambition, his thirst for power, and his threats to upend the tenuous balance between our packs.

I took the letter from Aric and broke the seal, my eyes scanning the parchment. The words were sharp, calculated, each one carefully chosen to needle at me.

Lucian,

The Silverfang Pack’s power wanes. Your choices grow reckless, your leadership weak. Perhaps it’s time someone else claimed the title of Alpha. I’ll be waiting when that time comes.

Kael.

I bunched the letter in my fist, and the growl rose to my chest before I could rein it back. The wolf inside me bristled, the fur standing on end with rage. Kael had overstepped, dared to question my strength, my authority.

"He's testing me," I said, low, dangerous.

Aric nodded, his expression grim. "That's not all. The messenger reported that Kael's pack has been expanding into territories dangerously close to our borders. He's building an army, Lucian."

The wolf snarled within me, demanding action, demanding blood. Kael had always been bold, but this was something else. This was a direct challenge, a declaration of war thinly veiled beneath his arrogant words.

"Casualties?" I asked sharply.

"Yes," Aric said. "Increased movement. Tracks. We believe he's positioning his warriors there, testing our defenses."

My jaw clenched as the weight of what was before me fully hit home. Kael wasn't just a threat to my pack; he was a threat to everything I'd built, everything I'd fought for.

"Send more warriors to the border," I said. "Double patrols and make sure Kael's scouts know we see them."

Aric nodded. His loyalty was rock, but his eyes spoke the words he did not: this was more than a grab for territory. Kael wanted what all power-hungry men desired.

"And Elara?" Aric ventured.

I froze, my thoughts derailed for one fateful moment by the mention of her name. The wolf inside stirred, his attention twisting. Elara. She was a pawn in my game, to be used and then set aside. Yet the spark of defiance, the hint of her strength-it was.disquieting.

"She's not your concern," I replied sharply, the words hollowness an affront even to myself.

Aric raised an eyebrow but didn't press the issue. Instead, he stepped closer, his voice dropping. "Lucian, you can't let Kael see any weakness. If he finds out about her…"

He didn't finish the sentence, but then, he didn't have to. The implication was clear. Kael would see Elara as a vulnerability, a way to exploit me.

"She's not a weakness," I growled, the words more a promise to myself than a statement of fact.

Aric hesitated, his eyes searching mine. "Be careful, Lucian," he said finally. "Kael isn't the only one watching."

And with that, he was gone, leaving me alone with my thoughts once again.

I watched the fire, dancing in wavelets like my thoughts, all chaotic and wild. Kael's challenge was crystal clear; the threat implicit but clear. Yet, it was not just Kael; I had to worry about the whole pack. They had to see me as hard, immovable. The slightest weakness, one pause, and Kael's words would find a following.

But then, there was Elara.

I closed my eyes, the memory of her defiant gaze searing behind my eyelids. She wasn't a weakness. She couldn't be. I wouldn't let her be.

But even as I said it to myself, there was a voice at the back of my mind, whispering a different truth.

Elara wasn't a weakness. She was a .challenge.

And challenges had this tendency to change everything.