My Brother In Law is My True Mate

Revenge awaits

The Shadow-Claw Pack house was silent as the Alpha’s black SUV pulled into the driveway. Silas stepped out, his face pale. His chest was still wrapped in bandages, but the silver poison was gone.

Selina ran down the front steps. She was wearing a silk robe that dragged on the ground. She threw her arms around Silas’s neck, but he didn't hug her back. He stood as stiff as a stone.

"Silas! You're alive!" she cried. She pulled back and looked at his chest. "I heard you were struck by a silver blade. I was so scared. I’ve been praying to the Moon Goddess all night."

"I'm fine, Selina," Silas said. His voice was flat. He walked past her and entered the house.

"The guards said a rogue saved you," Selina said, following him into the hallway. Her voice was higher now, more nervous. "A woman in the woods. They said she was a healer. Who was she?"

Silas stopped. He turned around and looked at his wife. He remembered the girl in the hut. He remembered the cold, quiet power in her eyes.

"She was the girl we banished," Silas said.

The color drained from Selina’s face. "What? That’s impossible. You branded her. You threw her into the ravine. She’s dead, Silas. She has to be dead."

"She’s not," Silas said. "She’s leading the rogues. And she saved my life."

"It’s a trick!" Selina screamed. She gripped Silas’s arm. "She’s using that dark magic again! She only saved you so she could get close enough to kill me! Silas, you have to send the army. You have to finish what you started!"

Silas looked down at her hand on his arm. For the first time, he felt a spark of disgust. "She had a knife to my throat while I was sleeping, Selina. If she wanted us dead, I wouldn't be standing here."

He pulled his arm away and walked toward his study. He needed to be alone. He needed to think.

—-

Silas sat behind his heavy desk. He called for Kael, his head guard.

"Kael, sit down," Silas ordered.

The tall guard sat. He looked uncomfortable. "Alpha? Are you feeling okay? The silver poison can sometimes mess with the mind."

"I’m fine," Silas said. "Kael, I want to talk about the trial. Three years ago. The day of the Binding."

Kael shifted in his seat. "What about it?"

"Did you actually see Seraphina use dark magic?" Silas asked. "Did you see a book? A wand? A potion?"

Kael frowned, thinking back. "Well... no. But your Beta said she was a witch. And the Alpha power missed the Luna and hit her instead. That doesn't happen unless something is wrong."

"And the letter?" Silas asked. "The one saying she was working with the hunters?"

"Beta Thomas showed it to us," Kael said. "It had her scent on it."

"She was a servant in that house, Kael," Silas muttered. "Everything in that house had her scent on it."

Silas looked out the window at the dying trees of his territory. "Look at the land. The crops are black. The river is drying up. The pack is starving. If Selina is the True Luna, why is the land dying?"

"I don't know, Alpha," Kael said softly. "But the people are starting to talk. They say we made a mistake."

"I think I need to see the Beta," Silas said.

---

The Beta’s House

Silas didn't announce his visit. He walked straight into Beta Thomas’s living room. The Beta was sitting by the fire, drinking a glass of dark wine.

"Alpha!" Thomas said, jumping to his feet. "I didn't expect you. I heard about the rogue attack. Are you hurt?"

"I was," Silas said. "But the 'traitor' healed me."

Thomas dropped his glass. It shattered on the floor, red wine staining the white rug like blood. "She’s alive?"

"You seem scared, Thomas," Silas said, stepping closer. "Why? You told me she was weak. You told me she was a traitor. If she’s so evil, why did she let me live?"

"She’s playing a game!" Thomas said, his voice shaking. "She wants to turn you against us! Silas, listen to me. I am your Beta. I have served this pack for thirty years. Would I lie to you about my own daughter?"

"I hope not," Silas said, his eyes turning a dark, dangerous grey. "Because if I find out that you lied to me... if I find out that I branded an innocent woman because of your words... I will feed you to the rogues myself."

Silas turned and walked out, leaving Thomas trembling in the middle of his ruined living room.

---

The Rogue Camp

Deep in the Rogue Lands, the moon was high. Seraphina sat by a large fire. Around her, over a hundred outcasts were eating and talking. This was her pack now. They didn't care about titles or bloodlines. They cared about survival.

The Rogue King, the man with the scar named Valen, sat down next to her.

"The Alpha is back in his castle," Valen said. "My spies say he is asking questions."

Seraphina poked the fire with a stick. She didn't look up.

"Why did you do it, Sera?" Valen asked. "Why save the man who broke you? We could have attacked while he was weak. We could have taken the Shadow-Claw Packhouse by morning."

Seraphina looked at Valen. She reached for her charcoal and a piece of flat wood.

*If he dies now, he dies thinking I am a villain,* she wrote.

She wiped the wood clean and wrote again.

*I want him to live. I want him to see his land die. I want him to realize that he didn't just burn my skin. He burned his own future.*

"He’s coming back," Valen said. "You know that, right? He’s an Alpha. He won't let a mystery go unsolved."

Seraphina smiled. It was a cold, beautiful smile. She wrote one more thing.

I am counting on it.