The alpha I hated

Chapter 30:The one we want

NOAH'S POV

A tall woman with long black hair stepped forward. Her eyes were the coldest red I had ever seen.

"I am Seraphina," she said. "Leader of the Northern Vampire Council."

"I don't care who you are," I said. "You're not taking my mate."

"Your mate," Seraphina said the word like it tasted bad, "is an abomination. A mistake that should have been corrected years ago."

"Daisy is not a mistake."

"She is vampire-werewolf hybrid," Seraphina said. "Such creatures are forbidden by ancient law. They upset the natural order."

"What natural order?"

"Vampires and werewolves are meant to be enemies," she explained. "When our bloodlines mix, it creates chaos. Hybrids like your mate have no loyalty to either species."

"Daisy is loyal to our pack."

"Is she?" Seraphina asked. "Or is she just using you for protection while she grows strong enough to destroy you?"

"You don't know what you're talking about.”

"Don't I?" Seraphina smiled, showing her fangs. "We've been watching your mate for months, Alpha. We know about her powers. We know about the goddess who possessed her. We know about the creatures she attracts."

"So?"

"So she's dangerous," Seraphina said. "And the child she carries will be even more dangerous."

"My child isn't even born yet."

"But when it is born," Seraphina continued, "it will have the combined powers of both species. It will be stronger than any vampire, faster than any werewolf, and completely unpredictable.”

"That doesn't make it evil."

"It makes it a threat," Lucas said. "A threat to the peace between our species."

"What peace?" I asked. "You just brought a vampire army to attack my territory."

"This isn't an attack," Seraphina said. "This is an intervention. We're here to prevent a war."

"By killing my mate and child?"

"By removing the source of future conflict," she said simply.

That's when Alex stepped forward, still glowing with magical power.

"Noah," he said urgently, "we need to get out of here now. There are too many of them."

"I'm not running," I said.

"You have to think about Daisy," Maya added. "If something happens to you, who will protect her?"

She was right. As much as I wanted to fight Lucas and his monsters, my first responsibility was to my mate and unborn child.

"Besides," Alex said quietly, "I'm sensing something else coming this way. Something attracted by all this supernatural energy."

"What do you mean?”

"The magical disturbance from this many vampires and werewolves in one place," Maya explained. "It's like a beacon. It's attracting every dark creature for miles around."

As if to prove her point, we suddenly heard new sounds from the forest. Sounds I recognized from the night the shadow demons attacked.

"Oh no," I whispered.

"What is it?" Elder Sarah asked.

"The creatures are coming back," I said.

Sure enough, red eyes started appearing between the trees. The same red eyes we had seen before. Shadow demons, blood wraiths, and other monsters were being drawn to our location.

Lucas looked around nervously as the creatures started emerging from the forest.

"This wasn't part of the plan," he said to Seraphina.

"Plans adapt," the vampire leader said calmly. "We use the creatures as a distraction."

"But there are too many of them," Lucas said. "We can't control them all."

"Then we let them attack the pack territory while we collect our target," Seraphina said.

I realized what they were planning.

"You're going to use the creatures as a distraction," I said.

"Very good, Alpha," Lucas said. "While you're busy fighting shadow demons, we'll be dealing with your hybrid problem."

"I won't let you near Daisy."

"You won't have a choice," Seraphina said. "Because you'll be too busy trying to save your pack members."

More and more creatures were emerging from the forest now. Dozens of them. All with their glowing red eyes fixed on our group.

But something strange was happening. The creatures weren't attacking yet. They were just... watching.

"Why aren't they moving?" Elias asked.

That's when I felt it. The same golden warmth I had felt before. The protective power that seemed to come from Daisy.

Even from miles away, back at the pack house, something was trying to protect us.

But there were too many creatures this time. And whatever was protecting us wasn't strong enough to hold them all back for long.

"We need to move," I said to my pack members. "Now."

"Where?" Elder Sarah asked. "They have us surrounded.”

That's when I made a decision that surprised everyone, including myself.

"Lucas," I called out. "I'll make you a deal."

"What kind of deal?"

"Let my pack members go," I said. "Let them return safely to the territory. And I'll come with you willingly."

"Noah, no!" Elias shouted.

"If you come willingly," Lucas said, "you'll just try to escape later."

"Not if you give me your word that you won't hurt Daisy until after I've had a chance to say goodbye."

Lucas thought about this for a moment.

"One hour," he said. "You get one hour to say goodbye. Then you surrender yourself to us."

"No," said Seraphina. "That's not the agreement we made."

"The agreement was that I would deliver my brother," Lucas said firmly. "I never said anything about timing."

"And the hybrid?"

"She stays untouched until Noah surrenders," Lucas said. "That was always part of my plan."

Seraphina looked angry, but she nodded. "One hour. But if you try to run, we kill everyone in your territory."

"Agreed," I said.

"Noah, what are you doing?" Alex asked quietly.

"Buying us time," I whispered back. "Get everyone back to the territory. Set up every protection spell you know. And get Daisy somewhere safe."

"What about you?"

"I'll figure something out," I said.

But as we started walking back toward the vehicles, something unexpected happened.

One of the shadow demons suddenly let out a piercing shriek and lunged forward.

"What's happening?" Seraphina shouted as the creature wrapped its smoky tendrils around one of her vampires.

"I don't know!" Lucas said, backing away from the demon.

More creatures started moving. But instead of attacking us, they were surrounding the vampires and rogue wolves.

"They're not after us," Maya realized. "They're after them."

"But why?" I asked.

"Vampires attract dark creatures," Alex explained. "Their undead energy calls to things from the shadow realm."

I understand now. The vampires had brought too many of their kind to one place. The creatures were drawn to the

concentration of vampire energy.

"Run!" I shouted to my pack. "While they're distracted!"

We all ran toward our vehicles as chaos erupted behind us. Vampires were screaming. Rogue wolves were howling in pain. And the creatures were attacking everything that smelled of death and dark.