Northcrest
Ronan sat stiffly on the Alpha’s throne, his jaw locked, his fingers drumming impatiently on the armrest. He should have been focused on political meetings, on stabilizing the pack. But the seat beside him stayed empty, and Seraphine filled it with venom.
“I dismissed the southern advisor,” she said brightly. “He dared question my authority.” Ronan didn’t respond.
Seraphine turned to him. “You’re welcome.”
He finally looked at her. “That man was on the council for three decades.”
“And?” she said with a shrug. “We need wolves who will follow, not whine.” She laughed as if it was clever. Ronan said nothing.
She leaned closer. “Still thinking about her?” He didn’t answer.
Seraphine smiled coldly. “You think she’ll come crawling back? That barren little shadow?”
His jaw twitched. “Don’t speak of her.”
“Why not?” Seraphine challenged. “She left you. She humiliated you. Everyone knows it.”
He stood abruptly, chair screeching across stone. Servants paused. Guards looked away.
“You think you're Alpha,” she spat, rising. “But you let her slip through your fingers like nothing.”
He turned slowly. “Leave.”
“What?” “Leave the chamber, Seraphine. Before I forget we are bonded by law and not by blood.” Her lips curled into a snarl, but she turned and stormed out.
Outside, the elders muttered. The halls echoed with rumors. “The Luna’s gone. The Alpha’s distracted. The pack is crumbling.”
Ronan snapped more often. Growled at guards. Ignored council requests. At night, he stared toward the mountains, still and watchful, like he could smell her in the wind. He barely ate. He barely slept.
His Beta approached once with concern. “Alpha, the warriors need direction. The eastern border—”
Ronan cut him off. “They can hold it.”
“We’re spread thin. We need decisions.”
“We need her,” he snapped. “We need order.”
The Beta stepped back without another word.
Even the guards began to whisper. They spoke in corners, eyes shifting. “He doesn’t see us. Doesn’t hear us. He’s lost in ghosts.”
In the war room, the table lay scattered with unread scrolls. Strategy maps. Empty inkpots. He paced like a caged animal. Shadows ringed his eyes.
Lady Virella marched in, lips thin with disdain. She slapped a scroll down hard enough to rattle the cups.
“Read it,” she snapped. Ronan didn’t move.
“She was pregnant,” Virella hissed. “The tracker didn’t lie. You let your bonded Luna flee carrying heirs.”
The silence was thunderous.
“Do you understand what that means?” she pressed. “Your claim is already weak. The council is whispering. The bloodline is at stake.”
Ronan’s fists clenched. The wood beneath his palms creaked.
“You had one job,” she spat. “Secure the future. And you let it vanish into the wilds.”
“She was nothing when she came to us,” Virella continued. “You should’ve marked her tighter. Kept her in line.”
His sister, Amaris, leaned forward, voice low and sharp. “If the court finds out, you lose everything.”
She looked him square in the eye, her tone colder than ice. “They’re already questioning your judgment. Seraphine’s an embarrassment. And Mira—Mira was power.”
“Enough,” Ronan growled. “I’ve heard enough.”
Amaris didn’t blink. “Then do something about it.”
Ronan’s breathing grew ragged. He picked up the scroll slowly. His eyes scanned the report. The healer's signature. The dates. The notation: confirmed pregnancy. His breath left him slowly.
“My blood,” he muttered. “She took my blood.”
Virella folded her arms. “She took your future.” Amaris leaned closer. “She'll ruin you, brother. If she steps into court first, if she claims them before you do... it’s over.”
Ronan's eyes darkened. “Send the remaining scouts,” he ordered. “Double the patrols. Search every rogue trail from here to the capital.”
Virella arched a brow. “You think she went that far?”
“She has help,” he said. “She wouldn’t have made it this long alone.”
“Who would protect her?” Amaris asked. “She was no one.”
Ronan stared at the scroll. His hands curled around the edge.
“Whoever it is,” he said coldly, “they’ll regret it.”
Amaris's voice cut through the room again, low and urgent. “Retrieve her. Now.”