Ex-Alpha's Regret: Siren's Comeback novel Chapter 107

POV: Damian

The next day, the main hall of the summit felt like a hostile territory. The whispers that followed me as I walked through the crowd were no longer just of my fall from grace in the ballroom, but of a deeper, more systemic rot. I could feel the change in the air, the shift in the political landscape. The Alphas of the other great packs, men who had once vied for my attention, now offered only curt, formal nods before turning away. They gravitated toward Killian Vance, their expressions a mixture of respect and opportunism. I was no longer the sun. I was a dying star, my gravitational pull weakening, my allies looking for a new center of power to orbit.

The isolation was a palpable thing, a cold bubble of space around me. It dragged another bitter memory to the surface, one that now clicked into place with horrifying clarity. An online emergency session of the Alpha Council, a little over a year ago. It was a tense meeting, called to address the growing threat of a rogue coalition on the western plains. I had planned to use the session to my advantage, to consolidate my power and politically kneecap a long-time rival.

I had been in the middle of a powerful, commanding speech, outlining my proposed strategy, when the secure, encrypted chat channel that connected all the Alphas had lit up with an anonymous message.

"Before we entrust the security of our territories to Alpha Blackwood," the message read, "perhaps we should examine how he treats his own sworn allies."

A deep, profound sense of powerlessness, an emotion I had not truly felt since I was a boy, washed over me. I was facing an enemy I couldn't see, a mind that was always three steps ahead of me. For the first time in my life, I was afraid. I was not just losing a game; I was being dismantled, piece by piece, by a ghost.

And I had absolutely no idea how to fight back.