Ex-Alpha's Regret: Siren's Comeback novel Chapter 109

POV: Damian

The room was electric. Seraphina's proposal had landed like a bolt of lightning, utterly changing the landscape of the summit. The delegates from the smaller packs and territories were no longer passive observers; they were a zealous, unified bloc, their faces alight with the revolutionary promise of shared wealth and power. My team's proposal, which had seemed so strong and unassailable just moments ago, now felt like a relic from a bygone era—a tyrant's decree in the face of a declaration of independence.

"Alpha," my Beta, Elias, whispered urgently in my ear, his face pale with panic. "We have to counter. Now. Double the royalty offer. Triple it. We can still crush them with sheer financial force. Price them out of the game."

It was a desperate, clumsy move, a bull rush against a master fencer, but it was the only move I had left. I gave a single, sharp nod, my mind numb, my pride in tatters. I was about to signal my intent to the moderators, to engage in a vulgar bidding war that would only reinforce my image as a bully.

But it was too late.

Killian Vance rose from his seat in the front row. He walked to the stage, not with the swagger of an Alpha, but with the quiet, unshakeable confidence of a man who knew he had already won. He stood beside Seraphina, a silent, supportive presence, and took the microphone.

"Before we proceed," he said, his voice calm and reasonable, a stark contrast to the frantic energy in my own camp, "I have one final addendum to our proposal."

He smiled, a polite, almost apologetic smile that was aimed directly at me. "Siren's vision of a collaborative future is one that my firm believes in wholeheartedly. So much so, in fact, that we have taken the liberty of pre-emptively securing the support of our fellow major players."

They were applauding the woman I had thrown away. The queen I had tried, and failed, to break. I had never felt so small, so powerless, so utterly and comprehensively defeated in my entire life.

I watched as Killian Vance leaned over and whispered something in Seraphina's ear, a proud, intimate smile on his face. She smiled back, a genuine, radiant smile of shared victory.

And in that moment, I knew I hadn't just lost a business deal. I had lost a war I never even knew I was fighting.