Ex-Alpha's Regret: Siren's Comeback novel Chapter 118

POV: Seraphina

The summons arrived like a declaration of war. It wasn't a letter or a business proposal, but a formal, unignorable edict, delivered via a secure channel from the Alpha Alliance High Council itself. It was stamped with the council's formidable seal, a symbol of absolute authority that no pack leader could defy.

Killian, Jax, and I stood around the holographic display table in the Aethelgard war room, the text of the summons hovering in the air between us. It was a masterpiece of malicious bureaucracy. An 'Emergency Arbitration Hearing' concerning the Azure Vein mining claim. A strategically vital territory that both our corporations had a legitimate, long-standing interest in. And the final clause, a blade disguised as protocol: "Attendance of the designated Chief Strategic Architects from all involved parties is mandatory and non-negotiable for the proceedings to be considered valid."

There was no escape. It was a direct order, backed by the full power of the continental alliance. To refuse would be to forfeit our claim and, far more importantly, to be seen as defying the council itself—a political disaster.

"It's a trap," Jax snarled, his fist clenched at his side. The veins in his neck stood out. "It's a pathetic, transparent trap to get you in a room with him. He's trying to get into your head. You can't go, Sera. I forbid it."

His protective instincts were a familiar, comforting warmth, but his command was an echo of a life I had long since left behind. I was no one's to forbid.

I looked from my brother's furious face to Killian's. He was silent, his expression a mask of calm, intense focus. He wasn't looking at the summons; he was looking at me, his gaze analytical, searching. He wasn't assessing the strategic threat, but the emotional one.

"Jax is right," I said, my voice cutting through my brother's rising anger. "It is a trap. That's what makes it so interesting."

Jax looked like he was about to explode, but Killian finally spoke, his voice a low, steady anchor in the tense room. He didn't argue. He didn't question my judgment. He simply accepted my decision as my own.

His eyes met mine, and in their depths, I saw not the concern of a business partner, but something deeper, more personal. He was worried, not for our company, but for the scars I still carried.

"I'll go with you," he said, his tone leaving no room for discussion. "Whatever happens, I will be right beside you."