Ex-Alpha's Regret: Siren's Comeback novel Chapter 20

POV: Seraphina

The memory of Damian's nostalgic smile was a brand on my soul. It was the final confirmation that I wasn't just unloved; I was an obstacle, a placeholder standing in the way of his true happiness. The last shreds of my broken heart turned to dust, blown away by the cold wind of his indifference. All that remained was the burning, unyielding core of my plan. My escape. My empire.

I threw myself into the work with a feverish intensity. My anonymous communications with Killian became more frequent, more detailed. We were no longer just exchanging data; we were war-gaming scenarios, building financial models, and identifying potential allies. With his guidance, I targeted a small but strategically important pack, the Stone Ridge pack, led by a pragmatic Alpha named Kian. Their territory contained a critical mountain pass. Securing their allegiance would be the first real step in building my independent trade network.

After weeks of careful, anonymous negotiation through my shell corporation, I secured a secret meeting. Alpha Kian was hesitant but intrigued by the proposal of fair trade and freedom from Blackwood's heavy-handed influence. Hope, for the first time in a long time, felt real and tangible. This was it. The start of my new life.

The day before the scheduled meeting, I received a curt, one-line encrypted message from Kian's Beta. "Meeting cancelled. Apologies."

That was it. No explanation. No room for rescheduling. My blood ran cold. He had been so close to agreeing. Something had spooked him. I knew, with a sickening certainty, who was responsible.

That evening, Damian found me in the library. He had a self-satisfied, almost paternal look on his face that made my skin crawl.

"I heard about your little business venture," he said, his voice smooth and condescending. "Trying to play Alpha with the little packs, Seraphina? It's… cute."

He smiled, a gentle, patronizing smile that was more insulting than any sneer. "I've decided to put you in charge of this. A proper role for a Luna. Something meaningful for you to focus your energies on. It will do a lot of good, and it will keep you from getting distracted by these unrealistic fantasies."

It was the ultimate humiliation. He wasn't just sabotaging my dreams; he was replacing them with a gilded cage, a respectable, powerless hobby to keep me occupied. He was telling me to stop reaching for a crown and to be content with a charity bake sale.

He slid the folder across the polished wood of the desk until it stopped right in front of my hands.