Ex-Alpha's Regret: Siren's Comeback novel Chapter 36

POV: Sylvie

The sweet satisfaction of Seraphina's defeat in the garden was a taste I savored, but it wasn't enough. A single victory was not the end of the war. Her strange question about a baby, followed by that tiny, protective gesture toward her stomach, had planted a seed of pure terror in my mind. It was a suspicion so monstrous, so potentially catastrophic to my plans, that I couldn't afford to let it fester. I needed proof.

Damian's resources were now mine to command. The Matron's Brooch pinned to my dress was more than a symbol; it was a key. I used the private discretionary funds—the ones Seraphina used to fritter away on art and pup charities—to hire the best private investigator in the territories. A discreet, ruthless wolf with a reputation for uncovering secrets others thought were buried deep.

"I want to know everything," I told him, my voice a silken whisper over the encrypted line. "Everywhere she goes. Everyone she speaks to. Every deviation from her pathetic, monotonous routine."

I didn't have to wait long. The man was worth every coin. Two days later, his report arrived. He hadn't been able to breach the walls of the neutral territory clinic—the old she-wolf who ran it was notoriously paranoid—but he had found something just as valuable. He had traced Seraphina's secret trip. The laundry truck. The servant's disguise. And most importantly, the rendezvous point.

I knew exactly how to use the pathetic old servant to make my little bird sing. I would set the perfect trap, baited with the one thing I knew she couldn't bear to see harmed.

I picked up the silver rose Damian had given me, its cold, hard petals a perfect reflection of my own heart.