Ex-Alpha's Regret: Siren's Comeback novel Chapter 40

POV: Seraphina

The story Sylvie told was a masterpiece of cruelty, each word a poisoned dart aimed directly at my deepest fears. I stood with my back to her, my reflection a pale, ghostly image in the windowpane, and listened as she painted me as a treacherous villain. I forced myself to remain still, to show no reaction, but when she spoke of casting the ‘wicked Luna' out with her ‘shameful secret,' my body betrayed me. My hand, of its own accord, made a ghost of a movement toward my belly, a desperate, instinctive shield. I saw the flash of triumph in Sylvie's reflected eyes. She knew. She had her proof.

The next twenty-four hours were the longest of my life. I was waiting for Elias's signal that Martha was safe, while simultaneously waiting for Sylvie to make her move. I knew she wouldn't wait long.

Her attack came the next evening. It was the night of the monthly Elder's Council meeting. I was required to attend, to sit at Damian's side and play the part of the dutiful Luna. Sylvie, as a new member of his advisory council, was also present, seated a few chairs down.

The meeting droned on, a tedious recitation of pack business. Then, near the end, Sylvie asked for the floor. She stood, her silver gown shimmering in the torchlight. She looked ethereal, fragile, and deeply distressed.

"Alpha… Elders," she began, her voice trembling artfully. She looked at Damian, her eyes filling with tears. "I am so honored to be a part of this council. But… but the whispers in the pack are becoming unbearable. The elders… they question my place here. They question my honor."

She let a single, perfect tear trace a path down her cheek. "They say I have no true standing, that I am just a guest. They pressure me, they… they say I am trying to usurp a position that is not mine."

It was a brilliant performance. She was the victim, hounded by the rigid, traditionalist elders who I knew had been making her life difficult. She was turning their legitimate concerns into an attack on her character.

He paused, his eyes still locked on mine, cold and merciless. He delivered the final, killing blow.

"And I, Damian Blackwood, Alpha of this pack, swear on my life and the lives of my ancestors, that I will never allow my Luna, Seraphina, to bear another child of my pure blood!"

His voice rang out, a death sentence for the tiny, secret life nestled in my womb.