Ex-Alpha's Regret: Siren's Comeback novel Chapter 57

POV: Sylvie

Power was the most intoxicating drug I had ever known. As the new de facto mistress of the Blackwood manor, I savored every moment of it. The way the servants' eyes dropped to the floor when I entered a room. The deference in the voices of the pack's junior members. The weight of the Matron's Brooch on my chest was a constant, thrilling reminder that I had won.

I wasted no time in consolidating my position. I began a systematic purge of the household staff, dismissing anyone with a lingering loyalty to Seraphina and replacing them with my own people—distant relatives, old acquaintances, anyone whose allegiance was to me and me alone. The manor was no longer just a place I lived; it was becoming my fortress, my kingdom.

But my reign was not absolute. There was still a pocket of resistance, a thorn in my side that went by the name of Elder Maeve. The old wolf was a relic, a stubborn traditionalist who saw my every move as an affront.

She cornered me after a small council meeting on household finances.

"You have a lavish taste, Lady Sylvie," she said, her voice dry as dust, her eyes sharp and disapproving as she glanced at the purchase order for new silks from the southern lands. "One might think you were the true Luna, spending the pack's coin so freely."

"I am merely ensuring the Alpha's home reflects his status," I replied, my voice sweet as honey.

"The Thorne family," I said, my voice filled with a carefully crafted strategic concern. "Now that they have been declared traitors, their assets… they represent a point of weakness in the alliance. Their mines, their trade routes… they are vital. What if a rival pack were to seize them in the chaos? It could destabilize everything."

I let the thought hang in the air before delivering my solution. "Perhaps… perhaps those assets should be transferred. To a more loyal, more stable ally. Someone who could manage them in your name. For the good of the alliance, of course. To consolidate your power."

I was no longer just asking for jewels and dresses. I was asking for a piece of his kingdom. And I was disguising my greed as a brilliant political strategy.