Alpha's Ruin: He Betrayed Me, I'll Make Him Kneel

Chapter 20: He Will Bleed

Half an hour later, muddy boots stormed through the Ironfang clearing, slicing through the tense silence of the pack grounds.

Kaleb’s jaw was rigid as he shoved past the heavy oak doors and marched into the main sitting area, the bitter scent of defeat and cold rain rolling off his clothes.

Kat rushed toward him from the hearth, one hand instinctively cradling her swollen baby bump. Her breathing was frantic, her eyes wide with anticipation. "Tell me!" she demanded, her sharp voice cutting through the room. "Did you catch them? Did you find the intruder? Say something, Kaleb!"

Kaleb didn’t answer. The heavy weight of his Alpha aura felt fractured, unstable. He simply brushed past her, ignoring the slight tremor in her hands as he stalked over to his massive, carved Alpha chair and sank heavily into the leather.

"Why are you treating me like a ghost?" Kat demanded, spinning on her heel to face him, her chest heaving.

Kaleb pressed his palm against his throbbing forehead, his wolf pacing restlessly, humiliated by the memory of the BloodVeil border gates.

"Leave me be, woman!" he snapped, his voice a low rumble that caused the lower-ranking guards near the door to lower their heads. "I just want to be alone. I need to think." He flicked a dismissive glance toward his Beta. "Daniel, clear the room."

"You will not dismiss me like a servant!" Kat protested, her eyes flashing a shallow gold. She stepped directly into his space, her scent turning sour with indignation. "I am your Luna, Kaleb! You will not speak to me or treat me in that manner!"

A sharp, humorless chuckle escaped Kaleb’s lips, though his hand remained clamped over his eyes. "This is not the time to throw tantrums, Kat," he muttered, the exhaustion dragging at his words. "We have significantly larger threats on our doorstep."

"Tantrums?" One of Kat’s hands planted firmly on her hip, the other digging into the fabric covering her bump as she leaned down. "What could possibly be more important than catching the intruder? Tell me what is going on!" frёewebηovel.cѳm

Kaleb lowered his hand, his dark golden eyes locking onto hers with a chilling intensity. The room grew suffocatingly quiet as he slowly reached into his vest, retrieved the crushed, mud-stained scrap of BloodVeil fabric, and held it up between them.

Kat’s jaw fell open, the color instantly draining from her face. "Is that—?" The question froze solid in her throat.

Kaleb gave a grim nod, his nostrils flaring as the memory of his uncle’s silent, mocking departure from the balcony played on a loop in his mind. "If this cloth means what I think it means, then Bloodveil just crossed a line."

The sharp edge of Kat’s anger softened, replaced by fear. She stepped closer, the soft rustle of her gown the only sound in the room, and placed a delicate hand over his clenched fist. "What do you plan to do?" she asked, her voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper.

Kaleb looked down at her small, smooth hand. What did he plan to do? The question hit a raw nerve.

Rhea had never asked him that. She would have already mapped out three different defense contingencies before the mud had even dried on his boots. Kaleb’s jaw tightened.

He exhaled a slow, heavy breath and shrugged, his broad shoulders shifting beneath his vest. "The Grand Council has already been summoned. The elders will force Adam to give me an answer."

"I’m going with you," Kat said hurriedly, her fingers tightening around his.

Kaleb looked up, his gaze sweeping over her delicate frame and her swollen stomach. "And what exactly will you do there, Kat?" he asked, his tone flat. "You are staying here. The Council chambers are no place for a pregnant female."

Kat’s grip loosened as she stepped back, her gaze hardening into something bitter and resentful. "Why?" she spat, her voice cracking with a deep-seated insecurity she had tried for months to bury.

Kaleb’s lips parted to give a harsh reply, but she cut him off, her chin lifting defiantly. "Is it because I am not her? Because I don’t sit in council meetings and draw up war maps like she did?"

Kaleb stared at her. For a split second, his mind flashed to Rhea. A dark wave of regret hit his chest, heavy and sudden, but he buried it deep before Kat or his Beta could catch it.

"You are pregnant, Kat," Kaleb said, his Alpha tone dropping low and flat. "You stay at the packhouse where it is safe. We have no idea how this meeting will turn out. It’s for the best."

"That is just a weak excuse. You never once barred Rhea from the council rooms," Kat spat, her scent souring with jealousy as she stepped closer. "I am your Luna now. I am going, and that is final."

Kaleb did not argue. He simply looked past her, his jaw rigid, and turned to his Beta. "Pack the weapons. We ride for the neutral grounds in an hour."

Without a single glance back at Kat, he stalked out of the room.

Kat stood frozen, her chest heaving as the heavy oak doors slammed shut.

—

An hour later, across the border.

Rhea sat on the edge of the heavy fur mattress, tracing the lethal edge of the silver blade Kaleb had driven into her ribs. Her mind replayed his panicked face at the border gates. For a terrifying second, her phantom wound throbbed with liquid fire, and hot tears burned the backs of her eyes.

"He butchered us!" River snarled inside her head, her feral aura shaking Rhea’s soul. "He does not deserve a single tear. The only thing he deserves is this exact silver rammed through his lying heart!"

"He will bleed," Rhea whispered back, her knuckles turning white as her grip locked around the hilt. "And soon."

A sharp knock cut through the quiet room. Rhea cleared her throat, slipping the weapon beneath the gray furs. "Come in."

The door swung open, and Adam stepped inside. He looked massive in the low light, bringing the heavy, intoxicating scent of rain-soaked earth and cedarwood into her space.

He walked to the bed and held out a thick, wax-sealed parchment. "You need to see this."

Rhea took the paper, and their fingers brushed. Adam paused, so did she. Then Rhea unfolded the heavy paper. It was an emergency summons from the Grand Council.

Adam watched her face, his amber eyes tracking the slight flare of her nostrils. "You know what this means."

Rhea folded the heavy paper, her gaze cold and steady. "I do."

"I do not plan to go alone," Adam murmured, leaning down slightly until she was caught in the heavy shadow of his broad shoulders. "So I hope you are ready."

Rhea looked up, meeting his fierce gaze head-on, the dark chemistry between them snapping like a live wire. "I wasn’t planning to miss this for anything." She looked down at the invitation one last time, a lethal smile touching her lips. "I just hope he is ready."

Adam’s gaze lingered on the invitation. "Your resurrection is about to become everyone else’s problem."