The Wolf and the Serpent

The dark-oak study felt too small for the energy pouring off Vane that night.

I paced from wall to wall, claws grazing the leather of the armchair, an irritation I couldn't name crawling up my throat.

"What's wrong with you?" I growled mentally at my wolf, but Fenris was in a disturbing silence, just watching the shadows.

I could still feel the trace of her scent on my fingertips.

Lyra.

That insolent girl who smelled of wild honeysuckle and... something else.

Something I couldn't decipher, but that made my blood boil in a way no she-wolf in the pack ever had.

I closed my eyes, remembering the touch on her chin.

Her skin had been soft, but her gaze was steel.

When our eyes met, for a fraction of a second, my wolf didn't want to snarl. He wanted to... bow?

"Impossible," I hissed at the empty walls.

I was the Alpha of Sangue Negro.

My legacy was built on bones and conquest.

I didn't need a girl adopted by an Omega — someone who didn't even have the spirit of the forest running in her veins.

I needed a Luna.

An alpha female. Strong. Capable of hunting at my side and bearing heirs that would make our enemies tremble.

A weak partner would be my ruin.

And Lyra was the definition of weakness under our law.

"She's just a mistake," I repeated, trying to convince myself as I stared at the moon through the window. "A distraction I'll eliminate once the deadline passes."

But even as I spoke, a stab of pain shot through my chest — a silent warning.

My wolf finally surfaced, a deep growl echoing through my mind:

"She's not weak, Vane. You're the one who's blind."

I punched the oak desk, feeling the wood crack beneath my knuckles.

"She's a weakness, Fenris!" I snarled mentally at my wolf.

Fenris only growled back — a deep, vibrating sound that rattled the base of my skull.

He'd been restless since the training session, ears pricked, scenting the air for that trail of wildflowers Lyra left behind.

The study door opened without a knock.

The scent of musk and expensive perfume flooded the room, trying to smother the forest's natural aroma.

Laila.

She walked in with the elegance of a predator, her Beta wolf gleaming through her sharp eyes.

Laila was everything the Sangue Negro pack demanded of a Luna: strong, lethal, and pureblooded.

"You're tense, my Alpha," she murmured, her voice a coy purr as she slid her hands across my shoulders, tracing the scars on my back.

I didn't move.

My senses were still trapped in that frozen clearing, in that pair of eyes that had dared to challenge me.

Laila leaned in, brushing her lips against my neck, right where my pulse was racing.

"You need someone who can hunt at your side under the blood moon to calm you down. Someone like me."

She spun me around abruptly, pressing her body against mine.

In an act of pure denial — to prove to Fenris and to myself that I was still in control — I grabbed her by the nape of the neck and kissed her.

It was a kiss loaded with possessiveness but empty of soul.

Laila moaned in satisfaction against my lips and pulled back just enough to fix me with a victorious smile.

"When are you going to make it official in front of the pack, darling?" she asked, her fingers playing with the buttons of my shirt. "The solstice is in two days. It's the perfect night to declare your Luna and banish that... thing that's dirtying our ground for good."

The word "Luna" echoed in my chest like a storm warning.

I looked at Laila — the "perfect" partner my logic demanded. But inside, Fenris unleashed a howl of agony that nearly buckled my knees.

"At the solstice, Laila," I answered, my voice coming out rougher than I intended. "At the solstice, everything will be put in its rightful place."

I didn't know that while I was promising the throne to a Beta, fate was already weaving a crown of silver for another wolf.

***This work has been signed with NovelToon, and piracy such as reprinting without permission is strictly prohibited.***

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***