Chapter 8

"WHISPERS OF WAR"

SERAPHINE POV

"Why not, Seraphine?" Veronica's voice sliced through my panic. "Would you just stand there and watch your Alpha get taken by someone else?"

Something primal inside of me awoke. Wild, hot, and furious. I processed what happened too late because my legs propelled me across the courtyard and into the trees.

Under the weight of my heavy steps my boots snapped loudly while crunching the ground beneath me. My focus remained solely on the gap where Kael and Elara once stood as everything else faded away.

My labored breaths left me panting as I observed my environment upon arrival. Elara remained where she stood after Kael escaped but she approached me with her back facing me.

Anger exploded within me. Wildfire. Fury. The bitch, I thought, the words reverberating through every nerve in my body. With no hesitation, I charged forward, yanking her wrist up into my grasp.

"Hey—what's that?" Elara said, jerking her wrist away.

"What's that, baby?" I sneered, narrowing my eyes. "You know exactly what this is."

"Get your hands off me," she said, a tinge of fear and anger entering her voice. "Who are you?"

I tilted my head and raised an eyebrow. "Don't you know who I am?" I asked. "Young girls like you don't ask before you walk into someone's territory."

She furrowed her brow. "Territory?"

I stepped closer quickly until our faces were inches apart. "What the fuck were you doing with my Alpha—Kael?" I hissed the name through clenched teeth.

"I—I wanted—" she stuttered, her eyes darting all over the place.

"Shhh." I silenced her with an index finger on her lips, still keeping a strong hold on her wrist. "I don't want to know your stupid excuses. I just want to make sure I don't see you near Kael again in the future. Understand me?" I said.

My voice was loud, it reverberated through the trees. "He's mine."

Elara stared at me for a very long moment. The air between us is thick with tension. She finally sighed theatrically, yanked her arm away, and exaggeratedly blew air from her mouth "Mtchewwww."

She turned away from me and walked off, heels clacking on the ground.

I watched her disappear into the forest while breathing heavily but noticed the fire in my chest rekindle.

This is not over, I reminded myself.

As Elara vanished into the woods I realized I remained standing with my chest rising and falling after the altercation. The adrenaline rush caused tingles in my fingers.

Light footsteps fell behind me.

"I told you to move fast, She isn't even scared of you anymore."

I whirled around to face her, still winded. "Did you see the way she walked away?" Like she didn't care."

Veronica crossed her arms, looking pensive. "Exactly. That's my point. She's become brazen, Seraphine."

"She was never this way before." I whispered to myself.

Veronica huffed. "Which means only one thing—if she has your Alpha already... you might not be able to win him back."

I drew up defensively. "No. I will not let that happen."

Veronica fixed me with a stern gaze. "Well if you don't you're going to have to stop being so accommodating. The Luna bond isn't just a feeling—it's power. When you do that people notice."

I crossed my arms over my chest. "I'm not letting Kael go. Not to her. Not to anyone."

Veronica squinted at me while leaning in closer and declared, "You'll have to remind Kael who you really are." She paused, emphasizing her words with a hand gesture. "And soon. Because Elara's not going to back down."

I stood there, motionless, gazing at the spot where Elara had vanished into the trees, my heart growing darker... colder.

"I need her out of the way." I said finally, my voice low and dripping with venom.

Veronica cocked her head to the side, a slow smile spreading on her face. "Out of the way how?"

I faced her directly. "Out of the picture," I said. "Done. Gone. Forever."

She didn't flinch. Instead, she crossed her arms, humming thoughtfully. "Are you sure about this, Seraphine? That's not a scratch-and-hiss sort of battle. That's war."

"She's already at war with me," I retorted. "She just doesn't know it yet."

Veronica's eyes shone. "Alright then. We do this the smart way. No claws in the light of day. No blatant drama. You want her gone?"

"Yes."

"Then we start small." She paused, gaze calculating. "Isolation. Make her an outcast. We start the whisper campaigns. Subtle. Turn the pack's curiosity into suspicion."

I nodded slowly. My brain was spinning. "And if that fails?"

Veronica smirked. "Then we go deeper. We tear her down. Her reputation, her place here... and if we have to—her trust with Kael."

"She's not just some girl," I growled. "Kael sees something in her."

Veronica's face became icy. "Then we make him see something else."

I narrowed my eyes. "When do we begin?"