Chapter 9

“What border?” Kieran asked the second Izzy left. His eyes were sharp, his posture rigid.

Mark exhaled, stepping closer. “No border, Alpha. I lied to make her leave, I do not want Luna to listen to our conversation . I needed to talk to you—alone.”

Kieran’s expression didn’t shift, but the air between them thickened. “Now talk, she left already.”

Mark hesitated before saying, “Ever since Zarek died, you’ve ruled over both packs.”

Kieran didn’t blink. “Of course, I put Jake in charge of everything. Is he not handling things?”

Mark’s lips pressed into a thin line. “That’s the problem.”

Kieran’s jaw tightened. “What problem?”

Mark took a breath. “Jake is dead.”

Silence.

Then, Kieran chuckled. Low, almost amused. “What?”

Mark didn’t flinch. “His body is outside.”

“Mark, I am not in for any pranks, you shouldn’t even joke about my brother like that” Kieran said, leaning back on his chair.

“I have never said this before and you are right, I am not joking” Mark said.

For a second, nothing moved. Then Kieran’s expression shuttered, and he pushed past Mark, his strides controlled but lethal.

He stepped outside.

The scent of blood hit him first. The sharp, metallic tang. The hush of whispers as wolves stood back, watching.

Jake’s body lay motionless in the dirt. His throat was slit, the cut precise.

Kieran’s breath left him slowly. His gaze flicked over the corpse, then to the people watching.

No grief. No anger. Just quiet, unsettling acceptance.

Aria, Izzy’s maid, stepped forward cautiously. “There was a letter, Alpha, there. Yes.”

“This is a family matter, Aria,” Izzy snapped. “Go back inside.”

Kieran ignored her, his fingers snatching the parchment beside his brother’s corpse. He unfolded it slowly, scanning the words.

“The true Alpha is back.”

Kieran exhaled through his nose, the paper crumpling in his grip.

Mark shifted beside him. “Alpha, listen. Whoever left that note—whoever did this—they’re not just sending a message. They’re taking the throne.”

Kieran’s jaw flexed. “They think they can take my throne?”

Mark met his gaze head-on. “They already have.”

A sharp pause.

Kieran’s voice was low, dangerous. “Explain.”

Mark’s expression hardened. “The pack hated Jake. They saw him as weak. His death isn’t a warning—it’s a celebration. And now they have someone to rally behind.”

Kieran’s fingers twitched at his sides. “Who?”

Mark hesitated. “No one knows. Yet. But the pack is already calling for a new king. The choosing ceremony is tomorrow.”

A slow, simmering rage crept into Kieran’s veins.

“Then I’ll kill whoever stands against me.”

Mark didn’t move. “It’s too late for that.”

Kieran’s breath came steady, controlled, but inside, something snapped. “Nothing is too late, Mark. Nothing. I have ruled this pack for years. If they’ve turned on me, I’ll remind them who I am.”

Mark exhaled. “I know you, Kieran. You don’t go into fights blind. But this? This isn’t a fight. This is a coup.”

Kieran turned to one of his guards. “Burn the body.”

The guard hesitated. “Alpha—”

“Burn it.” Kieran’s voice was quiet, but final.

The flames sparked seconds later, swallowing Jake’s remains.

Kieran didn’t watch. He turned and stalked back inside, Mark following close behind.

Inside his office, Kieran slammed the door shut. “What else do you know?”

Mark leaned against the wall, arms crossed. “Enough to know that if you show up to that ceremony unprepared, you won’t walk out alive.”

“Who do you suspect?”

Mark hesitated. Then, “Zarek had a sister.”

Kieran froze.

“It couldn’t be Izzy, she doesn’t have the power to take down Jake, Jake is sixth rank Wolf while Izzy is a seventh Rank wolf” Kieran said.

“Exactly my thought. I am a sixth rank wolf, not even I could take down Jake” Mark said.

“Then who did?” Kieran asked.

“The pack has temporarily banned anyone from coming in and there are celebrations going on everyday, they are celebrating the return of the king” Mark said.

Kieran didn’t say anything, His gaze flickered toward the fire where the photograph had burned earlier. A slow, unnerving realization crept into his mind.

If Zarek had a sister…

And she was still alive…

Kieran’s fingers curled against the desk.

“Get me a name.”

Mark nodded once. “I’ll find out.”

Kieran didn’t move as Mark left. He stood there, jaw tight, mind racing.

If the true Alpha was back—

Then everything he built was about to crumble.

—-

“A Useless Hunt, what the hell is going on” Kieran growled in anger.

Mark tossed a file onto Kieran’s desk. “Another dead end, we have been on this for days and we are not getting any clue about who the last blood line is, maybe now you can shift your suspicions off the Luna.”

Kieran barely glanced at it. He already knew. They had been chasing ghosts for days, and each lead crumbled into nothing.

Mark exhaled sharply, dragging a hand through his hair. “I’ve gone through every name, every bloodline. We even checked Izzy.” His gaze sharpened. “She’s not it, Kieran. She has no ties to the Golden Wolf Pack.”

Kieran leaned back, eyes dark. “And the witches?”

Mark hesitated. “We went to them. Paid them well. They did their spells, read their bones—nothing. Every vision led to dust.”

Kieran’s jaw ticked. This wasn’t possible. Someone killed Jake. Someone wrote that note. Someone was gathering his pack under their rule. But who?

Mark sat across from him. “Whoever this ‘true Alpha’ is, they’re covering their tracks too well.”

Silence stretched between them.

Then—

A sharp knock.

Before Kieran could speak, the door burst open, and one of the witches stumbled inside. Her white eyes were wide, unfocused. Sweat dripped down her temples.

“Danger,” she gasped. “Danger… bloodshed… the true queen is back.”

The room stilled.

Kieran’s muscles coiled. “What did you say?”

The witch trembled violently, her breath shallow. “The vision—it was chaos. Blood. A crown… and a throne stolen back.”

Mark shot Kieran a look. “A queen?”

The witch gripped the edge of the desk, her nails digging into the wood. “I don’t know what it means. I don’t know who she is. But she’s coming.”

And then—-