Chapter 32: Fallen Alpha 

Xander's POV

The weight of my father's body in my arms feels impossibly heavy, a crushing reminder of the responsibility that now falls to me. As I lay him gently on the ground, my eyes scan his broken form, searching for answers. Something doesn't feel right.

"Xander," a soft voice breaks through my grief-stricken haze. Lyra stands at the rubble's edge, her face a mixture of sorrow and... suspicion?

I straighten, forcing myself to think like an Alpha, not a grieving son. "What is it, Lyra?"

She approaches cautiously, her eyes never leaving my father's body. "The way he's positioned... it's odd. And these marks..." She gestures to a series of scratches on his neck, partially hidden by his fur.

I lean in for a closer look, my heart racing. The scratches are too uniform and deliberate to be from falling debris—Unbidden, a memory flashes—my father's signet ring, with its distinctive claw-like design.

"It can't be," I mutter, more to myself than Lyra.

Her hand on my arm sends a jolt throug