The Alpha’s Rejected Luna: Crown of Thorns Chapter 09

The Alpha’s Rejected Luna: Crown of Thorns Chapter 09

At the council meeting, I was back in my element. Polished boots, sharp words, voice carrying through the chamber I

bragged about the empire I’d built, brushed off Sera’s disappearance like it was nothing. “A tantrum. She’ll crawl back

She-wolves always do.”

Victor chuckled. “Kael, maybe your bet should be a year. A woman like that-stubborn, hard to break.”

I barked a laugh. “A year? Don’t insult me. I can make her crawl back tomorrow if I wish. You think Sera can outlast

me? Impossible.”

The table howled with laughter. Whiskey poured. My arrogance burned bright, but beneath it, a whisper gnawed at

Her food. Her footsteps in the hall. The way the pack ran smooth because she oiled the gears without anyone
noticing. Why the hell did I suddenly remember these things?

I pulled my phone and dialed. “Joey. Update. Tell me you’ve got her.”

My right-hand wolf’s voice came low, hesitant. “Alpha… we can’t locate her. It’s like she vanished. No trail. No scent.

Nothing.”

I gripped the phone until my knuckles cracked. “What the fuck are you talking about? No wolf disappears from me.

No one!”

I walked out of that council chamber like I owned every territory on the map.

My boots clicked sharp against the stone, my coat clean, my head held high. Behind me those old bastards were

laughing, patting each other’s backs like pups who just heard a dirty joke.

“Don’t forget our bet, Kael, Viktor shouted after me.

I didn’t even slow down. I looked back with a smirk. “Keep your treasuries ready, gentlemen. She’ll crawl back before

you even remember where you signed. Nobody’s touching my empire.”

Their laughter followed me out, but I didn’t care. I had bigger things to handle.

By the time I reached Moreau’s estate-Sera’s father-I was boiling. I didn’t wait for his servant to announce me. I barged in, straight into his study where he was sipping that weak imported wine he pretends is fine.

“Where is she?” I barked.

He nearly spilled his glass, wiping his mouth like a coward. “Kael, I swear, Sera is not here.”

I stepped closer, slow, predatory. “Listen, Moreau. If I ever find out you’re hiding your daughter, or worse, helping her run, I’ll strip you of every territory, every alliance, every ounce of standing-”

‘I swear on my blood, I’m loyal to you. She’s my ungrateful runaway daughter, not my problem anymore I’ll help you

find her I’ll use every connection I have.”

I leaned back, satisfied. “Good. Remember what side you’re on, Moreau. Don’t play dumb with me

Then halfway through the drive back, my phone rang. My parents. I sighed and answered.

“Kael,” my father’s voice came firm, “don’t forget to bring Sera for the pack’s founding anniversary. It’s important Your

mother insists on the Luna’s presence.”

I pinched my nose. “Yeah, I’ll bring her. Don’t worry about it.”

“Make sure of it,” my father warned. “It will embarrass the bloodline if she’s not there.”

I hung up, rolling my eyes. Perfect. A damn pack circus. But fine-once she’s dragged back, I’ll parade her like the

obedient Luna she should have been. Chain and all. That’ll shut everyone up.

Then Ravenna’s name lit up my phone. Her voice came trembling, full of fake panic.

“Kael, please hurry. Asher’s burning with fever. He’s shaking-I don’t know what to do. Please, I’m scared.”

I cursed loud, slamming the wheel. “Damn it!” I turned the car around, speeding back toward the pack house.

My thoughts tangled. Why the hell am I even thinking about Sera right now? Isn’t this exactly what I wanted? To be rid of her? To build a pack with Ravenna and Asher? So why do I keep searching for her shadow everywhere? Why the

fuck does it feel wrong without her?

I hit the gas harder. “Fuck!”

Ravenna’s POV

I stood in front of the mirror and practiced my smile until it felt like skin. Smooth, soft, harmless. My lips curved, my

eyes softened, and I whispered the lines under my breath like a prayer.

Don’t let him see the claws. Be sad, be helpless, be the poor wronged she-wolf. I hated that Sera was the measure for

everything today–because she made his brew. Pathetic. She never learned how to play the game properly

Asher watched me from the bed, already half actor, half little prince. He loved being the center of this play. I knelt in

front of him and stroked his hair, whispering in his ear like we were sharing a delicious secret. “We’ll play a little game

for Daddy, okay? Just like before. You breathe hard when he comes in, and don’t smile. Do it right and he’ll give us

everything we want.”

He puffed his chest out and said, all smug, “Easy peachy, Mum. I’m born an actor.” His face lit up with the pride of a

scripted child who gets all the lines right.

When Kael called, I dipped a cloth in hot water and pressed it to Asher’s forehead, careful to make it feel warm enough so Kael would panic. I coached Asher with the patience of a director. “When Daddy comes in, breathe fast Don’t giggle. Don’t cry too much. Keep it real, keep it tragic. Daddy loves that.” He nodded like a little soldier, eyes sliding toward the mirror to practice the right look.

In the quiet moments, when I was arranging his pillow and smelling the faint powder on his sheets, I let myself think of how much I hated Sera. That bitch with her dutiful act, looking like an angel while she quietly cooked and kept the pack running like it belonged to her. She never knew how to use a child like I do. Asher is my weapon. Fuck her for not

tying Kael to her carefully enough. Pathetic bitch.

When Kael arrived, he called the pack healer on the phone. After twenty minutes, the healer arrived. So I slid a fat pouch of gold into his palm, secretly. “Please, tell Kael it’s worse than it looks. Say he needs rest. Say the fever is serious. Say anything to keep him close to us.”