The Alpha’s Rejected Luna: Crown of Thorns Chapter 08

The Alpha’s Rejected Luna: Crown of Thorns Chapter 08

The slot where the severance papers were supposed to be was empty.

My hand shook. For the first time in years, it shook.

The phone rang. I snatched it up. “What?”

My lawyer’s voice came smooth and professional, irritatingly calm. “Alpha Thornwood, I’ve been informed by Mrs.

Sera Voss’s legal counsel that she has filed for full severance of the mating bond. The papers were signed and

submitted. In thirty days, the bond dissolves completely unless contested.”

I gripped the phone so tight the casing cracked. “That’s impossible. She would never dare. Fix this. You hear me? Fix it

now.”

“Alpha,” he cut in, still maddeningly calm, “the documents are already registered with the Council of Packs. There is

nothing to fix. The only option is to contest, and even then, your chances are slim.”

The line went dead.

I stared at the phone. For the first time, I felt it-her defiance. And it burned.

“Fuck!”

I hurled the phone against the wall, the crack echoing through the study. My roar shook the ancestral portraits. “Sera!

That bitch dares!”

Ravenna came rushing in, all silk and false worry, pressing her hand to my arm like she could calm a storm. “Darling,

please, don’t let her win. She’s doing this to hurt you, to humiliate you. You still own her wolf. Don’t forget that.”

I shoved a chair aside, teeth bared. “She ran like a coward. She thinks she can make a fool of me in my own pack

house. I will find her. I will break her. She will crawl back begging to be forgiven.”

“She doesn’t respect you, Kael. After birthing that bastard pup, after staging the kidnapping to make you look weak,

after trying to hurt me and Asher… now this? Running away to shame you in front of every Alpha. She’s attacking your

pride, darling. She’s cutting at your power.”

Her words lit fire under my rage. I slammed my fist against the desk. “You’re right. She wants war? She’ll have it.

I barked orders into the pack’s communication network, voice sharp as a whip. “Borders, outposts, allied territories.

Monitor everything. Every crossing, every neutral zone. I don’t care what it costs. Drag her back to me, dead or alive.”

My wolves scrambled, my promises laced with gold. “A hundred million in pack treasury to the wolf who delivers her

to me. Tell them Kael Thornwood never loses what is his.”

The next day, in the Alpha council chamber, whispers swirled like vultures. My allied Alphas grinned, their eyes hungry

for gossip

Victor leaned back, smug. “I thought you had her well-trained, Kael. How did she slip away?”

Leon snorted. “We were following your methods, not just in territory but in handling mates like her Yet she ran Looks

like your little she-wolf has grown fangs. Careful, she might bite back.”

I laughed, loud and sharp, drowning their taunts. “Bite? She cannot bite. I will pull her teeth out one by one for daring

to sink them into the Alpha who raised her.”

The table roared with approval. Goblets lifted. Powerful wolves loved cruelty when it wasn’t aimed at them.

Dmitri grinned. “I bet a million she comes crawling back by next moon.”

Richard slammed his goblet down. “A million? Too small. I’ll bet my forty territories she returns.”

Leon leaned forward, his smile like a blade. “I’ll put down my newly claimed island and the fighting arena. Let’s see if

you’re as dominant as your reputation, Kael.”

Viktor chuckled, rolling his cigar. “Twenty billion in pack assets says you can’t tame that little wolf again. Twenty

billion.”

The room buzzed with greed.

I leaned back, smug, letting them taste my arrogance. “Too small, gentlemen. If I fail, I will hand over not only my

territories, not only my hundred allied packs, but also the ancestral pack house we sit in now. And more. I’ll throw in a

hundred billion from the treasury.”

Gasps. Whistles. Then, laughter.

Victor slapped the table. “Deal!”

Dmitri grinned. “Now that’s the Kael Thornwood we respect.”

Richard puffed smoke, nodding. “Then let the hunt begin. Either you drag her back, or you lose your empire.”

I smiled, sharp and confident. “Sera thinks she can run. She forgets who trained her, who caged her, who owns her wolf. By the next full moon, she’ll be on her knees beside me again. This is not a bet. This is a certainty.”

The wolves toasted, their greed and amusement feeding my ego. I basked in it, knowing they had no idea who they were underestimating.

I woke up with my skull splitting in half, tongue dry as ash. Last night was a blur of whiskey, smoke, and wolves betting fortunes on my life like it was a blood sport. My head throbbed like hell but I did what I always do I snapped

my fingers

“Hangover brew. Now. The real one. Don’t keep me waiting.”

An omega scurried off. When she came back, steam rose from the bowl, but the second the broth touched my lips, I

spat it across the floor.

“What the hell is this garbage? You call this a brew? Are you trying to poison me?”

The omega dropped to her knees, trembling so hard the spoon clattered from her hand. “A-Alpha, forgive me. It’s

just… the former Luna always made it. Every day. Every meal you ate, it was from her hands. We… we never knew how

she did it.”

Her words struck like ice water. I froze, staring at her, at the brew dripping down the stone. All this time? I never even

noticed. The taste, the warmth, the silence that kept this pack running-it had all been Sera.

Before I could answer, Ravenna glided into the room, silk robe brushing the floor, voice soft as honey. “Darling, don’t

let this upset you. I’ll make it for you. Let me take care of you.”

I waved her off and dragged myself into the shower.

When I came out, the smell hit me. Burnt. Bitter. Wrong. Ravenna stood smiling by the table, her delicate hands folded

as if she’d done me some great service.

I took one spoonful and gagged, choking, spitting it back. “What the fuck is this? Too bitter, meat scorched, herbs

tasteless. Are you trying to kill me?”

I staggered back, bile rising, actually retching into the basin. My mouth burned like acid.

Ravenna’s face crumpled, fragile and pitiful. “I’m so sorry, darling. I only wanted to help. I must have… made a

mistake.”

I wiped my mouth, muttering without thinking, “Sera never messed up like this. Her cooking was perfect. Every damn

day, it was like she knew exactly what I needed before I asked.”

Ravenna’s face stayed sweet but I saw the flicker, the fury hiding behind her glassy eyes. She kept it buried under her

practiced smile, whispering, “Don’t worry, I’ll do better next time.”

I slammed the chair back and stormed out. “Forget it. I’ve got a council meeting.”

Ravenna hurried after me, clinging to my arm. “I’ll come with you. I’m your advisor, remember? You need me.”

I snapped, sharper than I meant to. “Wait at the study. We don’t need to be glued together every second. I need space.

Give me room to breathe.”

Her smile froze, thin and tight, but she nodded like the obedient she wolf she pretends to be I didn’t notice her eyes

burn as I walked out.