Chapter 14
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Chapter 14
There was a sudden change in the air. Everything became oddly silent.
I turned to Kael, but he was just as confused as I was.
A guard ran toward us, breathing heavily.
“The Red Fang has arrived.”
I stood just beyond the council hall, Kael beside me.
The Red Fang warriors rode in formation, armored in obsidian and crimson. At their center, a beast of a man dismounted.
Alpha Jareth of Red Fang-the one who claims I am his bloodline.
His presence made even the most arrogant warrior shrink. He moved like thunder-quiet, but ready to destroy.
Damien stood waiting at the steps, a forced calm on his face, flanked by the council.
Nathan came out to stand by his father, too.
As Jareth approached, Damien stepped forward.
‘Alpha Jareth, welcome to Silvercl-”
But the Red Fang Alpha didn’t even glance at him.
He walked past Damien like he was no more than a flicker of dust in his path.
And headed straight toward me.
The courtyard hushed. Every eye followed him.
My eyes met his, but I didn’t blink.
When he reached me, he stopped just a foot away. Then he looked me over-quietly, like a mar checking to see if something had broken.
His voice, deep and unwavering, echoed through the silence.
‘My daughter.”
Gasps rippled across the courtyard. Heads turned. Even the council gawked.
But I didn’t move.
Instead, I stepped forward and said, calm as sunrise, “Father.”
The shock was electric.
Alpha Jareth nodded slowly, placing a heavy hand on my shoulder.
“I’m sorry I came late,” he said, his voice softer now. “You should never have been alone.”
“I was able to survive on my own,” I said.
His jaw clenched, pride and guilt battling in his eyes.
“Did they treat you well?” he asked, his gaze flicking briefly to the Silverclaw elders.
smiled coldly. “Like a queen… trapped in a burning cage.”
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He exhaled through his nose-furious.
“Then it’s good I came.”
Before the stunned murmurs could swell again, another presence emerged from the Red Fang ranks-a small figure, wrapped in a velvet cloak of red.
A little girl.
No older than five.
She moved with the confidence of someone twice her age. Eyes like sharpened rubies. Chir high. She stopped beside Alpha Jareth, hands on her hips.
“Are these the wolves who put my sister in a cage?” she asked, her voice crisp and cutting.
Nathan stepped closer, his eyes locked on her with a mix of confusion and fascination. He leaned slightly toward Damien, whispering something I couldn’t hear.
Alpha Jareth looked down at the girl.
“This,” he announced, “is my daughter. Princess Liora. And Alice’s sister.”
More gasps.
Whispers turned to stunned stares.
Nathan blinked like he’d been slapped.
Kael raised an eyebrow beside me. “Did not see that coming.”
Liora stepped forward, her eyes landing on me.
“You don’t look like a princess.”
I crouched slightly so I was eye-level with her.
“I don’t need a crown,” I said with a smirk. “I burned the throne and made my own.”
Liora’s eyes lit up.
A slow, delighted grin spread across her face.
‘I like you,” she declared. “You can sit next to me.”
‘Only if you let me braid your hair tomorrow,” I replied.
She gasped. “Deal.”
Alpha Jareth chuckled-a rare, thundering sound that rolled like distant war drums.
‘She’s already chosen you,” he said. “She doesn’t do that often.”
“She’s a good judge of character,” I replied, standing tall again.
Damien stepped forward at last, his voice tight.
“Alpha Jareth, perhaps we can speak-”
“No,” Jareth said flatly, cutting him off without even looking at him. “We’ve wasted enough words on people who lost the right to speak to us.”
Damien’s face twitched.
Alpha Jareth turned back to me.
“We’re leaving at first light. I came to bring you home.”
Chapter 14
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I wasn’t sure if I wanted this-I was only using it to my advantage.
I already knew from the letter my mother wrote to me that I was the daughter of the Alpha of Red Fang.
I was annoyed at first. Why had he abandoned us and made us suffer?
I looked around.
At the pack that had spit on me.
At the elders who once called me unstable.
At Nathan, whose mouth still hadn’t closed.
And at Kael.
Who watched me not like I was a title-but a person.
Then I smiled.
“We’ll leave tomorrow,” I said calmly.
Alpha Jareth raised a brow. “You want to stay tonight?”
I nodded.
“Alright, we’ll do whatever my daughter wants.”
Liora tugged on his cloak. “Can I stay with her?”
He blinked. “Tonight?”
She looked at me, then nodded eagerly. “She’ll tell me stories. I know it.”
He sighed. “If Alice agrees.”
I held out my hand to the little girl.
“Come on, Princess. I’ll even let you steal the blankets.”
Liora gasped. “Deal again!”
Damien watched, clenching his fists.
How the hell is she the Alpha’s daughter? Does that mean Helena was too?
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