Chapter 64: Chapter 64 – The Alpha vs The Creator

Chapter 64 – The Alpha vs The Creator

POV: Kael

By the time I reached her wing, I wasn’t walking in as her nephew.

And I wasn’t walking in as someone asking for answers.

The guards stationed outside Seraphina’s chambers straightened the moment they saw me approach, their posture tightening in a way that told me they already knew something was coming. Word had spread faster than anyone could contain it. It always did when the balance of power started to shift.

They didn’t try to stop me.

That was the first confirmation I needed.

She was expecting me.

I pushed the doors open without waiting to be announced.

Seraphina was inside, exactly where I knew she would be, standing near the far end of the room with her back partially turned. The moment the doors shut behind me, she spoke without looking over her shoulder.

"You’ve been moving faster than usual," she said calmly. "I was wondering how long it would take before you came to me again."

I didn’t answer immediately.

I stepped further into the room, letting the silence stretch just enough to make it clear I wasn’t here for one of her controlled conversations.

"I’m not here to talk," I said finally.

That got her attention.

She turned slowly, her gaze settling on me with that same composed expression she always wore, like nothing ever truly surprised her.

"That much is obvious," she replied. "You stopped pretending you still had patience left."

I didn’t react to that because she wasn’t wrong.

"I gave you a chance to stay out of this," I said instead. "You didn’t take it."

Her lips curved slightly, not quite a smile. "And you expected me to?"

"I expected you to understand the consequences."

"And I do," she said. "Better than you."

That was where the conversation ended.I didn’t give her time to continue. I closed the distance between us in a single movement, my wolf surging forward as I struck first. There was no hesitation, no warning. I didn’t need either.

She blocked it.

Of course she did.

Her hand caught my wrist before the hit could land fully, her strength holding against mine in a way that reminded me immediately what I was dealing with. Seraphina didn’t rely on brute force the way most Alphas did. She never had.

She relied on control.

"You’re making this more difficult than it needs to be," she said, her tone still level even as she twisted her grip just enough to force me to shift my stance.

I pulled free and came at her again, faster this time, not giving her the space to redirect me the same way. The second strike landed harder, forcing her back a step, but it wasn’t enough.

It was never going to be enough.

"You’ve already crossed that line," I said, pressing forward before she could recover fully. "This isn’t about difficulty anymore."

She didn’t respond. Instead, she changed tactics, the moment I moved in again, I felt it, not physically at first, Internally.

Something cold tightening through my chest, sharp and sudden, like something that had been waiting just beneath the surface finally snapping into place. My movement stalled for half a second, just enough for her to take advantage of it.

Her hand struck my shoulder, not hard enough to break anything, but precise enough to throw me off balance. I recovered quickly, but the damage was already done.

I could feel it now, the absence, the thing I had chosen to give up.

"You’re weaker without it," she said quietly.

I didn’t deny it. I moved again anyway and this time, she didn’t hold back.

The next exchange didn’t feel controlled anymore. It wasn’t measured. It wasn’t restrained. Every movement was sharper, heavier, driven by something beyond simple combat. I pushed forward, forcing her back step by step, but each time I got close enough to gain ground, that same pressure hit again. It wasn’t just weakness, it was control she was reminding me of it.

I drove her back another step, my hand catching her arm, forcing her against the wall with enough force to crack the surface behind her. For a moment, I thought I had it, that I had pushed far enough to break through whatever she was holding back.

Then she looked at me, and something shifted, the pressure in my chest tightened all at once

My grip loosened before I could stop it, my body reacting before my mind could catch up. The strength in my arms dropped just enough for her to slip free, and the next second, I was the one being forced back.

The impact against the wall knocked the breath out of me, but I didn’t stay down.

I pushed forward again.

And again.

And again.

Each time, it got harder, not because she was stronger but because she was letting me feel exactly how much I had lost.

"You still don’t understand," she said, stepping closer as I steadied myself against the wall. "This was never a fight you could win without me."

I straightened, ignoring the tightening in my chest, the way my breathing had started to strain more than it should have.

"I’m not trying to win," I said.

That made her pause.

"Then what are you trying to do?" she asked.

I met her gaze fully.

"End it."

There was no hesitation in my voice. Something in her expression shifted, just slightly, like she hadn’t expected that answer, but it didn’t stop her.

The pressure hit again. Harder this time. My body reacted immediately, my breath catching as something inside me locked up completely. It wasn’t pain the way most people would describe it. It was worse.

It was absence.

Like something essential had been stripped away and replaced with something that didn’t belong. I dropped to one knee before I could stop it, my hand bracing against the floor as I forced myself to stay upright.

She didn’t move to help me. She didn’t ease it. She watched.

"You’re still connected to it," she said quietly. "Whether you choose to use it or not."

I didn’t respond, because she already knew.

The pressure tightened again, my vision blurring at the edges as my body struggled to keep up with something it wasn’t designed to fight against without the one thing that had been keeping it stable.

I could feel my strength slipping, feel control slipping with it but I didn’t reach for it. I didn’t ask for it, I didn’t even look at her.

If this was how it ended, then it ended on my terms.

Not hers.

The thought settled in just as my balance gave out completely, my body hitting the ground harder this time, the strength in my limbs refusing to respond the way it should have.

Through the haze, I could still see her, still standing and watching.

Waiting.

Not for me but for something else, for someone else, for Liora.

I understood it then, this wasn’t just about breaking me, it was about forcing her hand, seeing what she would choose.

My life.

Or whatever she was becoming.

The realization settled just as everything started to go dim.

And still—

I didn’t reach for it. I didn’t beg. The pressure held for a moment longer.

Then—

It stopped completely.

Air rushed back into my lungs all at once, my body reacting before my mind could catch up as I forced myself to breathe through it, to pull myself back up even as the weakness still lingered.

Something hit the floor in front of me. I didn’t need to look to know what it was.

The vial.

I pushed myself up slowly, my hand closing around it without hesitation, but I didn’t use it immediately. I didn’t need to.

I looked up at her. She was watching me the same way she had before, but there was something different in her expression now.

"You were going to let yourself die," she said, "And she would have felt it," Seraphina continued. "Even with the bond weakened, she would have known."

My jaw tightened slightly, but I didn’t look away.

"That was the point, wasn’t it?" I said.

Her gaze held mine, steady and unbothered.

"I wanted to see if she would come to you," she replied. "If she would use what she has left to save you."

Silence settled between us again, heavier than before.

I straightened fully, the last of the weakness fading enough that I could stand without showing it.

"You’re not finished," I said.

"No," she agreed. "Not yet."

Her gaze didn’t leave mine as she spoke again, her voice quieter this time, but sharper.

"I want to see if she chooses you," she said. "Or her awakening."

How did she knows about her awakening? Could she have figured out that she is the last blood of the white wolf bloodline she had been hunting?

The words didn’t sound like a threat, they sounded like a conclusion waiting to happen.

And for the first time since I walked into that room—

I realized she wasn’t trying to stop what was coming. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

She was waiting for it.