The Female Alpha Returns

My mother, Seraphina Voss, was the only female Alpha in wolf history.

She shattered the ironclad gender rule of the Alpha bloodline,

a legend even the fiercest male Alphas bowed to.

And I, Elara Voss, am her only daughter, the sole heir to her Wolf King bloodline.

Right now, I'm staring at my father's illegitimate daughter, my half-sister, Lila.

I feel the bloodline imprint of my mate, Kael Black, in her swollen belly.

My claws, snow-white and sharp, instantly sprung from my fingertips,

but my father, Roderick, the current Alpha of the Silverveil Pack, pressed down on my shoulder.

"Elara, this is your pup too!"

My mate, Kael Black, Alpha of the Ironvein Pack, stood silently beside my father.

His downcast eyes offered no rebuttal, tacitly accepting this absurdity.

I understood.

The pup in Lila's belly belonged to my Alpha mate.

Seeing my silence, Kael finally spoke,

"You've never wanted to bear pups anyway.

Lila is your sister; her having a pup won't ever shake your position as Luna of the Ironvein Pack."

In their eyes, I never said no to them.

But they didn't know that on my mother's deathbed, I swore by the Wolf King bloodline to protect them for seven years of peace.

Now, the seven-year term is up. The pact is sealed. It's time for me to go.

Kael Black's hand was still resting on Lila's swollen belly, his Alpha gaze so tender it could melt.

Seeing this, my wolf inside me howled wildly, trying to ease the sharp pain in my heart.

For so many years, I cleared out the rebellious factions in his Pack, ensuring his safety in the Alpha position.

Yet, in the end, I was still no match for Lila, who only knew how to look at him with adoring eyes.

"Elara, don't be mad at Kael."

Lila lay on the bed, a harmless smile on her face.

"Dr. Ellis said my health isn't great. Kael was afraid something would happen to me and the baby, which is why he kept it from you."

"We're all doing this for your own good. You've been Luna for so many years, yet your womb has been empty.

The elders of the Pack have gossiped endlessly about it.

They all say that you inherited Alpha Seraphina's bloodline, but you can't even bear a pup, bringing shame to the legendary Wolf King."

She said, patting my hand affectionately,

"Once the baby is born, he'll be registered under your name.

He'll share in Alpha Seraphina's glorious bloodline, and he can call you 'mother,' okay?"

My father cleared his throat, adopting his Silverveil Pack Alpha demeanor, and barked sharply,

trying to assert an authority he'd never dared to show my mother:

"Elara! The pup Lila is carrying is the firstborn of the Ironvein Pack, and the hope of our Silverveil Pack!"

"Your sister is sharing the burden for you, for both Packs. Instead of being grateful, you're giving everyone a cold shoulder?

Don't forget, your mother set the rule that you were to protect the Silverveil Pack!"

Kael finally removed his hand from Lila's belly and walked towards me.

He tried to take my hand, but I sidestepped, avoiding him.

A flicker of annoyed defiance crossed his eyes. He was so used to my obedience,

used to me smoothing over every storm for him, allowing him to sit securely in the Alpha position.

"Elara, we've been mates for so many years, don't you understand me?"

"Everything I'm doing is for you, for both our Packs. I can't let other Packs talk behind your back, calling you a she-wolf who can't bear pups, saying the legendary Wolf King's daughter can't even manage basic reproduction."

I looked at him, unable to say a word.

He would never understand that my mother becoming the only female Alpha wasn't about bearing pups.

It was about her ability to protect the entire Western Territory's wolf kin on her own.

He also didn't understand that I never cared about idle gossip.

I only cared that the people my mother gave her life to protect, now turned around and trampled her legacy underfoot.

Seeing I was unmoved, Kael's patience finally ran out.

"Alright, stop being dramatic. I've already had the kitchen prepare a feast to celebrate this happy occasion."

"As Luna of the Ironvein Pack, you should at least show some appreciation."

He turned to help Lila, a tenderness in his movements I had never seen before.

"Lila, what do you want to eat? Should I have the hunting party go catch the freshest venison?"

Lila leaned weakly against him, pouting playfully:

"I want soup, and I want you to feed me yourself."

"Alright, whatever you wish."

They acted intimately as if I wasn't even there, treating me like a transparent ornament.

Standing there, I felt ridiculously superfluous.

Just then, Dr. Ellis, the Pack's doctor, walked in with his medical bag.

He had been my mother's exclusive doctor but, after her death, he became Lila's.

With a beaming smile, he pulled a bloodline test report from his bag, his voice loud, intentionally letting everyone in the room hear:

"Alpha Kael, Alpha Roderick, congratulations!"

He handed the report to Kael, his tone full of flattery:

"Miss Lila's pregnancy is very stable, and the bloodline test shows it's a male pup!"

Kael passionately kissed Lila, his aura practically vibrating with joy.

He finally had something to prove himself, a pup of his own,

a bargaining chip to rid himself of the "legendary Wolf King's son-in-law" label.

My father was also flushed with excitement. He had lived his entire life in my mother's shadow,

and now, he finally felt he could triumph over the dead woman.

Dr. Ellis turned to me, a hint of pity in his smile,

"Luna Elara, don't be too sad."

"Since your womb has been quiet, having Lila bear one for you is just the same.

After all, Alpha Seraphina's glory must be inherited by a child, mustn't it?"

The laughter in the room felt like countless poisoned needles, piercing my ears.

I clenched my fists, my nails digging deep into my palms.

They dared to desecrate my mother, daring to use her legacy to whitewash this sordid betrayal.

Kael held the report, walked up to me, and thrust the paper in front of my eyes.

"Elara, look how adorable he is.

From now on, he'll be our pup. He'll inherit the Voss family's glory, he'll inherit everything from your mother."

My father quickly added: "But Elara, even though the pup will be registered under your name, he'll also call Lila 'mother.' After all, only a biological mother can raise him well, unlike some people who only know how to fight and kill, completely lacking what a woman should be."

They still, as always, expected me to agree to all their requests.

Just like seven days after my mother's death, my father brought home Lila, who was only half a year younger than me.

He claimed she was the daughter of an old acquaintance, but her face was almost identical to his.

He dared to do this only because he was sure I would honor my mother's dying wish, not expose him, and not destroy the Silverveil Pack.

Just like after Kael said he wanted a pup of ours, I tried countless Dr. Ellis's remedies,

even though I had told him before we married that my body was severely damaged protecting my mother during an assassination attempt, making it difficult to conceive and impossible to take strong medicine long-term.

He hugged me then, saying it was okay. But then, he used that very fact as an excuse to betray me.

All because seven years ago, on her deathbed, my mother, using the Voss family's Wolf King bloodline, established a blood pact.

It was to help my weak father secure his position as Alpha of the Silverveil Pack,

and to pave a bright path for Kael, whose Pack was on the verge of extinction, to rise again.

For my mother, the Silverveil Pack were her kin,

and the former Alpha of the Ironvein Pack was her savior.

This was her last lingering attachment.

But for me, it was nothing more than a seven-year agreement.

Now that seven years had passed, I saw nothing worth clinging to here.

I turned, walked to the deserted Moonlit Terrace,

and called Cain, the trust lawyer my mother designated before her death.

He was the person my mother trusted most, and the only one in the entire Wolf Alliance capable of dissolving a blood pact.

"Mr. Cain, seven years are up."

Silence on the other end, then a sigh,

"Luna Elara, everything is ready.

At your word, all resources injected into the Silverveil Pack and Ironvein Pack will initiate recovery procedures within twenty-four hours. We anticipate all transfers will be completed within a week.

All pacts were established by Alpha Seraphina with her Wolf King bloodline; no one in the entire Wolf Alliance dares to defy them."

"Begin."

Hanging up the phone, I felt the chain that had bound me for seven years finally loosen.

I no longer had to carry my mother's lingering obsession, protecting a bunch of ungrateful wretches.

Kael Black walked over at some point, frowning at me,

"Who were you talking to so mysteriously on the phone?"

"Elara, I'm warning you, don't go making alliances outside using Pack resources."

"Raising a pup will require resources everywhere later; you need to be frugal.

Don't forget, all these things will be my son's someday."

He lectured me as if it were his right, completely forgetting that his Alpha position,

was entirely paved with my mother's resources and fought for by me, blade by blade.

Years ago, he was hunted by rival Packs, hiding in the snow like a stray dog.

My mother sent people to rescue him. I brought him back to the Silverveil Pack, giving him a chance at a new life.

I ignored him and walked straight to the dining room.

The long dining table was laden with food, but all of it was Lila's favorites.

Kael meticulously picked out tiny bones from the venison for Lila, completely oblivious that I hadn't even touched my fork.

My father, his face flushed from drinking, suddenly spoke, his tone a commanding dictate:

"Elara, transfer your inheritance rights in the Silverveil Pack, and the Voss family's hunting grounds in the Western Territory, all to the pup in Lila's belly. Consider it a welcoming gift from you, as his elder sister."

I looked up at his face, etched with calculation, and nodded softly.

"Alright."

My quick agreement stunned them all.

They had probably braced themselves for my tears and resistance, never expecting me to agree so readily.

Kael was the first to react, a satisfied smile on his face.

"I knew Elara was the most sensible. Truly Alpha Seraphina's daughter, she understands the bigger picture."

"Then the hunting grounds and resources under your name in the Ironvein Pack, and the Alliance pacts your mother left you, transfer those too. For our child, you'll certainly be willing."

Lila leaned against Kael, feigning worry as she tugged on his sleeve.

"Kael, don't be like that, Elara will be unhappy. These are Alpha Seraphina's things for Elara, I can't take them."

My father sneered.

"What nonsense, she's delighted! Elara. Come, propose a toast to Lila. That way, you, as her sister, acknowledge this child."

Kael picked up a glass of wine and offered it to me.

"I can't drink," I said.

Kael's face instantly darkened. His Alpha dominance instantly swept through the entire dining room.

"Can't drink? To secure the Eastern Territory's hunting grounds,

you drank until you puked at rival Pack gatherings, why didn't you say you couldn't drink then?

To help me secure a seat on the Alliance council, you competed in drinking contests with those Alphas,

and drank until you collapsed for three days and three nights, why didn't you say you couldn't drink then?"

My father chimed in: "Exactly. All these years, for the sake of both Packs, how many drinking parties did you attend?

I remember you enjoying it then; you even eagerly volunteered when not asked.

Why are you pretending to be so noble now? Do you really think you're the legendary Wolf King?"

All these years, one of them had to maintain the image of a refined and benevolent Alpha, while the other had to put on airs as the leader of a rising strong Pack.

The dirty work, the life-risking negotiations with rival Packs, naturally all fell to me.

They complacently enjoyed my mother's glory, and the peace I risked my life to earn,

then turned around and found fault with me for not being gentle enough, not "womanly" enough.

Taking the glass Kael had practically shoved to my lips, I turned to Lila.

Her face held a poorly concealed triumph.

I raised the glass and said to them,

"To celebrate Lila's good news, in a week, I'll give you a grand gift."