Chapter 128: Chapter 128 Blood Never Lies
Dorian’s POV
The sterile scent of antiseptic mixed with copper filled my nostrils. Hospitals disgusted me, even makeshift ones erected within my own domain. They reeked of vulnerability, like hitting pause on a war that demanded my complete focus.
Heavy footsteps echoed as the doctor emerged from Seraphina’s room. Exhaustion lined his weathered face as he massaged his neck.
"Report," I commanded. My tone remained controlled, though internally I braced for devastating news. If he delivered the wrong words, I’d tear him apart with my bare hands.
The physician straightened his spine. "Alpha Dorian, her strength is remarkable. Her wolf refuses to surrender. She’ll recover fully."
Relief flooded through me briefly before anxiety crashed back in.
"Fractures? Permanent damage?" I pressed for every detail.
He shook his head deliberately. "No fractures detected. Her wolf has begun healing the deeper wounds already. However, the trauma was severe. They inflicted significant damage. Complete rest for several days is essential. Her body has reached its limit."
They inflicted significant damage.
Those words shattered the fragile composure I’d maintained. Guilt slammed into me with crushing force, making my hands shake for the first time in decades.
She never belonged in this battle. This was my vendetta, my quest for vengeance, and she’d been caught in the destruction because of my choices. Now she lay broken and defenseless in that room.
"Leave," I dismissed the doctor with a wave. "Ensure her recovery proceeds without complications, or you’ll discover exactly where failures end up."
He nodded frantically and fled, grateful to escape my presence.
I pushed through her door. The atmosphere felt suffocating here. Seraphina lay motionless beneath white sheets, her skin pallid and drained. An IV line fed into her arm, but otherwise she appeared to be sleeping peacefully.
Moving carefully, I settled on the bed’s edge beside her, cautious not to cause additional pain. I examined her features intently. I’d never truly studied her face before, not while plotting to exploit her, not while struggling against this inexplicable bond I felt.
Now, observing her cheekbones, jawline, and nose structure, everything clicked into place. I recognized myself reflected in her.
These similarities explained everything.
This was the source of my immediate attraction to her. This was why I’d felt such an intense, instantaneous connection. It wasn’t desire. It wasn’t the obsession between potential mates. It was something fundamental, something written in DNA.
The voices haunting my mind, the ones constantly whispering about isolation, abandonment, and monstrosity, they always quieted when she appeared. Finally, I understood why.
My entire existence, I’d believed the only loyalty I commanded came from fear. People followed me because I was their Alpha, or because they recognized my pack’s dominance. I lived in solitude. Unloved.
But I wasn’t truly alone.
I leaned toward her face. "Seraphina," I murmured, her name carrying new meaning now. "I have a sister."
Not just a sister. I had a niece and nephew too. An actual family. People who shared my bloodline.
If I’d discovered this truth weeks ago, I would’ve abandoned everything. I never would’ve endangered her. Never manipulated her. Never caused her suffering.
The protective fury surging through me made my wolf growl menacingly.
I brushed stray hair from her forehead. "Wake up, little sister. Please wake up."
I needed her conscious so I could reveal the darkness surrounding us. She had to understand how I’d become this creature. More crucially, I needed her awake so we could finish this mission together. We’d claim vengeance for our father. We’d incinerate this corrupt world and construct our own empire, just the two of us.
The door swung open. Zachariah, my Beta, and Zane, my Gamma, entered wearing expressions of grim determination.
"Alpha," Zachariah spoke quietly, mindful of Seraphina’s condition. "Everything’s prepared. The forces await your next orders."
I ignored them, keeping my gaze fixed on Seraphina’s peaceful face.
I whispered so softly only she and my wolf could detect it. "I know you despise the monster I’ve been forced to become. I know you hate my actions."
My fingers found hers, gripping them securely.
"But eventually you’ll comprehend everything. Soon, Seraphina, you’ll stand beside me. You’ll realize they all deserve destruction. They’re pathetic. They allowed Father’s death, they left me to decay in darkness."
I tightened my hold. "You’ll join me, willing or not. I finally have family in my life, and no mate, no Alpha, no divine power will ever separate you from me."
Rising to my feet, I faced Zachariah and Zane. The tenderness vanished, replaced by the ruthless expression of the Dark Alpha.
"Inform the troops," I ordered, my voice sharp as tempered steel. "Show no mercy."
"Our next objective is Solstice Fang territory," I announced.
Surprise registered on their faces. I’d previously declared I was saving the best targets for last, but circumstances had changed.
"Why Solstice Fang, Alpha?" Zane questioned.
I smiled slowly, a cold expression promising agony. "Because Alpha Maxwell currently visits the Zenith Fang. He’s exposed because he assumes he’s protected."
I leaned forward, savoring the dark satisfaction spreading through me.
"I don’t intend to kill Maxwell immediately. Death would be too merciful. I want him to endure true suffering. I want him returning home to discover absolute devastation. I want him understanding that everything precious to him, his pack, his people, his homeland, has been obliterated."
I released a harsh, chilling laugh filled with pure, triumphant malice.
"Go. Leave nothing standing."
They nodded, eyes blazing with terrible resolve. They departed to relay my commands.
After the door closed, I stood alone in the silent room beside my wounded sister. The time for covert operations had ended. Now we’d attack directly.
Closing my eyes, I reached out mentally, connecting with an elite team I maintained separately from the main pack. They were swift, silent, and followed orders without hesitation.
"Listen carefully," I commanded through the mental link, my voice echoing only in their consciousness. "New mission parameters. No survivors. No communication.
"Seraphina’s adoptive parents. I want them eliminated. Not quickly. Not painlessly. I want them butchered like livestock. Make it brutal. Make them suffer."
I severed the connection, exhaling slowly. The world would burn. And when the destruction settled, Seraphina would be standing directly beside me.
