Chapter 1 The Alpha's Daughter

• SERAPHINA
• “A woman cannot lead a pack,” my father, Alpha Darious Nightbane, proclaimed right in the middle of my twentieth birthday celebration.
• I stood tall in the center of the grand arena, where every gaze shifted and locked onto me. My eyes met my father’s cold, commanding black eyes. But I did not blink.
• “Why?” I demanded, my voice slicing through the stunned gasps that echoed around us like thunder.
• I was Seraphina Nightbane, the only child of the Alpha of the North. No one questioned him. No one dared. Although I always had.
• My father’s jaw clenched, his expression warping into something dark and resolute. “Because it is tradition,” he spat. “Only men can lead a pack. That is the principal law of our world. Women are born to follow, to obey, not to rule. This law has guided our kind for generations, and it will remain so. Tradition is not up for debate.”
• His blood, an Alpha blood coursed through my veins, yet in his eyes, it meant nothing. I was a woman. And in this world, that single part of my identity was enough to define me, to confine me.
• Around us, the pack Elders nodded in solemn agreement, their expressions passive. Compliant.
• My fists curled at my sides, nails digging into my palms.
• “I’ve trained harder than every male here,” I said evenly, my voice calm but resolute. “I’ve dedicated my entire life to this pack, fighting, protecting, excelling in everything your chosen heirs failed to master. I’ve bested them in every trial. I’ve bled for this pack. On top of that I am the rightful heir.”
• “You need to stop clinging to the nonsense your mother filled your head with before she died,” my father coldly replied. “A son is the next Alpha, not a daughter. Yes, you have my blood. Yes, you’ve bled. But that alone does not make you worthy. Not when you lack discipline and respect.”
• “Discipline?” I scoffed. “You mean submission? Submission to an outdated law that favors a man who couldn’t even defeat the woman he calls weak?”
• The air thickened, tension rippling through the room like a storm. My father’s eyes darkened, his fury simmering just beneath the surface. “Watch your tongue, Seraphina. You sound like a rogue.”
• “I speak like an Alpha,” I replied calmly, my voice unwavering.
• Gasps rippled through the gathered crowd.
• Father stepped forward, his boots striking the stone floor with heavy intent. He stopped inches from me, eyes glinting with a warning glare. “You sound like an Alpha, yes but you’re reckless. You think brute strength makes you a leader? Look around you. This world belongs to men. Females hold no power here.”
• “What if I see it differently,” I hissed, my voice low and burning. “I see men constantly trying to keep women trapped beneath their boot heels. Just like you are doing now. You're afraid, Father. Afraid of a woman rising higher than you ever could.”
• His eyes blazed, molten fury threatening to explode.
• That’s when Luna Marrisa, my aunt and my mother’s sister softly cleared her throat. “Alpha Darius, perhaps…”
• Only Father silenced her with a single raised hand.
• “I’ve made my decision,” he declared, his voice booming across the arena, echoing against stone and silence. His glare never left mine. “The Alpha title will pass to my nephew.”
• My breath caught in my throat. My cousin?
• But he wasn’t finished.
• “And Seraphina will marry the Alpha King.”
• The world seemed to stop around me.
• “…What?” I whispered, disbelief crashing over me in waves. No, I must have heard him wrong. He wouldn't. He couldn’t.
• “The Alpha King arrives tomorrow,” my father continued. “You will become his Luna. He will take you from this pack, as tradition commands.”
• The ground tilted beneath me. The sounds of celebration faded into nothing. The walls blurred at the edges of my vision. My father’s words struck like a dagger, cleaving through my chest until only one truth remained:
• I was being discarded.
• Not just as an heir.
• But as a daughter.
• As a warrior.
• As a wolf.
• I was not a leader. I was a bargaining chip. A token bride for a king whose face I had never seen.
• “No,” I breathed. “I refuse to marry.”
• “You will not disgrace me with disobedience!” my father snarled, stepping closer. His wolf flickered in his eyes, giving a last wild warning. “You will do your duty. The true duty you were born for.”
• “My duty is to this pack,” I said, trembling with fury. “To the people I bled for.”
• “And now your final duty is to marry a legacy born of the strongest Alpha King,” he thundered.
• His voice, his decree—it twisted everything. The hand that once raised me as a warrior now stabbed me in the back with the blade of tradition.
• Every scar, every night spent training under a silent sky, every sacrifice—it had all been erased by a single command.
• As the crowd began to disperse, cheering for tomorrow’s cursed wedding, I stood motionless in the center of the arena, alone with my broken fate.
• “Sera,” Aunt Marrisa whispered, placing a gentle hand on my shoulder. Her eyes shimmered with sorrow. “Let it go, child. Marry the king. Live your life… peacefully as his queen.”
• “I refuse,” I said softly, my voice like steel wrapped in velvet. “I won’t be mated to a stranger, even if he is the Alpha King. I will not serve as a pawn to preserve my father’s alliances. If he won’t give me the title I earned... I’ll take it.”
• “What?” she gasped, glancing around nervously. “Sera, keep your voice down! That’s impossible. Your cousin will be crowned in three months!”
• “Three months,” I echoed under my breath.
• Then I turned and walked toward my bedroom.
• Once inside, I went straight to my nightstand and pulled out a folded form from the drawer.
• Aunt Marrisa followed me inside. “What is that, Sera?”
• She peered over my shoulder as I opened it. “What is it, Sera?” Her brow furrowed in confusion before she read the words aloud.
• “Lupine Academy…? The elite training ground for male Alpha heirs?” Her eyes snapped up, wide and alarmed. “Sera, what are you planning?”
• My grip tightened around the paper.
• “This… is my escape,” I whispered. “And my path to the throne.”
• If they wanted to cage me, I would break free.
• If they wanted to silence me, I would roar.
• And if this world had no place for a female Alpha then I would carve one out with my own hands.
• I had one night before the Alpha King arrived.
• One night to disappear.
• One night to reclaim my destiny.
• I turned to the window, staring at the silver moon high in the sky.
• I had one night to be reborn.
• To become Seth, instead of Sera.