Chapter 10: The Price of Blood

Valerius’s POV

The digital alarm fractured the silence, ripping me relentlessly from dreamland. I let out a low, gravelly groan and glanced at the nightstand; it was exactly five o'clock in the morning. I had mandated an earlier schedule for myself today to oversee the vanguard combat drills. Sliding out from beneath the heavy covers, I executed every movement with absolute, calculated silence, determined not to disturb Aurelia’s fragile rest.

I paused at the edge of the mattress, allowing myself a prolonged moment to simply admire her ethereal beauty. Her long, cascading waves of brown hair had fallen softly across her face, and her features looked remarkably soft—peaceful, even. A quiet ache flared in my chest. I prayed to the Moon Goddess that one day she would carry this exact same tranquility while awake. In her conscious hours, she was so intensely guarded, her internal walls so fortified that unearthing even a shred of her thoughts felt near impossible. But my soul possessed endless patience. I would wait for her dawn; she would trust me with her darkness eventually.

Once my morning routine was complete, I slid into a pair of loose athletic shorts and a lightweight vest before making my way down to the expansive training fields. I surveyed the grounds, noting with satisfaction that almost the entirety of our combat force had already assembled. Several high-ranking females had already initiated their sparring sequences, a sight that made a proud grin touch my lips.

Many neighboring Alphas harbored archaic, regressive views regarding gender roles. In my sovereign decree, if a soul possesses the capacity and the unyielding volition to wield a blade, they should damn well be permitted to do so. I couldn't care less about anatomical semantics; if you can fight, you belong in my vanguard. Some of my most lethal, decorated trackers are female. Furthermore, anyone who discounts their strength has clearly never witnessed a furious mother wolf defending her lineage—they carry nothing but unadulterated fire. They have thoroughly earned the right to be terrifying.

I bypassed the perimeter line and marched directly toward the rear quadrant, halting before the guard who had so egregiously disrespected his Luna the previous afternoon.

"You and me. In the center ring. Right now," I commanded, allowing the crushing weight of my Alpha aura to saturate the air. I had zero intention of ending his life... at least, not yet. My inner beast demanded a prolonged display of entertainment first.

"Alpha," he muttered, dropping his chin in a shallow bow. The performative gesture only irritated my senses further, and a low growl ripped from my throat at his artificial loyalty.

"How is it that your flesh can project such flawless deference to my title, Johnny, yet your mind refuses to treat your designated Luna as my absolute equal?" My voice dropped into a low, lethal register that froze the surrounding warriors.

Johnny snapped his chin up, locking his gaze onto mine with a brazen defiance, as if he genuinely believed his rank permitted him to challenge a sovereign. "Your chosen Luna is a common slut, Alpha Valerius," he shouted, his voice carrying across the entire field. "She literally bartered her flesh through every cellar in the Dark Moon pack before crawling onto your lands."

Owen surged to the absolute forefront of my consciousness, snarling in primitive fury at the catastrophic insult leveled against our mate and our crown. The sheer force of the rage caused my irises to bleed into a dark, volatile obsidian so absolute it appeared bordering on a midnight blue.

"You... have... absolutely... no idea what atrocities you are speaking of, pup," I whispered, growling every single syllable as a distinct, lethal warning.

A visible tremor began to rattle through Johnny’s frame, his pride fracturing under the sudden weight of my unmitigated dominance. I let a cold, sadistic smirk touch my lips; the desperate fury dancing behind his eyes was thoroughly amusing. Witnessing my dark amusement, his remaining restraint disintegrated entirely. Johnny initiated a violent shift, his bones snapping as a massive, tan-furred wolf materialized in the dirt. Baring his dripping fangs, he lunged forward in an explosive attack.

I easily sidestepped the sloppy, emotion-driven trajectory, delivering a crushing kick directly to his hindquarters. He went crashing heavily into the earth, the impact granting me more than enough window to let my own beast out.

Owen shook out his massive, midnight-dark fur, an earth-shattering snarl ripping from his jaws. My inner wolf holds zero tolerance for insubordination, and this pathetic warrior was about to learn the price of treason. Pouncing onto his struggling form, I locked my massive jaws around his throat, effortlessly hoisting his heavy weight into the air before hurling his body completely across the training yard.

He let out a pained grunt but managed to scramble back onto his paws, his eyes wild as he charged back toward my position, snapping violently at my forelegs. He managed to connect, but the superficial strike inflicted absolute zero damage; it succeeded only in stoking Owen's volatile fury to an impossible degree. I raised a massive paw, driving my claws deep into his flank, slicing through hide and muscle like a heated blade cutting through paper.

An agonized, high-pitched scream rent the morning air, and within a heartbeat, he was collapsed in the dirt, whimpering pitifully as his crimson blood soaked the grass. Thoroughly finished with the spectacle, I opened our private communication link, instructing the medical pavilion to prepare a secure cell for a new arrival.

"Connor. Aydin. Drag this piece of refuse to the infirmary," I commanded through the pack link.

Shifting back into my human skin, I smoothly caught a pair of shorts a nearby warrior had deferentially extended toward me. I offered a curt nod of appreciation before turning my freezing gaze onto the silent, stunned ranks of my vanguard.

"If any soul under my sky ever projects a single shred of disrespect toward your Luna again, your punishment will be absolute," I announced, letting my voice echo off the stone walls. "I possessed every right to end his life today, yet I permitted a display of sovereign mercy. Next time, my hand will not be so yielding. Do you understand?"

A chorus of deferential, hurried murmurs broke the paralyzed silence of the field.

"Johnny Stevens," I spat, turning my back on his bloody form as I marched away. "You are hereby stripped of all noble lineages, titles, and warrior ranks. From this second forward, you are nothing but a statusless omega." I thoroughly enjoyed the sound of his broken wails echoing behind me as his entire legacy was ruthlessly ripped from his name.

The perimeter patrol routines had initiated an hour prior, and I was navigating the final boundary line of the eastern ridge to guarantee our structural defenses remained absolute. Suddenly, an unfamiliar, jarring scent cut through the pine air. I halted mid-stride, tilting my muzzle upward as I drew the air deep into my lungs, trying to determine if a foreign threat had breached our borders.

Accompanied by two of my most exceptional trackers, I followed the subtle trail into a secluded ravine—only to freeze as a horrific scene materialized. One of our elite female warriors lay crumpled in the undergrowth, her chest cavity brutally ripped open, her lifeblood pooling in the dirt.

A dangerous, feral growl erupted from my chest. "Scour the entire quadrant!" I ordered my trackers.

As I approached the body, my eyes locked onto a crisp piece of parchment resting beside her fingers, stained with her fresh crimson. I snatched the bloody note, my eyes scanning the arrogant script:

“Ah... I see your hands have discovered my formal presentation. As my tongue previously articulated, my threats are absolute promises, Alpha Valerius. Relinquish my property into my chains, and these 'tragic' fatalities will cease to plague your lands.”

"That absolute bastard. I will personally tear his head from his shoulders and display his skull on a perimeter spike!" Owen roared within my mind, his thoughts consumed by a violent, unadulterated bloodlust. My wolf is a remarkably lethal creature when crossed.

Crushing the parchment into a tight ball within my fist, I knelt beside the fallen warrior. I carefully lifted Leila’s limp, broken form into my arms, shielding her mortal wounds away from any prying eyes as we navigated the path back toward the medical pavilion. I placed her gently onto a steel gurney, the metal groaning as the staff prepared to wheel her toward the morgue vaults.

"Halt," I commanded softly. The attendants froze instantly. Slowly, I dragged my palms down the contours of her face, gently closing her glassy eyes for the final time.

I turned to Barrett, instructing him to locate her bloodline and escort them to my private study immediately.

"Alpha," the head physician murmured softly, his eyes heavy with sorrow. "We will guard her spirit and treat her form with the absolute, utmost reverence."

I offered a quiet, grateful look. "Thank you, doctor," was all my heavy heart could articulate before I exited the ward, the suffocating weight of leadership pressing down on my chest. She had been an exceptional kid, and a phenomenal asset to our vanguard.

When I reached my study, Leila’s parents—Imogen and Colton—were already waiting outside the threshold, their features twisted in deep confusion. "Step inside," I requested softly, taking my place behind the dark mahogany desk, allowing my sorrow to show.

"Alpha," Colton greeted, his brow furrowing as he noted my expression.

I leveled a heavy, pained look at the noble couple before delivering the devastating truth. "I deeply regret to inform your bloodline... that Leila has been brutally murdered. Our trackers discovered her form along the eastern ridge exactly twenty minutes ago."

The words had barely cleared my lips before Imogen fractured completely, a violent torrent of tears breaking from her chest as the raw agony of the loss consumed her soul. Colton, however, stiffened into stone, a volatile, dangerous growl ripping from his throat.

"I will slaughter them! Who orchestrated this atrocity?!" he roared, his rational mind entirely dissolving as his inner wolf seized absolute control. His bones began to snap and realign with a sickening frequency, his physical form distorting into a feral silhouette as the shift took hold.

I stood up instantly, extending an open palm across the desk. "Colton... master your beast. Shift back right now," I ordered, forcing my Alpha authority into the command. The only response was a ragged, pain-filled snarl. "I cannot even begin to calculate the absolute agony consuming your spirit right now, Colton. My hands have never lost a child. But I do understand the nature of profound loss. You must master your control—your aura is terrifying your mate."

The warning pierced his blind rage. Colton froze mid-snarl, his golden irises shifting to look at Imogen. She was weeping hysterically against the velvet chair, her eyes painted with an absolute, primitive terror.

"Please..." she whispered, her voice a fragile plea.

A flash of profound regret softened Colton’s wild gaze. He surrendered the shift, his bones snapping in reverse as his human form emerged. I smoothly tossed him a pair of spare shorts from the cabinet; he slid into them silently, immediately pulling his weeping mate tightly against his chest to anchor her spirit.

"You are permitted to visit her form within the lower vaults if your spirits wish," I murmured, a grim shadow darkening my features. "But I must issue a formal warning... the scene is highly unpleasant."

"Thank you, Alpha Valerius," Colton mumbled, his voice completely broken as he turned toward the exit. "But I require a formal vow from your crown..."

"Name it."

"Guarantee that the absolute monster responsible for her death pays in blood."

I locked my gaze onto his, allowing Owen’s lethal dominance to bleed into my irises until they turned a dangerous, dark obsidian.

"He will," I stated with absolute, iron-clad certainty.

Once they had exited to finalize the administrative paperwork for Leila’s formal military burial, I stepped out of my study, my mind completely focused on locating my mate.