Chapter 24 024
Dimitri
The healers were still working on my back when Viktor's call came through the pack link, and I could hear the triumph in his voice.
"We have Elder Ruth. Eastern border, trying to cross into neutral territory. Six accomplices subdued."
Relief and rage flooded through me in equal measure. I shoved the healer away from my half-stitched wounds and stood, ignoring the fresh blood that immediately began trickling down my spine.
"Alpha, you can't—"
"Watch me." I snarled, already heading for the door.
Seraphina grabbed my arm, her eyes wide with concern and something darker, a hunger for vengeance that matched my own. "I'm coming with you."
"No," My voice came out harsher than I intended. "You stay here where it's safe. I don't trust anyone right now, and if Ruth had accomplices, there could be more."
"Dimitri—"
"Please," I cupped her face, forcing myself to gentle my tone. "Let me handle this. I need to know you're protected while I deal with her."
She wanted to argue, I could see it in the set of her jaw, but she finally nodded. "Make her suffer," She whispered, and the venom in her voice made my wolf howl with pride.
"Make her pay for what she took from me."
"I will," I promised, pressing a hard kiss to her forehead. "Viktor will post guards outside this room. You don't let anyone in except the healers you already know, understand?"
"I understand."
I left her there, surrounded by the medical staff, and practically ran to the detention cells despite my body's protests.
Every step sent fire through my back, my broken ribs grinding together, but the pain only fueled my rage. Ruth had orchestrated the death of Seraphina's parents.
She had manipulated pack law to try and control my mate's future. She had nearly gotten me killed, and she was going to pay for every single transgression.
The detention cells were in the basement of the pack house, reinforced with silver-lined bars that would burn any wolf who touched them. Viktor met me at the entrance, his expression grim.
"She hasn't said a word since we brought her in," He reported. "The others are claiming they were just following orders, that they thought they were protecting pack purity."
"Fuck pack purity," I spat. "Where is she?"
"End cell. Dimitri..." Viktor hesitated. "She's not what I expected. She's not scared or remorseful. She's almost... pleased."
That gave me pause, but only for a moment. I pushed past him and stalked down the corridor, my footsteps echoing off the stone walls. The six accomplices were in cells along the way, and they all shrank back when they saw me bloodied, furious and radiating dominance that made the air itself feel heavy.
But Ruth? Ruth sat calmly on the bench in her cell, her hands folded in her lap like she was waiting for tea service.
When she looked up at me, there was no fear in her eyes. Only cold calculation.
"Alpha Dimitri," She said pleasantly. "I wondered how long it would take you to visit."
I grabbed the cell bars, not caring when the silver seared my palms. "You murdered the Nightingales. You manipulated pack law to control Seraphina. You orchestrated this entire trial to have me killed."
"Yes," she said simply. "And I will do it again."
Her admission stunned me into momentary silence. I expected denial, excuses, maybe even begging. But this cold acceptance of her crimes?
"Why?" I growled. "What could possibly justify—"
"Justify?" She stood, moving closer to the bars with a confidence that set my teeth on edge.
"I don't need to justify preserving the future of our species. The Nightingale line carries the purest genes that trace back to the original lycans. Seraphina’s stupid mother was going to waste that gift on love and choice," She spat the words like they were poison.
"She refused to see the bigger picture."
"So you killed her for it."
"I eliminated an obstacle," Ruth corrected.
"Seraphina’s father discovered my plans to breed Seraphina with Alpha Kaine's son, a union that would have created the most powerful alpha bloodline in centuries. He threatened to expose me, so I arranged for him and his troublesome mate to have an... accident."
The casual way she discussed murder made my blood boil. "Seraphina was a child. You were planning to force her—"
"To save our species!" Ruth's composure finally cracked, her eyes blazing with fanatical fervor.
"Do you have any idea how weak we've become? Wolves choosing mates based on emotion rather than genetic superiority? In another generation, we'll be no stronger than humans!"
"You're insane."
"I'm a visionary," She leaned closer, her voice dropping to something almost conspiratorial.
"And you, Alpha Dimitri, you were never supposed to be part of this equation. A young, untested alpha with no ancient bloodline? You're exactly the kind of genetic dilution I've spent decades trying to prevent."
I wanted to rip the cell door off its hinges and tear her throat out. My wolf was howling for blood, for vengeance, for justice, but I forced myself to stay calm, to think strategically.
"Here's what's going to happen," I said, my voice deadly quiet.
"You're going to rot in this cell while I dismantle everything you've built. Every wolf who followed you, every plan you made, every hope you had for your Pure Blood Alliance, I'm going to burn it all to the ground."
Ruth smiled, and it was the most disturbing thing I had ever seen. "You think I haven't planned for this outcome? You think I don't have contingencies?"
"What contingencies?" Viktor demanded, moving closer. "Your accomplices are all in custody. Your plans are exposed."
"Are they?" Ruth's smile widened. "Tell me, Alpha Dimitri, where is your precious mate right now?"
Ice flooded my veins. "She's in the medical ward, surrounded by guards."
"Guards who I've known for years. Healers who I've worked with for decades." Ruth's voice was poison-sweet. "Did you really think I'd let myself be captured without ensuring I still had leverage?"
I was running before she finished speaking, Viktor's footsteps pounding behind me. The pack link opened and I roared through it.
"MEDICAL WARD NOW! SERAPHINA IS IN DANGER!"
Every wolf within range would hear that command and respond, but would it be fast enough?
The detention cells were three floors below the medical ward, and even at a full sprint, it would take crucial minutes to reach her.
"She's fine," One of the guards responded through the link. I'm outside the ward right now. Everything's quiet."
That should have reassured me, but it didn't.
We burst into the medical ward to find my men standing guard, looking confused by my panic. Inside, Seraphina was sitting up in bed.
She looked up when I entered, her expression softening with relief.
"Dimitri, what's wrong? You look—"
Then she gasped, her hand flying to her throat. The healer beside her stumbled backward, her eyes wide with shock.
"Seraphina?" I was at her side in an instant, catching her as she started to slump forward. "What's wrong? What happened?"
"I... I don't..." Her words came out slurred, her pupils dilating rapidly. "Dimitri, I can't... can't breathe..."
The healer, an older woman I had known for years, was backing toward the door, her face pale with guilt and terror. Viktor grabbed her before she could run.
"What did you do?" He snarled.
"She... Elder Ruth... she said it was just a sedative..." The healer was shaking, tears streaming down her face. "She said Seraphina needed to sleep through the pain of the bond... I didn't know... I swear I didn't know..."
"Know what?" I roared, but Seraphina's body jerking in my arms told me everything I needed to know.
She had been poisoned.
"Get the healers!" I commanded, lowering Seraphina gently to the bed. Her skin was already taking on a grayish pallor, her breathing becoming labored. "Get everyone! NOW!"
More healers rushed in, their trained eyes immediately recognizing the symptoms. They started shouting medical terms I didn't understand, grabbing supplies, working with urgent efficiency.
"What is it?" I demanded, refusing to let go of Seraphina's hand even as they worked around me. "What did she give her?"
"Wolfsbane," One of the senior healers said grimly. "A concentrated dose, mixed with something else I can't identify. Alpha, you need to step back so we can work."
"I'm not leaving her."
"Then stay quiet and let us try to save her life!"
I watched helplessly as they worked, cutting away her dress to access her chest, listening to her heart rate, checking her vitals.
Seraphina's eyes found mine, wide with fear and pain, her lips moving but no sound coming out.
"You're going to be fine," I told her, though I wasn't sure if I was trying to convince her or myself. "Stay with me, baby. Just stay with me."
But her eyes were already starting to roll back, her body convulsing as the poison spread through her system.
The healers were shouting, their movements becoming more frantic, and I realized with dawning horror that they didn't know if they could save her.
Ruth had planned this. Even in defeat, even locked in a cell, she had found a way to strike at what I loved most. And if Seraphina died...
No. I couldn't think like that.
But as her hand went limp in mine and the healers exchanged grave looks, I realized that Ruth might have won after all.