Chapter 7 THE CURSED SEAL AND THE PARTNERSHIP
Dorian’s final words hung like a guillotine in the heavy, oak-scented air of the study: "He will try to kill you."
"Why?" I asked, keeping my voice low. I had shed my Beta role; he was now facing a hunter. "I thought Marius believed I was just a Beta, a weak choice. Killing me would only cast more suspicion on him before the Council."
Dorian leaned against his desk, crossing his arms over his chest. "Marius is an intelligent traitor, Serra. It is true he thinks you are a Beta. But that is exactly why you are the target. That show last night... that kiss... It proved to the Pack that you are my weakness."
He locked his eyes onto mine. "Marius doesn't want to strike an emotional blow by killing you. He wants me to lose control. He knows that if my 'beloved' Luna is brutally murdered, the explosion of rage from an Alpha..."
Dorian paused. His hand moved involuntarily to his chest, right over his heart. "...will crack my seal."
"The seal," I repeated. "I saw it last night, Dorian. Beneath your skin."
Dorian’s eyes widened in shock, then narrowed. "You saw it? With your Beta senses?"
"I lied to you," I said. There was no point in hiding it anymore. "My senses are not those of a Beta."
After a moment of silence, Dorian made a sudden decision and began to unbutton his shirt. This wasn't an act of seduction; it was the presentation of evidence. As the shirt fell open, the pale light of dawn hit his chest.
It was there. Right over his heart. What had looked like a mere shadow in the darkness of the night was now clear. It was a complex, circular knot, etched beneath his skin like black ink, merged with his veins. And it was alive. With every breath Dorian took, the seal pulsed faintly with a sickly, purplish light.
"This is not a spell," Dorian said, his voice hoarse. "This is a physical parasite from the Shadow Age. My mother... she did this to me with her own blood before she died. She sealed my power because the wolf inside me is not like the others. It is ruinous. If it is released, it won't just destroy my enemies; it will destroy this room, this building... perhaps even you."
I took a step toward the seal. My inner Red Alpha felt a strange pull toward it. Not hatred, but familiarity.
"Does Marius know this?" I asked.
"He suspects," Dorian said. "He has seen that I never use my full capacity. If he has you killed and I break this seal in a fit of rage, the monster that emerges will be enough evidence for the Council to declare me an 'Unstable Alpha' and execute me."
I took a deep breath. My plan had to change. Killing Marius wasn't enough; we had to stop Marius from provoking Dorian.
"Then we will make a deal, Prison Warden," I said, tearing my eyes away from the seal to look into his lava-colored ones. "You will protect my position as Luna, so I can get to Marius before he gets to you. In return..."
"In return?"
"In return, you will learn how to use your power without breaking that seal. Because I am no ordinary wolf. I am of the Red Alpha bloodline."
Dorian froze. "Red Alpha? We thought that bloodline was extinct. They were purged."
"Except for one," I said coldly. "And the man who signed my family’s execution warrant was Marius. So, our enemy is shared."
The atmosphere in the room shifted. Suspicion and threat gave way to a dangerous partnership. Dorian extended his hand. This time, not for a show, but for a real agreement.
Just as I was about to shake his hand, the doorknob turned slowly.
Dorian quickly buttoned his shirt. "To the bed," he whispered. "Quickly."
But it was too late. The door opened without a knock.
It was Gamma Lady Elara. The cold expression she had worn at breakfast was replaced by a fake, servile smile. She held a large, gleaming tray in her hands. On it sat two porcelain cups of steaming coffee.
"I apologize for the intrusion, Alpha," Elara said, her voice sweet as honey but her eyes like poison. "But it is the Luna’s first morning. I wanted to follow custom and serve coffee personally."
Dorian stepped in front of the desk, shielding me behind him. "That was unnecessary, Elara. The servants could have brought it."
"Ah, but it is a sign of respect," Elara said, gliding into the room. She placed the tray onto Dorian's desk, right on top of the manuscripts we had just been examining.
Elara turned to me. "I hope you like it, Luna. I had it prepared specially for a... delicate Beta like yourself. It gives energy."
After the woman left, a heavy silence fell over the room. The smell of coffee filled the air. But there was something odd about the scent. A burnt, metallic smell.
"Did she put poison in the coffee?" I asked, approaching the tray.
Dorian grabbed my arm roughly and pulled me back. "Don't touch it."
His eyes were locked not on the coffee, but on the tray.
The tray was crafted to look antique, but the material was shining. Pure, polished silver.
"The poison isn't in the coffee," Dorian said through gritted teeth. "It’s the tray. When silver is heated and meets steam, it releases an invisible toxin into the air. This toxin doesn't affect humans. It only gives Betas a headache. But for an Alpha..."
Dorian held his breath, his face turning slightly pale. "...It triggers the Alpha's instincts. It weakens control."
I realized with horror. Elara—or Marius behind her—thought I was a Beta. This tray hadn't been brought into the room to harm me, but to make Dorian lose control. If Dorian continued to inhale these silver fumes, the seal would weaken, and the monster inside would wake up.
And the only target in the room that the monster could tear apart was me.
"Get out," Dorian said, his voice a growl. His pupils were trembling, the color shifting from lava red to pure black. The seal had begun to glow with a light strong enough to be seen even through his shirt. "Serra, get out of the room now! I can't hold it!"
Marius's plan had begun. And we had walked into the trap with the very first cup of coffee