Chapter 78 Unwelcome Visitor
The week passed too quickly.
Young Sera spent her days working on plans for the omega protection network. Meeting with Garrett to discuss logistics. Talking with Mora about finding healers who would volunteer. Writing letters to potential allies in other territories.
She also responded to the first of the three omega abuse cases. A woman named Claire who was being sold by her pack's Alpha. Young Sera sent warriors to negotiate Claire’s release. It took three days of tense discussions, but finally Claire was brought safely to the Northern Kingdom.
One omega saved. Two cases are still waiting.
And now Thomas Reed was arriving.
Young Sera dressed carefully that morning. She chose formal clothes that showed her position as Luna Queen. Dark pants. A fitted jacket in deep blue. Her hair was pulled back neatly. She looked at herself in the mirror and barely recognised the girl staring back.
She looked older. More serious. Like someone who had been through war and survived.
Her shoulder was still healing. She could move her arm now but it hurt when she lifted anything heavy. The scar would be permanent. A reminder of the fight with Victor Kane.
A reminder of what she was capable of when necessary.
“Ready?” Kael asked from the doorway.
“No. But I am going anyway.”
They walked to the throne room together. Lyra and Garrett were already there, positioned strategically around the space. Warriors stood at attention near the doors. Maya waited in the corner with refreshments. Kai sat in a chair near the thrones, exactly where young Sera had asked him to be.
Everything was prepared. Everything was as safe as they could make it.
Young Sera sat in her throne. The right throne. Her grandmother’s throne. It still felt too big. Too important. But she sat in it anyway.
Kael sat beside her. Together they waited.
Thomas Reed arrived exactly on time.
He was tall and handsome in a conventional way. Dark hair. Strong features. Expensive clothes. He moved with the confidence of someone who had never been told no.
He looked at young Sera like she was something he wanted to own.
“Luna Queen Sera,” Thomas said, bowing slightly. “Thank you for agreeing to meet with me.”
“I did not agree. I permitted it. There is a difference.”
Thomas’s smile tightened slightly. “Of course. I apologise for any presumption.”
He looked around the room, noting the warriors, the formal setting, and the fact that young Sera was surrounded by protection.
“I had hoped we could speak privately,” Thomas said.
“We can speak here. In public. With witnesses. Say what you came to say.”
Thomas looked frustrated but controlled it well. “Very well. I came to apologise. For my behaviour at the summit. For voting against Alpha King Kael. For any discomfort I may have caused you.”
“You voted against Kael because you believed his wolf was unstable. That was not about me.”
“Perhaps. But I also questioned your legitimacy as Luna Queen. I was wrong to do so. You have proven yourself more than worthy of the position.”
The words sounded rehearsed. Like Thomas had practised this speech. Young Sera did not trust it.
“Is that all?” she asked.
“Not entirely. I also came to discuss a potential alliance between my pack and the Northern Kingdom. I believe we could benefit from closer ties.”
“We already have trade agreements with your pack. What kind of alliance are you suggesting?”
Thomas’s smile widened. “A marriage alliance. Between you and me.”
The room went silent.
Young Sera felt a cold shock wash through her. He could not be serious. She was already mated to Kael. That bond was permanent and sacred. Thomas knew that.
“I am already mated,” young Sera said slowly.
“Yes. To Kael. But Kael is Alpha King. He needs a political mate, not a romantic one. You could maintain your bond with him while also bonding with me. It would strengthen both our packs. Give you political protection beyond just the Northern Kingdom.”
“That is not how mate bonds work. You cannot just have multiple bonds for political convenience.”
“Some packs allow it. Some Alphas take secondary mates. It is not common but it is legal under certain circumstances.”
Young Sera looked at Kael. He looked furious but controlled. Letting young Sera handle this herself.
“I am not interested in a secondary bond,” young Sera said firmly. “I am mated to Kael. That is permanent. I am not looking for political marriages or alliances that require me to bond with other Alphas.”
“You have not even considered it. Think about what I am offering. My pack is wealthy. Powerful. I could provide protection and resources. I could give you children of your own bloodline, something Kael might not be able to do given his wolf’s history.”
The mention of children made young Sera’s anger spike. Thomas was implying that Kael was defective. That she needed someone else to have a proper family.
“This meeting is over,” young Sera said, standing. “You came here claiming to apologise. Instead, you insulted my mate and proposed something you knew I would refuse. Leave. Now.”
“I am trying to help you,” Thomas insisted. “You are young. Inexperienced. You do not understand pack politics well enough to see that you need more support than just the Northern Kingdom.”
“I understand enough to see when someone is trying to manipulate me. I said leave. Do not make me have my warriors remove you.”
Thomas’s expression shifted. The polite mask is dropping. The real him is showing through. He looked angry. Entitled. Like a man who was not used to being refused.
“You are making a mistake,” Thomas said. “I am offering you an opportunity. Rejecting me makes an enemy instead of an ally.”
“Then I have an enemy. I would rather have enemies than alliances built on manipulation and disrespect.”
Thomas looked around the room again. At the warriors watching him. At Kael sitting calmly in his throne. At Kai standing up, moving closer to young Sera’s side.
He was calculating. Trying to decide if he could push harder or if he needed to retreat.
“I will leave,” Thomas said finally. “But this conversation is not over. You will need allies eventually. When you do, remember that I offered.”
He turned and walked toward the doors. But he paused halfway there and looked back at young Sera.
“You killed Victor Kane. Impressive for an omega with no training. Makes me wonder what other skills you are hiding. What you might be capable of in the right circumstances.”
The threat was clear. Thomas was not giving up. He was just changing tactics.
“Get out,” Lyra said sharply, her hand on her weapon. “Before I forget that you are a visiting Alpha who should be shown courtesy.”
Thomas left. The doors closed behind him.
Young Sera sat down heavily, her hands shaking. The meeting had been brief but exhausting. Thomas had come pretending to apologise and instead made everything worse.
“Are you okay?” Kai asked quietly.
“He just proposed marriage. A secondary bond. While I am sitting next to my mate. How is that okay?”
“It is not okay,” Kael said, his voice tight with controlled anger. “But it is legal. Technically an Alpha can propose a secondary bond as long as the primary mate consents. Thomas was testing to see if I would allow it.”
“Would you?”
“Never. But he does not know that. He sees you as young and potentially controllable. He thinks he can convince you that a secondary bond would benefit you politically.”
“He is wrong.”
“I know. But he will try again. Men like Thomas do not give up when they want something.”
Young Sera felt sick. She had just gotten comfortable with being Luna Queen. Had just started building the Omega Protection Network. Had just begun to feel like she knew what she was doing.
And now Thomas Reed was circling. Watching. Planning his next move.
“What do we do?” young Sera asked.
“We stay alert,” Garrett said. “We watch him. We make sure he does not get access to you without protection. And we prepare for him to try something.”
“Try what?”
“That is the problem. We do not know. Thomas is smart. Patient. He will wait for an opportunity. Wait for a moment when you are vulnerable. Then he will make his move.”
Young Sera touched her shoulder, the one Victor had torn open. She had survived one deadly Alpha in combat. Could she survive another one who was hunting her politically instead of physically?
“I am not marrying him,” young Sera said firmly. “I do not care what he offers. I do not care what political advantages he claims. I am not doing it.”
“No one is asking you to,” Kael said. “This is your choice. Always your choice. We just need to make sure Thomas understands that no means no.”
The rest of the day felt tense. Young Sera could not focus on her work. Could not stop thinking about Thomas’s visit. About the way he had looked at her. About the threat hidden in his final words.
Makes me wonder what other skills you are hiding.
He had been watching her. Studying her. Trying to figure out how she had killed Victor Kane. Trying to understand what made her dangerous.
That night, young Sera could not sleep. Every sound made her jump. Every shadow looked threatening. She kept imagining Thomas Reed appearing in her room. Trying to force a secondary bond. Trying to claim her against her will.
A knock on her door made her heart race. But it was just Maya, carrying tea.
“I thought you might need this,” Maya said gently. “You look scared.”
“I am scared. Thomas wants something from me. Something I am not willing to give. And I do not know how to make him stop.”
“You make him stop the same way you stopped your father. The same way you stopped Victor Kane. You stand your ground. You refuse to be bullied. You fight back if necessary.”
“What if fighting back is not enough?”
“Then you fight harder. And you let the people who love you help you fight. You are not alone in this. Kael will not let Thomas hurt you. Neither Lyra nor Garrett nor I, nor Kai. We are all protecting you.”
Young Sera drank the tea Maya had brought. It was warm and soothing and helped calm her racing heart.
“Thank you,” young Sera said. “For being here. For knowing what I needed.”
“That is what friends do. We take care of each other.”
After Maya left, young Sera tried to sleep again. This time she managed a few hours before nightmares woke her. Dreams of Thomas Reed. Dreams of being trapped. Dreams of losing control.
She gave up on sleep before dawn and went to the training yard.
Lyra was already there, practising sword forms in the early morning light.
“Could not sleep either?” Lyra asked when she saw young Sera.
“Nightmares.”
“About Thomas?”
“Yes.”
Lyra stopped practising and looked at young Sera seriously. “Thomas is dangerous. But he is not invincible. He has weaknesses like everyone else. We just need to find them.”
“What weaknesses?”
“His pride. His need to be seen as powerful. His assumption that omegas are weak and controllable. Those are all weaknesses we can exploit if necessary.”
“How?”
“By being exactly what you are. Strong. Independent. Refusing to play the role he expects. Every time you stand up to him, you challenge his worldview. Every time you prove yourself capable, you make him look weak for thinking otherwise.”
Young Sera picked up a practice sword. Her shoulder protested but she ignored it. “Teach me more. Teach me everything you know about fighting Alphas who think they can control me.”
Lyra smiled. Fierce and approving. “Now you are thinking like a Luna Queen. Let us train.”
They spent the next two hours practising. Young Sera’s shoulder hurt. Her body was tired. But she pushed through.
Because Thomas Reed was out there. Planning. Waiting. Looking for weakness.
And young Sera refused to be weak.
She would fight. Would defend herself. Would prove that she could not be controlled or manipulated or coerced against her will.
She was Luna Queen. Granddaughter of a legend. Survivor of impossible things.
And Thomas Reed was about to learn what that meant.