Chapter 27: Lurking Evil Intentions

Chapter 27: Lurking Evil Intentions
Liam's POV

I slammed my fist into the oak table, splintering the edge and sending a decanter of whiskey flying. Crystal shattered. Amber liquid spilled across reports and old maps, soaking into parchment like blood. The scent hit me—rich, smoky, numbing. I barely noticed.

She rejected me.

Not just anywhere. Not in private. She did it in front of Trent Blackwood—Supreme Alpha of the Northern Territories, the wolf who was once beneath me in rank.

Now, he looked at me like I was a stray. And Ariel—my mate—stood beside him like she belonged there.

That moment hadn’t left me. It clawed at my insides with every breath. Her voice had been calm, decisive.

> “I reject the mate bond, Alpha Liam.”

That title used to mean something when she said it. But in that moment, it was a dagger. A final slash across a bond I thought would be unbreakable.

And she did it in front of him.

The door creaked open. I didn’t need to turn. Her scent was already in the room before the hinges gave.

Rachel.

“Still sulking?” she said, voice laced with amusement and cruelty. “You really know how to throw a tantrum.”

“Get. Out.” My voice was hoarse, cold, and already tired of her.

She didn’t listen. She never did.

Instead, she strolled in with all the smugness of a she-wolf who thought she owned the world. Her heels clicked against the marble as she closed the distance, eyes gleaming.

“Rejected by your mate. Publicly. Harsh.” She paused, tilting her head. “Did she even hesitate? Or did she just toss you aside like an old chew toy?”

I turned slowly. “You’re walking a thin line.”

“And you’re bleeding pride,” she shot back. “Don’t take your bruised ego out on me.”

I stared her down. “If you’re here to gloat, say your piece and get out.”

Rachel circled me, her hands clasped behind her back. “It’s not just about gloating, Liam. You need to wake up. You lost control. Of your emotions. Your position. Your mate. You’re spiraling.”

“Careful,” I warned, though my voice was calm. Too calm.

“Oh please,” she rolled her eyes. “You’re too weak to even control your own Luna. Or former Luna. Whatever she is now.”

My patience snapped. I moved without thinking, pinning her to the wall with a hand to her throat. She didn’t gasp. Didn’t flinch.

She smiled.

“You don’t scare me,” she whispered.

“You should.”

“I’ve seen worse,” she said. “Hell, I am worse.”

I released her, disgusted. She stumbled and caught herself on the desk.

“Eva’s not going to last long,” Rachel said, brushing her dark curls from her face.

My blood went cold.

“What did you say?”

“You heard me.”

“Finish that sentence and I will end you.”

Rachel’s lips curled into a grin. “If she proves to be a problem, she’ll disappear. Simple. Clean. Untraceable.”

I was in her face before she could blink, slamming her into the mirror. It cracked behind her head.

“Don’t even think about touching her.”

Rachel laughed softly, breath warm against my face. “Why do you even care now, Liam? You tossed her away like garbage. You let your mother treat her like a prisoner. You let me torment her every chance I got. And now you care?”

“I didn’t know who she was.”

“And now that you do? You’re suddenly a knight in shining armor?” She sneered. “You think saving a few straggling survivors from her old pack is going to undo the damage?”

“I’ll do whatever it takes to get her back.”

“Back?” Rachel’s eyes narrowed. “She’s not coming back to you. She’s with Trent. And he’s more Alpha than you ever were.”

I let her go.

She fell to the floor and stayed there, laughing.

“You’re insane,” I muttered.

“And you’re desperate.”

I stood over her. “You go near her again—just think about hurting her—and I’ll put you down myself. I don’t care what council line you come from. I’ll tear out your throat.”

Rachel stood slowly, smoothing her blouse, not a trace of fear in her eyes.

“You always did fall for pretty faces,” she whispered. “But Trent? He’ll see through her. Eventually. And when he does…”

I didn’t wait for her to finish. I shoved her toward the door.

“Go,” I snapped. “Before I change my mind.”

She paused in the doorway. “You’ll thank me when this is all over.”

The door slammed.

And the silence returned.

I paced, fists clenched at my sides. The rage was boiling over, but I knew better than to explode again. Instead, I turned to my desk and pushed aside the shattered glass and soaked papers.

Maps. Intel. Names I hadn’t heard in years.

Eva Grey. The Lost Princess of the Emerald Moon Pack.

Not just a title. Not just a whisper of some fallen legacy. She was that legacy.

She had been under my roof. Under my rule. And I hadn’t even known.

But Trent had.

That bastard had known.

I grabbed the latest reports from my network. Whispers of survivors hiding in the South Ridge. A healer operating in the shadows. A former Gamma spotted near the Riverlands border.

So they were out there.

Pieces of her broken pack.

I picked up the comm and barked out orders.

“Send trackers. Best we have. Focus on the Southern and Eastern territories. I want survivors found. Names. Faces. History. Bring them in quietly. No noise. No blood.”

“Yes, Alpha.”

I hung up, breathing hard.

This was how I’d win. Not with brute force. With leverage.

She might love Trent now. But if I’m the one to rebuild what she lost… she’ll owe me. And if she owes me, I own her future.

I leaned back in the chair, exhaling slowly.

This wasn’t about love anymore. It was about dominance. Restoration. Revenge.

Trent humiliated me.

He stood over me while Eva stood beside him, the picture-perfect image of a Luna beside her Alpha.

That image burned in my mind like fire.

Let him enjoy it while it lasts.

Because I’ll be the one holding the pieces when the walls fall.



Later That Night

Sleep didn’t come.

I stood by the windows of my private chamber, watching the moon cast a silver glow over the training grounds. My thoughts were haunted. Not just by Eva—but by Ariel.

Her rejection hadn’t just wounded me—it exposed me.

To everyone.

To Rachel.

To Trent.

To myself.

I saw myself clearly now—not the proud Alpha who led with iron will, but a man scrambling to reclaim what he lost.

But that would change.

I would become something more. Something they couldn’t mock or underestimate.

The sound of a raven’s call echoed through the trees.

Omen or coincidence? Didn’t matter.

Because my next move was already in motion.

And by the time the Supreme Alpha realized what I was doing…

It would be too late.