Chapter 37 The Alpha’s Daughter

Chapter 37 The Alpha’s Daughter
Tobias’s hideout wasn’t a den — it was a workshop. Hidden above an abandoned garage in the industrial zone, the place smelled of cold metal, chemical solvents and ozone. The walls were lined not with trophies but with tools.

— Your problem is pure brute force — Tobias said without looking up from a vial he was filling with a thick silver liquid. — You’re strong. I saw what you did to that spoiled prince at the foundry. That was no ordinary wolf.

Rael stayed silent, accepting the reluctant praise. His hybrid form gave him an edge Tobias had noticed.

— But strength is noisy — the hunter continued, sealing the vial. — It makes noise. It draws attention. And against someone like Valerius, the first to be seen is the first to die.

— And what’s your suggestion? — Rael asked.

Tobias picked up a small wooden stake, no bigger than a pencil. — Anatomy. You want to rip them. I want to shut them down.

He pointed to a training dummy in the corner. — Vampires heal fast, but their nervous system reacts violently to certain compounds. You don’t need to decapitate them if you can paralyze them.

Tobias showed Rael three pressure points: one beneath the jaw, one at the base of the spine and the most effective — directly over the heart.

— You’re fast. Use that. Instead of a punch they can absorb, use a blade strike. — Tobias handed Rael a wooden training dagger. — You don’t have powers like in your hybrid form. You only have speed and strength. But if you plunge this — coated with my phosphorus-and-silver mixture — into the right spot... it shuts them down. Fast. Quiet.

Rael gripped the stake. It felt strange in his hand, too light. But he listened. He learned. For Selene, he would learn to fight like a human.

Hours later Rael was back at Cedric’s farm. His new home. The sun was setting and he stood in the training field behind the main barn, shirtless, sweat gleaming on his skin as he practiced the moves Tobias had taught him.

They weren’t his movements. It wasn’t tearing and crushing. It was precision. Quick, focused strikes aimed at the points the hunter had shown him. He was frustrated. His mind was at the mansion, with Selene and the invisible collar Valerius had fastened by threatening Annalise.

— I see you’ve been working on some new moves.

The voice was female, playful and dangerously familiar.

Rael froze. He knew that voice.

He turned slowly. Leaning against the wooden fence, with the same teasing smile and bright eyes he remembered from his first week in Ravenshade, stood the girl from the bar.

Becca.

The one-night mistake. The human distraction he’d used to try to forget his problems.

— Becca? — His voice came out rougher than he expected. — What… what are you doing here?

Becca laughed, a carefree sound that felt misplaced amid the tension. — I live here. Sort of. I was just wondering what you were doing, Rael. Last time I saw you you were “just passing through.”

Before Rael could process the shock, the farmhouse door opened and Cedric stepped out, pausing on the porch.

— Rael! — called the Alpha, approval in his tone. — Good. I see you’ve met my daughter.

Rael’s world tilted. He looked from Cedric, the hard pragmatic Alpha, to Becca, the human girl he had slept with.

— Your… daughter?

Becca shrugged, stepping closer, openly assessing him. — Surprise.

— But… you’re not… — He stopped, confused. She didn’t smell like a wolf. She wasn’t one.

— No — she said, reading his thought. — I’m not like him. I wasn’t born a wolf. I’m human. One hundred percent. My mother was human. She died long ago, and I seem to have inherited her “boring” side. I was just passing through town that day visiting my father before I left to travel. — Her smile turned wicked. — But I decided to stop traveling. Looks like I came back at the right time. Ravenshade is a lot more interesting now.

— Becca! — Cedric barked from the porch. — Leave the man alone. Come in. Tonight we celebrate that you’re finally settling, remember?

Dinner at the main farmhouse was the polar opposite of the Dark Blood mansion. It was loud, warm and chaotic. About twenty pack members squeezed around a long wooden table, laughing, arguing and throwing food at each other.

Rael sat off to one side, uncomfortable amid the family joy. Becca, clearly the Alpha’s daughter, presided over the table, telling stories of her last trip. Although human, she was treated with fierce respect and affection by the pack.

— …and that’s why I decided to stay — Becca said, raising a cup. — I’m tired of the road. It’s good to be home, dad.

— Good to have you home, kid — Cedric replied with a rare smile.

Rael watched the exchange. An Alpha fiercely protecting his human daughter. His respect for Cedric grew.

Later, when the party began to thin and Becca caught up with old pack friends, Rael approached Cedric on the porch. The Alpha was staring into the night.

— She’s a good kid — Cedric said quietly.

— She is — Rael agreed. — That’s why I need to ask a favor.

Cedric turned, his expression returning to seriousness. — Speak.

Rael chose his words carefully. He couldn’t tell Cedric about the forced engagement or Selene’s imminent transformation. That knowledge was too dangerous. But he had to save Annalise.

— Valerius can’t lay hands on me because of our deal at the foundry — Rael began. — So he found another way to control me. He threatened Selene’s best friend. A human. Her name is Annalise.

Cedric hardened. Using an innocent human as leverage violated his code.

— Valerius told Selene that if I get near her, Annalise dies — Rael continued. — I need to get Selene out of there. But I can’t while her friend is a target.

— What do you want from me, Rael?

— Sanctuary. Just for a day. I need Annalise to stay here on the farm. Tomorrow. No one will look for her here. Valerius will be watching me and Selene. I need her safe under your protection for twenty-four hours.

Cedric considered it. Bringing another human onto pack territory was a huge risk. But Valerius’s threat to an innocent… and the fact his own human daughter, Becca, was now home…

— You want to remove the Dark Blood heiress from her mansion — Cedric said, understanding the plan’s true scale.

— I’m taking her away from that monster — Rael corrected. — But I can only do it if her friend is safe. Please, Cedric.

Cedric looked at Rael and saw the desperate determination in his eyes. He saw the same protective fire he felt for Becca.

— Fine — the Alpha decided. — One day. Bring the girl tomorrow morning, early. She stays. But Rael… if you bring vampire wrath to this farm because of this…

— I won’t — Rael promised, a huge weight lifting from his shoulders. — I’ll fix it.

Cedric nodded. — You better fix it.