Chapter 65 The Unexpected Visitor
Young Sera woke to shouting.
Not the normal sounds of the pack grounds in the morning. Not warriors training or families starting their day. This was urgent shouting. Angry shouting. The kind that meant something was very wrong.
She threw on clothes quickly and ran into the hallway. Kai was already there, having spent another night in the chair outside her door.
“What is happening?” young Sera asked.
“I do not know. But it sounds like it is coming from the throne room.”
They ran together through the corridors, following the sound of raised voices. Other pack members were emerging from their rooms, confused and concerned. Warriors were moving with purpose toward the throne room, hands on weapons.
When young Sera and Kai reached the massive doors, Garrett was already there, his huge frame blocking the entrance. His normally calm face was tight with barely held anger.
“You should not go in there,” Garrett said when he saw young Sera.
“Why not? What is happening?”
“Your father is here.”
The words hit young Sera like a physical blow. Her father. Marcus Blackwood. The man who had beaten her for eighteen years. The man who had sold her like property. The man she had hoped never to see again.
“What does he want?” young Sera asked, her voice coming out smaller than she intended.
“He is demanding to see you. Claiming you were taken from him illegally. Threatening to bring formal charges against the Northern Kingdom for kidnapping an omega from her rightful Alpha.”
Young Sera felt sick. Of course, her father would do this. Of course, he would show up now, four days before the summit, causing chaos and trying to undermine everything she was working toward.
“I need to go in there,” young Sera said.
“No,” Garrett said firmly. “Kael is handling it. You do not need to face that man.”
“Yes, I do. Because if I hide from him, he wins. If I let him speak for me without defending myself, he controls the narrative. I need to go in there and show him that I am not his property anymore.”
Garrett looked at her for a long moment, clearly torn between protecting her and respecting her choice. Finally, he stepped aside.
“Then I am coming with you. And so is Lyra. And every warrior in this building if necessary. You do not face him alone.”
The throne room doors opened and young Sera walked inside, Kai and Garrett flanking her on either side. Lyra appeared from somewhere and took a position slightly behind young Sera, a protective formation that said clearly this girl is under our protection.
Marcus Blackwood stood in the centre of the room, facing Kael who sat in his throne looking every inch the dangerous Alpha King. Marcus was exactly as young as Sera remembered. Tall and broad-shouldered, his face hard and cruel, his eyes cold. He wore expensive clothes that spoke of wealth and status. The Alpha of a successful pack.
He looked nothing like a man who had beaten his daughter bloody for eighteen years.
When Marcus saw young Sera enter, his expression shifted. A smile that did not reach his eyes. A look of false concern that young Sera knew was a complete performance.
“Sera,” Marcus said, his voice dripping with fake warmth. “Thank the gods you are safe. I have been so worried about you.”
Young Sera said nothing. Just looked at him with steady eyes, refusing to show the fear crawling up her spine.
Marcus continued, playing to the small audience of pack members who had gathered to witness this confrontation. “When you disappeared, I feared the worst. Feared you had been taken against your will. But now I see you are well. We can go home now. Your pack misses you.”
“I am not going anywhere with you,” young Sera said clearly.
Marcus’s false smile tightened slightly. “Sera, I understand you are confused. But I am your father. Your Alpha. You belong with your pack, not here playing pretend with strangers.”
“I belong exactly where I choose to be. And I choose to be here.”
“You are a child. You do not get to make that choice.”
“I am eighteen years old. By werewolf law, I am an adult. I can choose my own pack. Choose my own life. You have no legal authority over me anymore.”
Marcus’s mask slipped for just a moment. Young Sera saw the flash of rage in his eyes. The same rage that had preceded every beating she had ever received. But he controlled it quickly, smoothing his expression back into false concern.
“The contract I made with King Kael was very specific,” Marcus said, turning to address Kael directly. “You were to take Sera temporarily. Use her to produce heirs. Then return her to me with the agreed-upon payment. You have violated that contract by marking her as your heir. By training her to be Luna Queen. I want my daughter returned. Immediately.”
Kael’s grey eyes were cold and hard. “The contract stated that if Sera chose to stay, she could stay. She has made that choice. The contract is fulfilled.”
“She is being manipulated. Held here against her true wishes. I demand she be released to my custody.”
“I am not being manipulated,” young Sera said, her voice growing stronger. “I am exactly where I want to be. You sold me. You took payment for me like I was livestock. You gave up any claim to being my father the moment you traded me for gold.”
Marcus’s face darkened. The mask was cracking. “You ungrateful little—”
He caught himself before finishing the insult, remembering he had an audience. But young Sera had heard that tone before. Had seen that expression right before his fists started flying.
Her body wanted to freeze. Wanted to shut down the way it had during training with Lyra. But something was different this time. Maybe it was the screaming in the forest. Maybe it was Kai standing solid beside her. Maybe it was simply that young Sera was done being afraid.
“Say it,” young Sera said quietly. “Finish your sentence. Tell everyone here what you really think of me. Tell them what you called me every day for eighteen years. Tell them about the beatings. About the starvation. About locking me in the basement for days at a time. Tell them the truth about what kind of father you really are.”
The throne room went deadly silent.
Marcus’s face turned red with barely controlled rage. “You are lying. I never did any of those things. I raised you. Fed you. Kept a roof over your head. And this is how you repay me? With lies and slander?”
“Show them your arms,” Lyra said suddenly, her voice cutting through the tension. “Show them the scars. Let everyone see the evidence of his love.”
Young Sera hesitated. Those scars were private. Shameful. She had spent years hiding them, covering them, pretending they did not exist.
But Lyra was right. Words could be denied. Scars could not.
Young Sera pushed up her sleeves slowly, revealing the pale white lines that covered her forearms. Old scars from beatings. Burn marks from cigarettes. The physical evidence of eighteen years of systematic abuse.
Gasps echoed through the throne room. Pack members who had gathered to watch this confrontation stared in horror at young Sera’s arms. Even warriors who had seen terrible things in battle looked disturbed by the pattern of scars.
Marcus’s mask shattered completely. His face twisted with rage and something that might have been panic. He was losing control of the narrative. Losing the performance he had been putting on.
“Those scars are from training accidents,” Marcus said desperately. “From her own clumsiness. She was always hurting herself as a child.”
“Liar,” young Sera said, her voice steady despite the trembling in her hands. “Every single one of these scars came from you. From your fists. From your belt. From whatever object you grabbed when you decided I needed to be punished for existing.”
“You are being dramatic. Exaggerating normal discipline into abuse. I was teaching you respect. Teaching you how to behave properly.”
“You were teaching me that I was worthless. That I deserved pain. That my life had no value except what you could sell it for.”
Young Sera felt Kai’s hand find hers, squeezing gently. Anchoring her. Reminding her she was not alone in this moment.
“I am not going back with you,” young Sera continued. “Not now. Not ever. You sold me. The transaction is complete. You got your gold. I got my freedom. We are done.”
Marcus took a step toward young Sera, his hand rising automatically. The same gesture that had preceded countless beatings. The same movement that had made young Sera flinch for eighteen years.
But before his hand could get anywhere near her, Garrett moved.
The massive Beta was suddenly between Marcus and young Sera, his size making Marcus look almost small by comparison. Garrett said nothing. Did not need to. His presence alone was a threat enough.
Marcus stopped, realising too late that he had just demonstrated exactly what kind of man he was. Everyone in the room had seen him move to strike his daughter. Had seen the automatic violence that lived in his body.
“You need to leave,” Kael said, his voice deadly quiet. “Now. Before I forget that there are laws about killing visiting Alphas.”
“This is not over,” Marcus said, backing toward the doors. “I will bring formal charges. I will tell every Alpha at the summit what you have done here. Kidnapping an omega. Manipulating a child. You will regret this.”
“The only thing I regret,” Kael said coldly, “is that pack law prevents me from making you pay properly for what you did to her. Now get out of my kingdom before I decide pack law is less important than justice.”
Marcus looked around the room one last time, seeing only hostility and disgust on every face. He had come here expecting to intimidate a frightened girl into coming home. Instead he had exposed himself as an abuser in front of witnesses.
He turned and left without another word, the doors slamming behind him.
Young Sera stood in the sudden silence, her arms still bare, scars still visible to everyone. She wanted to cover them. Wanted to hide the evidence of her shame. But something stopped her.
These scars were not her shame. They were his.
“Are you okay?” Kai asked quietly.
Young Sera realised she was shaking. Not from fear this time. From adrenaline. From the rush of finally confronting the man who had terrorised her for eighteen years and not backing down.
“I am okay,” she said, surprised to find it was true. “I am actually okay.”
Kael descended from his throne and walked toward young Sera slowly. His grey eyes held something young Sera had not seen there before. Something that looked almost like pride.
“You handled that well,” Kael said. “Better than well. You stood your ground. Told your truth. Refused to let him control the narrative. Your grandmother would have been proud.”
“He is going to make trouble at the summit,” young Sera said. “He said he would bring formal charges. Tell everyone I was kidnapped.”
“Let him try,” Lyra said fiercely. “Everyone in this room saw him try to hit you. Saw the scars. Heard you tell the truth. His credibility is destroyed.”
“But what if the other Alphas believe him? What if they side with him because he is an Alpha and I am just an omega?”
“Then we deal with that when it happens,” Garrett said. “But you did the right thing today. You faced him. You did not hide. You did not let him define your story. That took real courage.”
Young Sera looked down at her arms, at the scars she had spent so long hiding. Maybe it was time to stop hiding them. Maybe it was time to let them be visible. Not as shame, but as evidence of survival.
“I need air,” young Sera said suddenly. “I need to get out of this room.”
She walked quickly toward the doors, Kai following close behind. They made it outside into the cold morning air before young Sera’s legs gave out. She sat down hard on the stone steps, breathing too fast, hands shaking.
“He tried to hit me,” young Sera said, the realisation hitting her fully. “In front of everyone. He was so angry he forgot to pretend. He just reverted to what he always does when I make him angry.”
“But he did not hit you,” Kai said, sitting beside her. “Garrett stopped him. You are safe.”
“I know. But seeing that look in his eyes. That rage. It brought everything back. Every beating. Every time he told me I was worthless. Every moment I spent terrified in that house.”
“And you faced it anyway. You stood there and told your truth even knowing it would make him angry. That is incredible strength.”
Young Sera leaned against Kai, letting his solid warmth ground her back in the present moment. Her father was gone. She was safe. She had survived the confrontation.
But something had shifted. Something important.
“The summit just got more complicated,” young Sera said quietly. “My father is going to tell everyone his version of events. Is going to paint me as a manipulated child and Kael as a kidnapper. Victor Kane will use that. Will use it to undermine everything we are trying to build.”
“Probably,” Kai agreed. “But you have truth on your side. And truth is powerful.”
“Truth does not always win in politics.”
“Maybe not. But it is still worth telling.”
They sat together on the steps as the pack grounds came fully awake around them. Warriors training. Families starting their day. Life continued despite the drama that had just unfolded.
Mora appeared with Maya in tow, both women looking concerned.
“We heard what happened,” Mora said, sitting down beside young Sera without asking permission. “That took courage. Showing your scars. Telling your story. Not backing down when he tried to intimidate you.”
“It did not feel like courage. It felt like survival.”
“That is what courage is. Not the absence of fear. But doing what needs to be done despite the fear.”
Maya handed young Sera a cup of hot tea. “Drink. It will help with the shaking.”
Young Sera took the tea gratefully, wrapping her cold hands around the warm cup. The simple act of drinking something hot helped slow her racing heart.
“What happens now?” young Sera asked.
“Now you rest,” Mora said firmly. “No training today. Your body has been through enough stress. Tomorrow you can go back to preparing. But today you rest and let yourself recover from facing that man.”
“But I only have four days left before the summit.”
“And you will be useless at the summit if you burn yourself out before you even get there. Rest today. We can afford one day of recovery.”
Young Sera wanted to argue. Wanted to insist she could keep going. But her body was exhausted in a way that had nothing to do with physical training. Confronting her father had drained something essential from her.
“Okay,” young Sera said quietly. “I will rest today.”
She spent the rest of the day in her room with Kai and Maya keeping her company. They did not talk about her father. Did not talk about the summit. Just existed together in comfortable silence, occasionally sharing terrible jokes or memories of simpler times.
As evening fell, Lyra appeared at the door.
“Can I come in?” Lyra asked, unusually tentative.
“Of course.”
Lyra entered and sat down in the chair near the window. She looked at young Sera for a long moment, something conflicted in her amber eyes.
“I owe you an apology,” Lyra said finally.
“For what?”
“For doubting you. For treating you like you were fragile. For not seeing your strength until you showed it so clearly today. You faced the man who terrorised you for eighteen years and you did not break. You did not hide. You stood your ground and told your truth. That is the kind of strength that cannot be taught. It can only be earned through surviving impossible things.”
Young Sera felt tears building behind her eyes. Not sad tears. Something else. Relief maybe. Or validation.
“Thank you,” young Sera whispered.
“Your grandmother saw that strength in you from the beginning. I did not. I was wrong. And I am sorry.”
“You were protecting Kael. I understand that.”
“Protecting Kael by underestimating you was still wrong. You are not like the other omegas who came before you. You are something different. Something stronger. And I should have trusted your grandmother’s judgment.”
Lyra stood and moved toward the door. “Get some rest. Tomorrow we train harder than ever. Because in three days you are going to walk into that summit and show every Alpha there exactly what kind of Luna Queen you are becoming.”
She left before young Sera could respond, leaving behind a shift in their relationship that felt permanent and important.
That night, young Sera dreamed of her grandmother.
Not a nightmare. Not a memory. Just a dream where they sat together in the garden, surrounded by roses.
“You did well today,” her grandmother said in the dream.
“It was hard.”
“The important things always are.”
“I miss you.”
“I know. But I am still here. In every choice you make. Every moment you refuse to quit. I am here.”
Young Sera woke with tears on her face but peace in her heart.
Three days remained until the summit.
Three days to prepare for the confrontation that would determine the future of the Northern Kingdom.
Her father had shown her something important today. He had reminded her exactly why she was doing this. Why was she fighting to become Luna Queen despite her fear and doubt?
Because people like her father should not win. Should not get to destroy girls and walk away unpunished. Should not get to sell their daughters and face no consequences.
Young Sera was going to that summit. She was going to sit on that throne. And she was going to show every Alpha there that omegas were not property to be bought and sold.
She was going to make her grandmother proud.
Even if it terrified her.