Chapter 30 Riots And Protests
CHAPTER 30: Riots and Protests
Aric's POV
I just stood there and stared at her and for a long moment, the room faded away. The rough wooden walls of the cottage, the smoke-stained ceiling, Caspian shifting his weight near the door... all of it blurred until there was only Seraphine standing in front of me, her chin lifted and her eyes bright.
You weren’t the one who tore my father limb from limb.
The words still echoed in my head like a bell struck too hard.
I didn’t speak.. I couldn’t. My mouth opened then closed again and all I could do was look at her like I was seeing her for the first time.
A tight dangerous knot in my chest loosened just a little. Relief crept in, slow and cautious like an animal that didn’t yet trust the ground beneath its feet. A part of me... one I’d buried deep because hope hurt too much... felt something close to joy. She finally knew.. or at least… she was starting to.
Caspian cleared his throat softly, glancing between us.
“Beta,” I said without looking away from her, my voice low but steady. “Give us the room.”
From the corners of my eyes I saw his brows rose but he didn’t argue.
“I’ll be right outside,” he said, casting Seraphine one last assessing look before stepping out and pulling the door shut behind him.
I dragged a hand down my face and finally broke eye contact, letting out a slow breath.
“You can’t just say something like that and expect me not to ask,” I said quietly. “What changed, Seraphine? What gave it away? Why now?”
She hesitated then crossed her arms like she was holding herself together.
“Because I’ve been replaying that night in my head for years,” she said. “Every sound, every smell and every detail I could force myself to remember without breaking apart.” Her voice wavered but she pushed through. “The wolf that killed my father… it was big and powerful just like yours.”
My jaw tightened but I didn’t interrupt.
“But it wasn’t the same,” she continued, stepping closer without realizing it. “The color of the fur was off. The eyes were wrong and when I saw you fight, when I saw you shift.. really saw you in your wolf form… something finally clicked. Your wolf moves differently and carries itself differently. That night, the wolf was brutal but it was sloppy and angry like it was wearing power it didn’t fully understand.”
Her gaze locked onto mine.
“That wasn’t you.”
The last of the tension snapped inside my chest and I let out a breath I felt like I’d been holding for years.
“I wasn’t lying,” I said, my voice calm but laced with something I didn’t bother hiding. “I swear it to you, Seraphine. I knew nothing about Red River Village. I never ordered an attack. Not on your people. Not on anyone.”
I watched her closely as I spoke, searching for doubt and for anger. Instead, she nodded slowly like she was fitting the truth into place.
“I believe you,” she said. “But that means someone else did it. Someone powerful. Someone who wanted my people to think it was you.”
“That points to the grimhowls,” I said carefully. “They’ve already proven they can mimic patterns, cause disorder... ”
She shook her head hard.
“No. This wasn’t them. I know what I saw. These were Lycans, Aric. Real ones. The problem is… they were all in wolf form with no faces and no voices. Just blood.”
A cold thought slid into place.. sharp and unwelcome.
“If someone was wearing my face that night,” I said slowly, “then they could do it again and they could do worse.”
“That’s why it’s my job now to find them,” she said firmly. “My family deserves that much.”
I held her gaze then nodded once.
“Then you won’t be doing it alone. If someone is using my name to slaughter villages, I will tear them out by the roots.”
For a moment neither of us spoke. The pull was there again.. subtle but strong. Every time she breathed.. every small movement she made, my body reacted like it had a mind of its own.
Memories pressed in... heat, skin, the way we’d collided without sense or mercy... but I swallowed them down. I knew better. One wrong word, one mention of that night and her walls would slam back into place.
So I said nothing.
When we left the cottage, the ride back was tense but quiet. I shifted, lowered myself and Seraphine climbed onto my back without a word. Her arms wrapped around my neck again with her body fitting against mine in a way that felt far too right.
The moment we arrived, I knew something was wrong.
Voices filled the air with shouts.. angry ones.
As the pack shifted back into human form, Seraphine slid off my back and I caught her arm to steady her. All around us, Lycans were gathering with their expressions dark and their voices rising.
“What’s going on?” I muttered.
“That,” Darius said, stepping up beside me, “would be your people getting upset about your human whore.”
I turned to him sharply.
“Careful now cousin.”
He shrugged.
“Not my words, Aric. Theirs. They think you’ve gone soft. That you’ve let humans crawl into our den. That you’ve lost your spine over one human girl.”
A low growl tore from my chest before I could stop it.
“Enough,” I snapped. “Get her out of here.”
My guards moved fast, forming a wall around Seraphine as I leaned in close.
“Go to my quarters. Stay there.”
She didn’t argue.. she didn’t look back. She just walked head high as insults and threats flew past her.
I turned to face the crowd, raising my voice.
“This ends now. Stand down.”
For a heartbeat, it worked but then a man stumbled forward with eyes glass reeking of drink and rage.
“We all know it!” he yelled. “You’re bedding the human! You’re in love with her! A Lycan King who fucks human scum isn’t fit to rule!”
Something inside me snapped.
I don’t remember moving.
One moment he was shouting. The next, my hands were on him with my claws tearing, my fury unleashed. Blood sprayed hot against my skin as he fell apart beneath me, his scream cut short, his insides spilling onto the stone.
The crowd went silent and then they screamed and the world exploded into panic…