Alpha of her Heart

CHAPTER 11

SERIS WALKED BAREFOOT with her arms crossed tightly over her chest. She looked around the hallway, and the moonlight was filtering through the tall windows like a silver ghost trailing over the wooden floors.

The mansion was quiet. It was a deafening silence inside. And far outside the mansion was the noise of the crickets and animals.

Seris’s ear moved like she was picking up some noise, but no footsteps behind her, no slamming of doors, and no cold voice chanting incantations meant to twist her blood into knots.

Still, her heart raced as if danger was just around the corner.

And speaking of her blood, she looked into her palm, illuminated by the moonlight filtering through the tall windows. It’s been a few days since she woke up and found herself in this mansion. Since she was here, she was never chained and placed on a cold metal table for an experiment of new venom, potions, or magic.

She reached a turn in the hallway, stopping beneath a flickering sconce. Her hand touched the stone wall, as if expecting it to vanish, to reveal the cell she thought she would never escape.

“Is there?” she asked, staring at the stone wall. “But what if there is?”

A creak behind her made her flinch. She turned quickly as her shoulder tensed, ready to run, but she relaxed when she saw it was him—Cassian.

The one thing she noticed was his ash-gray eyes that were softer than she remembered.

“Couldn’t sleep?” Cassian asked in a gentle voice. His voice was low, so it wouldn’t frighten Seris.

Seris didn’t answer. She looked away with her lips pressed into a line.

Cassian stepped closer, slowly and carefully, as if he were approaching a wounded animal and not trying to scare it away. He’d been watching her for a while, and he knew what she was doing.

“Seris, there are no chains here.”

Seris tensed.

“There are no spells to chant,” Cassian continued. “And no one was waiting for you in the dark to take you back.”

Seris tilted her head as she stared at Cassian. Her throat bobbed as she tried to swallow the lump of disbelief and fear lodged there.

“You are safe here,” Cassian said firmly.

Safe?

Seris didn’t know what the word meant anymore. Nyxaria had always told her —every time she would experiment on her— that she would be grateful because she had saved her. But Seris cannot see anything other than torture.

“You say that like it’s easy to believe,” Seris murmured.

Cassian didn’t flinch. He took another step forward. “I don’t expect you to believe it tonight or tomorrow, but I’ll keep saying it until the day you do.”

Seris kept staring at Cassian. Something in her shifted, just slightly, not enough to fall apart but enough to let a breath of relief like she’d been holding it for years.

They stood in silence for a while.

Until Seris looked outside the tall window, she saw the moon illuminating the dark sky. For years, while she was in the Black Tower, she could never see the moon as she was imprisoned in the dungeon.

Seris was staring at the moon, while Cassian was staring at Seris.

Cassian’s hand lifted, but he stopped before it reached her. He didn’t want to scare his mate. “Would you like me to walk you back?” he asked.

Seris looked at Cassian. She hesitated but gave a slight nod.

That made Cassian smile—a faint smile. He just walked beside Seris, like a quiet shadow that didn’t threaten, only waited.

But one thing was in Cassian’s mind… one day, Seris would look at him like he was her home.

THE NEXT MORNING.

The morning sun cast a warm light into the dining hall, catching on the polished wood of the long table where Seris sat quietly, her hands resting in her lap. A bowl of warm porridge and sliced fruit sat untouched before her.

At the dining table, Cassian was eating silently.

Noah was telling a story to a younger pack member while Finnley chuckled softly.

The pack’s usual morning chatter was filling the air.

It should have comforted her, but Seris never let herself fully relax. Even when the people in the house were kind to her and gentle, she was still suspicious.

Seris started to eat her porridge. Cassian had told her that she needed to eat soft food first, so her stomach wouldn’t be upset.

Until she smelled it.

The moment the door opened and a subtle scent drifted through the air.

Seris stiffened when she smelled the scent of familiar potion, herbs, and the smell of a witch.

Her spoon clattered into her bowl.

“No,” Seris whispered.

The room fell quiet as Elena stepped inside, carrying a leather pouch at her side and a calm smile on her face.

“Good morning, Alpha. I’ve finished preparing the soothing medicine for the Luna—”

Seris stood abruptly, her chair scraping back as her heart pounded so loud, she could barely hear herself speak.

“She’s a witch,” Seris said. Her voice trembled. “I can smell it, the potions, the poison, herbs—she’s like her.”

The dining hall froze.

Everyone stared at Seris.

Elena’s smile faded into confusion. Her hands held up gently. “I—”

“Stay away from me,” Seris hissed. Her body started to tremble because of fear. “I knew that scent. I know it.”

Cassian rose to his feet instantly, his tone low and soothing. “Seris, listen to me. Elena is not your enemy.”

“She’s like the Poison Witch!” Seris retaliated.

“She’s not,” Cassian said firmly but gently. “Yes, Elena is a witch, but she’s part of this pack. She’s the doctor and healer of our pack. She saved the lives of wolves who would’ve died without her. She’s not like the one who hurt you.”

Seris stared at Cassian, then at Elena, who didn’t flinch or defend herself. What caught her attention was the witch’s eyes. It was kind of sad.

But it didn’t matter.

Seris’s breath came in shallow bursts, and her mind screamed at her to run.

“You don’t know what they did to me,” Seris said as a tear fell from her eye. Then she turned and bolted from the dining hall, her bare feet thudding against the wooden floors as she disappeared down the corridor.

Cassian didn’t chase Seris because it would only make things worse.

But his heart ached as he watched his mate flee.

“Alpha, I’m sorry. I ruined the Luna’s morning,” Elena apologized.

Cassian shakes his head. “Don’t apologize. It’s not your fault. It’s just that Seris was traumatized.” He sighed. “Continue eating,” he said, and left the dining hall.

SERIS curled on the bed, knees to her chest, and her breath was ragged. The room was dim, as if it were already night. The curtains were drawn, and the soft scent of lavender from the linens did little to calm her racing pulse.

“She’s a witch,” Seris whispered.

The scent was still in her nose, and her mind was still remembering it. That same iron-sour rot, the masked sweetness of potions brewed not to heal but to control, and to hollow out the soul.

In Seris's mind, the past rose again.

The cold metal table was beneath her back.

The chain dug into her skin.

The metallic taste in her mouth after the witch made her drink.

The pain was like her blood was turning to ash.

Seris whimpered, pressing the heel of her hand into her temple as if it could push the memories out.

Her wolf, Ember, buried deep within, remained silent—still resting, and healing.

She was alone.

Then Seris heard a sound from outside. Her head jerked up. It’s not a knock, but she felt it. It was a quiet presence.

Familiar.

She didn’t move toward the door, but her senses stretched.

Outside, Cassian sat on the floor and leaned back against the wall. He didn’t barge into Seris's room. He just sat down outside her door. Waiting for her. He didn’t say a word and didn’t ask her to come out.

Cassian simply stayed long enough for her to know she wasn’t being forced or being watched.

Seris’s lips parted. She wanted to tell Cassian to go away, but some part of her, the fragile, quiet piece that hadn’t died in that lab, felt something else—safety and warmth.

She curled tighter, her voice a broken whisper into the pillow.

“Don’t go...”

Seris didn’t know if Cassian heard.

But outside of her room, Cassian didn’t leave.