Lethal Temptation (by Michelle Ray) novel Chapter 209

209 The Alpha & Mark

209 The Alpha’s Mark

Lucian

“Denis,” I snapped, turning to my Gamma, “what territories pulled their military support?”

He blinked, then rattled them off: “Goldenpeak, Kentville, Eboncrest, Vale, Riverfall, and Silvergate.”

I paused, then smiled.

Denis frowned. “What’s so funny?”

“Lucian?” Darian stepped closer. “Are you alright?”

But I was already moving-heading straight for my office, fire in my veins. They followed.

I dropped into my chair and powered up the terminal.

Because now, I saw the pattern.

It wasn’t just a financial assault.

It was a map.

And someone was drawing borders for a war.

“Those are the poorest territories on Mooncrest Island,” I said aloud, staring at the list on my screen. The

pattern was suddenly obvious.

Denis frowned. “And what does that have to do with the deserters?”

I leaned back in my chair. “They’ll follow anyone who promises more than we offer. And when that fake sss went out claiming we were reducing their allowances-even if the original support was minimal-it sealed the deal. Whoever sent it made us look weak, greedy, or both.”

Denis shook his head, still not seeing it.

“Imagine you’ve been scraping by in a struggling province,” I continued. “Then a mysterious Alpha shows

up offering better pay, more food, stronger protection-claiming we’re the only thing standing in the way.

The math writes itself.”

Then I linked Darian, not wanting to say the next part out loud.

“If Chase is Alaric, then he’s an Alpha. And he knows the system well enough to manipulate it.”

I turned to both of them. “It’s not a coincidence Steel Corp was hit the same morning our military

collapsed in those regions. This isn’t about greed. It’s about power. Chase isn’t just weakening us-he’s

staging a coup.”

Denis straightened, alarm setting into his features. “He wants to take the island by force?”

“He’s already halfway there,” I said. “Strip us of money, cripple our military, and rally the poor behind a false

209 The Alpha Mark

savior? It’s the oldest trick in the book.”

Chere

“But what about the Alpha Mark?” Denis asked. “You carry the active mark. You’re the sovereign Alpha of

Mooncrest.”

Darian and I exchanged a knowing glance.

There were things we were taught that others weren’t.

Nighthorn secrets.

“Not everything they teach in the Academy is true,” I said carefully.

The truth was more complicated-and more dangerous.

All Alphas on Mooncrest Island originated from the Mooncrest pack. That meant every pack was, by blood and bond, tied to the Nighthorn Alpha Mark. But that didn’t make me their master. It made me their origin.

If a Mooncrest-born wolf left our pack without me severing them first, and then pledged themselves to a new Alpha… the mark realigned. Their loyalty would shift. Their primary connection would bind to their new Alpha-and mine would go dormant. Unreachable. Powerless.

And that transition was irreversible.

“Chase-Alaric-knew this,” I said, my voice low and grim. “He’s turning them with intent. Turning them

before I can cut them off.”

“But how?” Denis asked, clearly rattled. “That’s not common knowledge. That’s not in any of the training

manuals.”

“Exactly,” I muttered. “It’s a Nighthorn-guarded secret. Carefully kept for generations to preserve the strength of our pack. To prevent mass desertion and ensure no lesser Alpha could ever rise against us.”

“And now someone’s using it against you,” Darian said, finishing the thought.

“I think Chase is building an army,” I said, watching Denis’s face tighten in confusion.

“The Alpha Mark might not be enough to stop him-or the deserters,” I admitted. “I haven’t mastered its full use. My father only knew how to sever links. Beyond that, we were left to figure it out ourselves.”

Denis looked concerned, but it was Darian who voiced the deeper question.

“How the hell did they pull it off in one morning? Clean out our accounts and turn entire military sectors

against us?”

I ran a hand through my hair, frustration bubbling under my skin.

“Two possibilities,” I said, leveling my gaze at him. “Either your mother is working with Chase… or she didn’t actually try to kill herself.”

Darian stiffened.

“This whole thing only worked because we were pulled out of play. Martha collapses, we rush her to the

< 209 The Alpha’s Mark

Clem

hospital, and stay tied up there while our entire system is dismantled. Mara wasn’t in her office to flag the financial breach. I wasn’t here to stop the sss that crippled our forces.”

Darian sark back into his chair, expression tight.

“I don’t know which is worse,” he muttered. “It’s hard to believe she’d work with him… but if she didn’t attempt suicide, that means someone inside our own home staged the whole thing.”

“The dosage was lethal,” I said. “If this wasn’t an actual suicide attempt, then someone close helped her pull it off, or Chase has a mole inside the mansion.”

That possibility hung heavy in the air.

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