The True Alpha of Lupine (Seraphina and Ronan) novel Chapter 1

1. THE ALPHA’S DAUGHTER

SERAPHINA

“A woman cannot lead a pack,” my father, Alpha Darious Nightbane, declared coldly, standing before the gathered Council and warriors at the final trial of the Heir Selection Ceremony.

I stood, breathless and bloodied, having just defeated the last of the contenders in front of a crowd that expected a new leader to rise. I had won. Fairly. Decisively.

But it didn’t matter. Not to him.

In my wolf form, I had towered over the last fallen candidate, my claws pressed firmly to his throat, not enough to kill, but enough to make him submit. The crowd had fallen silent, every gaze locked onto me.

I stood at the center of the grand arena, still in my wolf form, tall, lean, and blood-smeared, my white coat streaked with dust and crimson. My breathing was steady, controlled, the silence around me heavy with judgment. Across the room, my father’s cold, commanding black eyes found mine. But I didn’t blink.

“Why?” My voice rang out, sharp and unwavering, “I defeated every candidate. I earned this.”

I was Seraphina Nightbane, the only child of the Alpha of the North. No one questioned him. No one dared. Although I always had.

My father’s jaw clenched, his expression hardening but there was a flicker in his eyes. Regret, maybe. Or something dangerously close to it.

“Because it’s tradition,” he said, quieter at first, then louder as if he needed the conviction to hold. “Only men can lead a pack. That is the law. Women…were born to follow. To obey. Not to rule.”

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