A Pact with Darkness - Chapter 3

The air inside Raven's Hollow was thick with the scent of ancient books, burning embers, and something distinctly dangerous. The walls, lined with gothic arches and candle-lit corridors, held secrets older than any werewolf territory.

Seraphina sat in a high-backed chair across from Damien Draven, the Vampire Lord who held dominion over the darkest corners of the supernatural world. His crimson eyes studied her with amusement, as if he had already decided how this night would end.

"Power," he mused, swirling a goblet of deep red liquid,definitely not wine. "That's what you want?"

Seraphina met his gaze without fear. "Not just power. Leverage. Strength. The ability to destroy those who think they can control me."

Damien chuckled, setting his goblet aside. "How fascinating. A rejected Luna, standing before me, demanding strength. You do realize that most wolves who come here leave as nothing but hollowed-out corpses?"

"Then it's a good thing I'm not most wolves."

Damien's smirk widened. "I like you, little wolf. Tell me, how far are you willing to go?"

Seraphina leaned forward. "What do you want in return?"

The vampire's gaze darkened with interest. "Loyalty. Information. And perhaps… a little fun."

She knew better than to trust a vampire. But in this world, power wasn't given it was taken.

"If you help me," she said, "I swear on my blood that I will not betray you."

Damien's eyes flashed at the mention of blood. He leaned closer, his voice a whisper against the dim candlelight.

"Then let's begin."

And with that, the ritual commenced.

*********Awakening the Bloodline*************

Seraphina lay in the center of an intricate ritual circle, etched into the cold stone floor with ancient symbols. The scent of magic crackled in the air, thick with power.

Damien stood over her, chanting words lost to time.

A sharp, searing pain shot through her chest. She gasped, her back arching as something inside her awakened.

Visions flashed before her eyes wolves, vampires, fire, war. A bloodline forgotten by time.

Then, silence.

The pain stopped. The air stilled.

Seraphina sat up, gasping for breath. But something was… different.

Her body no longer ached from rejection. Her senses were sharper, stronger. Her vision adjusted instantly to the dim room, hearing every flicker of a candle, every whisper of the wind.

Damien grinned. "Oh, little wolf. You were born for something far greater than being an Alpha's mate."

She looked down at her hands. Power hummed beneath her skin, a force unlike anything she had ever felt.

"What… what did you do?"

Damien leaned back, satisfied. "I simply unlocked what was already inside you."

A mirror stood across the room. Seraphina forced herself to stand, her legs no longer weak, her body pulsing with new strength.

When she looked at her reflection, her breath hitched.

Her eyes once warm brown now gleamed with gold and crimson.

Not just a wolf. Something more.

Something unstoppable.

And the world wasn't ready for her.

***********The Alpha's Hunt***************

Back in the Blackwood Pack, Xander Blackwood stood at the edge of the territory, his wolf restless beneath his skin.

Something was wrong.

Ever since Seraphina left, a strange unease had settled over him. At first, he ignored it. She was a rejected mate she should have been nothing to him.

But the reports started coming in.

A woman spotted in the vampire territories.

Rumors of a Luna who walked among the bloodsuckers, untouched.

Whispers of a power rising in the shadows.

Xander's fists clenched. No. It couldn't be her.

Seraphina had been weak. Hadn't she?

And yet, deep inside, something in him growled in protest.

A mate bond was supposed to break the rejected.

So why did it feel like she was thriving?

His Beta, Lucas, approached with a grim expression. "Alpha, you're not going to like this."

Xander turned, his golden eyes sharp. "What?"

Lucas hesitated. "Seraphina… she's not just alive. She's coming back."

A slow, dangerous smirk tugged at Xander's lips.

"Let her come."

Because if Seraphina thought she could leave him behind, she was dead wrong.

And this time, he wouldn't make the mistake of underestimating her.

Seraphina returns to the Blackwood Pack but not as the weak Luna they once knew.

Xander begins to regret his rejection but is it too late?

A prophecy begins to unfold Seraphina is more than just a Luna.

*******The Blackwood Reckoning************

The Blackwood Pack was bustling with activity. Wolves trained in the yard, guards patrolled the perimeter, and the air hummed with the dominance of Alpha Xander Blackwood.

But an unseen storm was coming.

A hooded figure strode through the forest, her steps silent as the wind. Every wolf on patrol tensed, sensing something unnatural in the air.

The guards caught the scent first familiar, yet different.

Then they saw her.

Seraphina.

No longer the rejected, broken Luna. No longer just a wolf.

Her crimson-gold eyes gleamed beneath the moonlight, power radiating off her in waves. Every step she took sent a pulse through the ground, as if the land itself recognized her return.

One guard stepped forward, blocking her path. "Halt"

She flicked her wrist.

Boom!

A shockwave blasted through the air, sending the guard flying backward.

The entire pack felt it.

Wolves turned toward the packhouse as the force rippled through their territory. The air became charged with something primal, something ancient.

Xander was in his office when it hit him. His breath caught, his wolf howled.

The bond he thought had shattered? It pulsed.

"She's here," he whispered, his golden eyes darkening.

Lucas burst through the door. "Alpha it's her."

Xander's jaw clenched.

Seraphina had returned.

But she wasn't coming back as his mate.

She was coming back as his greatest threat.

***********A Challenge in Blood**************

The pack gathered in the training grounds. Whispers spread like wildfire.

"She survived…"

"She looks… different."

"What happened to her?"

Then, the crowd parted.

Seraphina walked through the center of the pack, her black cloak billowing, her presence commanding. Every wolf instinctively stepped back, even the strongest Alphas-in-training.

Her gaze landed on Xander.

He was standing at the top of the platform, arms crossed, his wolf barely contained beneath his skin.

She smirked. "Miss me, Alpha?"

His jaw tightened. "What do you want, Seraphina?"

She took her time responding, letting the silence stretch, letting the tension suffocate.

Then, she tilted her head. "Oh, just a little payback."

Murmurs erupted through the pack.

Xander narrowed his eyes. "I let you leave. That should've been enough."

She chuckled. "You think I came back because of you?"

Her gaze swept over the pack. "I'm not here to beg, Xander. I'm here to claim what's mine."

The air shifted.

Lucas stiffened. "You're challenging the Alpha?"

Seraphina's smirk widened. "No, Lucas. I'm challenging the entire damn hierarchy."

Silence.

Then laughter.

Some wolves scoffed. Others looked uncertain.

Xander's eyes glowed with warning. "You're serious."

She stepped forward. "Deadly."

The pack was bound by laws strength determined leadership. Seraphina had been rejected, abandoned. In their eyes, she was nothing more than a fallen Luna.

But they had no idea who they were dealing with now.

Xander's voice was dangerous. "You want to fight?"

She grinned. "Oh, Alpha. I want to win."

*************Power Unleashed****************

The challenge was set.

Tomorrow, at midnight, Seraphina would face Blackwood's strongest warriors in a battle of dominance.

One rule: Submit, or die.

She stood at the edge of the training fields, her fingers tingling with the new power coursing through her veins.

Damien had warned her.

> "You are no longer just wolf. If you unleash everything inside you, there will be no turning back."

She smirked to herself.

Good.

She wasn't here to turn back.

She was here to burn everything down.

And when the battle ended, the Blackwood Pack wouldn't just have a new Luna.

They would have a Queen.

Next Up:

The battle begins Seraphina versus the strongest warriors.

Xander watches in shock as her power is revealed.

A hidden prophecy is uncovered Seraphina's destiny is greater than anyone imagined.

A moment where Xander realizes his mistake