Alpha's Rejected becomes the Lycan's Obsession
Chapter 157: Plotting against your Alpha

Chapter 157: Plotting against your Alpha

Vanessa hit the punching bag one more time, her fist slicing through the air and connecting with a vicious thud that echoed throughout the weapons storeroom.

The heavy bag jerked violently, swinging back and forth before veering off its hook and spiraling uncontrollably into a rack of spears and shields stacked to the side. The loud crash of metal hitting metal rang out like a war cry, but she didn’t flinch. Her chest heaved, her breath labored, sweat trickling down her temple.

Only then did she realize she was no longer alone.

Her eyes flicked toward the entrance of the room, where a man leaned against the wall with relaxed ease, arms folded over his chest, eyes narrowed slightly with amusement and curiosity. It was Eldred—the seasoned warrior with too many opinions and a tendency to insert himself in matters that were better left untouched. The same Eldred who, not too long ago, had smugly suggested she use more "creative" means to get Williams to see her as more than just a Beta.

They locked eyes. Neither spoke for a heartbeat.

Then Vanessa looked away, deliberately, and began walking toward the fallen punching bag, every step quiet but sharp.

Three paces from the crumpled bag, she asked without glancing back at him, "What are you doing here?"

Eldred didn’t move. His voice, smooth and laced with mock innocence, drifted across the space. "I should be asking you that. The Alpha just returned, along with the King and the Queen. I expected you’d be in the dining room with the others, celebrating their arrival, but instead, here you are. Beating the life out of an innocent punching bag like there’s a tournament you forgot to register for."

He pushed off the wall with his shoulder and began walking further into the room, his boots making soft thuds against the stone floor. "So really, the question should go to you, Beta Vanessa. Why are you here?"

Vanessa had crouched slightly, fingers closing around the torn strap of the punching bag. Her jaw clenched, the muscles tightening briefly before she forced herself to relax. When she stood and turned to face him, her expression was unreadable again. Cool, composed, almost bored.

"I am not obligated to answer your questions, Eldred," she said crisply. "I believe you should be training with the warriors. Unless, of course, you came here for a weapon. If that is the reason you’re here, then grab it and leave."

Her words were delivered with surgical precision, each syllable sharp and final.

Eldred, unbothered, gave her a slow, lazy smile as if her command amused him more than it wounded.

"A little birdie told me that Alpha returned with a woman and a child," he said casually, taking slow steps toward a different section of the storeroom. "And not just any woman and child. Apparently, he claimed both of them. Publicly."

Vanessa remained silent.

Eldred’s tone darkened slightly, more probing now. "I believe you’re happy for him. Of course, you are. But then again," he paused, turning slightly to face her, "I may be wrong... considering how enraged you were a few minutes ago."

His eyes narrowed just a little. He was poking, testing her boundaries, searching for the crack beneath her armor.

"I mean, after everything you’ve sacrificed, after all the loyalty you’ve given to this pack... after everything you’ve given him..." Eldred let the words hang in the air like thick fog. "Surely, that kind of announcement wasn’t what you were expecting."

Vanessa’s lips parted slightly, her tongue pressing against the roof of her mouth as she fought the urge to respond. Her eyes flicked toward the mess the punching bag had made, then back to Eldred.

He saw the spark in her gaze.

"Don’t look so surprised," he said softly. "You know I’m not the only one thinking it. You gave this pack everything. You held things together when others fell apart. And yet the woman who was thought dead—the one we all buried in our minds—just walks back in and claims the prize like she never left."

Vanessa clenched her fists, the leather of her gloves creaking slightly under pressure. She turned fully to face him now, shoulders squared.

"You don’t know what you’re talking about," she said, voice low and flat.

Eldred lifted a brow. "Don’t I?"

She took a breath, then another, trying to control the storm within her. He wasn’t worth it. His goading meant nothing. But damn it, it hit right where her wounds were still raw.

Because it was true.

She had fought beside Williams. Protected him. Advised him. Carried the weight of the Beta position like a second skin. Not once did she falter. Not once did she waver. She had told herself a thousand times that she was content with her role, with the strength she carried. But beneath all that armor, somewhere deeper than even she cared to admit, there had always been a flicker of hope.

And now, that flicker had been extinguished by a single announcement.

Dera.

Dera, the woman Williams had never stopped loving. Dera, the woman who bore his child. Dera, the woman he had looked at with a softness Vanessa had never seen him wear before.

"I didn’t come here to spar words with you, Eldred," Vanessa said finally, turning her back on him and walking toward the far end of the room. "If you’re done playing provocateur, you can go."

But Eldred didn’t leave. He stood there, watching her, his voice dropping to something quieter.

"We all have our battles, Vanessa," he said. "But you don’t have to fight them alone. Not unless you choose to."

She paused but didn’t turn.

"You deserve to be seen too," he added. "You fought your ass off when those deadly rogues attacked, held this place down, only for Alpha Williams to go away, right in the middle of all that, to bring in another woman and show her off like a trophy. That is cruel, I must say."

Dera clenched her jaws even tighter. His words were hitting spots she didn’t like in her heart, and she hated that she didn’t have the courage to tell him to fuck off.

"Don’t let her win, Vanessa. She doesn’t deserve it. You do. You deserve to win this fight, and I can help you win if you agree to take my help."

They have a child, idiot," Vanessa said, and couldn’t believe she just said that. Was she actually considering what he was saying?

"You can and will give him a child to. Your child could be the next alpha of Luminera," Eldred spoke in the same tone.

Just then, Daniel walked into the weapon storeroom, having followed the direction of one of the maids who had seen Vanessa going toward that direction.

He had been in the hallway when the maid passed by him. He stopped her to ask where Vanessa had gone. The maid had gestured quickly, telling him that she had seen Beta Vanessa heading toward the weapon storeroom. That alone had been enough to get Daniel moving.

As soon as he neared the place, he already knew she was inside. Her voice filtered out faintly, and it wasn’t calm. It carried the tension of someone on edge, someone fighting to keep control. But it wasn’t just her voice he heard—there was another, deeper voice too, a man’s voice, and the topic they were discussing caught him completely off guard.

Daniel hadn’t meant to eavesdrop, not at first. But the words the man said stopped him in his tracks. They weren’t just casual comments. They were carefully chosen, prodding, manipulating. And worse still, they hinted at something out of bounds, something deeply inappropriate for a warrior in this pack to be speaking of, especially inside the pack house itself.

He stood outside, keeping his body pressed slightly to the wall, listening just enough to get a better understanding of the situation. He didn’t want to jump to conclusions. He needed to be sure of what was happening before he made himself known.

The voice inside was familiar. Daniel tried to place it, going through the faces and names of high-ranked warriors he had known during his time as Gamma. Whoever the man was, he wasn’t a low-ranking member. That much was clear from the confidence in his tone.

Then, finally, Daniel stepped inside.

And everything clicked into place.

His gaze landed on the figure standing confidently near the weapons rack, and recognition dawned instantly. Eldred.

A senior warrior. One of the most seasoned men in the pack. A man Daniel had once looked up to, admired even, during his early days. Back then, Eldred had been a symbol of discipline and loyalty.

But now?

Now Daniel was staring at a version of Eldred he couldn’t quite reconcile with the past. A version of him that had just spoken with a kind of venom Daniel hadn’t expected to ever hear from the man.

The shock registered on Daniel’s face for only a fleeting moment. It was instinctive, that moment of disbelief. But it didn’t last long. Almost immediately, he wiped all traces of emotion from his expression. He straightened, his steps steady as he walked further into the room.

He reminded himself that people changed. That betrayal had become common currency in their world. Just because someone had once stood for honor didn’t mean they always would. That lesson had come to him in more ways than one.

Daniel’s voice, when it came, was calm, stripped of emotion.

"I believe plotting against your Alpha’s woman is considered treason, Eldred," he said, stopping directly across from the older man. "You know that, don’t you?"

His tone was neutral, but his gaze was anything but soft. It was focused, sharp, and unblinking.