MATED TO THE BEAST ALPHA BROTHERS
Chapter 34: Unspoken truth

Chapter 34: Unspoken truth

"You should have stayed in the shadows where you belong, Zareth."

Cerius’s voice was low, calm but deadly, his piercing gaze locked onto the man standing before him.

Zareth stood tall, his presence suffocating, his silver hair illuminated by the dim moonlight filtering through the high windows of his estate.

His eyes...stormy, unreadable, dangerous...gleamed with unspoken rage.

"And let you think you’ve won?" Zareth chuckled, though there was no humor in his voice. "We both know that’s never going to happen."

Cerius took a slow step forward, his expression unwavering.

"What do you want, Zareth?"

Zareth’s smirk vanished.

"You know exactly what I want."

The air thickened, a deadly charge crackling between them.

Cerius clenched his fists, his wolf restless inside him.

"You’re wasting your time."

Zareth’s laughter was sharp, filled with mockery.

"Am I?" he mused, stepping closer.

"I see the way you guard her, Cerius."

"And who might you be talking about?" Cerius asked casually, though his tone held a dangerous edge.

Zareth’s expression darkened.

"Don’t play games with me."

He took another step forward, his aura growing heavier, darker.

"She’s yours, isn’t she?"

Cerius’s jaw tightened.

"I don’t know what you’re talking about."

Zareth growled lowly, his patience snapping.

"Don’t insult my intelligence!" he roared, his voice echoing through the grand hall.

The very walls seemed to tremble.

"You think you can keep her from me? From the truth?"

Cerius remained silent.

Zareth’s hands curled into fists, his nails digging into his palms.

"I should’ve known the moment I saw her, the way she fights, the way her power flares."

His gaze bore into Cerius.

"She is not just Lunara’s daughter....she’s yours, isn’t she?"

Cerius didn’t move. Didn’t blink.

His silence was damning.

Zareth’s lips curled into a sneer.

"You let me believe she was Arthur’s bastard all these years? Knowing damn well she was yours?"

Cerius’s expression remained unreadable.

But the tension in his stance....the flicker of something behind his cold gaze...was enough.

Zareth let out a bitter laugh, shaking his head.

"You coward."

Cerius finally spoke.

"She is not your concern, Zareth."

Zareth snarled.

"Like hell she isn’t! She is mine by blood, by right!"

Cerius’s own energy flared, his eyes flashing with a warning.

"She is not yours, nor will she ever be."

Zareth’s anger burned hotter.

"You think keeping her from me will save her?"

His voice dropped, venomous.

"You can’t hide her forever."

Cerius remained still, but his muscles were coiled, ready to strike.

"She’s stronger than you think," he said.

Zareth tilted his head, studying him.

Then, a slow, cruel smile spread across his lips.

"Ah."

He took another step forward.

"So, she doesn’t know, does she?"

Cerius’s silence was answer enough.

Zareth laughed again....dark, wicked.

"You’re afraid."

His gaze gleamed with malicious delight.

"You’re afraid of what she’ll do when she finds out the truth."

Cerius’s fists clenched tighter.

"I don’t fear her."

"No?" Zareth taunted, his voice dripping with amusement.

"Then tell her."

Cerius’s expression remained icy.

"She doesn’t need to know."

Zareth stepped even closer, their faces mere inches apart.

"You think keeping secrets will protect her? That’s what Lunara thought too."

Cerius’s wolf bristled at the mention of her name.

Zareth’s smirk widened.

"And we both know how that ended."

The air crackled, thick with unspoken threats.

Cerius’s voice was low, dangerous.

"I won’t let you have her."

Zareth chuckled, leaning in.

"She’s already mine, Cerius. You just don’t know it yet."

Cerius’s wolf snapped.

He lunged.

Zareth barely dodged the first strike, stepping back just in time as Cerius’s fist slammed into the marble pillar behind him, cracking it.

A smirk played on Zareth’s lips.

"You’re getting slow, old friend."

Cerius snarled.

"And you’re still the same arrogant fool who doesn’t know when to back down."

Zareth’s eyes gleamed with something dark.

"I back down for no one. Not even you."

Their wolves howled inside them, the tension between them ready to explode.

But before either could throw the next blow, the doors burst open.

A messenger ran in, panting, wide-eyed.

"Alpha Cerius! Urgent news!"

Cerius turned, his wolf still raging beneath the surface.

"What is it?"

The messenger’s face was pale.

"It’s Haelyn."

Cerius’s heart stopped.

Zareth’s grin widened.

"Oh?" he mused.

"What happened?" Cerius demanded.

The messenger’s voice was grim.

"She’s missing."

Silence.

Deadly.

Tense.

Zareth chuckled.

"Looks like the game just got interesting."

Cerius’s blood ran cold.

Zareth’s smirk deepened.

"I told you, Cerius..."

His voice was a whisper....soft, lethal.

"She was never yours to keep."

"Seraphis?"

The name slipped from the stranger’s lips, his voice carrying the weight of a thousand regrets.

Rowena stopped mid-step, her heart hammering against her ribs.

No one ever mistook her for her mother.

Ever.

She turned, locking eyes with a man who stood like a king among commoners—tall, regal, exuding power that made the very air around him heavy.

His piercing golden gaze held something deep, something familiar, and for the first time in her life, Rowena felt seen in a way that unsettled her.

"You’re mistaken," she said carefully, her voice steady despite the rapid beating of her heart.

The man didn’t move, his expression unreadable.

But there....in his eyes....

Regret.

Guilt.

Longing.

His gaze softened, and before she could react, his calloused fingers brushed her cheek.

"She has your face," he murmured, almost to himself. "But those eyes... those are mine."

Rowena stiffened.

What the hell did that mean?

"Who are you?" she asked, voice laced with suspicion.

The man exhaled, stepping back.

"I hope your mother is well," he said simply, as if that alone was enough of an explanation.

Then....

"Father."

The new voice cut through the tension, and Rowena turned sharply.

A young man, around her age, approached with an effortless confidence that only those born into power carried.

And his resemblance to the older man? Uncanny.

He barely spared her a glance before addressing the stranger.

"It’s time to go."

The older man hesitated, his gaze lingering on Rowena just a moment longer.

Then, without another word, he turned and walked away.

The young man followed, casting her a fleeting glance....one filled with curiosity.

And just like that, they were gone.

Rowena stood frozen, her fingers trembling against her own cheek.

The warmth of his touch lingered.

She had never met this man in her life.

So why did it feel like he had just left with a piece of her soul?

"Mother, who is he?"

Rowena’s voice was demanding, her hands planted firmly on the table as she stood in front of Seraphis.

Her mother stilled.

It was the first time Rowena had seen her truly freeze....as if time itself had stopped around her.

Seraphis slowly lifted her head, her usually calm face betraying a flicker of something unspoken.

"What did you just say?"

"I met a man today," Rowena pressed. "He called me by your name...like he thought I was you. He said I had your face but his eyes."

Seraphis’s fingers curled against the armrest of her chair, knuckles whitening.

"And then his son came calling him ’Father.’"

The words hung heavy in the air.

Seraphis looked away.

"Rowena, let it go."

"No," Rowena snapped, her chest tightening. "Not this time."

Seraphis inhaled deeply, her mask slipping back into place.

"Some things are better left in the past."

"That’s not an answer."

"It’s the only one you’re getting."

The finality in her voice stung.

Rowena clenched her fists.

"What are you hiding this from me?"

Seraphis exhaled sharply, standing abruptly.

"Rowena, I don’t have time for this...."

"You’re lying to me."

Her mother froze again.

Rowena stepped closer, lowering her voice.

"That man is connected to me, isn’t he? To you. To us."

Seraphis turned away, shoulders tense.

"Rowena, drop it."

"I can’t," she whispered, swallowing hard. "Because for the first time in my life, I saw someone look at me like I was meant to exist."

Seraphis’s posture faltered.

But she said nothing.

Rowena’s stomach churned.

"He’s my father, isn’t he?"

Silence.

Seraphis slowly turned back to her, her eyes unreadable.

"Go to your room, Rowena."

"Mother...."

"Now."

The weight in her voice sent a shiver down Rowena’s spine.

But it wasn’t fear.

It was confirmation.

Rowena sat in her room that night, staring at the ceiling, her mind whirling.

The pieces didn’t fully fit yet, but they were there.

The stranger.

His words.

Her mother’s reaction.

The young man who called him Father.

"I have his eyes."

She pressed her fingers against her temples, frustration bubbling.

Her mother had always been secretive, but this?

This was different.

This was personal.

And it left a gaping hole inside her.

"If you won’t tell me the truth..."

Her fingers curled into fists.

"I’ll find it myself."

A storm was coming.

And Rowena was ready to walk straight into it.