MATED TO THE BEAST ALPHA BROTHERS
Chapter 51: Brimstone.

Chapter 51: Brimstone.

"Look at you, all weak and pathetic," Layla sneered, twirling a glass of wine in her hand as she stared down at Keres, who was still wearing Haelyn’s form.

Helen smirked, taking a slow sip of her drink. "It’s almost laughable, really. A supposed Luna, reduced to nothing but a trembling little girl."

"I always knew you were never fit to lead," Malcolm added, his voice dripping with amusement. He leaned back in his chair, eyeing her with predatory interest. "Archer? That man will leave you. He’s too much for you....too strong, too ruthless. You’ll never be able to handle him."

"And yet," Layla cut in, her lips curling, "you still try to pretend you’re worth something. A little broken girl who thinks she can play with monsters."

Keres, disguised as Haelyn, lowered her head, clutching her hands together as if weak, broken. "Please," she whispered, voice trembling. "I just... I just want this family to accept me."

Helen scoffed, setting her glass down with a sharp clink. "Accept you? Oh, darling, that was never going to happen."

"You were always an outsider," Layla said, tilting her head, eyes gleaming with cruelty. "And your mother? She was no better. I made sure of that."

Keres slowly looked up, eyes glistening. "What... what do you mean?"

Helen chuckled, "Oh, you didn’t know?" She leaned forward, voice lowering to a taunting whisper. "I used to slip just the right amount of poison into Lunara’s tea. Just enough to keep her weak, to keep her from ever realizing the extent of her powers. To keep her from protecting you."

Keres stiffened.

Helen smirked. "Pity she still tried to fight back."

Layla grinned. "But, in the end, she was just as pathetic as you are now."

Silence.

Then,

A slow, chilling laugh filled the room.

Low at first, but growing....dark, twisted, brimming with amusement.

Keres lifted her head, no longer shaking, no longer weak. Her lips curled into a smirk as she leaned back in her chair, arms crossing over her chest. Her eyes gleamed with something sharp, something predatory.

"What a poor, pathetic excuse for a family," she mused, voice dripping with mockery.

The air in the room shifted, the atmosphere thickening with something dangerous.

Arthur, who had been silent up until now, slammed his fist on the table. "How dare you?!"

Keres tilted her head, completely unbothered. "Hush now, boy," she taunted, amusement dancing in her eyes.

Arthur’s face twisted in rage.

"Don’t you ever wonder why none of your children look like you?" she mused, standing up gracefully, her movements fluid and calculated. "Why they don’t share your ambition, your strength?"

Arthur narrowed his eyes. "What are you getting at?"

Keres smirked. "Oh, Arthur, your dear little Luna has quite the talent for spreading her legs for your wolf comrades."

The room fell into stunned silence.

Arthur’s breathing turned ragged.

"You’re lying."

Keres let out a soft chuckle. "Am I?" She turned to Helen. "What do you say, dear Helen? Should I remind you how many times you’ve welcomed other men into your bed?"

Helen shot up from her seat, face twisting in panic. "You shut your mouth, you orphan witch!"

Keres arched a brow. "Or what?"

Helen lunged, but with a flick of Keres’ hand, she was thrown back against the wall with bone-cracking force.

Layla, who had been watching with wide eyes, finally whispered, "You’re not Haelyn..."

Keres grinned, still wearing Haelyn’s face. "Clever girl."

Layla’s breath hitched.

Keres leaned in slightly. "If only you’d been this clever when you were sleeping with your own blood."

Layla paled. "What the hell are you talking about?"

Keres exhaled dramatically. "Now, now, I think it’s time we all sat down and had a little... family discussion."

Before anyone could move, an invisible force slammed them all into their seats, pinning them down. The air in the room crackled with dark energy.

Arthur struggled against the invisible force. "Release me this instant!"

Keres ignored him, her eyes gleaming with uncontained amusement.

"Let’s start with dear Layla, shall we?" she mused. "Or should I say... the bastard daughter of Alpha Marius?"

Arthur froze.

Layla’s eyes widened in terror. "No....no, that’s a lie!"

Keres tilted her head. "Oh, darling, it’s not. Your dear mother has been enjoying the company of Arthur’s younger cousin Marius for quite some time now. Just like she did with his best friend."

Arthur’s breathing became ragged. "Helen...?"

Helen’s face had lost all color.

Keres smirked. "Oh, don’t act so surprised. You’ve always been blind to the truth."

She turned to Malcolm, her expression darkening. "And you, Malcolm? Do you really think you are Arthur’s son?"

Malcolm’s mouth opened, but no words came out.

"The truth is, dear boy, you are the bastard son of a council member....one whom I personally had the pleasure of disposing of during the trial before the Wolf King."

Arthur’s face contorted with rage. "You....you’re lying!"

Keres let out a low laugh. "Am I? You should ask dear Helen how she managed to convince you otherwise."

Helen was trembling now.

Keres wasn’t finished. She turned to Layla again, her smirk growing. "And you, my dear, are even more pathetic than I thought. Not only are you not Arthur’s blood, but you’ve been foolish enough to let yourself be deceived by Tiago....Marius’s bastard son. The same man you’ve been warming your bed with."

Layla’s breath caught in her throat.

Keres leaned closer, whispering mockingly, "But here’s the real fun part...so has your mother."

Layla choked on a scream.

Arthur’s rage exploded.

Before anyone could move, the invisible force released them, sending them crashing forward.

And in that moment, Keres’ body began to shift, her form elongating, dark energy crackling around her.

Her disguise melted away, revealing her true self.

A vision of darkness. Regal, powerful...an unholy queen.

Malcolm, in blind fury, lunged at her.

A mistake.

In a swift movement, a blade materialised into keres’s hand....the very blade that had been meant for Lyra to use on Archer...and in a single, brutal motion, she plunged it into his chest.

Malcolm gasped, eyes wide in shock as blood spilled from his mouth.

Keres smiled down at him, watching as the life drained from his eyes. "What a disappointment."

She released the blade, letting his body drop to the floor with a dull thud.

Arthur let out a roar of fury, his anger turning to Helen and Layla, who were now trembling, exposed, shattered.

Chaos erupted in the room.

And Keres?

She ascended into the air, watching with cold amusement.

"Oh, what a wonderful show," she mused, her voice echoing as she vanished into the shadows.

❦ ════ •⊰❂⊱• ════ ❦

"Come back to me, Haelyn."

Archer’s voice was hoarse, broken...a whisper of desperation against the suffocating silence. His forehead pressed against hers, his fingers trembling as he cupped her cold cheeks. He waited...waited for a sign, a flicker, anything.

Nothing.

Outside, the mountain wolves howled, their sorrowful cries carrying through the wind. It wasn’t just grief...it was a call, a chant, a plea to the forces beyond.

Seraphis’s priestesses stood in a solemn circle outside the hospital, their robes billowing as they chanted in ancient tongues. Their voices wove through the air, thick with power, thick with something unnatural.

Inside the dim hospital room, the weight of loss hung over them like a suffocating fog. No one spoke. No one moved.

Xander stood near the wall, his hands clenched into fists, his jaw tight as he watched Archer crumble. Ravi exhaled sharply, dragging a hand down his face. Rowena and Artemis kept their gazes down, their expressions unreadable.

Cerius finally stepped forward, his voice quiet but firm. "Archer... we need to..."

A low growl rumbled from Archer’s chest. "Don’t."

The doctor standing at the door cleared his throat nervously. "Alpha... we have to prepare her body. She..."

Archer’s head snapped up, golden eyes blazing, and the doctor instantly shrank back.

"Touch her, and I will rip your throat out." His voice was deadly calm, a promise, a warning.

The doctor stumbled back, glancing at Seraphis for help, but she merely nodded for him to leave.

"We can’t just let her..." Ravi began, but he stopped when Archer lifted Haelyn’s limp hand, pressing it to his cheek.

"I was supposed to protect her," Archer whispered. "She wasn’t supposed to die. Not like this."

Cerius exhaled heavily. "We’ll find a way around this. I swear it."

Archer let out a bitter laugh. "And what will that change?" His hands curled into fists against the sheets. "It won’t bring her back."

A sharp gust of wind blasted through the room, rattling the windows. The priestesses outside chanted louder.

Something shifted.

Archer’s head snapped up, his instincts prickling. The others sensed it too.

The lights flickered. The air thickened with an unseen force.

Then....

Haelyn’s fingers twitched.

It was barely there, but Archer felt it. His heart stuttered in his chest.

His breath caught. "Haelyn?"

Nothing.

The room remained deathly silent. Then, like a whisper from the beyond...

Her lips parted. A single, chilling breath escaped.

A ghost of a voice. A warning.

"She’s here."

The heart monitor flatlined.

The lights exploded.

And the night was swallowed in darkness.