The Royal Alpha

Chapter 25: The Bitch

I raise my hand and knock on the door.

For a moment, there is only silence. Then I hear movement—hurried footsteps, fabric brushing against furniture, a faint scrape as something is pushed aside. The door opens a second later.

Tatiana stands there.

Alexandria is inside the room with her.

I stop short, my body instinctively locking in place as my eyes move from one face to the other. The sight makes no sense at first. Tatiana looks tense, guarded in a way she usually isn't around me. Alexandria, on the other hand, appears far too comfortable—standing in my space as though she has every right to be there.

Before I can ask a single question, Tatiana speaks.

"Hey, Sierra," she says carefully. "Alexandria came to ask about you and Fenris. She also wanted to know if you had anything to do with his disappearance."

The words settle heavily in the air.

I don't need to look at Alexandria to know she's watching me closely—waiting, measuring, tasting my reaction. Tatiana wouldn't lie to me about something like this. I can hear the truth ringing clearly in her voice, and that alone is enough to ignite the fury simmering just beneath my skin.

So this is what she wanted.

Alexandria has always been invasive, always lingering where she doesn't belong, but this—this is something else entirely. It was one thing to try and intimidate me, to assert dominance like a petty bully. But prying into my bond? Questioning my mate?

She has crossed a line that cannot be uncrossed.

A low, dangerous growl slips from my throat, vibrating through my chest. My wolf surges forward, fully aware of the threat standing in front of us.

Alexandria's lips curve into a smug little smile.

She knows.

She always knows when she's struck a nerve.

That smirk is the last thing she wears comfortably.

I move faster than thought, faster than restraint. One moment she's standing across the room, and the next my fingers are wrapped tightly around her throat, slamming her back against the wall. Her breath leaves her in a sharp gasp, eyes widening in shock as fear replaces arrogance.

My grip tightens—not enough to kill, but enough to remind her exactly who she's dealing with.

The smirk vanishes.

Good.

"How dare you," I snarl, my voice low and vibrating with barely contained violence, "come into my room and dig into my personal life?"

Her body trembles in my hold, hands hovering uselessly near my arm, too afraid to fight back.

I release her suddenly.

She crumples to the floor with a startled cry, losing her balance and landing hard on her backside. Behind me, Tatiana lets out a sharp, unapologetic laugh at the sight.

I step forward slowly, looming over Alexandria as she scrambles backward.

"Answer me," I command, letting my Alpha lineage bleed into my tone.

She swallows hard, shaking.

"I—I wanted to understand why Fenris left," she stammers. "Some of the trainees said he was agitated after your... kidnapping. They think it was staged. A ruse."

Ruse.

The word slices through me like a blade.

I clench my jaw, forcing my wolf back from tearing her apart where she sits.