Beta Bride To Alpha Queen | Read Free Preview
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Chapter 1 — War Is Coming
“Come home, Seraphine. War is coming.”
By the time I received my father’s letter, it was too late.
My name is Seraphine Velkan. My parents, Damon and Sarrah, served the Alpha King. I was trained from birth to be a warrior, stronger than most, with a wolf unlike any other. Emogen’s red fur and size earned me the name Red Phantom.
I should have been beta, but the Alpha King deemed me too dangerous. My brothers, Aiden and Oliver, inherited the title instead.
Now I stand among the dead—my family among them. The Alpha King fled before the attack.
“If only they’d listened,” Emogen growls.
They never believed my warnings. Not when I told them a spy laced the wine. Not when I said war was coming.
Pain seared through me; my beloved parents and brothers were gone.
My claws tightened around my sword until it gave a sharp clang.
They never listened to me, not until everyone was dead!The castle reeks of blood. Silence presses after the massacre.
Then I hear it.
Footstep coming from the great hall. I move before I can think, rounding the corner just in time to see a man step over my father’s body. Tall and lean. his dark hair framing sharp features and eyes gleaming with sinister amusement.
A lump clogs my throat the minute I recognize him. “You, I saw you!”
He smiles, holding his sword over his shoulders. “You must be Seraphine. The clan’s witches warned me about you, the gifted beta-wolf.’’
“I’m going to kill you where you stand, rogue. Tell me who sent you!’’
“Sent me?”
His voice is smooth, amused. “Oh, little wolf… I was always here.”
“There is so much about this battle you don’t know, Seraphine. You’re fighting on the wrong side. A weapon like you shouldn’t be wasted on the likes of Lycan King Aldrich.’’
“Enough of this! I’m going to kill you where you stand, rogue. Tell me who sent you!’’
“Sera..’’ A faint small voice calls out my name. “Seraphine.’’
For a moment, I’m distracted. The rogue moves quickly, aiming his sword and moving at the speed of light. I dodge his attack, emerging only with a grazed shoulder.
“Sera..’’ The voice calls again. I turn to notice a figure laying across the pool of blood.
“Make a choice, little wolf. Save your mother, or fight me?’’
His words stop me cold.
My mother is alive!
But the rogue moves, lunging at me with inhuman speed. My instincts take over, I dodge. His sword slices the air where my throat had been a heartbeat ago.
“Choose,” he taunts. “Save her, or fight me.”
I shift my stance, every muscle in my body screaming at me to strike, to end him now.
But my mother wheezes, a wet, choking sound that sends ice through my veins.
I can’t let her die. She’s my only family now.
I lunge backward, pivoting toward her as I kick a fallen spear toward the rogue’s feet, forcing him to stumble. It’s a cheap trick, but it buys me seconds. I drop to my knees beside my mother, pressing my palm against the deep wound in her abdomen. The bleeding won’t stop.
“Sera…” She grips my wrist. “Listen to me.”
“Save your strength,” I link her, scanning the room for anything, anyone that could help. But there’s no one left.
“Run. He's just the beginning. You have to tell the King...”
I shake my head. “No! I can get you out of here.”
“Run!” Her grip tightens. “They… they’re not done. He’s just the beginning.”
Dread curls in my stomach.
The rogue chuckles behind me. “She’s right, you know.”
Beyond shattered windows, wolves howl. More are coming.
I lift my mother and stagger toward the exit. He doesn’t stop me, only smirks.
“Run fast, little wolf. Next time, we won’t be merciful.”
I don’t look back.
I run.
Chapter 2 — The Premonition
“Your mother is going to be fine,” the royal physician says, closing his kit.
“We removed the wolfsbane. Her wolf can heal now.”
After hours of running with her bleeding body across my back, my chest still feels heavy.
My mother’ll live. But my father and brothers won’t. My pack won’t.
All because no one believed the girl with “mad dreams.”
“Seraphine.”
Beta Paul stands by the well, grief carved into his face. My father’s closest friend, once solid as stone, now looks broken.
“I’m sorry for your loss,” he says hoarsely. “Your family’s sacrifice will not go unanswered. The Northern Kingdom will pay.”
I only nod. Words feel empty.
Then he lowers his voice. “Is it true? That you saw this… before it happened?”
I meet his gaze.
And there it is.
The look. Horror, disbelief. Fear. Even fearless Beta Paul recoils from me.
Just like everyone else.
A guard arrives. “The Alpha King has summoned you.”
Of course he has. Grief must wait for politics.
The court is loud with banners, whispers, and posturing, but when Alpha King Aldrich speaks, silence falls.
“The Northern Kingdom has broken the treaty. They accuse us of stealing something decades ago. Their king, Darius Canan, declares war.”
The chamber erupts. Alphas and betas snarl for blood. Aldrich lets them bark, then silences them with a raised hand. His gaze pins me.
“Tell the court what happened.”
I inhale, my nails digging into my palms. They never believed me before. They’ll laugh again.
“I had a premonition.”
Chuckles ripple. Aldrich smirks. “A silly dream, you mean?”
I lock my jaw. “I saw a man poison the ceremonial wine with wolfsbane. My father, my brothers, my pack, they drank it. Weakened, they couldn’t fight when the army struck. I warned them, but no one listened.”
Silence. Uneasy. Heavy. Even Aldrich stops smiling.
“I was sent to guard duty at the tower,” I continue, voice sharp. “By the time I reached the courthouse, it was too late. My family was slaughtered. Only my mother survived.”
A murmur ripples through the court. For once, they can’t dismiss me.
Aldrich strokes his beard. “We must be careful. The Lycans won’t act without proof.”
Careful means waiting while the enemy prepares, Emogen growls inside me.
My fists clench. “What would you have me do?”
The Alpha King studies me, then descends from his throne. Every gaze follows him as he draws his sword.
“You are the last of the Velkan bloodline. Do you swear to take your father’s mantle as royal beta?”
At last. Recognition.
“I do.”
“Do you swear to avenge the fallen and defend our kingdom with your life?”
“I swear it.”
The blade lowers toward my shoulder when the doors slam open.
My mother steps inside, pale but unbroken.
“No,” she says firmly. “I will not give my blessing.”
Gasps ripple through the chamber. My chest tightens.
“I’ve lost my husband, my sons, to this title,” she declares. “I will not lose my daughter too.”
The Alpha King’s eyes narrow. “Then decide, Seraphine. Will you take this mantle without your mother’s blessing?”
Chapter 3 — The Matchmaking
“A matchmaking event,” my mother says, her eyes bright for the first time since the massacre. “We need to secure your future, Seraphine.”
I stand by the window of our palace chambers, watching warriors train below. Two weeks since I carried her bleeding body through the forest. Two weeks since I refused the beta title that should have been mine.
“Mother, there’s a war coming,” I say carefully. “The Northern Kingdom sent assassins...”
“This is exactly the time,” she cuts me off. “Look what war gave us. Graves. I won’t lose you too.”
Her words slice deeper than any blade. I wasn’t there when they needed me. They didn’t believe my visions. And now? She wants to cage me with silks and suitors.
“The Alpha King approved this?” I ask.
She nods. “An alliance through marriage will strengthen us.”
Of course he did. Aldrich has always seen me as a problem to manage, never as a warrior.
“We’ve invited nobles from all thirteen packs,” she adds, smoothing silks. “You’ll find a mate before war breaks out.”
“And if I don’t want one?”
“Every wolf needs a mate, Seraphine. Even the Red Phantom.”
The title stings. Once earned in battle, now reduced to a fairy tale.
Emogen paces in my mind. We should be training, not playing dress-up.
“She’s all we have left,” I answer, though even I don’t believe it.
I slip out for air. My feet take me to the armory, where Luna’s hammer rings against steel. She glances up, smirking.
“Escaping your wedding dress?”
“It’s not a wedding,” I mutter.
“Right. Just a matchmaking circus.”
Before I reply, Koda, Talon, and Vex stride in, warriors I grew up with.
“Tell me it’s not true,” Koda says. “Tell me you didn’t turn down the beta title.”
I look away.
“She did,” Talon confirms. “And now her mother’s planning this… event.”
“Bullshit,” Vex spits. “After what you saw in your vision?”
I bristle. “I don’t have a choice.”
“You’ve never cared about choice before,” Luna says flatly.
“Because my mother’s broken!” I snap. “She watched her mate and sons die. I carried her through the woods while rogues hunted us. She’s all I have left.”
Silence. Then Talon speaks: “And what about the pack that still needs you?”
“The Northern packs are moving,” Koda adds. “Your vision was only the beginning.”
I exhale bitterly. “And Aldrich wants me married off. Convenient.”
“Or strategic,” Luna suggests. “Your visions make you dangerous. Or valuable. Or both.”
“There are whispers,” Koda says. “Why did Aldrich send you away that day? Why ignore your warning?”
Emogen stirs, sharp and eager. He’s right. Play their game, fight your own battles.
“Find a mate,” Luna says, eyes glinting. “One who knows what it means to stand with the Red Phantom.”
“Someone who won’t try to cage you,” Vex adds.
“Someone with access,” Talon says. “To Northern movements. To secrets.”
Their words light a spark in me. Maybe there’s a middle path.
“You’re not just the Red Phantom,” Vex says softly. “You’re Seraphine Velkan. We need all of you.”
My hand falls to the sword Luna forged me, the blade that’s never left my side. Slowly, I unbuckle it, then my armor, laying them on Luna’s bench. Each piece feels like betrayal.
“This isn’t goodbye,” Vex whispers.
“It has to be. For now.”
Koda’s voice is steady. “The Red Phantom may rest, but she doesn’t die.”
I step out into the courtyard. My mother waves from the tailor’s shop, joy lighting her face. For her, I’ll wear silks instead of steel. For her, I’ll smile.
Inside, attendants reveal a gown of pale blue silk. My mother beams. “Tomorrow night, you’ll meet your mate. Two days later, you’ll be wed.”
I touch the fabric, cool and delicate. “It’s beautiful,” I say, though Emogen growls inside me.
As my mother chatters about ribbons and lace, one thought claws at me:
One of those nobles will become my mate.
And my wolf is already restless.
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