Chapter 298: Blame It On The A-A-Alpha Blood

Welcome back to The Real Alphas of Nyros.

Renwick Lunaris just bled for the table. Meanwhile, forty-seven Alphas were now staring at the map like siblings watching their new stepdad sit in dad’s chair at Thanksgiving.

Nobody said anything. Everybody had thoughts.

WHOOSH.

The map responded. Lunaris territory lit up with a healthy glow.

Immediately, Darwin and Ironmaw shared a look that translated to "stepdad’s dick is smaller than dad’s." While ten other Alphas gave a knowing, satisfied nod because stepdad couldn’t throw a football as far as dad could.

The map said mid-tier. Renwick’s face said "I don’t work for the map. The map works for me."

The room got the message so hard it almost left a bruise.

One by one, the Alphas followed. Blood. Token. Slot.

The ritual was faster this time but the dick measuring remained intact. It had all the ceremony of a toll booth and all the tension of a locker room. Nobody said a word. Everybody was keeping score.

Every Alpha who out-glowed Renwick sat up straighter in their chairs. Benjamin matched Darwin’s glow exactly. Darwin looked at the map like it was a rigged paternity test.

The usual shit.

Damon: At least nobody’s crying this time.

Reed: Give it time. The night is young.

The map filled until forty-eight territories were glowing. Two dark holes remained for Stonehowl and Shadowfell. The visual told a story that every Alpha could read.

As soon as the last token seated, Ironmaw opened his mouth.

"Every man in this chamber heard your daughter’s voice somehow, Lunaris. She quoted a proverb and she did it through something that wasn’t a mindlink."

Every head turned to Renwick at this.

"That she did," Renwick said calmly.

"How?" Ironmaw pressed.

"Carefully."

"That’s not an answer."

"That’s the only one I have currently," Renwick replied. "If a girl quoting a proverb is what keeps you up at night, that sounds like a you problem. Priorities, gentlemen."

Benjamin Blackmoor finally spoke, the way the favorite child speaks at a family dinner: once, at the right moment, and everybody listens.

"We then heard a second voice narrate a negotiation between you and Stonehowl over your daughter’s life. But it cut off just as it was getting good. Did you get her back?"

The chamber leaned in.

This was the question everyone wanted answered because under the Alpha was a man who had a mother, a daughter, a sister, or a mate. Benjamin’s question didn’t land in their ears. It landed in their ribs, in the place where the people they’d burn the world for lived.

"Yes."

One word that landed heavier than every sentence before it. For a fraction of a second, the mask cracked and behind it was a man, not a king, not a chess player, just a father standing on the other side of almost. Then the crack sealed and the temperature in the room dropped back to Renwick. Whatever the room saw, he would make sure it was the last thing they’d get for free.

"And Stonehowl? Is the bastard dead?" Benjamin pressed.

"Stonehowl is in custody," Renwick answered. "Alive, for now, because dead traitors can’t name their friends and I want names. Two Dark Fae were operating alongside him, which means we had a mole. That is the first item on the agenda."

The Stonehowl revelation dropped like a ten-ton, trust-murdering treason-bomb. The kind that didn’t just betray one king, but every kingdom sitting at this table and left every wolf in Nyros exposed.

The Betas locked onto Damon like a firing squad waiting for the signal. He gave one silent nod. Confirmed.

"Was it just him? Or his whole pack?" Darwin asked.

"Stonehowl has not been cooperative with questions. His Beta was murdered and the body was found in a closet during Shadowfell’s sweep. That is item two on the agenda," Renwick said.

The room reacted the way a dinner table reacts when someone says ’while we’re being honest’ and means it. Alphas exchanged looks. Betas leaned forward. Nobody was happy.

"Your daughter lit up the map, Lunaris," Darwin Blackmoor cut through the buzz. "Twice. Brighter than any Alpha here. She glows. She broadcast a proverb without a mindlink." He paused. "We all want to know. Why did you send her? Why weren’t you here? Tell me what I’m missing because that makes zero sense."

Darwin spread his hands like the stepdad’s least favorite kid finally getting his moment in front of the whole family and making damn sure everyone knew he’d been paying attention.

Reed: Darwin really can’t let that go.

Damon: It hurt his feelings. He picked the wrong side, then got out-glowed.

"I was away from my Keep when we were attacked. When I returned, I found my wife, my son, and my Beta dead." He delivered the death news like he was reading an invoice, with zero emotion. "I learned my daughter had fought alongside my men to defend Lunaris. She came here in my son’s place, unaware of the rules. Her intention was to warn the other packs about the Dark Fae. Her misstep was from ignorance and she meant no harm."

The chamber fell silent. The specific, heavy silence that follows a man announcing the death of his bloodline without his voice cracking.

Reed: Dead. That is news.

Damon: One problem off the board. Nicholas killing her brother was never going to end well for anyone. The universe handled that one for us.

2

Reed: His wife and Beta are also dead, Damon.

Damon: I heard.

Reed: He listed them like a shopping list.

Damon: Milk. Eggs. Wife. Son. Beta. Will that be all today, sir.

"I am sorry for your losses, Lunaris." Redmoon broke the silence with the practiced diplomacy of a man who had buried three sons of his own and knew what the words cost even when the face didn’t show it.

Renwick gave a single nod.

"That doesn’t explain the map," Darwin Blackmoor cut in. "Or the glowing. Does she have an Alpha wolf?"

"No, she has a white wolf. Not an Alpha," Renwick said. "The map is something I don’t have an answer for. I was informed that the day prior to her arrival here, she was injured. This was before the battle that killed my son. She needed blood, Cassian was a match, and he donated to her. I believe the Alpha blood in her system is why the map responded to her. I don’t have an explanation for why it spread beyond Lunaris."

The half-truth settled into the room like smoke. Some Alphas accepted it. Others filed it under ’revisit later when this man isn’t standing over his son’s grave.’

"Shadowfell made it clear your packs are united and you are standing in for him," another Alpha said. "Like a father-in-law. Yet I saw the Dragon King walking these halls. Why are dragons here?"

Damon: And there it is.

Reed: Took longer than expected.