Alpha's Regret: Claiming My Stolen Twins

Seraphina’s POV

The screams and chaos from outside reached me before I could see what was happening. My heart hammered against my ribs as I pushed through the crowd that had gathered. Something deep inside me demanded I witness this myself, no matter how much it might hurt.

People stepped aside as I approached, forming a clear path like water parting before a storm. Each footstep echoed with a fury I never knew lived within me. My gaze found Roxanne immediately - she was crumpled on the ground, her knees pressed into the dirt, tears and snot streaming down her face. Julian loomed over her, his expression dark with anger.

I came to a halt directly in front of her cowering form, my shadow engulfing her trembling body. The words that left my lips were barely controlled, shaking with rage and bewilderment. "Tell me how." My voice cut through the thick air around us. "How did you discover I was carrying twins when I had no idea myself?"

The question burned between us, adding weight to the already suffocating tension. I understood her jealousy, her belief that I had stolen everything she wanted while she lost it all. But I needed to understand the depths of her betrayal.

Roxanne raised her tear-streaked face to meet my eyes, her voice barely audible above a whisper. "Your wolf," she managed between sniffles. "You don’t have one. You couldn’t hear what I could hear - the separate heartbeats. My wolf sensed it. She told me there were two lives growing inside you."

The revelation struck me like lightning, followed immediately by a rage so pure it felt like molten metal in my veins. My hand moved instinctively to my cheek, brushing away tears I hadn’t realized were falling.

Something primal erupted from deep within my chest - a roar that seemed to come from a part of me I’d never accessed before. It wasn’t just my voice anymore. My wolf, dormant for so long, had finally broken free. I surged forward, every cell in my body screaming for vengeance.

The next moments blurred together in a haze of violence. My claws had somehow extended without conscious thought, and I felt them tear into soft flesh. Roxanne’s screams pierced the air, raw and terrified. I was aware of being on top of her, then suddenly being dragged backward by strong, familiar arms.

Julian’s grip was iron around me, pulling me away from Roxanne who was now covered in blood. My wolf raged against his restraint, but his own wolf pressed back with calm authority. He was my mate, and even through my bloodlust, that bond could reach the deepest parts of me. Gradually, the red fog began to lift, though my eyes still burned with unnatural fire.

I turned back to Roxanne, who was whimpering and clutching her wounded arm. My voice came out as a growl, still rough from my wolf’s emergence. "Start talking. Confess everything. Tell me exactly how and why you stole my daughter." I let my gaze rake over her broken form, promising death if she refused. "Because if you don’t, nothing in this world will stop me from killing you where you kneel."

True terror flickered in Roxanne’s eyes as she began shaking more violently. Words spilled from her lips in a panicked rush. "The baby I was pregnant with," she gasped, "it was never Julian’s. I tried everything - I tried to get him drunk, but he wouldn’t touch me. The baby belonged to Nolan."

The collective intake of breath around us was audible, shock rippling through the gathered crowd. But my own gasp was the loudest of all. My body went rigid, then tremors began coursing through me. I stared at Roxanne in horror and revulsion. My claws, which had started retracting, shot out again, digging crescents into my palms. Julian’s hold tightened, but I screamed anyway - a sound of pure anguish that echoed off the surrounding walls.

"You’re a liar!" The words tore from my throat. "You made me leave my mate because I thought he was having a child with you. All of it was lies!"

Roxanne found some reserve of strength and screamed back at me, "You stole Julian from me!"

My head whipped toward her, eyes blazing with renewed fury. "He’s not some object to be stolen and passed around," I roared, straining against Julian’s restraining arms. "I don’t blame him for your obsession. I blame your parents for never teaching you how to handle rejection, for never showing you that the world doesn’t owe you everything you want."

"I lost everything!" Roxanne’s voice cracked with desperation. "Everything I ever dreamed of having. And I lost my baby too. I would have kept that baby even knowing it wasn’t Julian’s, but I lost it because he didn’t care about me. The only person who ever truly cared was Dorian!"

Julian let out a harsh laugh filled with contempt. "Dorian never cared about you, Roxanne. He used you for his own purposes."

Roxanne shook her head frantically, tears streaming down her cheeks. "No! Dorian was there when no one else was. He gave me what I wanted most in this world." Her voice took on a twisted note of triumph. "He gave me a baby."

Those words shattered what remained of my self-control. A baby. The phrase repeated in my mind like a cruel taunt. They had taken my baby girl from me, and she dared to celebrate Dorian giving her one?

Before Julian could react or tighten his grip, I broke free with strength I never knew I possessed. My hands found Roxanne’s throat, squeezing until her screams died to nothing. Her eyes went wide with terror as her hands clawed uselessly at mine.

"You stole my child," I whispered against her ear, my voice deadly quiet, "and you think that’s something to celebrate. That’s why you’re going to die."

I watched with cold satisfaction as the life slowly drained from her eyes. Her struggles grew weaker, her face turning blue. Julian was behind me, his voice desperate as he begged me to stop, his hands trying to pry my fingers loose. But his words seemed to come from far away. All I could hear were the heartbeats of the babies I’d never known I carried, the ones Roxanne had known about, the ones she’d helped steal from me.

The world tilted suddenly, spinning wildly around me. Julian’s frantic voice faded to nothing as my vision narrowed to a pinpoint, then went completely black. I felt myself falling into an endless void.