Claimed By The Alpha King

Seraphina Thorne POV:

The cold rain fell in a steady, miserable drizzle, soaking the black dress that clung to my skin. I stood alone, closer to the polished pine coffin than anyone else. It was Gideon’s last command, a final act of protection that now only served to isolate me further.

Around me, the entire Silver Moon Pack huddled under the grey sky, their grief a tangible, heavy blanket. But their sorrowful glances never quite met mine. Instead, they slid past me, filled with a mixture of pity and contempt. My thin, soaked frame was a stark contrast to the broad, powerful shoulders of the werewolves surrounding me. It was a perfect picture of my eighteen years here: always near the heart of the pack, but never a part of it. Always under the Alpha’s wing, and for that, always resented.

A sharp, cutting voice sliced through the somber quiet. "The ceremony should be over. It's time to clear out things that don't belong here."

I didn't need to turn to know who it was. Lyra Silvermoon, Gideon’s Luna and now the Luna Dowager, stepped forward. Her eyes, the color of a frozen lake, were fixed on me like daggers.

Every head turned. Every whisper died. The pack’s collective gaze, heavy with suspicion, settled on me. I was the "thing" that didn't belong.

A low growl vibrated in the back of my mind, a voice that was mine and yet not. *They dare?* A strange, unfamiliar warmth coiled at the base of my spine, pushing back against the bone-deep chill of the rain.

Bane Silvermoon, Gideon’s son and the new Alpha, stood beside his mother. His face was a mask of cold indifference, his silence a clear endorsement of her words. He had his father's height, but none of his warmth.

Lyra stopped directly in front of me, her expression a cruel twist of a smile. "Gideon is dead," she said, her voice low enough that only I could hear the venom. "Your good days are over, Omega."

She raised a hand to shove me away from the coffin, to physically sever the last tie I had to the man who had raised me.

But my feet didn't move. It felt as if roots had sprouted from the soles of my boots, anchoring me to the damp earth. The force of her push, which should have sent me stumbling, did nothing. I remained perfectly still.

Shock flickered in Lyra's eyes, quickly consumed by a wave of pure fury. She thrived on control, and I had just defied it.

She raised her voice, turning her personal attack into a public proclamation. "It’s this Omega!" she shrieked, pointing a trembling finger at me. "Her presence has brought a curse upon us! Gideon's sudden death is a warning from the Moon Goddess herself!"

A ripple of murmurs went through the crowd. I could feel their grief twisting, curdling into a more convenient emotion: anger. It was so much easier to blame a scapegoat than to face the void their Alpha had left.

Slowly, I lifted my head. Rainwater traced paths down my pale cheeks, but my violet eyes, for the first time in my life, held no fear. They were as cold and calm as a winter storm.