Chapter 2
Landon's POV
The ballroom was too bright, too loud, the laughter and the clinking of expensive glasses filled the air. Golden chandeliers hung low, spilling light over the polished marble floors. Every Alpha from the region had shown up for the annual Summit , it was a gathering of power, politics, and fake smiles.
I stood near the edge of the crowd, a glass of whiskey in my hand. My name carried its own weight here, and I didn’t have to move much for people to notice me. Conversations slowed when I walked by, eyes followed me. Some with respect, others with fear.
“Alpha Landon,” a soft voice purred beside me.
I turned slightly, she was tall, wrapped in silk the color of blood. Her perfume was sweet but too heavy, a sign of someone trying too hard. Her eyes flicked up at me through painted lashes.
“You are quite the mystery, you know,” she said, stepping closer. “Care to dance?”
Before I could answer, another woman appeared , this one blonde, draped in silver sequins, smiling as if she had already won something. “Ignore her, Alpha. You look like the kind of man who prefers a challenge.”
I looked between them, my expression unreadable. It was always the same at events like this. High class ladies circled me like moths to a flame, drawn to my name, my status, the danger they sensed but couldn’t fully understand.
I gave them both a polite nod but no words. I didn’t dance, I didn’t play their games, my silence was enough for them to back off, though not without lingering glances that promised they would try again before the night was over.
The speeches dragged on, Alphas boasting about their packs, their trade agreements, their expansion into new territories. None of it interested me, The Shadow Fang wolves had no seat at their table by choice. I wasn’t bound by their laws, and that’s exactly why they feared me.
An hour later, I slipped away, the night air was cool against my skin as I stepped out to the black SUV waiting for me. My driver didn’t speak, and I didn’t expect him to.
The ride back to my penthouse was quiet, the city lights blurred past the tinted windows, and my mind drifted to the matters waiting for me at home. My assistant had sent me a message earlier , something about two traitors caught inside Shadow Fang territory. I hadn’t responded, I wanted to deal with them myself.
When we reached the building, I went straight up to the top floor. The elevator doors opened to my penthouse, glass walls, dark steel, and clean lines. Every corner spoke of wealth, but the kind that didn’t need to be flaunted.
My assistant was waiting. “They are in the east room,” he said. “Caught stealing supplies. Selling them to rival packs.”
I didn’t reply, I walked past him, my boots quiet against the black hardwood floor, heading to the east room.
Inside, the air was thick with fear, Two men were on their knees, their wrists were bound, heads bowed. Both were Shadow Fang wolves, both had sworn loyalty to me.
One looked up when I entered. “Alpha….. please, it was a mistake-”
“Silence.” My voice cut through the room like a blade.
They both froze, I moved closer, my hands in my pockets, studying them. “You swore an oath to me, You broke it.”
“It was ... .it was just a few supplies-” the second one stammered.
I crouched in front of him, close enough for him to see the truth in my eyes. “Do you think I care about supplies?” My voice was low, steady.
“You sold us out, you invited weakness into my pack. That is what you’ve done.”
The first man’s breathing turned shallow. “We didn’t mean-”
I straightened and nodded at my assistant. He stepped forward, placing a dagger, a silver edged into my hand.
I turned the blade slowly, watching how the light caught its edge. “There is no place for traitors in Shadow Fang,” I said quietly.
The fear in their eyes shifted to panic. One tried to plead again, but his words cut off when I drove the blade into his shoulder, pushing him back against the wall. His cry echoed in the room, sharp and desperate.
The other scrambled away on his knees until his back hit the corner.
“Do you know why I do this myself?” I asked him.
He shook his head, trembling.
“Because I don’t let my men clean up my mistakes. You were mine to protect, and I misjudged you.”
Then I moved, it was fast and precise. My hand gripped his jaw, forcing his head back.
“Look at me.” His eyes met mine, wide and wet. “Remember my face in your last breath.”
The silver sliced across his throat before he could answer. Silence filled the room again. The first man was still alive, clutching his wound, shaking in shock.
“Let him bleed,” I told my assistant, tossing the dagger to the table. “When he is gone, burn their bodies. Make sure the ashes scatter beyond the borders.”
He nodded, his face was calm, he was used to this side of me. I walked out without another word.
In the living room, I poured myself another glass of whiskey and stood by the window, looking out at the city.
This was the price of loyalty, the world didn’t forgive weakness, neither did I.
But as the night came through and the moonlight caught the edge of my reflection in the glass, I saw him again, the boy I used to be. The one who had once believed in mercy.
That boy was gone, buried with the people I had lost. And all that remained was the Alpha they now feared.
Still, some part of me wondered if I would ever stop seeing him in the glass. I drank until the city lights blurred again.
The world outside kept moving, Inside, the blood was still warm on my hands.