MATED TO THE SECRET ALPHA-Chapter 252: Vaurenox Meets Reana

How did we end up trapped here?"

"Why did no one seem to know the way out?"

"What is Orion hiding?"

"Does Ryder know? If yes, why did he lie to her?"

So many questions ran through Reana’s mind as she walked down the hallway. She needed answers and the only person she could think of was Ryder. Only he would be able to give her answers. But unfortunately, Ryder...

She inhaled the cold winter air. It was colder now and for some strange reason, she felt cold more than everyone else.

Just as she was about to turn a corner, her steps halted. Kira, who was walking behind her, sprung forward, shielding Reana behind her as she unsheathed her dagger.

"Show yourself!" she commanded.

Reana’s gaze sharpened.

She felt the overwhelming presence...not of someone with the scent of someone from the Blackmoon pack. This person smelt like burnt wood, ash... something ancient and feral. It wasn’t a scent Reana recognized, but it clawed at the edges of her memory like a nightmare she couldn’t quite recall.

Kira’s grip tightened on the dagger. Her back was taut like a bowstring, her instincts on high alert.

"I said show yourself!" Kira barked again, her voice ringing through the stone corridor.

A chuckle sounded, "Little mortal... so quick to draw blood. Has your kind always been this eager to die?"

The voice was smooth, taunting—like velvet soaked in poison. It echoed unnaturally, reverberating across the walls, making it impossible to tell where it came from. A shadow slipped out from behind one of the stone pillars, but it didn’t walk—it slithered, like smoke wearing skin.

Reana’s breath caught in her throat as her claws subconsciously elongated, feeling the threat from that person.

Slowly, the figure stepped into view, but unlike normal mortals, this one was long, unnaturally so...like a shadow.

He was cloaked in something that shimmered like obsidian fire. His eyes glowed like molten silver, and every step he took felt like the earth itself exhaled in fear.

Kira flinched, even the knife trembled in her hand but she stood her ground. "O– one more step and I’ll bleed you." She stuttered even though she didn’t mean to.

"Oh, please do," the figure purred. "I haven’t tasted mortal blood in eons." The shadow stretched, bending backward in a grotesque, fluid motion as if its joints weren’t bound by bones. "Ugh! Earth is so underrated. The mortals here always smell of fear, desperation, and unresolved dreams. Quite the cocktail."

Reana stepped out from behind Kira, eyes locked on the creature. Her voice was steel wrapped in quiet fire. "Who are you?"

The being snapped back upright, grin wide and gleaming. "Ah, born beneath the threefold nights, a child of shadow wrapped in light." He chuckled, amused.

"You didn’t answer me."

"No," he said softly. "But I will. Eventually."

His eyes flicked to Kira, then to Reana again, lingering there. "Your scent is so wrong. Half-mortal, half—hmm." He leaned in slightly, inhaling. "Half... mistake? Or was it prophecy? Even I can’t tell."

Kira snarled. "Back away from her."

"Don’t be rude," just as he finished, Kira’s outstretched dagger caught fire and evaporated into embers.

Kira gasped, stumbling back, her hand scorched, daggerless.

"Careful!" Reana reached forward, anchoring her in place with her clawed palm on Kira’s back.

The shadow blinked, amused but didn’t push it.

Reana finally understood that this person wasn’t just gifted like she’d assumed. This person might be from the batch of those who tried to attack Ryder the other day.

And if she was right, then neither she nor her pack would be able to stay alive.

Her voice dropped. "Who are you, and what do you want?"

He didn’t speak. Instead, he morphed. Just now, he was a shadow and the next, he was a man, wearing all black silk and crimson smoke, eyes like molten ruby, and a wicked grin on his lips. His long black hair was braided in places.

"I go by many names, Luna Reana," he lifted his jeweled fingers, pointing it at her, "Some call me Demon god Vaurenox, Lord of the Ninth Hollow. Harbinger of Shadows. And your lover’s only hope of living."

Reana froze.

Her claws twitched at her sides.

Kira inhaled sharply, eyes widening. "He knows your name." She mumbled under her breath.

But Reana wasn’t listening. Her blood rang like war drums in her ears. Ryder’s only hope of living?...

Her head snapped towards him. "How do you—" she began, but Vaurenox waved his hand lazily, silencing the air between them. Words fled her mouth like frightened birds.

"Ai, I’m not a fan of long, meaningless talks," he whispered, stepping closer, boots not making a sound on the stone floor.

Standing before her, his gaze drifted to her stomach and he clicked his tongue. "So small," he murmured, eyes narrowing. "And yet, it holds the weight of two fates. One already doomed. The other... still undecided."

Reana instinctively wrapped her arms around her belly. Her stance turned defensive.

"Stay away from me," she hissed.

"Oh, little Luna," Vaurenox said with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. "You misunderstand. If I wanted to hurt you, you’d be dust in the wind." 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

Behind her, Kira growled low. She was scared witless, yet she stepped forward, loyal despite the odds. "If you think we’ll let you touch her—"

"You’ll what, exactly?" Vaurenox interrupted, his tone suddenly cold as the grave. He tilted his head slightly, and the entire corridor dimmed.

"Bleed for her?"

Reana and Kira flinched.

"Die for her? Sweet. Loyal. Mortal. Tragic.

He turned back to Reana, the cruel smile returning. "I come with no weapons," he said softly, almost mockingly. "Only choices. A riddle, if you will."

"I don’t want your riddles," Reana spat.

"But you’ll need them." His smile widened. "Because while you stand here, filled with righteous fire and sharp little claws, your mate is making a choice of his own. One that ends in ruin... unless you make a different one first."

Reana’s jaw clenched. Her breath trembled with fury and fear. "What do you mean?"

Vaurenox stepped back, his arms outstretched theatrically as if on a stage. "Oh, decisions, decisions," he sang. "One path leads to death. The other to destruction. But between them... a thread. One I offer, for a price."

Kira whispered, "Don’t trust him, Luna. Whatever he is... he reeks of ancient lies."

But Reana wasn’t blinking. Her heart hammered with panic. Ryder. My mate. What is he walking into?

Vaurenox’s crimson eyes gleamed. "Don’t want to save the father of your child, Luna?"