The Alpha King's Witch Bride
Chapter 173: _Confronting The Gamma

Chapter 173: _Confronting The Gamma

Marcellus’ POV

*****

The stench of scorched silk and charred flesh lingered in the air like a bitter perfume.

Marcellus stood over Madame Greyheart’s crumpled body, her lifeless eyes still wide with terror, her mouth twisted in a final, silent scream. A twitch of a smile played on his lips.

He clenched his fists slowly, feeling the raw pulse of power snake through his veins like liquid fire. His magic, once dulled after Kaelos attacked him at the Charity Ball and left him badly injured, now surged renewed with the life force he’d stolen.

The last trace of her soul had faded minutes ago. At least her strong werewolf bloodline would no longer go to waste in her weak frame.

"Pathetic woman," He murmured, his voice calm but filled with disdain.

He straightened his spine and lifted his chin, taking one last look at the ruined chamber. Blood had seeped into the carpet on the floor, and the lingering scent of death still hung in the air.

With a slow breath, Marcellus raised his palm and whispered a cleansing incantation. His fingers sparked faintly, and a cool sweep of light erased all traces of blood on his skin, his clothes, and the stone floor.

By the time the final flicker vanished, not a drop of red remained.

He turned sharply on his heel, leaving the chamber without a second glance. Celine or whoever was coming into this room would be in for a real treat once they saw Greyheart’s pitiful dead body here.

*****

The Gamma’s manor stood quiet in the aftermath of the chaos, its guards hesitant and alert.

Word of Zane’s injury had spread quickly, and no one dared confront the man unless absolutely necessary. The few staff that remained moved like ghosts.

But as for Marcellus... he entered without waiting for permission, slipping through the guards and their defenses easily with help from his magic.

Inside the living room, Gamma Zane sat hunched on a leather couch, his right arm crudely bandaged and suspended in a sling. Sweat dropped in beads from his forehead, and his face was twisted in a snarl as he berated a trembling servant girl.

"You call this tea? It tastes like piss and burnt herbs! Get out of my sight!" He barked, glaring at her with pure disdain.

The girl stumbled away, nearly dropping the tray in her haste. Zane leaned back and let out a sharp grunt of pain, his lips trembling as he hissed a curse.

"Maybe if your spine had more steel than your tongue, you wouldn’t have lost the hand," Marcellus said smoothly, stepping inside with a calm smile as he scrutinized the man.

Zane stiffened, his good hand twitching for the dagger strapped to his waist. "What the hell do you want, traitor? If you haven’t noticed, I don’t have a witch wife that you can come in here and snatch."

Marcellus smiled, more amused than annoyed. He walked further into the room, his posture relaxed but his eyes gleaming with cold light.

"Ah, I see Kaelos’ little display has left more than just physical scars. Don’t worry, I’m not here to gloat over your... misfortune."

Even though he said that his gaze lingered on Zane’s cleanly cut hand in silent mockery.

Zane scoffed. "Then what? You’ve come to cry about your own public humiliation? Or maybe you’re here to lick his boots some more."

"Interesting choice of words there, Gamma Zane," Marcellus said, ignoring the insult. He stopped in front of him, letting his shadow stretch long across the floor like a blanket. "You know, I was watching the crowd when that video played. The silence... the collective gasps..."

He leaned in slightly, his voice dropping coldly. "But you didn’t look surprised, Zane. You looked... smug."

Gamma Zane’s jaw twitched but he still spoke with a grunt. "What are you implying?"

"Nothing," Marcellus said innocently, raising his hands. "Just saying that it takes a very specific kind of man to act so bold moments before getting his hand sliced off."

Zane glared at him, his lips curling into a bitter sneer. "You think I had anything to do with that? With the leak? That was Celine’s doing, everyone knows it."

Marcellus stepped closer, smirking slightly. "Of course. But a woman like Celine needs tools. Allies. Someone on the inside to whisper when the time is right. To provide reassurance and a fickle sense of power."

Zane looked away, clenching his jaw.

"You think Kaelos won’t eventually question how that footage was even captured, let alone leaked?" Marcellus continued his tone soft and laced with more mockery. "Magic like that doesn’t happen by accident."

"Get to your point, Beta." Gamma Zane growled, glaring up at Marcellus.

Marcellus sat in the armchair opposite him without waiting for an invitation, crossing one leg over the other. "My point is, you’re bleeding political capital faster than you bled from that stump. You need friends."

"Friends like you?" Zane spat. "You’re the reason this whole thing spiraled. You and that half-breed witch."

Marcellus raised an eyebrow, letting the insult slide. "Careful, Zane. You’re not in a position to be making more enemies."

Zane tried to sit straighter but winced in pain from the stump. His pride and pain warred on his face.

"And what do you want, Marcellus? What’s this really about?"

Marcellus’ smile returned, but it didn’t reach his eyes.

"Let’s just say I prefer the pieces on the board to stay in motion. Kaelos is growing unstable. We both saw it. That public threat? The dungeon sentence for Odessa? It reeks of desperation."

Zane narrowed his eyes. "So what, you want to team up? Stage a coup? Overthrow the Alpha King?"

"Tsk. Don’t be so theatrical," Marcellus replied with a scoff, disgusted at the idea of working with this naive man. "But I do think it would be wise to keep a line of communication open. For the good of the pack, of course."

"You want me to trust you after what you did?" Gamma Zane raised an eyebrow, causing Marcellus to smirk.

He was impressed by the man’s ability to still pretend like the video Celine leaked was real. He knew that the Gamma knew something.

He had discovered as much during Madame Greyheart’s call before he killed her. The question was... how long was the Gamma willing to go to protect the lie when the people involved were dropping one by one already?

Marcellus leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "You don’t have to trust me. You just have to fear what happens if you don’t."

Zane’s face darkened, furrowing his eyebrows. "Are you threatening me?"

"I’m just pointing out that Kaelos isn’t the only dangerous man in this pack," Marcellus said, his voice lowering to a whisper. "And unlike him, I don’t need claws to draw blood."

The fire at the fireplace crackled, adding to the tension as it cast an ominous yellow light on Marcellus’ face. Zane’s breathing was heavy and uneven. The sweat dripping on his face had multiplied.

Marcellus watched how much effect he was having on the Gamma and chuckled softly before rising to his feet, smoothing down the front of his coat.

"Get some rest, Gamma. You’ll need it. The pack’s watching. The covens of the continent are restless. And Kaelos... Kaelos is breaking."

He turned to leave but paused at the door.

"Oh, and one more thing. If I were you, I’d be careful what you say about Odessa. Things have a funny way of circling back." He glanced over his shoulder at that last line, smirking mischievously at the Gamma.

Without waiting for a reply, he walked out, his boots echoing on the marble floor.

Zane slumped back in his chair, breathing hard. Behind his bandaged stump, his remaining fingers trembled... All of which Marcellus was able to hear.

Once Marcellus got outside the manor, he allowed a smile to stretch across his face.

When he got back to his residence, he met Regina and Cullen waiting for him in the living room, the latter glaring at the former as she drank from a glass of wine with a sly smirk.

When they heard him walk in, their heads swerved to him in unison after which Regina raised an eyebrow curiously.

"Someone is flowing with fresh life force." She mused, giving one final glance to Cullen before she got to her feet and walked toward Marcellus. "Who’s the unfortunate soul?"

Marcellus only smirked slightly as he stretched out his hands, grabbing the wine bottle from her hands and pouring himself a glass.

When he took a sip, he sighed satisfactorily before he remarked. "Celine’s mother."

No sooner had those words left Marcellus’ mouth than Regina spat out the wine in her mouth, forcing Marcellus to swerve his head to her with a frown.

"That wine is over a thousand grand. You better have a good excuse for wasting it." He growled, tilting his head.

"You’ve just single-handedly set off a domino effect that might offset the political climate of the packs of North America," Regina responded solemnly, but that only piqued Marcellus’ interest.