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Chapter 4

Author: Selene Blackwood
The following days fell into a grim routine.

Kael became a nocturnal creature, disposing of me piece by piece across his vast territory.

But even Kael couldn’t risk everything.

But the city and the surrounding woods were watched by rival packs. It wasn’t easy. My head remained in the freezer.

Back at the mansion, Mira obeyed.

She never disobeyed him. Not once.

She only came downstairs when Kael was gone.

Each time, she moved the same way.

She would stand in front of the basement freezer, her tiny hand pressed flat against the cold metal.

Then she would run.

She survived on whatever Kael left behind—dry cereal, sealed snacks, bottles of water abandoned on the stairs like scraps for a pet.

The isolation would have broken a grown wolf. For a pup, it was a slow suffocation.

And I could do nothing but watch.

The pain inside me twisted into something deeper than grief—something that pulled at me, dragging my awareness away from the mansion.

The last remnants of a pack bond that had never truly protected me.

It led me home.

To my parents’ estate.

Warm light spilled from the windows. Laughter echoed faintly inside.

I slipped through the walls.

Seraphina was sprawled across a plush sofa, pouting.

“You promised! The ski lodge trip was already planned!”

She was a year older than me, but she’d perfected the art of the perpetual pup.

Father chuckled, indulgent and soft in a way I had never heard directed at me.

“I mixed up the dates, my little wolf. The quarterly meeting with Alpha Volkov is tomorrow. We’ll finally go check on Elena. We can leave the day after.”

Caden didn’t even look up from his papers.

“I can handle the meeting,” he said flatly. “You should take Seraphina. She’s been looking forward to it.”

“Yes! Exactly!” Seraphina kicked her feet lightly, her smile immediate.

A hollow ache opened inside me.

I’d never been allowed such willful, open need.

My needs had always been inconvenient, a disruption to the serene life they’d built with her.

“Well…” Father hesitated. “We really should see Elena. It’s been a while.”

Seraphina’s expression darkened instantly.

She crossed her arms.

“Fine. Go. She is your real daughter, after all.”

Father winced.

“Don’t say that, Sera. This is about politics. We can’t appear neglectful of the alliance.”

Mother nodded in agreement.

“The Volkov alliance is too important. We’ll make it quick. I’ll take you shopping tomorrow instead, darling. Your father can attend the meeting alone.”

Seraphina’s smile returned. The crisis was averted.

I watched from the ceiling, a silent, cold spectator.

Mother suddenly glanced around, her hand going to her chest. “Oh.”

Caden glanced up. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing… just a sudden tightness.” She pressed her palm against her sternum. “A strange pang.”

They laughed it off.

Seraphina leaned in, distracting her with chatter and praise.

But Mother didn’t stop rubbing her chest.

That night, the house fell quiet.

In the darkness of their bedroom, Mother shifted restlessly.

“Alistair… are you awake?”

A low grunt. “I am now. What is it?”

“I can’t settle. This feeling… it’s like a knot in my chest.”

“Worried about the Volkov deal? It’s standard.”

“No, not that.” She sat up. “It’s… I don’t know.”

Father sighed in the darkness. “Is it about Elena? Her call the other night got under your skin.”

Mother didn’t deny it. Her hand pressed harder against her chest.

“It sounded different,” she whispered. “Not like before.”

“She’s fine,” Father said dismissively. “She’s mated to an Alpha. She’s living the life we secured for her. She has everything.”

Mother was silent for a long time. “I’m calling her.”

She reached for her phone.

My number. No answer.

Kael’s number. Busy.

Her unease sharpened.

Finally, with a tight breath, she switched to video call.

Mira’s smartwatch. The call connected instantly.

The screen shook. Dark. Unsteady.

All that could be heard was small, uneven breathing.

“Mira, sweetheart?” Mother’s voice softened, forced and unfamiliar. “Where’s your mama? Put her on for me.”

The view tilted. A door creaked. Soft footsteps.

The camera bounced with each step.

“Mira? Go find your mother, darling.”

No answer.

There was a grunt of effort. A heavy, metallic thunk.

The screen steadied in front of a large, industrial freezer.

Mother frowned. “What are you—”

The lid jerked open.

The camera adjusted. Focused.

Filling the screen, crystalized with frost, wide with frozen terror, was my eye.

Mira’s tiny, trembling whisper broke through.

“Mama… is right here.”
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