REINA“Are your eyes opened now?” Mina asked me gently. She was massaging my head as I lay in her lap. I shut my eyes, feeling her soft hands work their magic on my scalp.I let out a heavy sigh. “Mina, I honestly regret every moment I spent with Logan. I wish that I was killed that day I came. All of these would have ended.”“Reina…” Mina chuckled softly. “Listen, every story deserves an ending. We can't tell how beautiful our lives would end if we all gave up midway, would we?”I scoffed lightly. “It's easy for you to say that. You're not the one being constantly humiliated by Logan and Seraphina, to the point where the other servants now speak to me as though I'm beneath them.”“Well, I did try to warn you.” She shrugged. “But you didn't listen. Now the past is in the past. What's the way forward? Because honestly, I don't think you should still stay here. This place is completely unsafe for you.”“Unsafe is an understatement,” I affirmed. “I'm so embarrassed, I can't even show my
GUSTAVOThe chatter never stopped. For two weeks now, my brothers had found nothing better to talk about than Logan and Seraphina. It was as if the whole damned pack had shrunk down to the shape of those two, their every movement worth dissecting like we were scholars with nothing better to do. Breakfast, training, even the long ride back from the event! We could not get through a single meal or day without someone bringing up Seraphina’s laughter, or Logan’s brooding look, or the way they had stood too close at the ceremony.Tonight, sitting with them in the dining room, I felt my patience snap thread by thread. Giovanni had just started another remark about Seraphina’s dress and how Logan had been unable to take his eyes off her, when I slammed my palm against the table so hard the silver rattled.“Enough,” I said, louder than I had planned, and the room snapped quiet. Heads turned to stare. Guapo raised an eyebrow as if he had expected the interruption and Giovanni looked genuinel
SERAPHINAThe castle was quieter now that the wedding festivities have long passed. The halls no longer echo with drunken laughter or the music of harps and drums. Instead, silence hangs in the air, heavy and expectant, broken only by the footsteps of guards or the rustle of servants as they go about their duties. It is in this stillness that I find the most pleasure, because I can hear Reina’s every breath, every clumsy misstep, every falter of her spirit.I don't waste a single opportunity. The moment I catch sight of her, I humiliate her. Sometimes it is as simple as sending her to polish the floors of the grand hall only to have Tara scatter dust and ashes across them moments later, forcing her to start again while the other servants snicker behind their hands. At other times, I wait until Logan enters the room before calling her forward, ensuring he has an audience when I slap her across the face or twist her wrist under the guise of “discipline.”“Still walking with your head
LOGANShe haunted me.Reina.Even when I buried myself in Seraphina’s warmth, even when her skilled hands traced fire across my skin, when she straddled me like she was created to fulfill that role—my wolf howled for another.And I hated it.The first time it happened, Seraphina was straddling me, her lips hot against my throat. Her rhythm was perfect, the way she bounced on top of me, the sound of her moan, everything was perfect.But in the middle of that perfection, my wolf clawed against the cage of my mind, roaring a single name.> Reina.I froze and my grip tightened on Seraphina’s waist.Her moan turned into a question midway. “Log—an?”I forced my wolf down, shoved him back into the corner of my mind. “Sorry, my queen. Continue,” I muttered, rolling her beneath me, taking control again.If he wanted Reina, then I’d do the opposite. I’d drown him in Seraphina.But he wasn’t so easily silenced. He kept crying for her. Every minute of silence or loneliness—> Reina! Our mate! Rei
REINASeraphina didn't return that night, no one did. I knelt through the night, sobbing until I fell asleep. The next morning, she arrived with her entourage.“Ugh, this despicable thing is still here.” she scoffed. “What now? Pretending to be obedient? No way you expect me to believe that you've been here since yesterday, right?”“I have, my lady,” I whispered.For a brief second, surprise flashed through her eyes, then she smirked wickedly. “Oh well, get lost. I don't want to set my eyes on you. And don't even think about visiting my husband. Or I'll have your head rolling before you can say your name.”I bowed and stood up, resisting the urge to cry out in pain as I did. Then I left the chamber. The moment I did, I hurried to my room. I would shower and wash my body properly, then I would pay a visit to Logan, ignoring whatever threat Seraphina gave.Once I was done, I carefully snuck out of my room and headed to Logan's room. As I neared the door, the door creaked open, revealing
REINAMy knees had gone numb on the cold marble, but I didn’t move. I couldn't give Seraphina the satisfaction of knowing how much it hurt. I assumed that after sending me to kneel, she would have visited at least once or twice. But she didn't, and after waiting this long, I realized that I would be here until the final ceremony would be over.I stared at the patterned rug spread beneath her bed, tracing the designs with my eyes until they blurred. My mind wouldn’t be quiet. It replayed Logan’s words again and again, each syllable lodging deeper, cutting like glass.Is that not what you are? Do you want me to risk my reputation for a slave who spread her legs when I asked?My chest tightened, and I squeezed my eyes shut. "No. He didn’t mean it. He couldn’t have. He wasn’t cruel, not like Seraphina. He wouldn’t have touched me the way he did if I truly meant nothing." I told myself this over and over, like a prayer.“He only said that because of the council members, and the guests,” I