Chapter 3 A New Life

Seraphina's POV

Those emerald eyes that had once made my pulse race now only stirred revulsion. His touch? A brand of betrayal I would never forget.

"You don't own me, Darius," I said, my voice glacial. "The rejection stands."

"Like hell it does!" His roar shook the crystal chandeliers above us. The scent of his rage—burnt cedar and lightning—filled the space between us.

I didn't flinch. "You made your choice when you brought her into our lives. Did you really think I would just... wait around like some pathetic omega?"

His expression shifted—that calculated softening I knew too well. The same look he'd worn while whispering sweet nothings before the gasoline soaked my wedding gown.

"I had no choice, Sera," he murmured, reaching for me. "She was my second-chance mate. The bond—"

"Then keep your bond." I stepped back, my wolf snarling. "Make her your Luna."

His golden eyes flashed. "There will never be another Luna but you!"

If I hadn't lived through the flames, I might have believed him. But I knew the truth—he didn't want me. He wanted my bloodline. My pack's territory. The power that came with a Luminara at his side.

As if on cue, Vesper inserted herself between us with theatrical timing.

"Please don't fight because of me," she whimpered, those practiced tears glistening like cheap glass. In my past life, this performance had fooled them all—turned me into the jealous Luna while she played the wounded dove.

"I never wanted to take your place as Luna, Miss Luminara." Her voice was honey laced with arsenic. "All I ask is a small corner in Darius's life. I'd be content as the lowest maid in his household, if only I could watch him from afar."

Darius's arms encircled her protectively. "You'll never be a maid," he crooned, his thumb brushing away her crocodile tears. "After all you've suffered? The physician said you need rest."

The script was painfully familiar.

First, she'd ask for nothing but his presence.

Then she'd "temporarily" move into his guest wing.

Finally, she'd be in his bed—while I was out securing his Alpha succession, she'd be securing her position between his sheets.

I would never forget the day I burst into his chambers excitedly with the King's signed decree, only to find them rutting like animals on what should have been our wedding bed. The parchment had slipped from my fingers as his teeth sank into her neck instead of mine.

Not again.

Never again.

"Save the theatrics," I said, my voice colder than a winter moon. "The engagement is over. No one stands between you two now."

Luna Soraya lunged forward, her manicured claws digging into my forearm. "Seraphina, please don't do this!" The scent of her desperation—overripe roses and fear—clung to my skin. "Think of our century-old alliance! You and Darius have been friends since—"

"How curious." I peeled her fingers away one by one. "I don't recall this concern when your son brought his whore to our bonding ceremony."

The silence was absolute.

Alpha Julian turned to my father, his voice ragged. "Bastian, you can't allow this madness!"

My father didn't even blink. "My daughter speaks with my voice." His Alpha power rolled through the hall like thunder, making lesser wolves cower. "The alliance ends today."

And Darius?

The way his golden-boy facade shattered—the raw, unfiltered panic in his eyes—

Almost made the flames worth enduring.

The car ride home was silent except for the steady hum of the engine. My mother's warm hand closed over mine, her thumb brushing gentle circles across my knuckles.

"Are you alright, my darling?" she asked softly.

That was all it took.

Tears I'd held back for lifetimes came pouring out as I collapsed into her embrace, breathing in her familiar scent—honeysuckle and parchment, the comforting aroma of home.

"I'm fine, Mama," I choked out against her shoulder. "Just feeling foolish for wasting so many years."

"You're young, my heart," she murmured, stroking my hair like she had when I was a pup. "This pain will pass."

"Damn right it will," Father growled from the driver's seat, his grip tightening on the wheel. "You're a Luminara. You deserve more than some two-timing Alpha's scraps."

I clung to them both, their love a balm to my wounded pride. But as we crossed into Moonwhisper territory, I couldn't ignore the mixed reactions from our pack members—some relieved, others clearly worried about the broken alliance.

"Will rejecting the mating bond affect relations between our packs?" I finally voiced the fear gnawing at me.

Mother's laughter was like wind chimes. "Have faith in our strength, little wolf. Our pack is far more powerful than you realize."

I forced a smile, but memories surfaced unbidden—Darius's systematic weakening of Moonwhisper in my past life, his political maneuvers disguised as romantic overtures. There were threats coming that they couldn't yet imagine.

Noticing my tension, Mother cupped my face. "Tell us what's truly troubling you."

So I did.

The words spilled out in a torrent—the betrayal, the flames, my gruesome death at my own mate's hands. By the time I finished, Father had pulled the car over, his knuckles white on the steering wheel.

"I'll skin that bastard alive!" he roared, his alpha aura making the windows vibrate.

Mother's tears fell silently, her delicate frame shaking with suppressed rage.

"Dad, it was just a dream," I lied, swallowing hard. If this was their reaction to a hypothetical, what would they have done seeing my charred corpse in reality? I couldn't imagine.

I was here now, I told myself. Alive.

Thanks to the Moon Goddess's mercy.

And I would not waste this second chance.

***

The moon cast silver streaks across my bedroom as I kissed my mother's cheek. "I'll be fine," I lied, squeezing her trembling hands.

The worry lines around her eyes deepened—she still saw the little girl who had crawled into her bed after nightmares, not the woman who had survived actual flames. "Remember, we are next to you. Always."

I nodded, sending her out after giving her another hug. When the door finally clicked shut, I collapsed against it.

'Lily?'

Silence.

The bond between us—usually a vibrant, humming connection—felt frayed and thin. I reached inward, searching the shadowed corners of my mind where my wolf usually waited.

When she finally appeared, my breath caught.

Gone was the proud, golden-furred beast who had raced through moonlit forests with me. Before me crouched a spectral version of herself, fur dull and patchy, eyes dimmed to pale amber.

'Sera...' Her voice was a whisper of wind through dying leaves. 'It hurts...'

A chill ran down my spine. Rejecting Darius hadn't just broken our mating bond—it was killing my wolf.