Serena's Pov The moment I stepped out of the hidden passage, the sharp coldness of night bit into my skin. I wrapped Damien’s oversized jacket tighter around my body and crept through the woods like a ghost…..silent, cautious, and haunted by everything I had just experienced.He was alive.That one truth burned in my veins, lighting a fire in the darkness I’d been trapped in for weeks. But now more than ever, I had to move carefully. Because if I made a mistake or if I slipped up, or hesitated for even a second…I wouldn’t just be jeopardizing myself. I’d be jeopardizing Damien, his men, and every plan that had been so meticulously woven underground.I couldn’t be the reason he wavered.So I moved quickly, slipping past the old trail, weaving between the trees until I reached the back wall of Vincent’s estate. My heart pounded as I scaled the side, using the twisted ivy roots like makeshift ropes until I reached the window to my quarters.I paused, listening to know if everywhere was
Serena's Pov I couldn’t move. For a moment, I stood frozen in the dark corridor, staring at him like a ghost had risen from the dead. Damien was alive. Standing in front of me like a storm cloaked in shadows. His presence was overwhelmingly calm, deadly, and utterly real.My chest tightened, and before I could even process the mess of emotions crashing inside me, I ran into his arms.“You’re alive,” I breathed out in a sob, my fingers curling tightly into the back of his shirt. “You’re really alive—”He caught me mid-fall as I crumbled into him, his arms locking around my waist like chains that held me to the only real thing I had left in this world. I was shaking, sobbing, gripping him as though he might disappear if I loosened my hold.“Serena,” he whispered against my hair, his voice rough with emotion, “I’m here. I’ve got you. You’re safe.”“I thought you didn't survive it.” My knees gave way, and he carried me without question, pulling me away from the corridor before anyone cou
Damien's Pov It's been weeks since I watched things unfold like a nightmare before me, knowing exactly how many people were against me since the unfortunate incident that happened.We've been here since in disguise.The underground room was cold, sterile, but heavily fortified, exactly how I wanted it. No one knew I was here, no one suspected a thing. Out there, they thought I was either dead or lying somewhere, rotting away, waiting for a so-called cure. The perfect illusion. The perfect trap for my enemies to fall into complacency.But I wasn’t dead. Far from it.I was here, surrounded by my most trusted—Zayn by my side, his face drawn but sharp with focus; technicians hunched over monitors, hackers typing furiously, their screens flashing with lines of code and maps of the city. This was my real battlefield now…..one of shadows and whispers, not gunfire and blood.My body was still weak, the wolf’s bane coursing through my veins like poison. It drained me, left me barely able to h
Serena's Pov Throughout the cold night, I couldn't help but think something wasn't right about Syndicate Fangs, the most Powerful Pack to exist. The collapse was sudden, like watching a mountain crumble into dust right before my eyes. Syndicate Fangs, the place that had once roared with power and respect, was now gasping for air — falling apart piece by piece, like a once-majestic beast clawing desperately at life.I didn’t understand it. I really didn’t.Where was Zayn? Damien’s Beta, his right hand, the one I trusted would stand by my mate’s side and fight tooth and nail? Instead, there was silence. Nothing but whispered rumors and furtive glances. Zayn was nowhere to be found when the pack started fracturing. No rallies, no order, no commands. It was like he had vanished, swallowed by the same darkness that was swallowing Damien.I sat in my room, clutching a cold cup of water, trying to piece together the fragments of what was happening outside these walls. Everyone seemed to m
Serena's Pov The day came faster than I expected. One moment I was locked away in a cold, empty room, feeling smaller than a broken twig beneath heavy boots, and the next, Vincent’s guards stormed in without warning. They grabbed me roughly by the arms, their grip was hard and unforgiving. There was no room to argue. I was dragged out, scrubbed like dirt off the floor, and dressed in a white gown that felt too tight and delicate for someone who had been broken and bruised inside. My skin was still raw from scrapes and burns, but the cold water rinsed it away in a way that made me feel emptier. Clean on the outside but hollow on the inside.I looked at my reflection in the cracked mirror, hardly recognizing the person staring back. My hair was pulled back tight, my face pale, but my eyes—they were still sharp. The fire inside hadn’t died yet, not completely. Vincent’s guards didn’t give me a chance to prepare. They marched me down long, cold corridors, past familiar faces that look
Serena's Pov I woke up to the sunlight pouring into the room like a mockery against my skin, yet nothing about it comforted me. If anything, it felt like a spotlight on a prisoner being dragged out for execution. I didn’t even get the luxury of dressing myself. Vincent’s guards stormed in like I was some rag doll they could toss about. Their hands were rough as they dragged me to a bath that stank of lilac and control. They scrubbed my skin until I felt raw, like they were trying to erase who I was and polish me into something more…presentable and suitable.I wanted to scream. Instead, I bit my tongue, saving the fire for the moment that mattered.They dressed me in white. A lace dress, long and flowing, something that would’ve been beautiful if I wasn’t wearing it like a shroud. A damn bridal gown.“What is this?” I croaked, my voice rasping like I hadn’t used it in years, even though I’d been crying myself dry.One of the guards grunted, "Vincent's orders. You're to meet him."My
Serena's Pov I looked like a rat cornered in a den of lions. Every breath I took was laced with fear, every step a prayer I didn’t know how to form. Weak, trembling, hollow—but I didn’t let the terror consume me. I couldn’t when the man I loved more than life itself was hanging by a thread, possibly without his wolf, possibly dying. Damien. very devil I once betrayed. Vincent.His cold eyes never wavered, not for a second. I could feel his rage simmering just beneath the surface, and I knew that one wrong word from me would ignite a firestorm I wasn’t sure I’d survive.“I’ll do anything,” I said quietly, voice shaking like a dry leaf in winter. “Just don’t let Damien die. Please. I don’t care what you ask of me—just… as long as it doesn’t involve me or him dying, I’ll do it.”There was a deadly pause. Then a mocking chuckle. Vincent’s palm shot across my face with a force so brutal I staggered back into the cold, stone wall. My vision blurred with tears and pain.“Anything?” Vincent
Serena's Pov I knew I was doomed the second Damien’s body hit the ground.Everything around me felt like it collapsed. My vision blurred, my heart roared in my chest, and the entire world moved in slow motion. He was there one second, burning, bleeding, groaning and the next, he was limp. My mate. My stubborn, infuriating, infallible Alpha mate, now brought to his knees by a wire and a trap meant for me.But I knew somewhere deep in my bones that this wasn’t about just me. It never had been. This was bigger like a war and I was the battlefield.“Save him! Please, just save him!” I screamed, crawling to Damien’s side, ignoring the zaps of residual electricity that sparked near his boots. My voice cracked as I held onto him, trembling, broken. My fingers shook as they reached for his cheek, which was losing color fast.But he wouldn’t even open his eyes.“He needs a wolfsbane antidote!” the Alpha of Blue Blood Pack announced, pretending to look concerned, but his smirk betrayed him. Th
Damien’s POVFrom the moment I stepped foot into the Blue Blood Pack’s territory, my wolf hadn’t stopped pacing.Something was wrong.Very wrong.Lilith had insisted—no, forced—me to convince Serena to perform tonight. She played it off like some grand gesture to improve pack relations. “It would be a good look,” she’d said. “Let them see your Luna’s strength and her grace. Make them respect her for once in her pathetic life.”Bullshit.Lilith never did anything without a plan curled behind her lips like smoke behind mirrors. And the minute Serena agreed to perform, my gut coiled so tightly I could barely breathe.I told myself I’d stay close and sharp. I wasn’t here to play dress-up or enjoy the celebration.I was here to guard what was mine.People flocked toward me the moment I arrived. Warriors, Alphas, dignitaries. A few even offered me the front row seat, center of attention. But I waved them off. I didn’t care about politics. I needed my eyes on the stage. On her alone.And sh