Chapter 5: The Fated Mate’s Venom

“Well, well, well...” Seraphina said again, her voice dripping with fake sweetness. “Am I interrupting the show?”

I froze under Draven, my dress still bunched around my waist, his body covering mine as heat rushed to my face as I tried to push him off. “Get off me.”

Draven sat up fast, shielding me with his body. “Seraphina. This isn’t the time.”

She laughed, leaning against the doorframe like she owned the whole mansion. She's tall, elegant, with that sleek black hair and icy blue eyes that looked at me like I was dirt on her shoe. “Oh please. The whole pack is downstairs waiting for their new Luna and here you are, balls deep in your little human toy again. How charming.”

“Shut your mouth,” I snapped, yanking my dress up and sliding off the bed. My hands wouldn’t stop shaking. “This has nothing to do with you.”

Seraphina’s smirk grew wider. “Everything about him has to do with me now, sweetie. I’m his fated mate. You’re just the warm hole he uses when he feels guilty about his daddy issues.”

Draven stood up and spoke with his sharp voice. “That’s enough, Seraphina.”

“Is it?” She stepped further into the room, her eyes locked on me. “Look at her, Draven. There are scars on her back, tears on her face. How pathetic! Did you tell her yet that you can never make her Luna? That humans are only good for one thing in this world?”

I grabbed my bag from the floor, my heart hammering as I did. “I’m leaving right now. I don’t need this.”

“You’re not going anywhere,” Draven said, blocking the door before I could reach it.

Seraphina clapped her hands slowly. “Yes, stay, little breeder. The pack would love to hear how the big bad Alpha Wolf has been hiding a human whore in his bed for two years. Should I call them up here and give them a show?”

“Stop it,” Draven growled at her, but he didn’t move from the doorway.

Tears were already brimming my eyes. I turned to him with my voice breaking. “Let me go, Draven. I can’t do this anymore. I want to go out of this mansion, out of your life. You’ve humiliated me enough.”

He grabbed my arm firm enough that I couldn’t pull away. “The streets are dangerous for you. You know too many pack secrets. Rival wolves would snatch you up in minutes just to use you against me.”

“I’d rather take my chances out there than stay here and watch you play house with her,” I shot back, yanking my arm. “Let! Me! Go.”

Seraphina crossed her arms, enjoying every second. “Listen to your Alpha, Buttercup. Run away and you’ll end up right back where he found you...on your knees for whoever pays the most. At least here you get fucked by someone powerful.”

I lunged toward her before I could think. Draven caught me around the waist and pulled me back against his chest. “Enough! Both of you.”

“Let me go!” I struggled in his hold, tears falling freely now. “I hate you. I hate both of you.”

Seraphina smiled sweetly. “Good. Hate keeps you alive. Maybe you’ll finally understand your place.” She turned to Draven. “I’ll be waiting downstairs. Don’t take too long with your pet.” Then she walked out, leaving the door open.

I kept pushing at Draven’s chest. “Move. I’m serious this time. I’m packing my shit and I’m gone.”

He didn’t budge. His eyes looked tired and conflicted. “You leave this mansion and you’re dead within a week. I won’t let that happen, not after everything that has happened to you.”

“Everything?” I laughed through the tears. “You mean after you saved me, fucked me, made me love you, and then picked her? That's everything?”

Draven’s grip loosened a little but he still blocked my path. “I’m trying to protect you.”

“By keeping me trapped here like some secret slut while she gets everything?” My voice rose. “I want answers, Draven...Real ones. Not your half-truths before you run back to her bed.”

He opened his mouth but closed it again. Instead he pulled me closer, his forehead resting against mine. “Just...stay tonight. We’ll figure this out.”

I shoved him hard. “No. I’m done figuring. I’m leaving.”

Before I could step around him, he used that Alpha tone again. “You will stay in this mansion, Buttercup. That’s an order.”

My feet stopped moving even though I fought it with everything I had. “I hate when you do that.”

“I know,” he whispered. “But I can’t lose you to the streets.”

He turned and walked out, locking the door from the outside. I stood there alone, breathing hard with rage growing in my chest.

I waited a few minutes, then quietly opened the window and listened... I heard footsteps, voices. I moved to the connecting door that led to the hallway balcony and pressed my ear against it.

Draven’s voice carried up from the corridor below. “We need to talk about this bond, Seraphina.”

Seraphina answered, her voice was smooth. “What’s there to talk about? You felt the pull the moment we met. The Goddess doesn’t make mistakes.”

Then Draven spoke lower. “It’s not that simple. There’s...a double mate situation here. I feel it with her too. With Buttercup.”

My heart stopped and I gasped.

Seraphina laughed coldly. “A human? Don’t be ridiculous. But if you’re serious, we handle it quietly. She can never know the full truth about our double mate bond.”

I covered my mouth with the back of my palm, as shock froze me in place.

They kept talking, but I couldn’t move.