Chapter two: the choice between duty and instinct.

Chapter two: The choice between duty and instinct.

 

   Lately, the silence in the pack was a heavy one, and it was suffocating me with its weight.

 

   It had been like this for days, ever since  my birthday party and mating ceremony, a day that changed my life forever.

 

   Since then, everything had been so weird in the pack. Nobody wanted to speak to me, everyone ignored me, my mum included.

 

   I curled tighter into myself the  blanket I had dragged to the back corner of pack house, as far away from everyone as possible.

 

   There was something that I had constantly been feeling since that day.

 

   Shame.

 

   Shame for the forbidden warmth that bloomed in my chest whenever Cassian was near.

 

   Shame for the traitorous yearning of my wolf to whisper his name in the deepest parts of my soul.

 

   The mate my wolf craved was a man forbidden.

 

   He had married my mum, and made her feel like a woman again, and now, he was also an unbearable, impossible ache in my heart.

 

   I pressed my forehead against my knees, fighting back the hot sting of tears. This was my fault. My forbidden feelings, my traitorous wolf, were disrupting the harmony of the pack.

 

   I shifted restlessly, the confines of the space suddenly feeling far too small. I needed to move, to run, to escape the suffocating weight of my thoughts. Pushing myself to my feet, I stumbled towards the  entrance.

 

   As I stepped out, I saw Mira and a small group of other she-wolves gathered near the training grounds. They were laughing. They hadn’t seen me yet, their backs were turned, and for a moment, I considered going back inside, disappearing into the comforting darkness.

 

   But something compelled me to stay.

 

   I slowed my steps, pretending to be occupied with adjusting my dress, hoping to pass unnoticed.

 

   But the opposite happened, as Mira’s laughter abruptly cut off. The group turned, their eyes locking on me.

 

   Mira, with her sharp eyes and even sharper tongue, was always the first to speak. “Seraphina,” she said, her voice carefully neutral.

 

   I forced a weak smile, trying to seem normal. “Mira,” I acknowledged, nodding to the others, whose faces remained carefully blank.

 

   The silence stretched, thick and uncomfortable. It was Mira who broke it again, stepping forward.

 

   “Have you… have you spoken to Cassian yet?” she asked, the question hanging heavy in the air between us.

 

   My heart clenched. Spoken to him about what? About the forbidden fire that burned between us?

 

   About the impossible longing that was tearing me apart?

 

   About the fact that my very existence was now a threat to his position, to the pack’s stability?

 

   I swallowed hard, the lie catching in my throat. “No,” I managed to whisper, barely audible. “Not yet.”

 

   Mira’s expression didn’t change, but I saw a flicker of something in her eyes – pity? Scorn?

 

   “The elders met with him today,” she stated, her voice still carefully controlled. “It was… a long meeting.”

 

   My breath hitched. I hadn’t known about the meeting. Cassian had been withdrawn, preoccupied these past few days.

 

   The elders. Of course. They had seemed against it the last time.

 

   A cold dread seeped into my bones. This was it, then.

 

   “What… what did they say?” I asked, the words barely a whisper. The other she-wolves shifted, their faces tightening with a mixture of curiosity and discomfort.

 

   Mira hesitated for a fraction of a second.

 

   “They reminded him of tradition,” she said, her voice now laced with a subtle edge. “Of the importance of maintaining the purity of the Alpha line. Of…inappropriate unions.”

 

   She didn't need to say it outright. We all knew what she meant.

 

   Inappropriate union.

 

   The taboo.

 

   Me and Cassian.

 

   Tears pricked at my eyes, but I blinked them back fiercely. I wouldn't give them the satisfaction of seeing my weakness.

 

   I straightened my spine, trying to seem perfectly normal. “And?” I pressed, my voice still trembling slightly despite my efforts. “What else did they say?”

 

   Mira exchanged a quick glance with one of the other she-wolves, a silent communication.

 

   Then she turned back to me, her gaze hardening. “They said… some things need to be considered. For the good of the pack. Sometimes,” she continued, her voice taking on a different tone, “personal desires need to be…suppressed. Especially when they are…disruptive. To the pack’s harmony.”

 

   Disruptive. That’s what I was.

 

   A disruption.

 

   Hot tears finally spilled over, blurring my vision. Shame burned in my chest, choking me, stealing my voice. I wanted to scream, to lash out.

 

   But the words wouldn’t come.

 

   Mira stepped closer, her voice dropping to a low, venomous whisper, audible only to me.

 

   “Do you even realize what you’re doing, Seraphina? You’re jeopardizing everything. Cassian is meant to lead this pack,  to secure our future and not…not get tangled up in some…” she trailed off, her lip curling in disgust, “some inappropriate…attachment to his stepdaughter.”

 

   The word “attachment” stung like a slap. That’s all it was to them, wasn’t it? An inappropriate attachment.

 

   They couldn’t possibly comprehend the depth of the bond, the undeniable force of nature that was pulling me towards Cassian.

 

   It was a force I hadn’t asked for, hadn’t wanted, but couldn’t deny.

 

   Before I could choke out a response, a new scent drifted on the wind, cutting through the heavy, suffocating atmosphere.

 

   It was unfamiliar, yet strangely…familiar at the same time.

 

   The she-wolves tensed, their heads snapping up, their expressions shifting from judgmental to alert.

 

   A figure emerged from the trees, stepping  closer.

 

   His eyes scanned the group, lingering for a moment on Mira and Lena before settling on me, widening slightly in surprise, or perhaps… something else.

 

   Elias.

 

   Our closest rival.

 

   He offered a slow, almost mocking smile, his gaze still fixed on me. “Well, well,” he drawled, his voice deep, cutting through the tension.

 

   “Look what we have here. Seraphina, isn’t it? I heard whispers…interesting whispers… about a certain…complication within the pack.”

 

   My heart pounded in my chest, a cold knot of dread forming in my stomach.

 

   Whispers? He knew. He knew about me and Cassian.

 

   The shame, the judgment, the pack’s disapproval… it had gone beyond our borders, becoming pack gossip.

 

   Elias took a step closer, his gaze unwavering, predatory. “I understand Alpha Cassian is facing… a difficult choice,” he continued, his smile widening, revealing a flash of white teeth. “Between duty and… instinct, perhaps?”

 

   He paused, letting the words hang in the air, then his eyes flickered to Mira and Lena, a subtle dismissal. “Though, I doubt these lovely ladies truly understand the complexities of such…urges.”

 

   Mira bristled, her hands clenching into fists, but she remained silent, her eyes narrowed on Elias.

 

   He turned back to me, his gaze locking with mine, intense, unnerving.

 

   “But I,” he said, his voice dropping to a low murmur, “I understand the urges perfectly well, Seraphina. And I have a proposition for you.”

 

   He stepped even closer, until he was just a breath away.

 

   He leaned in, his breath warm against my ear, his voice was a seductive whisper that sent shivers down my spine, but not of the good kind.

 

   “If Cassian,” he murmured, his words laced with a cruel satisfaction, “chooses duty… if he rejects you, Seraphina… then you are free, are you not? Free to choose your own path. And perhaps,” he straightened, his stormy eyes gleaming with mischief, “perhaps your path could lead you… to me. Perhaps,” he repeated, his voice now ringing with a dangerous certainty, “you could be my Luna instead.”