Paubaya

Seraphina's POV

"Mortimer, I did some digging. We can actually hike the Glacier Forest. And..."

I looked up at him, burying half my face in my thick wool scarf, my eyes locked onto Alpha Mortimer. "The rangers say if we take this trail, we'll get a front-row seat to the Blood Moon. It only happens once every twenty years."

I'm a healer back at the center, and I'd pulled a string of brutal night shifts just so I could clear my schedule for this trip.

Mortimer managed to carve out two weeks to join me here in Alaska.

Honestly? I was hoping this would be the spark our dying relationship needed.

"Let's try the trail tomorrow, okay?" As I spoke, my breath puffed out in a thick white cloud, and tiny ice crystals clung to my lashes.

Since our "political alliance" of a mating started three years ago, I'd always played the part of the perfect, poised Luna. I'd never let him see this side of me—the side that actually gets excited about things.

He reached out, tucking a stray hair behind my ear, and his usual icy vibe finally thawed. A small smile tugged at his lips. "Okay."

His golden eyes glowed with an intensity that almost felt... real.

"Seraphina," he murmured, leaning down until his warm breath grazed my neck, sending a literal shiver down my spine. "Our wedding three years ago was so rushed. It was just a cold ceremony. I never gave you a real promise, a mate's promise. It wasn't fair to you."

I looked into his eyes, seeing what looked like genuine regret, and my heart skipped a beat.

He took my hand, pressing his lips to my knuckles. His voice was low and husky. "Tonight, when the moon turns red, I'm going to make it up to you. I'm giving you the ceremony you deserve."

Legend said that if an Alpha marks his mate under a Blood Moon, the mating bond becomes unbreakable. Permanently blessed.

"I want you to be my Luna for real, Seraphina."

At the heat of his touch, my wolf, Lily, let out a long, happy howl in the back of my mind. "Mate... our mate wants us..."

In that moment, I felt the thin, fragile link between us flare to life, wrapping around my heart like a vine.

The sudden sense of destiny was so overwhelming I almost drowned in the tenderness he was weaving around me.

"Okay," I whispered. "Alpha Mortimer."

The next day, a total blizzard hit. The Alaskan wind was so sharp it felt like cold steel against my skin.

I held onto Mortimer's muscular arm, unable to hide my grin. "Look at this place," I breathed. "It's like a cathedral made of ice. Who knows when we'll get to be here together again?"

Mortimer stopped and looked at me, his golden pupils bright against the swirling snow.

Suddenly, he grabbed the back of my neck and pulled me close.

"Whenever you want, Seraphina," he said, his voice dropping into that deep, masculine rumble. "We'll come back every year if that's what makes you happy."

As he spoke, he let his Alpha pheromones leak out—heavy, hot, and smelling of pine and wild earth.

It cut right through the freezing wind, slamming into my senses.

That was the scent of a fated mate.

Lily went wild in my head, whimpering and desperate for him.

I felt a rush of heat shoot down my spine, a dull ache of longing settling deep in my core.

"Mortimer..." I breathed.

He leaned in to kiss me, but the comm-link at his waist started vibrating like crazy.

The second he picked up, Vivian's frantic, sobbing voice filled the air. She was being ambushed by rogues.

Mortimer's face went bone-white. I'd never seen him look so panicked.

Without a single word or a glance back at me, he turned and sprinted back the way we came.

I reached out to grab him, but my hand caught nothing but freezing air.

By the time I struggled back to the lodge, Mortimer was already changing into tactical gear. His eyes were dark with this frantic, simmering anxiety.

Vivian—his childhood friend, the girl he'd been "protecting" for years—was clearly his only priority now.

"Viv's been taken. I have to go. Now." He didn't even look at me as he headed for the door, his words coming out in a blur.

Right before he stepped out, he seemed to remember I existed. He tossed a dismissive comment over his shoulder: "Watch the Blood Moon without me. I'll find you once I get her back."

My heart sank. Ignoring the heat still pulsing through my body from his pheromones, I chased after him. "Mortimer, wait!"

He spun around, and the sophisticated Alpha was gone. His eyes had shifted, the pupils becoming thin slits of pure, terrifying rage.

He let out a low, warning growl. "Seraphina, I chose you because you were sensible. Are you really going to let jealousy stop me from saving a life?"

It felt like a slap. I froze, my heart shattering.

He seemed to realize he'd crossed a line, a flash of guilt flickering in his eyes.

I looked down, swallowing the words I was about to say—that my heat was starting.

Instead, I just handed him his goggles. "I just wanted you to take these. The snow glare will kill your eyes otherwise."

Mortimer stiffened. He took the goggles, rubbed his temples like he was exhausted, and muttered a quick "Wait for me" before vanishing into the blizzard.

We'd been together for three years. The Mortimer I knew was always calm, always the gentleman. I'd never seen him lose his cool like that.

Lily curled up in the back of my mind, letting out a long, pathetic whine.

I sighed. Our mating had started as a drama-free, logical arrangement.