Chapter Six

~Seraphine~

Ever since I regained my voice, my loyal wolves had been restless with curiosity. They wanted answers as to why I chose silence for three long years, whether it had been deliberate or born of something deeper.

Their questions followed me like shadows. I hesitated each time they demanded to know. Seven days passed, and still, I avoided the truth. I never wanted to burden them with the ruins of my past or stain our present with old wounds.

But on this fateful day, something within me shifted. My wolf stirred gently, urging honesty. I realized it was time. Time to release everything I had buried.

I looked at them as they sat near me, letting out a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding. The gathered wolves of Shadowmere watched me silently, waiting patiently.

“You need to understand why I stayed silent all these years,” I began. “I… was broken. Rejected by the ones I was fated to love: the Triplets, the ones the Moon Goddess had promised me. They spat on me, humiliated me, and left me voiceless and broken.

I paused for a while and wiped out tears from my face. “They didn’t just leave me broken,” I said softly. “They took away the only family I had left: my mother.”

More tears slid down my face, burning as they fell. My chest ached with memories I had never allowed myself to grieve. I wiped my cheeks, my voice trembling.

“I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to forgive them,” I said, still sobbing.

A hush fell over the pack. I could see the shock in their amber eyes and the empathy that spread like fire. A low murmur rippled through the wolves gathered before me. They watched with wide eyes, some hiding tears behind their paws.

“Seraphine,” a massive black wolf with silver streaks stepped forward, bowing his head in sorrow. “We judged you unfairly. Forgive us.”

“None of us understood what you endured,” Thalor added, his amber eyes glistening.

I allowed myself a small smile. The weight on my chest lightened as my new wolf, Nytheris, stirred within me. His fur shimmered like smoke and midnight combined, eyes glinting gold with the curiosity and courage that matched my own. He nuzzled my side, vibrating with contentment.

For the first time in years, I could speak again, and I could feel my wolf, complete and free.

“Let's celebrate this amazing moment,” Thalor declared, trying to lighten up the environment.

But the joy was short-lived due to intruders that invaded our pack. From the edge of the clearing, movement caught my eye; three shadows I had recognized and had promised to unleash my pain upon whenever I saw them were standing in front of me.

The figures standing before me were the triplets, the same Alphas who had rejected me three years ago as though I were nothing more than a curse wrapped in skin.

My legs weakened, tears slipped free, burning as they traced my cheeks. Even from where I stood, their scent struck me hard: dominant, familiar, unforgiving. The triplets face hasn't changed. They still look the same. Only their bodies had transformed, molded by time and power.

Kaleen was broader now, his frame massive, muscles coiled like a battle-ready beast barely restrained beneath skin.

Lysander stood beside him, equally built, his presence just as commanding, his handsomeness sharpened into something lethal: like a wolf carved from shadow and moonlight.

And Riven… Riven had changed the most. The youngest, once smaller and reckless, now towered over them both, taller, leaner, his aura humming with untamed strength.

Their wolves stirred the air, pressing against mine, clawing at my senses. My chest tightened as emotions clashed violently within me: old love I had buried clawed its way back to the surface, tangled with bitter suspicion.

I knew the questions raging in their minds. Can she speak now? Did her wolf finally awaken? Is she whole?

But they wouldn’t dare voice them. Not after what they had done. Not after the rejection that shattered my soul and silenced my wolf for years.

I stepped forward instinctively, claws flexing, ready to strike, rage coiling tight in my chest. I instructed the wolves to get ready to attack them; they were our enemies.

Thalor recognized them and quickly stepped in front of me. “Not yet. Let us see what they want first,” he begged.

I hesitated, feeling Nytheris pulse against me, vibrating with restrained power. My claws twitched, but I held back, listening. Patience now could serve better than a blind attack.

The Triplets stood before us, smug and calculating, their eyes claiming familiarity they no longer deserved. The clearing fell into a heavy silence as they stepped closer, one after the other, their confidence stripped bare.

Kaleen was the first to speak. The proud Alpha who once never bowed now lowered his head.

“I was cruel,” he said. “I chose power over truth. I saw your pain and turned away because admitting my mistake would have shattered my pride. I rejected you knowing it would break you, and still, I did nothing. That sin will follow me for the rest of my life.” His eyes burned with shame as he stared at me.

Lysander followed, his usual charm gone, replaced with raw regret. He took a step closer, carefully, as if afraid I would disappear.

“I let fear guide me,” he confessed softly. “Fear of change, fear of loving too deeply. I told myself rejection was mercy, but it was cowardice. I watched you suffer in silence and did not fight for you when I should have stood at your side. Every night since that day, your face has haunted me.”

Then Riven stepped forward, emotions barely contained.

“I hated myself for what happened to you,” he said bitterly. “I was angry at them… and angrier at myself for not stopping it. I should have protected you. Instead, I obeyed rules that destroyed you. If pain could be taken back, I would bleed for it willingly.”

Their words hung in the air: regret, guilt, and remorse laid bare. For the first time, the triplets were not Alphas or rivals. They were broken men, standing before the woman they had wronged.

“Do you think your apologies can erase the pain I suffered because you rejected me?” I snapped, my voice shaking with anger and old wounds.

The moment the words left my lips, all three of them froze, shock rippling through the bond they once shattered as they glanced to each other in shock.

Kaleen aura flared wildly as he threw his head back and shouted in raw excitement.

“Oh, Moon above, you have a voice now, Seraphine!”