006

SERENA’S POV

The icy wind sliced through my coat, numbing my skin as I tightened my grip on the handle of my suitcase. It wasn’t only the cold. It was the cruelty that had become my new reality. Even the night itself seemed determined to mock me. The quiet surrounding me felt heavy and oppressive, broken only by the occasional rustle of dry leaves or the faint, distant hum of a car engine somewhere far down the road.

I had no clear destination in mind—only the overwhelming need to put as much distance as possible between myself and Thorne’s pack. I told myself I would figure everything out later. Find a cheap motel for the night. Decide on my next steps in the morning. But as I stood there on the roadside, a sleek black SUV rolled to a smooth stop beside me. The tinted window lowered, and my breath caught hard in my throat when I saw who sat behind the wheel.

Alpha Caspian.

My childhood best friend. Thorne’s greatest rival.

His piercing gaze moved from the suitcase in my hand to my face. Dark brows furrowed as he leaned slightly out of the window.

“Serena?” he asked, his deep voice carrying a clear note of concern. “What are you doing out here at this hour of the night?”

I hesitated. Panic rose sharply in my chest. Of all the people I could have run into, why did it have to be him?

“I’m… waiting,” I stammered.

Caspian’s eyes narrowed, clearly unconvinced. “Waiting for what? Or should I say, who? Where’s that mate of yours?”

The mere mention of Thorne made my stomach twist, but I forced a smile onto my face and hoped it didn’t look as strained as it felt. “I’m not alone,” I said quickly. “Thorne is on his way to pick me up. I just got tired of waiting at the café.”

Caspian’s gaze sharpened, scrutinizing me so thoroughly that I felt the urge to squirm under it. I prayed he would accept my answer and simply drive away. Instead, he opened the car door and stepped out onto the pavement.

“What are you doing?” I asked, panic coloring my voice as he walked up beside me.

He crossed his arms over his broad chest, towering over me. “I’m waiting with you,” he said simply.

“What? No!” I exclaimed, shaking my head hard. “There’s no need. Really. Thorne will be here any minute now.”

Caspian’s lips curved into a faint smirk, amusement glinting in his eyes. “Good. Then I can ask him myself why he thought it was acceptable to leave his Luna standing alone on the roadside in the middle of the night.”

I bit the inside of my cheek, already regretting every word of the stupid lie I had told. The last thing I needed was for Caspian to become involved—especially when I knew how volatile things could become between him and Thorne.

“Caspian, seriously,” I tried again, forcing my tone to remain calm. “You know how Thorne is. He won’t like this. A fight could break out the moment he sees you with me, and I really don’t want to deal with that right now.”

He raised one eyebrow, still unconvinced. “Let him get mad. I’ll handle him. Besides, I’m not leaving you out here alone.”

I groaned inwardly. There was no persuading him. He was far too stubborn, far too protective. In the end I gave in.

“Fine,” I muttered. “Maybe I lied.”

His smirk widened as he leaned casually against the side of the car. “I figured as much the second you claimed Thorne left you behind while he went to get a car. That doesn’t sound like him—well, not the old version of him, at least. So what’s really going on?”

I glared at him and lightly smacked his arm. “If you already knew I was lying, then why did you stick around and interrogate me?”

“Because I care,” he answered simply, his tone so genuine it caught me completely off guard. “Now tell me where you’re headed so I can take you there and then get myself home.”

“I don’t need a ride,” I insisted, folding my arms across my chest. “I’m waiting for a taxi.”

Caspian shook his head, a half-smile tugging at his lips. “A taxi? In the middle of pack territory at this hour? Come on, Serena. Just let me drive you. Consider me your chauffeur for the night.”

I sighed, realizing there was no winning against his stubbornness. “Fine,” I relented at last.

Before I could offer any further protest, he took my suitcase, placed it carefully in the back seat of his car, and opened the passenger door for me. His movements were smooth and decisive, leaving no room for argument.

“Get in,” he said, gesturing toward the seat.

Reluctantly I climbed inside. The warmth of the car enveloped me at once. Once he settled behind the wheel and started the engine, he glanced over at me.

“Where to?”

I hesitated, uncertain how much I should reveal. Finally I answered, “Just take me to any motel in town.”

Caspian frowned, his hands tightening slightly on the steering wheel. “A motel?”

I didn’t want to talk. I didn’t want to explain. But Caspian, being Caspian, could not leave it alone.

“I’m waiting,” he said, his voice cutting through the quiet. “Why a motel, Serena?”

I sighed and turned to face him. “It’s not your business, Caspian,” I replied flatly. “Stop trying to pry answers out of me.”

His grip on the steering wheel tightened for a moment. His jaw clenched before he exhaled slowly. “Fine,” he said. “But whatever is going on between you and Thorne, you deserve far better than some rundown motel in town.”

Silence stretched between us for several long minutes. The only sounds were the low hum of the engine and the soft rush of tires against the road. I stared out the window, watching the dark trees blur past, trying to hold myself together. My hand rested protectively over my stomach without conscious thought.

Caspian noticed. Of course he did.

He pulled the car over onto a quiet stretch of road and turned fully toward me. The playful edge that usually colored his expression was gone, replaced by something sharper and far more serious.

“Talk to me,” he said quietly. “What did he do?”

The careful walls I had been holding up finally cracked. Tears burned at the backs of my eyes, but I forced them down. In a low, unsteady voice I told him the truth—the accusation of being barren, the cold demand for a divorce, Mira’s pregnancy, the papers I had signed, and the way Thorne had looked at me as though I were already nothing.

Caspian listened without interrupting. When I finished, his hands were clenched so tightly around the steering wheel that his knuckles had gone white.

“He threw you out,” he said, voice dangerously low. “After three years. And now that woman is already moving into your home.”

I nodded once, unable to speak.

Caspian was quiet for a long moment. Then he turned to face me fully, his dark eyes intense and unwavering.

“Marry me, Serena.”

The words hit me so hard I almost forgot how to breathe.

“What?”

“Marry me,” he repeated, calm and deliberate. “A contract marriage. Temporary. Public. Let the entire region see that the woman Thorne discarded is now standing beside his greatest rival. Let him watch us every single day and regret the moment he decided you were replaceable.”

I stared at him, heart racing. “Caspian… you can’t be serious.”

“I am completely serious.” He leaned closer, voice dropping lower. “You need protection. You need a safe place for yourself and…” His gaze flicked briefly to my hand still resting on my stomach, then back to my face. “For whatever you’re carrying. And I need a way to finally make Thorne pay for every insult he has ever thrown at my pack and at the people I care about. This arrangement gives us both what we need.”

My mind spun. Revenge. Safety. A roof over my head. A public statement that I was not broken, not discarded, not forgotten.

“It would only be a contract,” he continued when I remained silent. “No real claims. No expectations beyond what we agree on. When the time comes and you want out, we dissolve it cleanly. But until then… we make him suffer for what he did to you.”

I searched his face for any sign of mockery or hidden motive. All I found was steady resolve and something deeper I was not ready to name.

Slowly, I nodded.

“Yes,” I whispered. “I’ll do it.”

Caspian’s expression softened just enough for the corner of his mouth to lift. He reached out and gently took my hand.

“Then it’s settled,” he said. “From this night for

ward, you are under my protection. And together, we are going to make Alpha Thorne regret the day he ever let you go.”