TorvinGetting back, I was already peeved and vibrating with range. āThereās no way Iām going to believe that idea of Kael being Seraphinaās mateā This has been the thought going on in my head as I paced my bedroom. I really have to do something about this. I had so many ideas running through my head, but couldnāt get the perfect one that would work out well without me being a suspect.āKael, Always KaelāHe was the first to build his own pack from scratch, to prove himself to the council despite the curse that was stalked to his blood. And now he has a mate, and not just any mate but her. The omega who defied pain, the one who had slipped through my fingers when I first heard wispers of her escape from silvermane.āI had wanted to see her then, to know why the moon Goddess had spared an omega such resilience. Now she mated to Kael, bound in name and bondā.The thought of all these made my heart beat faster than ever.
The routine is setāuntil it isnāt. On the fifth day, Seraphina wakes to the sound of voices in the corridor, loud and unguarded. She flinches, expecting the guards, but when the door opens it is neither them nor Kael.Itās Torvin.He sweeps into the room like he owns the air. His coat is velvet, midnight blue, embroidered with silver. His eyes flick over the space, then settle on her, and the smile he offers is not kind. āSo this is how they keep you,ā he says, voice soft as honey. āLike a mongrel on a leash.āSeraphina pushes herself up, uncertain whether to kneel or stand. She goes for kneeling. Kael has not yet appeared, but she knows he will. He always does.Torvin drops into a crouch beside her. He brings with him the scent of rain and something sharperāexpensive cologne, or maybe just the metallic tang of anticipation. In his hands is a basket. He sets it before her and peels back the cloth, revealing a stack of warm flatbread and a wedge of cheese.āEat,ā he says, like itās a g
Days blur together until Seraphina loses count. Her world is narrowed to the hard geometry of the Alphaās quarters: bed, rug, desk, door. Her hours are simpleāclean, serve, stay invisible. Kael leaves early, returns late, sometimes not at all. In the space between, she memorizes the shifting patterns of light on the walls, the cold rush of air that snakes through the cracked window, the subtle changes in Kaelās gait when he returns each night.Heās never drunk, never disorderly. But each evening, his exhaustion is a little deeper, his stare a little more splintered. She hears him in the dead hours, pacing the floors above, muttering to someone only he can see. By day, he speaks to her only in commands. "Change the sheets," he says, or "Bring tea." She does as sheās told, tongue bitten bloody to keep from replying.Sometimes, when heās gone, she imagines running. But the guards are always in the hall, and the only window is barred. She tries to push hope aside and focus on surviving th
Kael gave a command and they draged her up the stairs like something half-dead and unmentionable, two guards with wolf crests on their uniforms and expressions carved from brick. The corridor is silent except for the rasp of her bare feet against cold stone, and the way her wrists knock together when the guards swing her by the elbows, too practiced to care if her feet keep up. She doesn't protest. If there's any fight left in her, it's buried beneath the pain of her healing bruises and the heavier ache of dread.The door they bring her to is massive, banded in black iron and stamped with a moon emblem. One of the guards raps twice. The other unlocks the manacles, not gently. She rubs her raw wrists on instinct, wincing, then smooths the long, oversized shirt thatās her only covering. It smells of Kaelāthe same dark, electric scent as the rest of the tower, but richer. Closer.The guard sneers at her. "You're expected to behave. The Alpha doesn't like mess." He gestures her inside.Th
The words struck her like a slap, but she didnāt flinch. Instead she felt the bond between them draw tight, an almost visible cord humming beneath the skin. Kaelās eyes met hers, and for a brief, shattering instant she saw raw pain there, grief so bright it almost burned her. He looked away. āWeāre done here,ā he said, voice cracking on the last word. The priestess swept past, dismissing them with a flick of her sleeve. As Seraphina turned to follow, Kaelās hand remained clamped on her arm, hot even through the fabric of her borrowed shirt. The sensation wasnāt pain, wasnāt even discomfortāit was a strange, numbing calm, as if his grip alone could hold her together when her own strength threatened to shatter. He didnāt let go until they were in the hall, out of earshot of the priestesses. Then, abruptly, he released her, as if burned. Seraphina caught her breath, her wrist tingling where his skin had touched hers. She dared a glance at him, and saw his face twisted in a snarl of fr
Seraphina dug her nails into her palms, ignoring the hot pulse of pain. āThe Alpha called for me. Heād beenā he said he was feeling unwell. He asked for a tea I make, something for sleep. I brought it, like I always did.ā Her voice almost broke. āHe was kind to me.āKael stared at her a long time, as if searching for the lie in the cracks of her words. āKind,ā he repeated, flat and skeptical. āAnd yet you slit his throat.āShe jerked her chin up. āI didnāt. There was someone else. I saw a figure, a hoodedā I know it sounds like a bad story, but itās the truth.āLysanderās gaze was not unkind, but he was relentless. āDid you recognize the scent? Anything at all?āSeraphina shook her head. āNo. The smell was masked, like sulfur and frost. Iām not making this up.āKael made a dismissive noise. āLetās say youāre telling the truth. Letās say someone wanted my brother dead, and wanted you blamed. Who benefits?āLysander answered before she could. āOnly one answer. The Heracles line. Theyāve