Chapter 6

Seraphina’s POV

I leaned back against the heavy oak door, my breath coming fast and shallow, my palm pressed hard against the cool wood as if I could block out every word he had just said. Burn the city down. Earn us back. Never let go. Each phrase echoed in my head, sharp and heavy, settling deep in my bones where I could not shake it free.

Five years. Five years I had built every wall, every defense, every plan to keep Luca safe and to take back what belonged to my family. Five years I had told myself Alexander Thorne was nothing but a mistake I had survived, a lesson I had learned, a man who no longer held any power over me. And now here he stood, outside my gates, speaking like he had every right to demand entry, like he could simply undo the past with promises and fire.

I straightened my shoulders and smoothed my dress, forcing my expression back to the calm, unyielding mask I had perfected over years of training. I would not tremble. I would not break. I was Seraphina Romano, heiress, leader, protector. I was not the girl who had begged for his attention and been thrown away.

Elena came down the hall, her steps steady and quiet. Her face was serious, her eyes sharp and alert. She did not ask questions. She simply handed me a folded sheet of paper.

“Security reports,” she said softly. “Alexander did not leave. He is still standing right where you left him. He has sent his driver away. He has no guards, no weapons, no phone. He is just standing there, waiting.”

I glanced at the paper, though I already knew what it would say. “How long will he stay?”

“However long it takes,” Elena answered, her tone flat and knowing. “He is not the kind of man who walks away once he sets his mind to something. And now he knows the truth. He knows about you. He knows about Luca. He will not stop.”

I looked toward the tall window facing the front drive. Through the glass I could see him clearly. He stood tall, his posture rigid, his gaze fixed straight on the door I had just closed. He looked like a man who had lost everything and found it again, only to realize it was still out of reach. There was no arrogance left in him. No pride. Only a terrible, hungry focus.

“Let him wait,” I said, turning away. “He can stand there all night for all I care. It changes nothing. We have work to do.”

“Seraphina,” Elena said, her voice lower now, careful. “You know what this means. Once he knows who you are, once he knows about the boy, he will bring the entire pack down on this house. And not just him. The Council. The rivals. The enemies who have waited five years for you to show yourself. Now that you are back, everything will move faster. Every secret we kept hidden will be dragged into the light.”

“I know,” I said, my voice steady even as fear pricked at the edges of my mind. “That is exactly why I came back. I am ready to face them. And I am ready to face him.”

Before she could reply, Silas appeared at the end of the hall, his face pale and tight. He held a thick sealed envelope in his hands, the wax stamp pressed deep and dark — the mark of the Elder Alpha Council.

“Letter arrived ten minutes ago,” he said, his voice low and strained. “Delivered by hand, sealed with the official mark. Addressed to you, Seraphina Romano — and to Alexander Thorne. They know you are here. They know you have returned.”

My stomach turned cold. I took the envelope, my fingers steady as I broke the seal and pulled out the single sheet inside. The words were short, formal, and deadly clear.

By order of the Elder Alpha Council: The union between the Romano heir and the Thorne King is required by ancient law. You are to be joined in marriage within thirty days. Refusal means open war between all packs and houses. The boy belongs to the line — and will be placed under Council protection until the union is complete.

I stared at the words, my heart hammering slow and hard in my chest. They had been waiting. They had been watching. And now they had handed us exactly what neither of us wanted — but neither of us could refuse.

 ***

Alexander’s POV

I stood in the cool evening air, my boots planted firm on the stone drive, my eyes locked on the heavy doors that had shut me out. Every moment felt like an hour. Every breath felt heavy and wrong. I had spent five years telling myself I was right, that I had made the only choice possible, that strength meant never showing weakness. And now I knew: my strength had been nothing but blindness. My pride had been nothing but destruction.

She was Romano. The name I had been taught to hate, to fear, to destroy. The family my father had said were murderers and thieves. And she was my mate. The woman I had thrown away. The woman who had carried my child alone, hidden, fighting for survival while I ruled over wealth and power I had never truly earned.

And Luca. My son.

The thought of him — his face, his eyes, his voice — twisted through me until I felt sick with how much I had missed. Five years. Five years of his first steps, his first words, his first laugh. Five years I could never get back. And every single day of it was my own fault.

I did not move. I would not leave. If she wanted me to stand here until the sun rose, until my legs gave out, until I froze or burned or fell — I would do it. I would stay until she let me in. Until she gave me a chance. Until I had done everything possible to make up for what I had broken.

Then I saw the front gate open. Silas walked out, his face grave and cold, holding out the same sealed letter I had seen delivered to my own office only minutes before. He walked straight to me, held it out, and spoke in a voice that carried no warmth at all.

“From the Council. Sent to both houses. You know what it says.”

I took the envelope, my hands steady now, cold purpose rising in my chest as I read the words. Marriage. Union. Thirty days. The boy under their control.

I looked up at the windows of the great house, knowing she was standing there, reading the exact same words, knowing exactly what this meant.

The Council did not care about us. They did not care about love or truth or right or wrong. They cared only about power. They wanted to bind the two strongest bloodlines together so they could control them both. They wanted Luca — the heir of both families, the boy who could command wolves with a single howl — under their own hands.

And now we were trapped.

I looked at Silas, my voice low and hard and final.

“I accept their terms. But I will not do it their way. I will not marry her as a prisoner or a tool. I will marry her as her equal. And I will burn every member of that Council to ash before I let anyone take my son — or harm the woman I should have chosen from the very start.”

Silas stared at me, his expression shifting — from cold distrust to something else, something sharp and careful.

“Then you better be ready to fight, Thorne,” he said quietly. “Because she will not make this easy. She will not forgive you just because the law says you must stand beside her. And she will never let you forget: you rejected her once. Now you have to earn every single step you take toward her.”

“I know,” I said, my gaze returning to the closed doors. “And I will spend the rest of my life earning it.”

I folded the letter and put it in my pocket. Then I stepped back, stood straight, and waited.

Somewhere inside that house, she held the same letter in her hands. She knew the truth now. She knew we could not walk away. She knew the world had tied us together whether we wanted it or not.

And I knew one more thing, deep and absolute in my soul:

This time, I would not be the one who left. This time, I would not be the one who turned away.

This time, I would fight until I had everything back. Or I would die trying.