Chapter 1: I Killed Him.

Seraphina's POV.

I stumbled out of the woods as my tattered purple tunic clung to me, soaked in blood and torn from last night’s shift. My whole body ached and there was this awful, metallic taste of iron and warm blood on my tongue.

My long blonde hair was tangled and sticky, strands of it falling into my eyes and blocking my vision. I tried to brush it away, but my hands… they just wouldn’t stop shaking.

My claws had only just begun to retract, coated with blood and dirt, and my vision was still hazy from the shift.

The sun was trying to rise, but the forest canopy above was so thick that it kept me wrapped in darkness. My wolf whimpered weakly inside me. She was shaken. Actually, we both were and I couldn't comfort her.

"It happened again."

Another night stolen from me.

Another shift I didn’t choose.

Another blackout where I became something I couldn’t control.

I’ve lost count of how many times this had happened. But this one… last night’s... it wasn’t just another… it was the beginning of my downfall. The start of everything falling apart for me.

My legs were weak and unsteady... making me stagger like a drunken beast. My bare feet scraped against stones and thorns, cutting deep into my skin… I didn’t even flinch. I was too numb. Too used to the pain.. I just kept on moving.

As I made my way toward the clearing, I started hearing voices... quiet whispers, full of fear. I couldn’t make out what they were saying, but something about the way they spoke made my stomach drop.

Then, I saw them..

My pack.

Dozens of them standing in a circle, staring down at someone on the ground.

Someone not moving.

A lifeless body.

My heart pounded violently in my chest. My wolf became restless, scared.. as my vision cleared just enough to make out the blood soaked tunic of the man on the floor. The scent hit me hard as it was familiar.

That scent… I knew it.

“Here she comes,” someone growled. “The murderer.. She’s finally done it again.”

“No…” I gasped, stumbling forward as my knees threatened to give out.

It was my father.

Alpha Flynn. The most respected, feared, loved and strongest warrior in the Crimson Moon Pack. The man who raised me.

And he… he was just... lying there.

His throat was torn open, blood pooling beneath his lifeless body. His eyes were wide, staring into the void.

He was wearing his indigo Alpha robe... the one trimmed with black wolf fur, that had our family’s crest stitched proudly over the heart.

I dropped beside him, my knees hitting the ground hard.

“No, no, no. Dad!” I cried. “I didn’t mean to… I didn’t know… I didn’t…”

I couldn’t breathe. My chest felt tightened and my lungs collapsed. My wolf curled up deep inside me... but even she couldn’t hide from this.

I heard footsteps thundering behind me.

It was my mother... Elysia.

She was running, her maroon velvet gown flowing behind her, the kind only high-ranking Gamma wolves wore. But the skirt tangled around her legs, nearly tripping her as she reached us. I could tell she wanted to shift as I saw her wolf clawing beneath her skin… but she didn’t.

She dropped beside his body, her hands shaking as she pulled his head onto her lap. Blood smeared across her dress, her arms, her chest… but she didn’t care.

Her sobs tore through the air like they might rip the sky apart.

Then she looked at me.

“What have you done, Seraphina?” she growled. Her voice was low, shaking... but her eyes... those warm brown eyes I’d known my whole life… were full of hate and disgust.

“I… I didn’t mean to,” I whispered, reaching for her. “Mom, please...”

She flinched away like I'd burned her. Like my touch would kill her too. Like I was a plague to be avoided at all cost.

“You’ve cursed us,” she spat. “You’ve betrayed your blood!”

The crowd behind me got louder. I heard the anger in their voices... shouting, accusing, judging me.

Then stones hit the ground near me.

One struck my shoulder. Another hit my thigh.

“She’s a beast!”

“She should be killed!”

“She murdered her own father!”

“She’d be the death of every one of us, if we don’t stop her now!”

“No… I didn’t…” I tried to stand, my legs shaking... but someone pushed me back down.

Then he stepped out from the crowd.

Dante.

My Alpha mate.

Tall and cold. His black hair was slicked back, perfect as always. His silver eyes didn’t even flicker with concern... just pure disgust.

He didn’t ask what happened. He didn’t need to. He already knew.

He looked at me like I was filth.

“I always knew you were a good for nothing,” he said, his voice low and laced with venom.

“A psycho pretending to be a victimized wolf..." he growled, "Yeah.. Sera, that's exactly what you are!” he added, nodding like it was a confirmation I needed to hear.

Then he sneered, his eyes burning.

“...because what kind of Wolf shifts... and kills her own father?” he snapped. “Tell me.... what kind of a monster are you?”

He took another step, close enough that I could feel the heat of his anger.

“You disgust me, Sera!”

Then he spat in my face, I didn’t even flinch. I just let it drip down my cheek. My tears blended with it anyway.

But his words...

They were cutting me deeper than the stones, deeper than the crowd’s hatred for me.

“You should’ve been put down the moment your curse first showed,” he growled. “You’re not a she-wolf… You’re a monster in heat!"

Tears filled my eyes, blurring everything.

I shook my head, my voice breaking.

“Please... don’t say that. I didn’t…”

Before I could finish,

Dante grabbed a fistful of my hair and yanked. Hard.

I cried out, grabbing his wrist.

“Dante!” I screamed. “Please... let go!”

But he didn’t. He yanked harder, dragging me away from my father’s body, from the crowd that watched and did nothing. My knees scraped against the ground. Stones ripped my skin open. My back burned.

I screamed until my throat went raw.

“Dante! Stop, please! You’re hurting me!”

Still, he dragged me across the courtyard like I weighed nothing. He didn't even slow down. Blood smeared the dirt in our trail, but no one moved.

They all watched.

Whispers rose. Murmurs filled the air.

But no one helped.

Because in their eyes…

I deserved it.

We reached the Alpha quarters.

Dante slammed the door open and threw me inside like I weighed nothing. I hit the cold stone floor so hard... that my bone cracked. Pain shot through my ribs.

“Akira!” he growled.

She stepped in, slowly. My childhood beta friend.

Her face had gone pale.

“Y... Yes, Alpha?”

“Bring the salt.”

Geez! Not again!

“No…” My voice trembled. “No, Dante. Please. Don’t do this.”

Akira didn’t move at first. Her hands were shaking. She knew what he meant. But his tone... it was an Alpha’s command. And she had to obey.

She came back minutes later, carrying a bowl of coarse white salt. My heart sank.

I tried to crawl back, my body screaming in protest.

“Dante… please, I’m begging you.”

He smiled. Like my begging fueled him.

Then he tied me down. I didn’t have the strength to fight. My wrists burned against the bindings.

Without a word… started pouring it onto my wounds.

“NO! AHH…!”

I winced and screamed. The pain... unlike anything I'd ever felt. It was fire. Real torture… and I couldn't break free.

The salt sizzled against my torn skin. I thrashed and cried, blood and tears soaking the floor. Every grain of salt felt like a blade stabbing into me.

Akira covered her mouth, tears in her eyes, but she didn’t dare move.

And Dante?

He leaned in, his voice low and sickeningly calm.

“Let this be a reminder..." he leaned in closer, "of what you really are.”

I could barely breathe. I wanted to fight, to curse him, but all I could do was cry.

And just when I thought the pain couldn’t get any worse, I heard her voice.

My mother.

“I wish you had died instead of your father!”

That was it.

The pain in my chest drowned everything else.

And in that moment…

I stopped begging.