CHAPTER 4: A Big Trouble.

Seraphina's POV

Blood.

I had gotten used to the sight of it, but not when it gushed from my own body like a broken pipe.

I froze in the bathtub, as I hissed at the sight of the silver dagger that pierced me last night. My blonde hair stuck to my damp skin, my bare body marked by thorns and bruises from last night's transformation in the forest.

I gritted my teeth and tried to pull it out myself... this ugly silver dagger lodged near my rib. My fingers trembled and my skin was hot... infact, I was burning up from the inside out. The bathwater wasn’t helping matters. My wolf should’ve healed me already, but she was too weak.

She’d barely survived last night’s shift. The thorns, the claws ripping out, the endless running... hell, I wasn’t even sure if I’d survive another shift.

I had tried to remove each thorn, one by one, my face was wincing with each pull. But the dagger… the silver dagger…

It's impossible that I'm even still breathing. Perhaps the moon goddess isn't as wicked to me as I thought.

Silver was forbidden. Not just banned... but eradicated. It was fatal to wolves. No wolf should survive its touch, yet I had one buried in my side.

I was still battling the knife when the door burst open.

Lucien and Rafael charged in, breathless, eyes scanning the room... and then they saw me.

Naked.

Bleeding.

Burned.

Pathetic.

Lucien froze.

His dark eyes locked on my body, and for a moment, his expression was unreadable.

Lust?

Shock?

Something in between. I didn’t care.

I noticed they both stared at the silver dagger, like they recognized it... but I was in too much pain to ask anything.

Rafael rushed forward instinctively. "Let me help...."

"No," Lucien cut in sharply, grabbing Rafael's arm. His voice was low but laced with something deeper.

Possession? Or Protection?

Honestly, I didn't really know.

He stepped forward. "I'll do it myself. Just give us a moment."

They stared at each other for a moment before Rafael exhaled and nodded.

Lucien turned back to me. His eyes were softer now, like he saw me... really saw me. Not a beast. Not a threat. Just... a girl in pain.

He knelt beside the tub, slowly reaching toward me.

“Seraphina,” he said gently, “you need to breathe, okay? Deep breaths. I’m going to count down.”

Tears welled in my eyes, but I refused to let them fall. I nodded.

“Three... two... one...” he called with his eyes piercing mine.

He yanked it out.

A scream tore out of me.

“Ahhhhhhhhggggg!”

It was Raw. Violent.

Animalistic.

Blood sprayed across his royal blue tunic. I curled forward, gasping, clutching my side. It felt like fire licking through my veins.

And then I felt his arms.

Lucien held me.

“Silk... get me silk! Or a towel!” he growled at someone....anyone outside.

Moments later, a maid rushed in and handed him a clean strip of fabric. Lucien pressed it against the wound, firm but gentle, like he’d done this before. He helped me out of the bath....still not saying a word about my nakedness...and wrapped me in something soft.

My whole body trembled. Not from cold, but from the pain.

He helped me to the bed, dressed the wound himself, and only when I was fully covered did he speak again.

“You should’ve died,” he said quietly.

“Any other wolf would have. Silver is lethal.”

“I know,” I whispered.

Rafael stepped closer, his arms folded, brow furrowed. “So how the hell did you survive?”

I shrugged weakly. “I don’t know. I didn’t even know it was silver... until it started to burn.”

They exchanged a look....one of those silent, mind-link kind of exchanges I wasn’t privy to.

“There’s more to you than we’ve been told,” Lucien muttered.

“A lot more to be candid.” Rafael added.

After tending to me, Lucien handed me a plain black tunic.... it was oversized, clearly a man’s... but I didn’t care. His tunic was warm and smelling of him. I slipped it on with trembling fingers, each movement laced with pain. He didn’t look away once. Didn’t turn his back or avert his gaze in shame. He saw me.

And I let him.

I tied my blonde hair into a high ponytail, straightened my back, and walked out to the living room with him.

I sat carefully and swallowed hard.

“Thank you…” My voice cracked. “Thank you for helping me, Your Highness. I really do not deserve your help. No one’s… no one’s been this easy on me since my father died. I’m just… so grateful.”

Lucien’s lips curved slightly. That tiny smile nearly broke me.

And his eyes.... goddess, his grey eyes... they weren’t cold like before. They were molten.

Searching. Soft.

He said, “It’s alright, Sera. I’m just doing my duty.”

I wanted to believe him, but, duty didn’t feel like this.

“Duty?” I echoed bitterly. “Even your father... I'm sorry... I meant.. His majesty... knows I’m a beast. A cursed creature. You shouldn’t be helping me.”

Lucien stepped closer. My breath hitched.

“Don’t be so formal,” he said gently. “I’m not my father. And I want you to address me by my name.”

“Oh! No... I can't do that.”

He smiled at my shyness.

And that made me smile... really smile.... for like the first time in forever.

Rafael just leaned against the wall, arms crossed, saying nothing, but watching everything.

Lucien’s gaze met mine again. “What actually happened to you in those woods, Seraphina?”

And so I told them.

Everything.

The shift. The pain. The thorns. The blackouts. The run. The silver. The fact that when I shifted, something felt... different. Stronger. Not just a wolf.

When I finished, I couldn’t meet his gaze. I felt… exposed. Dirty. Like a truth no one wanted to hear.

“I should return now,” I whispered. “The kitchen. The laundry… omega things.”

He scowled. “You need rest. You’re still bleeding....”

“I can’t!” My voice cracked. I hated how desperate I sounded. “The pack already hates me. The King would think I’m disobeying his order. What will everyone say? That their Prince is helping a beast? They’ll say you’re showing me favor, and I don’t want to be the reason you lose their respect.”

Lucien stepped toward me. I couldn’t move. Couldn’t look away.

“Then I’ll tell the King I asked you to stay. That it was my order.”

“No!” I gasped, my voice cracking. “I can’t bear to be the reason you fall out with your father... or to cause bad blood between you and your family. I’m not worth that. Please… just let me go.”

His breath caught.

Something shifted in his face.

His jaw tightened. His eyes... those beautiful, terrible eyes.... looked into me with a pain I didn’t understand. His wolf, I could feel it, was clawing just beneath his skin.

Why? Why did he care so much?

I wasn’t his mate.

I wasn’t anything.

“Okay,”

“Let’s go.”

We walked back in silence. Every step felt like a stone on my chest. I didn’t dare look at him, though I wanted to. I felt his presence like heat on my back. I wondered if he was watching me.

I hoped he was.

But another part of me wished he'd stop.

The whispers started before we even reached the gates.

“What’s the prince doing with her?”

“She probably begged for his help.”

“But why would he be helping her?”

I clenched my fists, forcing my chin up.

Lucien didn’t even give a damn. Dude walked like he owned the air we breathed... all serious and brooding.

Damn, why did he have to look this hot?

We reached the palace gates, then I stopped.

“I’ll go alone from here,” I said quietly. “It’s better this way. I don’t want anyone seeing us together.”

Lucien opened his mouth to protest, but Rafael placed a hand on his shoulder.

“She’s right,” he said. “Let her, please."

Lucien opened his mouth, but Rafael touched his shoulder gently.

I nodded, smiling weakly. “I’ll be okay.”

But hell… I didn’t feel okay.

Lucien exhaled through his nose, anger flickering behind his eyes. “I’ll come see you later.”

My heart fluttered.

I shouldn’t let it.

But I did.

I was smiling to myself with my heart skipping like a fool, as I stepped into the hallway. My face was warm, and I couldn’t stop the blush that crept up my neck from remembering the way he looked at me.

Like I mattered.

“And where the hell are you coming from omega?”

A voice jolted me from my daydream.

It was Valerie. She stood at the kitchen door, a plate of green grapes in hand. Her eyes instantly locked on the tunic I wore.... Lucien’s tunic.

Her lips curled.

And just like that... the warmth I’d been holding onto vanished.

F*ck! I was in trouble.

A very big trouble.