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Seraphine’s POV
The moon was full above Shadowfang and thousands of wolves were present under the moon.
Wolves lit torches that burned in a wide circle around the ancient stone altar.
Tonight was the night I finally became Luna, not just Rhydian’s mate in secret, but bound by blood and magic in front of the entire pack. I felt so excited.
I stood barefoot on the cold stone, wearing the white gown the elders had chosen. My hands trembled a little, but I hid it and pressed them together.
Rhydian faced me, tall and strong in black, his silver eyes locked on mine. He looked calm, but trust me when I say he’s ruthless.
His jaw was tightened and he hated crowds almost as much as he loved me.
The High Elder raised the ceremonial dagger. The blade caught the moonlight and threw it back.
Rhydian stepped closer. His fingers brushed mine calmly. “You ready, love?” he asked.
I nodded fast. My heart was racing. “I have never been more ready for anything in my life.”
He smiled faintly. My stomach flipped the way it always did when he looked at me like I was the only person in the world.
The elder started chanting old and powerful words. The air grew thick, and pressed against my skin.
I felt the bond inside me stretch and pull, reaching for Rhydian. My wolf whined with joy, pawing at my chest, desperate to be closer to his wolf.
Rhydian lifted my hand and turned it palm up. The elder passed him the dagger.
This was the moment. One cut across my palm, one across his, then we would press them together and the magic would seal us forever.
I looked up at Rhydian. “I love you,” I whispered.
His eyes softened. “I love you more.”
The dagger came down and pain exploded across my chest.
The pain wasn’t from my palm but from my chest.
I looked down, confused. The blade was buried deep between my ribs, right under my heart.
Blood gushed out hot and fast, it soaked the white dress instantly and my knees buckled.
Rhydian’s face changed. That calm smile vanished, his eyes widened with horror and his mouth opened but he didn’t say a word.
Then a broken roar tore from his throat.
“Seraphine!”
I couldn’t breathe. The pain was killing me, I tried to grab the handle to pull it out but my hands were numb and my legs gave out completely.
Rhydian caught me before I hit the stone, he dropped to his knees and pulled me against his chest.
“No, no, no, no,” he kept saying, over and over, rocking me.
His hands pressed hard over the wound, as he tried to stop the blood but it kept gushing out warm and sticky between his fingers.
I looked up at him. His face was pale, eyes wild and teary. Tears ran down his cheeks. I had never seen Rhydian cry before.
“Why?” I managed to choke out as blood filled my mouth.
He shook his head. “I didn’t—Seraphine, I didn’t mean—” His voice cracked.
He looked at the dagger still in his hand like he didn’t understand how it got there.
The chanting had stopped. The pack was screaming, some wolves shifted and ran while others stood frozen.
I saw Lysandra, my sister , at the edge of the circle, her hand over her mouth, eyes wide.
She looked shocked, but her eyes had excitement in them.
My body started shaking and cold crept up my legs even though Rhydian’s arms were burning hot around me.
“I don’t want to die,” I whispered. Tears blurred everything. “Rhydian, I don’t want to leave you.”
“You’re not going anywhere,” he growled. His voice was fierce now, as if he could order death itself to stay away. “Stay with me, Seraphine. Look at me… please… stay. Don’t leave me.”
I tried… I really tried, but the pain faded into something numb gradually. My wolf howled inside me, scared and angry, clawing at nothing.
Rhydian leaned down, pressing his forehead to mine. His tears fell on my face. “Please,” he begged. “Please don’t leave me. I can’t do this without you.”
I wanted to tell him I loved him, I wanted to tell him I was scared, but my vision darkened at the edges.
His grip tightened. “Seraphine… forgive me,” he whispered with a broken voice.
The world went black and I faded away.
Seraphine’s POVThe words died in my throat the moment Toren’s voice reached us, and I watched Rhydian change. The softness vanished from his face at once. His shoulders squared, his expression hardened, and the man who had stood before me only moments ago, raw and unguarded, was gone. In his place stood the Alpha.“How many?” he asked, already moving toward the door.“Enough that the scouts did not dare name a number,” Toren said. “They have not advanced yet. They are only watching. But the banner…”“I’ll be there.”Rhydian turned back to me, and for a moment the softness returned to his face, apology and frustration mingling in his eyes.“This is not over.”“I know.”“I mean it. Whatever you were about to say…”“Go,” I told him, and I meant it, even though some weary part of me wondered if I would ever find the right moment to tell him the truth.He left, and I stood alone in the storage room with the satchel still open on the shelf, my hands unsteady in a way that had nothing to d
Rhydian’s POV The gold faded from my vision so quickly that I nearly lost my footing. The room returned to focus slowly. I saw her face, too close and pale, her hands still pressed against my chest as though she were holding something within me that had already fallen silent again. “Rhydian?” Her voice trembled when she spoke my name. I straightened slowly, trying to stand, wondering whether whatever had taken hold of me a moment ago had truly released me. My chest still ached where her hands had rested, a dull throb settling into something almost like relief, and I hated how much I wanted her to place those hands there again. “What just happened?” I asked, though some sick, certain part of me already knew. “Your eyes went gold.” She was still kneeling before me, watching me carefully. “And you spoke, but it was not… it did not sound like you.” “What did I say?” She hesitated, and the hesitation caught my attention. “I do not know,” she said quietly. “It happened so quickly.
Lysandra’s POV The shrine had not been used in years, not since our mother died and took the old ways of asking favors from the dark with her, but I remembered the path well enough. Overgrown roots twisted across the ground, a fallen archway lay broken beneath the trees, and moss covered the stones that had once been kept clean and bare. I went at night, alone, carrying nothing but a candle and the growing, gnawing fear that everything I had built was beginning to slip from my hands. He had defended her. Twice now, publicly and decisively, in front of the entire council. My mate, who had not looked at another woman with anything close to that intensity since the night I orchestrated his mate’s death with my own two hands, was now unraveling for a witch who had walked onto our land uninvited weeks ago. It was not supposed to happen this way. It was not supposed to happen at all. I knelt at the base of the shrine and lit the candle, murmuring the words I had learned as a girl, h
Seraphine’s POV His eyes had changed. They shifted from silver-black to something darker before flickering again, and his whole body went rigid as his hand tightened around mine until the pressure became painful. “Rhydian.” I said his name sharply, trying to reach him. “Rhydian, look at me.” He did not answer. His breathing grew rough, his chest rising and falling too quickly, and then he doubled over with a low groan, both hands going to his ribs as though he were trying to hold something inside him. “What is happening to you?” “It hurts,” he said through clenched teeth, sweat gathering along his hairline. “Something is wrong. It has never done this before. It has never…” His words broke off when his whole body jerked as another wave of pain passed through him. His fingers slipped from mine, and he caught himself against the side of the bed. “Rhydian.” “I cannot control it,” he breathed. His voice sounded strained, almost frightened, and that frightened me more than anything
Rhydian’s POV I didn’t move. I stared at her, trying to understand what she had just said. “Say that again,” I managed to voice out. “Rhydian…” “Say it again.” I yelled, squeezing my fingers tight. “He calls me Seraphine.” Her voice shook as she said it. “I don’t know why. I don’t know what it means. I’ve been too afraid to find out.” I sat down on the chair across from her. My legs felt weak, and I dragged a hand through my hair. “That’s not possible.” “I know how it sounds.” “Do you?” My voice came out rough. “Because from where I’m sitting, it sounds like either the cruelest lie anyone has ever told me or the only thing that has made sense in over a year.” She said nothing. I looked at her, then down at my hands. “I don’t remember choosing to do it.” Her breath caught. “Choosing to do what?” “Kill her.” The word was difficult to say. “Everyone assumes I remember every moment of that day. The ceremony, the dagger, her face. I don’t. I remember the mome
Seraphine’s POV He came through the door without knocking, which by now should have stopped surprising me, yet somehow never did. “Vaelan,” he said, skipping any greeting or explanation. “Does that mean anything to you?” I went cold at the name. I kept my face as still as I could, but it wasn’t enough. His eyes narrowed as he watched me. “Why would it?” I knew the name mattered the moment he said it. I just didn’t know how much he already knew. For months, I had been careful about what I said, careful about the memories I let slip, careful not to give anyone a reason to question the life I claimed as my own. Now Rhydian was standing in front of me with a name I had spent all this time trying not to hear. “Because Eldric found a ledger with purchases that lined up with the night Seraphine died. The ingredients are all there, and so is that name, written in the margins over and over, like whoever was buying them answered to it.” I sat on the edge of the bed, my legs suddenly unst
Chapter 7: Lysandra’s False CrownSeraphine’s POVI woke up to the sound of bells ringing through the pack house. They were loud and insistent, the kind that called everyone to the central square. I dressed quickly in the black dress they had given me, the dress made me look more like a witch tha
Chapter 6: The Alpha’s TestSeraphine’s POVRhydian’s eyes stayed locked on my face, and I saw his chest beating faster than normal. He took a step closer, and the pack went more silent. “Stand up,” he said, in a rough voice.I pushed myself to my feet slowly, my legs shaking a little from the co
Seraphine’s POVI pulled the black hood lower over my face and kept walking. The snow fell heavier now, and thick flakes stuck to my lashes and melted down my neck. Every step toward the border was like walking back into my own grave.I knew these woods better than anyone. I had run them as a wolf
Seraphine’s POVI quickly shut the door behind me and leaned against it. The witch’s cottage was quiet except for my unsteady breath. I could still hear that howl. It lived under my ribs now, repeating over and over. My trapped wolf, she’s hurting and calling out to me.I pressed my back harder a







