Chapter 5 From Rage to His Arms

Seraphina's pov

"Sera, this is the last time I allow you to challenge my authority." Marcus covered his cheek and walked away coldly.

After he left, the entire study seemed to freeze solid.

I leaned against the cold door, my body sliding down slowly until I collapsed onto the floor.

The hand that had slapped him was trembling uncontrollably now, my palm burning as if it still held the lingering warmth of his skin and the hardness of his bones.

The mark on the back of my neck was no longer a brand scorching my soul, but a dull ache - like a rusted nail deeply embedded in my spine, grinding against my nerves with every heartbeat.

Our mate bond, the tether once blessed by the Moon Goddess, was now worn to shreds.

It still connected us, still transmitted pain, but it could no longer carry love.

My whole body hurt as if my ribs were broken - is this how a human feels pain? I clenched my teeth. No matter what, even if it kills me, I am going to break my bond with Marcus.

For now, I just need to quietly wait for the remaining twenty-five days.

As long as I survive the thirty-day cooling period required by the Council, I can take Margaret's one billion dollars and leave this suffocating place with my aging parents.

Money can solve many problems.

It can buy my parents a peaceful old age in a new tribe, and it can buy me freedom and dignity.

I closed my eyes, sketching the blueprint of my future - the vast sky without Marcus - and my breathing loosened just a little.

I stood up, pushed open the study door, and headed straight toward the manor's back garden.

Margaret's greatest pride was this moonlit rose garden she tended with her own hands.

What if I pulled them all out? I imagined the moment Margaret saw it - her perpetually fake smile cracking apart, her teeth grinding - and a rush of petty revengeful pleasure surged through me.

I bent down and yanked up the first rose without hesitation, cooing dramatically at the flower, "Sorry, sweetheart, but I genuinely think a foul old hag like Margaret doesn't deserve you."

Then the second rose, the third... I even mimicked her clipped, pretentious tone as I uprooted them: "You lowly human, how could you ever deserve my son Marcus - ugh, eat shit. I'm pulling out every one of your roses today!"

In no time, the ground looked like a miniature rose earthquake. Petals and snapped stems mixed with dirt in complete chaos. Hands on my hips, I whistled at the disaster scene I'd created, feeling as light-hearted as if I were dancing in the center of a ballroom.

I didn't want to return to that banquet where I was unwelcome. I came out through the front gate - but damn it, my car had broken down, and I could only use my legs to walk down the mountain.

Behind me, the lights were still bright. My husband and his mistress were embracing in front of everyone, while I had been driven out of the banquet like a beggar.

I immediately sent Margaret a text message: [Wire me the one billion dollars right now! Otherwise I can't guarantee I won't tell Marcus the truth tonight!]

I hurried toward the front entrance, but the moment I stepped outside, nearly instantly, fat raindrops crashed down without warning, soaking me from head to toe. Perfect. Now I was a full-fledged mutt.

The Moon Goddess clearly wasn't my goddess. She wasn't on my side.

But I had barely taken a few steps when something felt wrong. A foul stench crawled into my nose.

Deep in my consciousness, unease paced restlessly. "It's fine, Seraphina. You're not far from the manor. No rogue wolves will show up here," I muttered to myself.

Because I had Marcus's mark, my senses were far sharper than before. I could smell the metallic sweetness of rain washing over soil and leaves. I could hear raindrops breaking on tree leaves hundreds of meters away. And then - the stench became sharper.

A rogue.

Terror climbed up from the soles of my feet, freezing my blood in an instant. I sped up, almost breaking into a full run.

Behind me, that malicious intent moved as well. Several dark shapes emerged slowly from the trees along the roadside. Their footsteps were nearly inaudible in the rain, but I could feel their mocking, predatory gazes sticking to my back.

"Look what we found - a little beauty, alone and soaking wet," a coarse voice called out in the rain, dripping with undisguised lust.

"This dress looks great on you. Too bad it's soaked. Must feel awful, huh? How about we help you take it off?"

My heart pounded wildly, threatening to burst out of my throat.

I bolted, the rain blurring my vision. My slippery skirt tangled around my legs, and I fell hard, scraping my palms and knees until they were raw and bloody.

They closed in slowly, unhurried, their greedy eyes roaming freely over the outline of my drenched body.

Despair washed over me like icy seawater.

I even thought - maybe dying here is better than going back to Marcus.

"Get away from me! You know who I am! I am Marcus's Luna!" I shouted at them.

"As rogues, we also watch the news. Your alpha already showed up at the banquet with the daughter of the Sun Fangs tribe's alpha."

"Stop talking to the pretty one. My dick is already hard," another rogue growled, lunging toward me -

At that moment, two blinding beams of light sliced through the rain, followed by an ear-splitting screech of brakes. A black sedan drifted sharply, stopping sideways between me and the rogues.

It was a Maybach, its lines sleek and powerful, like a black beast coiled and ready to strike in the storm.

The license plate was just a few simple numbers, but its arrogance was terrifying.

The rogues recognized the silver wolf-head emblem on the hood and scattered instantly.

I lay on the cold ground, trembling, gulping for air.

The back door opened, and a wave of scent - cedar, dry warmth - washed over me, instantly pushing back the night's chill.

A strong hand reached out toward me.

I lifted my head and met a pair of eyes as deep and cold as the far-northern winter night.

Alpha Sebastian, the alpha of the Shadow Wolf Pack - the strongest alpha. I remembered Marcus mentioning him several times, the only alpha he never dared provoke.

Why was he here?

He looked down at me, expressionless, as if everything that had just happened was nothing more than a dull inconvenience.

Heat rushed to my cheeks. Embarrassment, shame, helplessness... all of it coursed through me in a crushing wave.

"Do you need me to carry you into the car?" he finally asked, voice low and steady.

What?!

I shook my head. "Thank you. I'm not injured, just frightened."

I got into the car, and a coat was draped over me. I looked at Sebastian in confusion.

"I don't make a habit of having naked women in my car," he said.

I lowered my head and looked at myself. My dress was soaked, clinging to me completely. The outline of my breasts and the triangular patch between my thighs were painfully visible. My face flamed. "Thank you... I didn't realize..."

Alpha Sebastian only nodded before instructing the driver to head toward Marcus's alpha estate.

The entire ride, he didn't say a word.

When the car stopped at the entrance of Marcus's estate, I was just about to thank him again when Sebastian caught my hand and pressed a gold-embossed card into my palm.

"Seraphina," he said, his eyes locking onto mine, "if you're unhappy in the Crescent Pack, the Shadow Pack's corporate empire will always welcome you. You can always find me."