Chapter 3 Isn't this a traitor

Seraphina POV

"Jax," I breathed, taking a trembling step toward the heavy metal gates. For a fraction of a second, the feral hardness in his eyes softened.

Before he could speak, the screech of tires shattered the bleak morning silence. A cherry-red sports car swerved into the desolate parking lot, reeking of expensive perfume and burning rubber. A woman stepped out, draped in designer clothes and an aura of absolute entitlement. Anjelica Carney. The pampered daughter of the Carney Pack Alpha.

She didn't even glance at me. She marched straight to Jax, her manicured hands sliding possessively around his neck. "Finally," she purred, pressing her lips to his jaw. "My father is waiting. We have an engagement party to finalize, and I need you out of this filthy Rogue stench."

I froze, the fragile warmth in my chest turning to ice. Engagement party?

"Well, well. If it isn't the traitor."

Two massive, scarred men stepped out from the shadows of the detention center wall. Rogues. They recognized Jax, their eyes flashing with violent intent as they lunged forward.

Everything happened in a blur. Jax's combat instincts flared. But instead of standing his ground, he violently shoved Anjelica behind him to shield her. The sheer force of his movement sent his elbow crashing into my shoulder.

I was thrown backward, hitting the unforgiving asphalt with a sickening thud. A sharp crack echoed from my ankle, sending a blinding spike of agony up my leg. But that was nothing compared to the Terminal Soul Wither. Triggered by the physical shock and the crushing heartbreak, the magical illness erupted in my chest. It felt like jagged, freezing claws were shredding my lungs, freezing my blood. I gasped, curling into myself as the world spun.

The Rogues, seeing Jax bare his teeth and flash his newly acquired Carney Pack medallion, backed off with a string of curses.

"Jax, who is this wolfless trash?" Anjelica demanded, looking down at me with utter disgust as I struggled to breathe on the dirty ground.

Jax turned. For one agonizing second, his eyes met mine. I saw the flicker of panic, the memory of our shared childhood. But then, the cold, calculating ambition of a man desperate for power swallowed it whole.

"Just someone I used to know from the orphanage," Jax said, his voice devoid of any emotion.

The words were a silver blade to my heart. He had made his choice. Power over family. I bit the inside of my cheek until I tasted copper, forcing myself to stand on my good leg. Without a word, I turned my back on the only brother I had ever known and limped toward my car.

Once inside, I locked the doors and collapsed against the steering wheel, dry-heaving as the freezing agony of the Wither ravaged my body. I was entirely alone.

Suddenly, my phone buzzed. The caller ID flashed: Blackwood Enterprises HQ.

I answered with trembling fingers.

"Seraphina," Talia's voice clipped through the speaker, dripping with her usual contempt. As Damien's executive administrator, she made no secret of her disdain for a wolfless Omega. "The Alpha requires your presence at headquarters immediately. He has urgent business for you."

My breath hitched. Urgent business.

He must have received the courier package. He had read the Rejection petition. A verbal Rejection required both mates to be present to finalize the severance. He wanted to end it today.

The thought brought a fresh wave of agonizing pain from my severed bond, but beneath it, a fierce, hollow resolve took root. "I'll be there," I whispered, hanging up.

Thirty minutes later, I limped into the towering glass-and-steel lobby of Blackwood Enterprises. The air conditioning was freezing, and the massive black wolf crest behind the reception desk seemed to glare down at me.

I headed for the private elevator that led to the Alpha's penthouse office, but Talia stepped into my path, a triumphant smirk playing on her lips.

"You aren't going up," she stated, crossing her arms.

I frowned, leaning heavily on my good foot. "Damien called for me."

"The Alpha gave me a direct order to relay to you," Talia corrected, her eyes gleaming with malicious joy. "The rumors regarding his devotion to Isabelle are causing a stir among the allied Packs. He requires you to use your Gray family knowledge of ancient Pack law to draft a formal petition to the Alpha Council."

She leaned in closer, her voice dropping to a venomous whisper. "You are to legally articulate why a powerful, Alpha-selected Chosen Mate brings more glory and stability to the Pack than a barren, useless Fated Mate."

The lobby seemed to tilt. The freezing claws of the Wither dug deeper into my soul. He didn't call me here to set me free. He called me here to force me to legally invalidate my own existence, to build the throne for the woman replacing me.-