Chapter 5

Seraphina POV

I sat in the freezing car, a pathetic voyeur to my own destruction. Through the windshield, the harsh fluorescent lights of the parking garage illuminated them perfectly.

Galilea said something, her lips curving into a playful pout. In response, Kain's stoic expression melted. He reached out, his large, calloused hand-the same hand that had gripped my waist in the dark-gently tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear. His fingertips lingered on her cheek, a caress so tender it stole the breath from my lungs.

That tiny, intimate gesture was more lethal than any lie. For years, I had convinced myself that Kain's coldness was just his nature. He was an Alpha; he didn't know how to be soft. But watching him look at Galilea, the brutal truth crashed over me: he wasn't incapable of gentleness. His gentleness just never belonged to me.

The frayed mate-bond inside my chest shrieked, a phantom pain twisting like a silver dagger carving out my soul. If I had a wolf, I would have unleashed a devastating, furious roar through the mind-link, demanding he feel my agony. But I was wolfless. I was trapped in a suffocating silence, forced to endure this invisible execution alone.

I waited until his taillights disappeared into the night before I finally started my engine.

I didn't go back to the Alpha estate. I couldn't stomach the thought of breathing the same air as them. Instead, I drove to my old private apartment-a small, quiet sanctuary I had kept since before the marriage. It smelled of vanilla and my old design books, a stark contrast to the suffocating tuberose that now haunted my life.

I had barely kicked off my heels when the doorbell rang.

I opened the door, and my heart gave a pathetic, traitorous leap. Kain stood in the hallway, his massive frame dwarfing my doorway. But before I could even process his presence, the aggressive, cloying scent of Galilea's tuberose wafted off his suit, suffocating my senses.

I waited for an explanation. An apology. Anything.

Instead, his jaw tightened, and he looked at me with the detached calculation of a CEO closing a merger. "I came to tell you that I've instructed my Beta, Kylan, to handle the asset division for the dissolution of our union. You will be adequately compensated."

The words hit me like physical blows. I stood frozen, the blood draining from my face.

"Of course," Kain added, his voice dropping an octave, "as a member of the Blackwood Pack, you will always remain under my protection."

A severance package. He was giving me a severance package. In a matter of seconds, he had demoted me from his Fated Mate to a pack asset that needed to be managed and paid off. The last fragile ember of hope I had for our bond was extinguished by his business-like cruelty.

I swallowed the bile in my throat, along with the secret of the tiny life growing inside me. I didn't scream. I didn't cry. I just gave him a single, hollow nod.

Kain's brow furrowed deeply. A strange, restless energy radiated from him-his inner wolf, Rage, pacing and clawing at the surface, clearly agitated by the agonizing silence of our bond. He opened his mouth as if to say something else, but ultimately, he just turned on his heel and walked away.

The door clicked shut, sealing my fate.

The next morning, I forced myself into the sterile sanctuary of my office at the Blakely Group. Work was the only thing keeping me tethered to sanity. I was buried in MQ Clothing fabric swatches when my assistant burst through the door, her face pale.

"Luna," she gasped, "Cathie, Darlene Ortiz's agent, is on the encrypted pack comms. She's furious. She demanded to speak with you immediately."

My stomach dropped. Darlene was our lead brand ambassador. I took a deep breath and pressed the blinking red button on my console.

"Ms. Reeves," Cathie's voice hissed through the speaker, dripping with venom. "I need an explanation right now. Is the Blackwood Pack unilaterally tearing up our alliance? Or does your Alpha actually believe that replacing my client with his ex-girlfriend is an acceptable business practice?"

I stared at the speaker, the world tilting on its axis. Galilea. They had replaced Darlene with Galilea.