Chapter 4 Something Wearing Her Face

Ava's POV

The healer's warnings rang like a cruel sound in my ears with every word she said. It crept into every part of my bones, clawing to mess with my head even more.

And now, I had to face an even worse fate as the grand celebration was held on Seraphina's return. Held by my father. I was finally going to come face to face with him tonight.

After ten long years. Maybe he was finally going to tell me how sorry he was for blaming me for Seraphina's death all those years ago. At least now she was alive, with him.

I stood among the crowd as I stepped into the grand celebration.

Unnoticed.

Unwanted.

The daughter no one saw. Laughter ripped like cruel waves, dancers spinning in circles of gold and silver, while servants poured wine into cups held by wolves far too important to care.

And then I saw him.

Alpha Gideon, my father. He was seated on the grand table, surrounded by his loyal council, his face-sharp as a wolf's fang was turned towards the entrance, catching sight of me.

For a second, our eyes met across the crowded room. I stood at a place, every scar I carried tightening around my skin, bracing for ... .something. A flicker of recognition, love maybe.

But his gaze didn't soften. Didn't break. Instead, a slow sneer appeared across his face, cutting me down from across the hall. "So, the curse has returned," he spoke, his voice as sharp as glass.

"As if one night of peace was too much to ask for." A hush fell like a blanket, the wolves standing next to me pulled back, as if my very presence carried disease. Gideon leaned back in his chair, his arms hanging lazily around Seraphina's shoulders like she was a prize he had reclaimed from the jaws of death itself.

His thumb strokes her shoulder in a show of fatherly love, Seraphina smiling with his touch. But as for me? I was still standing in the shadows, unwanted. A stranger to my own family.

"Stay out of sight, Ava. Don't you dare mess up tonight. Don't embarrass what little name you have left." He said, waving a dismissive hand at me without even standing up. Heat burned behind my eyes, but I swallowed it down.

The wolves around him laughed, raising their glasses as if his cruelty towards me was some grand joke. I stood there, my breath caught up in my throat, my fists trembling at my sides.

But I said nothing. Because what could I possibly say that would matter to a man who buried his love for me the day he laid Seraphina in the ground years ago?

To him, I died that day too. It didn't matter what the healer said to me, nor how much the mate bond burned beneath my skin. In this room, everything belonged to Seraphina.

And him.

Caden stood beside her, his arm gripping her waist possessively, his lips brushing the crown of her forehead. She smiled, cheerful, victorious, as if she had been crowned the Moon Goddess herself.

Every time he laughed at something she said, my heart shattered even more. It should have been me, but it wasn't. And it would never be. The music rang in my ear, wolves dancing across the dance floor in graceful steps, and still. I couldn't move. My feet were still in place as though the shadows had claimed me as one of theirs.

Until a low growl cut me off from my thoughts. It came from the doors. Every head turned as the grand hall doors slammed open. A lone figure stumbled inside....covered in mud and blood.

His chest rising and falling in heavy gasps like he'd outrun death itself. His amber eyes scanned across the room, wild and terrifying, locking onto Seraphina with something colder than hatred.

Fear.

No one moved, no one dared to even breathe. "Stop!!! Stop this madness!" He growled, forcing the words out like they burned his tongue. "You're all fucking blind!" His voice trembled, raw with desperation.

"That... that thing...." he pointed a shaking finger towards Seraphina, "it's wearing your Luna's face. She's not who you think she is!"

Everyone in the room froze, gasps and whispers engulfing them all. "What did you just say?" Caden's voice was sharp as a blade, wicked and deadly. The rogue came forward, desperation bleeding from every step he took.

"I saw her in the forest! She's not a human! She speaks to the darkness that took her ten years ago. She is not your Luna!" Seraphina didn't flinch, she just smiled. Cold and cruel.

"Lies," she hissed, rising from her chair like a queen addressing a common criminal. "I drowned because of Ava, but I survived all those years ago. And now rogues dare speak against me?"

"No?" I saw it! Her eyes..." the rogue continued. "Her eyes glow like theirs! The cursed spirits from the forest. She serves them now..."

But before he could finish, Caden moved.

Fast.

Lethal.

He struck the rogue hard across the jaw, sending him rolling to the floor. Blood splattered across the polished marble floor. Warriors surrounded him instantly, waiting for their Alpha's command to strike.

I expected Caden to let him finish what he was saying. To demand answers to prove his words. But instead... Seraphina placed a delicate hand on his arm. "Kill him," she whispered.

Her voice was soft. But the command in it sent chills down my bones. And Caden.. he obeyed in an instant, without question.

One swift motion-faster than any of us could stop-Caden's claws slashed through the rogue's throat. A sickening crack echoed as the rogue's body collapsed to the floor, blood spilling across the polished marble floor like spilled wine.

The man gasped once, his hand clawing at his throat, eyes wide until every ounce of light faded from them, leaving nothing but emptiness. Silence fell like a shadow, thick and suffocating.

And Caden... he didn't even blink. But I saw it all. I saw the faint glow in Seraphina's eyes as the rogue died. The same glow-red and empty -the rogue's dying gaze. It matched hers. But no one else noticed.

No one else cared, but I knew. This wasn't just a rogue's warning or the madness of a desperate man. It was the truth. Whatever came back from that river wasn't Seraphina. It wore her face, spoke with her voice, and smiled with her lips.

But it wasn't her.

And now it had its claws in Caden.

Now I knew without a doubt-

The real nightmare had only just begun.