Chapter 2

Seraphina POV:

Kaelan's hands tightened on the steering wheel. A flicker of irritation crossed his handsome face, visible in the glow of the dashboard lights.

"Livia, be aware of your status!" His mental reply was sharp, a clear rebuke from an Alpha to a subordinate.

I felt a sliver of dark satisfaction. He was finally putting her in her place.

But then, her response came, dripping with calculated vulnerability. "I know, Alpha. I understand. I hope you and your... Omega... have a wonderful evening."

The word 'Omega' was laced with poison, but the feigned submission did its work. I saw Kaelan's shoulders slump, the anger in him deflating like a pricked balloon. He was always a sucker for her damsel-in-distress act.

He sighed, a heavy, weary sound. He turned to me, his storm-grey eyes clouded with an apology he couldn't quite voice.

"I'm sorry, Seraphina. As the Alpha, it's my duty to mediate disputes within the pack. It would be... inappropriate to leave things like this."

The excuse was so thin it was transparent.

"Come with me," he said, the words an invitation but the tone an order. "We'll go pick her up, and I'll make sure she understands her place."

A tiny, stupid flicker of hope ignited in my chest. Maybe he wanted me there as a statement. To show Livia that he was with me tonight. It was a foolish hope, one I had clung to for seven years, but it refused to die.

"Alright," I whispered.

He drove back to the clubhouse. Livia was waiting by the curb, shivering dramatically in the cool night air. The moment the car stopped, she ran to Kaelan's side and threw herself into his arms, burying her face in his chest.

He hesitated for a second, then his arms came up to pat her back in a gesture of comfort. He allowed the embrace.

And from my seat in the car, I smelled it. The scent of Kaelan-that intoxicating mix of thunderstorm and pine-was already clinging to her, mingling with her own cloying, floral perfume. It was a scent that should have been mine. A scent that an Alpha shares only with his Luna, marking her as his. The sight, the smell... it was like a physical blow, knocking the air from my lungs.

Kaelan gently untangled himself from Livia. He opened the back door for her, then looked at me.

"Seraphina, would you mind?" he asked, gesturing to the driver's seat. It wasn't a question.

Numbly, I got out, my movements stiff. I walked around the front of the car, avoiding the sympathetic and scornful glances of the few pack members still lingering outside. I slid into the driver's seat as Kaelan settled into the back with Livia. The warmth he'd left on the leather was a cruel mockery.

The drive to the Thorne family estate was the longest ten minutes of my life. Livia, nestled against Kaelan in the back seat, began to subtly release her pheromones, a sweet, suggestive scent meant to entice an unmated male. She spoke in a low, purring voice.

"Kaelan, you know that little lakeside villa I love? The one with the private dock? I was thinking... maybe you could come with me to look at it again tomorrow? I need a new nest, a proper one."

"Of course, Livia," Kaelan's voice rumbled from the back, soft and indulgent. "Whatever you want."

I glanced at the rearview mirror and my eyes met Kaelan's. He had the decency to look apologetic, a faint frown on his face as if to say, "I'm sorry you have to see this."

But sorry wasn't enough. Not anymore. I felt my heart, which had been battered and bruised for seven years, finally sink into a cold, dark abyss.

I pulled up to the gates of the Thorne family's sprawling manor. Livia's parents, the pack's head Beta and his mate, were waiting. They rushed to the car, fawning over Kaelan as he stepped out.

"Alpha! Thank you for bringing our Livia home safely!"

They ushered him inside, chattering away, their bodies physically blocking my view. They didn't spare a single glance for the Omega sitting in the driver's seat of the Alpha's car. I was invisible. A tool. A chauffeur.

I sat there for what felt like an eternity, the engine humming softly. Five minutes passed. Ten.

Then, Kaelan's voice echoed in my mind, distant and detached.

"You can go back now."