Seraphina's POV
David's hand froze an inch from my cheek.
It stopped because another hand-stronger, colder-clamped tightly around his wrist.
"Leave."
Sebastian didn't raise his voice. No need. That one word, soft yet sharp, cracked like ice sliding into lava.
The fury in David's eyes drained instantly, replaced by something primal-fear.
He knew exactly who Sebastian was.
The Alpha of the Shadow Pack. A name whispered with more fear than Marcus ever commanded. Older. Stronger. And way more dangerous.
David tried jerking his arm back, but it was like being caught in a vice. He hunched his shoulders, desperate. "I... I'm sorry, sir. I didn't mean anything by it, really."
Sebastian finally looked away from me and turned his glacier-cold gaze to David. His eyes were like a midnight blizzard-no warmth, no mercy.
"You're not apologizing to me."
Color splotched David's face, making him look like he was choking on rage. But he turned toward me.
There was so much resentment in his glare, clashing with the fake remorse in his words.
"Seraphina, I-I was just playing around. You know me, right? No need to get all sensitive..."
I laughed-flat, sharp, and cold as steel.
Pushing away slightly from Sebastian's support, I stood on my own, keeping just enough distance to breathe.
"Of course not," I said, cocking my head just a bit, voice sugar-sweet and deadly, "Unless... you feel like telling Marcus how you're dying to get a handful of my ass. If he's totally cool with that, then sure-I can forgive your little 'joke.'"
David's color vanished faster than a snap.
He knew damn well-Marcus could cheat all he wanted, but he'd never let another Alpha lay eyes, let alone hands, on what he thought was his.
If Marcus ever heard that... David would be six feet under by morning.
"I-I screwed up! Luna Seraphina! Please-please don't be mad," he begged, scrambling off the floor like his life depended on it-which, honestly, it kind of did.
Dragging his crew behind him, he practically bolted from Moonshade Bar.
The silence finally cracked.
Victoria walked up, heels clicking, a little smile tugging at her lips as her eyes bounced between me and Sebastian.
Clever as always, she didn't pry. Just wrapped me in a tight hug.
"I'll leave you two. You know how to reach me, babe-anytime."
She murmured the words in my ear, then gave Sebastian a pointed look before disappearing with all the grace in the world.
Now it was just me and him.
With the adrenaline fading, the nausea crashed over me like a wave.
I tried to say "thank you," but my mouth failed me. Instead, a deep, awful sourness hit my throat hard.
I slapped a hand over my mouth-too late.
I doubled over as nausea hit me hard, emptying the mix of whiskey and humiliation straight onto his expensive, perfectly tailored suit pants.
For a second, time just... froze.
My mind went completely blank, overtaken by a tidal wave of shame.
That awful sour stench quickly filled the air-honestly, way worse than the bloody scent David left behind.
The bit of composure and strength I'd managed to muster just minutes earlier shattered instantly-gone, like it never existed.
I was sure he'd recoil in disgust or just walk away without a word. But he didn't.
He stood there, silent, simply watching me.
And then it hit me-something was wrong.
A burning itch started prickling under my skin, like tiny ants crawling through my veins. My cheeks, neck, arms-they all heated up, turning blotchy red.
"You're allergic to alcohol," he said, voice calm.
Without hesitation, he slipped off his soiled jacket and tossed it aside. Then, he grabbed my arm and, not giving me a chance to object, pulled me out of the bar.
The cold night air gave me a brief moment of clarity, but the heat spreading through me only got worse.
He pushed me into the back seat of a Maybach and the car shot forward like it had a mission.
Curled up on the soft leather seat, I drifted between waves of burning heat and chills until the scent of antiseptics surrounded me.
*****
Silver Moon Hospital.
When the world finally stopped spinning, the first thing I saw was Marcus's furious face.
He looked like a lion whose territory had just been invaded-rage pouring off him, his familiar scent of pine and storm tainted with a trace of Maria's perfume. The nausea rose again.
Behind him, Sebastian stood like stone-stoic and still. His very presence made Marcus's rage look more like a tantrum than a threat.
"Thanks for bringing my mate to the hospital. You can leave now," Marcus snapped at Sebastian.
I didn't want Sebastian to see me like this-dressed in a baggy hospital gown, IV in my hand, looking like a helpless pet stripped of its claws.
Struggling to sit up, I glanced at the silent man and spoke in a hoarse whisper that barely sounded like me, "Thank you, Alpha Sebastian. You should go now."
"Of course. But..." Sebastian didn't spare a glance at Marcus. His eyes stayed on me. "If that's not how you really feel, don't be afraid. You can just say it."
"Alpha Sebastian! Watch your tone!" Marcus exploded. But Sebastian didn't flinch. He was taller by an inch, more solidly built, his voice like ice.
"I take responsibility for the people I save. Even if she has a mate-clearly, her mate doesn't seem to care. Are you going to deny that?"
There they were-two Alpha wolves squaring off in a tiny room. It felt like the whole hospital might blow apart from the tension.
I quickly cut in, "Alpha Sebastian, thank you for standing up for me, but I have a few things to sort out with Marcus."
Sebastian's intense gaze lingered on me. I gave a subtle nod, and he finally turned and left the hospital room.
I let out the breath I didn't realize I was holding. Last thing I wanted was to get caught in the middle of two packs, entangled with either of them. Not now.
The door clicked shut, and just like that, Marcus dropped the act.
He lunged forward, bracing his hands on either side of me, caging me in with his presence. "Why were you with him, Seraphina? Was that planned? Did you sleep with him?!"
I stared into his bloodshot eyes, burning with jealousy, and suddenly, it all just felt... pathetic.
"Didn't your buddy fill you in?" I asked flatly. "He saw David corner me at the bar. Maybe ask David what he was doing eyeing my ass first?"
Marcus froze, jaw clenched, a flicker of rage flashing across his face. "That's not the point!" he snapped, cutting me off. "Tell me! What's going on between you and Sebastian?!"
His breath hit my face-hot, sharp, almost frantic.
I could feel the Alpha inside him barely held back, like he'd snap any second.
But it wasn't care-it was fear. Fear that a stronger male had touched what he thought was his.
I felt the exhaustion wash over me.
"Truth is," I said quietly, looking him dead in the eyes, "the day you betrayed me, I could've done the same. I could've picked any guy, taken him to bed, made you feel that burning pain in your soul."
He flinched, staring at me like I'd slapped him.
"But I didn't," I added, lifting a hand to touch the spot at the back of my neck where his mark used to burn.
"I respected the bond the Moon Goddess gave us, even though you tainted it beyond recognition."
His eyes flickered-was that relief I saw? For a heartbeat, he thought he still held me.
That's when I felt it-my heart sinking deep into numbness.
"This mark's fading," I said slowly, "and I'll wait for it to disappear completely. Only then will I walk away. And when I do, I'm done waiting to be free. I'll go find it myself."
"Seraphina..." he started, voice low, but the fight had already drained out of him.
He stepped back, relaxing just a little, thinking he'd somehow still won. That I was still chained by some invisible rule keeping me by his side.
"I'll make David bleed," he said, standing taller, refusing to meet my eyes, tossing out an Alpha's promise like it made up for anything.
I closed my eyes, no longer interested.
Yeah, I'd wait for the mark to vanish.
But I wasn't staying passive anymore.
He'd never get it. He'd never change.
My freedom would never come from guilt or a second chance.
And then there's Sebastian...
That dangerously powerful man who always seems to show up when I'm at my lowest.
I could see those icy blue eyes in my mind. He wasn't some savior. He wasn't love.
He was a blade.
A razor-sharp weapon that could slice through every chain and carve out a way forward with blood and fire.
