Seraphina POV:
The door hissed open. Light blinded me.
Dante stood there, impeccable in a tuxedo. He looked at me—blue-lipped, shivering—and for a nanosecond, his mask slipped. Horror?
Then the Alpha mask slammed back down.
"Get up."
I tried. My legs were wood.
Dante sighed, impatient. He hauled me up. His hand was warm, but the sparks were gone. It was just skin on skin.
"Tonight is the engagement party," he said. "You will attend. You will smile. And you will show the pack that there is no bad blood."
"I can barely walk."
"Lean against the wall," he said callously. "Go wash up. You smell like a corpse."
I scrubbed my skin raw in the shower.
I put on a black dress. Long sleeves, high neck. Mourning attire.
I knelt by my bed and pulled out a rusted tin box.
My pathetic treasure chest. A button from his shirt. Bloodstained gauze. A dried moonflower.
I carried the box into the hallway.
Dante was adjusting his cufflinks. He stopped.
"What is that?"
"Garbage."
I walked to the trash chute.
I opened it. I didn't hesitate. I tipped the box.
Whoosh. The incinerator roared below.
Dante flinched. He rubbed his chest, frowning, as if stung by a ghost.
"What did you just burn?"
"Nothing that matters anymore," I said, eyes dry. "Shall we go, Alpha?"
The ballroom was suffocating.
I stood in the shadows.
Dante took the stage with Isabella. She was radiant, feeding off the crowd's adoration like a vampire.
"My brothers and sisters," Dante boomed. "Tonight, I claim my happiness."
He turned to Isabella.
"Isabella Vitiello. You found me when I was lost in the dark. You healed me. Your scent was the lighthouse that guided me home."
Lies.
"Will you be my Luna?"
"Yes!" Isabella shrieked.
The room erupted. Dante kissed her.
I waited for the pain. The jealousy.
Nothing. Just silence.
I turned to leave.
"Wait!"
Isabella pointed from the stage.
"Sarah! Come here, sister! I want you to be the first to bless us!"
She wasn't done playing with her food.
I stopped. I turned.
And I smiled. A wolf bearing teeth.
"Coming, sister."
