Seraphina's POV
"No."
The word explodes from me before I can think. "Absolutely not. I'm not seeing him."
Theron studies me with those unreadable silver eyes. "He came alone. That takes either courage or stupidity."
"I don't care if he crawled here on his knees!" My hands shake with rage. "He rejected me in front of three hundred wolves. He chose Vivienne. He doesn't get to just show up and—"
"And what?" Theron interrupts softly. "Ask for forgiveness? Warn you about something? Try to win you back?"
That last option makes my wolf snarl inside me. He had his chance. He's not our mate anymore.
But my traitorous heart still aches at the mention of his name.
"What if it's a trap?" I ask. "What if Silver Creek sent him to—"
"To what? Assassinate you in my fortress surrounded by my guards?" Theron shakes his head. "No. Whatever Kael wants, it's personal." He steps closer, and the mate bond hums between us. "But the choice is yours, little wolf. See him or send him away. I'll support either decision."
I hate that he's giving me a choice. Hate that he's being reasonable when I want him to just decide for me.
"If I see him..." I swallow hard. "You have to promise not to kill him."
Theron's expression darkens. "He hurt you. Rejected you. Cast you out. Give me one good reason why I shouldn't rip his throat out."
"Because I need to do this myself." The words surprise me, but they're true. "If anyone gets revenge on Kael, it's going to be me. Not you."
A slow smile spreads across Theron's face—proud and fierce and somehow gentle all at once. "There's my Queen."
"I'm not your Queen."
"Not yet." He offers his hand. "Come. Let's see what the coward wants."
I take his hand because the mate bond makes it physically painful not to. We walk through the Citadel's halls, and I try to prepare myself for seeing Kael again.
Will it hurt? Will the severed bond still ache? Will I want to forgive him or kill him?
I don't know. And that terrifies me.
Axel leads us to a small meeting room. "He's unarmed," he reports. "We searched him twice. He's clean."
"Stay close," Theron orders. "If he makes one wrong move—"
"I know, my King." Axel bows and takes position outside the door.
Theron squeezes my hand once before releasing it. "Remember—you're not the weak wolf he rejected. You're powerful now. He should fear you, not the other way around."
The words settle something inside me. He's right. I'm not the same Sera who collapsed in that ceremony circle.
I'm something else now.
I push open the door.
Kael stands by the window, his back to me. He's thinner than I remember, his shoulders hunched with exhaustion. When he turns, I barely recognize him.
Dark circles shadow his eyes. His skin looks gray. His clothes are rumpled, and he smells like alcohol and desperation.
"Sera." My name comes out like a prayer. "Thank the Moon Goddess—"
"Don't." My voice cuts like a blade. "Don't you dare thank the Moon Goddess. You rejected her gift. You don't get to pretend you care about her blessings now."
He flinches. "You're right. I just... I needed to see you. To explain—"
"Explain?" I laugh, and it sounds harsh even to my own ears. "You want to explain how you promised to marry me for seven years, then rejected me the moment my wolf awakened? Or maybe you want to explain how you've been sleeping with Vivienne for six months while I studied to be your Luna?"
"It wasn't like that—"
"Then what was it like, Kael?" I step closer, and my Alpha aura pushes out. He actually stumbles backward. Good. "Enlighten me. Make me understand how the male I loved since childhood could destroy me so completely."
Behind me, Theron leans against the wall, silent but present. I can feel his pride through the mate bond.
Kael's eyes dart to the Lycan King, then back to me. "My father made me do it."
"That's your excuse?" Fury burns through my veins. "Alpha Marcus made you betray me? You're the future Alpha! You could have said no!"
"If I said no, he'd have disinherited me!" Kael's voice breaks. "The pack would have fallen into chaos. My younger brother isn't ready to lead. Wolves could have died—"
"So you chose your position over me." The realization settles like ice in my chest. "You chose power and comfort over the mate the Moon Goddess gave you."
"I chose the good of the pack." But he can't meet my eyes. "It was the responsible thing to do."
"Responsible?" I'm shaking now. "Responsible would have been talking to me. Telling me the truth. Giving me a choice!" My voice rises. "Instead, you let me believe your promises while secretly planning my humiliation!"
"I'm sorry." Tears stream down his face. "Sera, I'm so sorry. I didn't know it would hurt that much. I didn't realize—"
"Didn't realize what? That rejection could kill weaker wolves? That severing a mate bond feels like dying?" I bare my teeth. "Or didn't realize you'd actually feel guilty afterward?"
"All of it." He takes a step toward me, hands raised like approaching a wild animal. "I miss you. I can't sleep. Can't eat. Everything reminds me of you and what we could have been." His voice drops to a whisper. "Please. Please tell me there's a way to fix this."
For one moment—just one—I see the boy I used to love. The one who protected me from bullies. Who promised me the world.
Then I remember him standing with Vivienne. Remember his disgusted face when our bond snapped into place. Remember the relief in his eyes when he rejected me.
"There's no fixing this," I say quietly. "You made your choice."
"But you're my mate—"
"I was your mate. Past tense." I cross my arms. "You severed that bond. It's dead now. Gone."
"Then why does it still hurt?" He presses a hand to his chest. "Why can I still feel you sometimes, like a ghost in my heart?"
"Because you're an idiot," Theron says from behind me. His voice is calm, but there's steel underneath. "The mate bond doesn't die when one party rejects it. It withers slowly, painfully, over months or years. You'll feel phantom pain for a long time, Thornridge. Enjoy it."
Kael glares at him. "This is your fault. If you hadn't killed her parents—"
"If I hadn't enforced my laws, every pack in the territories would descend into chaos." Theron pushes off the wall, and suddenly the room feels smaller. "Your father knew what Sera was. Knew she was descended from First Mate bloodlines. And he suppressed her wolf through illegal dark magic to prevent her from bonding with me."
Kael's face goes pale. "That's... that's not possible."
"It's not only possible, it's proven." Theron's smile is sharp. "Want to know the real reason Marcus ordered you to reject her? Because if you'd accepted the mate bond, her power would have awakened anyway. And she would have been too strong to control."
"No." But Kael's voice wavers. "Father said she was dangerous. That her wolf was wrong—"
"Her wolf is perfect," I interrupt. "Powerful. Everything your father feared because it threatened his control." I step closer to Kael. "You weren't protecting the pack. You were protecting your father's secrets."
His legs give out. He sinks into a chair, his head in his hands.
"I didn't know," he whispers. "I swear, Sera, I didn't know about the suppression magic. I just... Father said you'd be a liability. That the pack needed a stronger Luna."
"So you chose Vivienne."
"She's perfect for the role. Strong bloodline, good connections, trained since childhood—"
"But she's not your mate." Theron's voice cuts through Kael's excuses. "Which means when you finally produce an heir, the child will be weaker than it should be. No true Alpha power. No divine blessing." He tilts his head. "Congratulations. You sacrificed your fated mate for a mediocre future."
The cruelty of the observation makes even me wince.
Kael looks up at me with red eyes. "Is that why you came here? To punish me? To rub my face in what I lost?"
"I came here because I had nowhere else to go," I say honestly. "Because your pack exiled me. Because I was dying in the Veil Forest when the Lycan King found me." I glance at Theron. "And because apparently, the Moon Goddess has a twisted sense of humor."
Understanding dawns on Kael's face. "No. No, you can't be—"
"His second-chance mate?" I finish. "Apparently, I am. The bond snapped into place the moment we met."
Kael looks like I've stabbed him. "But... but I'm your mate."
"You were. Until you rejected me." The words come easier now. "The Moon Goddess gave me to you first. You threw me away. So she gave me to someone who actually wants me."
"Sera, please—"
"Why are you really here, Kael?" I'm tired suddenly. Tired of his excuses, his regrets, his too-late realizations. "You didn't come all this way just to apologize."
He swallows hard. "I came to warn you. Father is planning something. I don't know what exactly, but I've heard him talking with Elder Corvinus. They mentioned your name. Mentioned the binding ceremony."
Ice floods my veins. "What are they planning?"
"I don't know. They always stop talking when I'm around." He stands, desperation clear on his face. "But Sera, they're serious. Whatever they're plotting, it's bad. And it's happening soon."
Theron's expression goes deadly. "When?"
"Before the ceremony. Maybe during." Kael finally looks at the Lycan King. "I know you hate me. I know I don't deserve consideration. But please—please keep her safe. She might hate me now, but I can't..." His voice cracks. "I can't let them kill her."
"They won't touch her," Theron promises. "I'll make sure of that."
Kael nods, then turns back to me. "I know sorry isn't enough. I know I destroyed everything. But for what it's worth..." He takes a shaky breath. "I do love you. I probably always will. And that's my punishment to bear."
Before I can respond, alarms scream through the Citadel.
Theron's head snaps up. "What—"
Axel bursts through the door, his face grim. "My King! Intruders on the east border. Multiple wolves. They're not rogues."
"How many?" Theron demands.
"At least twenty. Maybe more." Axel's jaw tightens. "And they're carrying Silver Creek colors."
My heart stops. "They're here. Already."
Theron's eyes flash silver. His aura explodes outward with such force that both Kael and Axel drop to their knees.
"Get Seraphina to the safe room," he orders Axel. "Triple the guards. No one gets close to her."
"Where are you going?" I grab his arm as he heads for the door.
He looks back at me, and his expression is pure predator.
"To teach your former pack what happens when they threaten my mate."
"Wait—"
But he's already shifting, his Lycan form massive and terrifying and somehow beautiful. He races out of the room, heading for the battle.
Leaving me with Kael, Axel, and the screaming alarms.
"Come, my Queen," Axel says, offering his hand. "We need to move. Now."
"But Theron—"
"Can handle himself. You're the target. We protect you first."
He's right. I know he's right.
But as Axel pulls me toward the safe room, as more alarms join the first, as the sounds of battle echo through the Citadel walls, one thought burns through my mind:
If Silver Creek came to kill me, they came prepared.
And if something happens to Theron because he's protecting me...
I'll burn their pack to the ground myself.