Seraphina’s POV
Every muscle in my body scread with exhaustion. The day had stretched endlessly - tending to the pack kitchen, ensuring operations ran without a hitch, caring for the abandoned pups discovered beyond our territory boundaries, and entertaining the orphaned children who looked to for comfort. My bones ached for nothing more than a scalding bath and the sanctuary of my bedroom.
Typically, our house remained silent at this hour. Julian and I existed as strangers sharing the sa roof. Most evenings, he disappeared before I returned ho, and days would pass without us crossing paths. Tonight, however, sothing had shifted. Rich laughter echoed from the living room - genuine, warm laughter I hadn’t heard from him in years, certainly never within these walls.
Dread twisted in my stomach before I even stepped inside. When I finally entered the living room, the scene before stole my breath. There on our sofa sat my mate and betrothed, doubled over with mirth.
His eyes blazed with a light I’d forgotten existed, radiating pure joy - none of which was ant for . Every spark of happiness belonged to her.
Roxanne.
My sister had returned.
She appeared untouched by ti, perhaps even more stunning than before. Her cascading ebony waves frad a face blessed with erald eyes that could ensnare anyone’s attention. She remained breathtakingly beautiful, a vision that could stop traffic. Yet her beauty wasn’t what paralyzed . It was the way Julian gazed at her, the radiant smile painting her features.
The sight transported to mories I’d buried deep. The past I’d fought so hard to escape.
I never chose this destiny, but fate had dragged here kicking and screaming. For eighteen years, I lived as an oga’s daughter, enduring a miserable existence under a mother who despised for reasons I never understood. My father remained too weak to intervene, allowing her cruelty to flourish unchecked. I suffered in silence because it was all I knew, until the day she shattered my world. She confessed - not privately, but before the entire pack - that I wasn’t her blood. She’d switched with her real daughter at birth, revealing the devastating truth: I was Alpha Maxwell’s biological child from the Solstice Fang.
The revelation suffocated . My throat constricted, and indescribable agony tore through my chest.
The past was crashing back with devastating force. I beca that terrified girl again, arriving at the Solstice Fang with nothing but a worn backpack containing three pitiful outfits.
Every instinct urged to flee. I couldn’t face this confrontation, not tonight. But Roxanne’s eyes found mine, and her smile transford into sothing cruel and calculating. She hadn’t changed at all - still the sa Roxanne who thrived on destruction. The difference was that this ti, she didn’t need to lift a finger. The tableau before provided all the tornt she could desire.
"Sister," she purred, rising gracefully. She didn’t bother masking her satisfaction. Victory danced in her gaze as she absorbed my discomfort, relishing every mont of my obvious pain.
"Forgive us for not noticing you," she continued, her voice dripping false sweetness. "I hope you haven’t been standing there too long. You should have joined us - we have so much catching up to do."
I couldn’t fathom why she maintained this charade. Everyone knew we despised each other, though she’d always painted as the aggressor. The truth was, I’d never harbored ill will toward her, not then, not now. But in her eyes, I would forever remain a threat to her carefully constructed world.
She resented for reclaiming my birthright, for making her the adopted daughter while I beca the blood heir. I hadn’t co to destroy her life, yet my very existence had upended everything.
Before my arrival, everyone assud she would beco Julian’s destined mate. But when I ca of age and encountered Julian, our mate bond blazed to life, crushing her dreams to dust.
She wept for weeks, but tears couldn’t rewrite destiny. So she began her campaign against , framing for imagined slights while playing the innocent victim. Her tears beca her greatest weapon.
Julian had remained silent upon discovering our bond, never fighting the connection fate had forged. But Roxanne’s performances slowly poisoned him against . I pleaded my innocence repeatedly, but no one believed . They chose Roxanne, the girl they’d watched grow up, over the outsider who’d invaded their perfect world.
When I feared Julian might reject entirely, Alpha Quintus - Julian’s father - delivered an ultimatum that stripped away his son’s choices.
Marry his fated mate and secure prosperity for their pack, or forfeit his right to lead.
Essentially, Julian had been coerced into accepting our relationship.
"I’m afraid I can’t stay," Julian announced, standing and finally acknowledging my existence. His eyes held nothing - no warmth, no recognition, just arctic indifference. I’d grown accustod to this treatnt, but tonight I’d desperately hoped for so reassurance. Instead, he reminded exactly where I stood in his priorities.
"Can you prepare Roxanne a room?" he asked, though his tone made it clear this wasn’t a request.
"Is that all you have to say to ?" The words escaped before I could stop them. I deserved an explanation, but he’d already dismissed , making it obvious this was a command, not a conversation.
Questions burned in my throat - why was she here, and why hadn’t I been inford? But I swallowed them, knowing the answers would only deepen my anguish. Especially when he turned to Roxanne with tender concern instead of sparing even a glance. I was dying inside, but to him, I remained invisible. My heartbreak ant nothing because I ant nothing.
I forced down the lump threatening to choke , refusing to crumble before them both.
"I wish I could cancel this summit, but my attendance is crucial," he told her, his voice gentle in a way he’d never used with . "But I’ll return tonight."
He’d never felt obligated to explain his schedule to . I simply didn’t matter enough.
Roxanne imdiately threw herself into his arms while I stood re feet away, forgotten. He didn’t push her away.
"I missed you terribly. Please hurry back," she whispered against his chest, and he gazed down at her with unmistakable tenderness.
I watched it all unfold like a ghost haunting my own ho, my own life. He lavished upon her the affection I’d craved for two long years. I couldn’t even rember how his gentleness felt anymore. The sight gutted completely.
When he finally released her, he strode past without acknowledgnt. Only Roxanne and I remained, suffocating silence stretching between us. Her innocent facade vanished the mont he disappeared. Pure triumph glead in her eyes, and she’d earned it - she’d claid everything that would forever remain beyond my reach.
I inhaled deeply, forcing my composure back into place. I needed to appear unaffected, even as my world disintegrated around .
"Roxanne," I began carefully, "seeing you is certainly unexpected. Unfortunately, I wasn’t notified of your arrival. Had I known, proper arrangents would have been made. I’m afraid we cannot accommodate you here. Please return to the Solstice Fang. I’m certain our parents are eager for your company."
Her expression shifted rapidly - shock, then rage, finally settling into that familiar, chilling smile.
"Oh dear sister, surely he didn’t keep you in the dark!" she exclaid, stepping closer with predatory grace. "I’d planned to go straight ho from the airport, but Julian practically begged to co here instead. He’s even promised to throw an elaborate welco party in my honor."
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