Seraphina’s POV
The antiseptic sll hit first, sharp and clinical. Hospital. Again.
My fingers twitched against the rough sheets. They obeyed when I commanded them to move, but when I attempted to shift my legs, agony exploded through my entire body.
This wasn’t ordinary pain. This was liquid fire coursing through my veins. Every breath felt like razor blades slicing between my ribs. My stomach, my back, every inch of pulsed with tornt. The thin hospital blanket might as well have been made of concrete pressing down on my battered flesh.
A strangled whimper escaped my lips as I squeezed my eyes shut. I had to sit up. I had to understand where I was, what had happened.
Bracing myself with trembling arms, I forced my torso upward. The movent sent a scream tearing from my throat as white-hot pain crashed over in waves. I collapsed back onto the pillows, tears streaming down my cheeks.
"Whoa, take it easy there."
The deep male voice made flinch violently. My eyes snapped open to find a middle-aged man in a white coat standing beside my bed, his expression concerned but cautious.
"You need to move slowly, Miss. Your injuries are severe," he said, extending his hand toward .
The sight of his approaching fingers triggered sothing primal and terrifying. mories crashed through my mind like a freight train. The basent. Those brutal hands. The sickening thuds as boots connected with my ribs over and over. And Dorian, standing in the shadows, watching with dead eyes.
When the doctor’s fingertips barely grazed my shoulder, I lashed out with surprising strength, slapping his hand away.
"Don’t touch ," I gasped, my voice cracked and raw. The betrayal burned hotter than the physical wounds. "Stay back. Who are you? Where am I?"
The doctor stepped away, raising both hands peacefully. "I’m Dr. Robert. You’re in St. Mary’s Hospital. You’re safe now, I promise."
Safe. The word was a cruel joke.
My brother had orchestrated this nightmare. My own flesh and blood had watched n destroy .
I pulled the blanket up to my chin, creating a barrier between myself and the world. My heart hamred against my damaged ribs like a caged animal. I couldn’t trust anyone. Not anymore.
"Please just leave alone," I whispered, staring at the sterile white wall.
The door burst open with jarring suddenness, and a voice I now despised filled the room like poison.
"Seraphina. Thank God you’re awake."
Dorian stood in the doorway, immaculate as always in his designer suit and perfectly styled hair. He swept past Dr. Robert as if the man didn’t exist, rushing toward my bedside with theatrical urgency.
His face was a masterpiece of false concern as he reached for my hand. "I’ve been sick with worry. Thank the Goddess you’re alive."
Instead of pulling away, I struck his hand with every ounce of strength I possessed. The slap echoed through the room like a gunshot.
I t his eyes with all the hatred burning in my soul. "Don’t you dare touch , you sick freak."
Dr. Robert shifted uncomfortably, but Dorian acted as if we were alone. His expression crumpled into wounded confusion that might have fooled anyone who hadn’t seen his true face.
"Seraphina, what’s wrong with you? I don’t understand." His voice broke with practiced emotion. "I’m your brother."
The word hit like a physical blow. Brother. What a mockery.
I laughed, a sound so bitter and harsh it didn’t seem to co from my own throat. "You’re nothing to . The only thing you are is the sick animal who stood there and watched two n beat half to death."
His eyes widened in what looked like genuine shock. He stumbled backward, running trembling fingers through his hair. "Seraphina, I’m so sorry. If I had known who you were, if you had just told you were my sister..."
Wrong apology. He was sorry about my identity, not about the violence.
The grief that crashed over was worse than any physical pain. It was the death of every childhood dream I’d ever had about finding my family.
I stared at him with empty eyes. "You want to discuss what you put my body through today? Fine. This pain will fade. These bruises will heal."
My voice shattered as the real agony poured out. "But you stole my daughter. You ripped her from my arms before I could even hold her. That is unforgivable."
Dorian’s face hardened, the mask of concern finally slipping away. "This is about Julian, isn’t it? He poisoned you against your own family. He knew exactly who you were and kept you from ."
Terror for my mate ignited in my chest like wildfire. "Leave Julian out of this."
"Stop protecting him!" Dorian roared, his calm facade exploding. "After what his family did to ours, you still defend that monster?"
"He is my mate!" I scread back. "He’s nothing like you!"
Dorian’s smile was pure malice, cold and calculating. "Not for much longer. Your precious mate bond won’t last."
Ice flooded my veins. My breath caught in my throat as panic seized . "What are you talking about? What are you planning?"
His eyes glittered with dangerous satisfaction. "The people who murdered our father will pay in blood, Seraphina. Justice demands it."
"Julian never killed anyone!" I pleaded desperately. "His father did those things, not him. Julian is innocent!"
"Innocent or guilty doesn’t matter," Dorian snarled. "He carries his father’s sins. That’s how justice works in our world."
"I’ll stop you," I gasped, trying again to rise from the bed. The pain slamd back down like a physical wall, leaving trapped and helpless.
Dorian leaned over until I could feel his breath on my face, his voice dropping to a whisper that chilled my blood.
"Nothing can stop what’s already begun, Seraphina. Not you, not your precious mate, not anyone." His smile turned triumphant and cruel. "Right now, as we speak, the Solstice pack is burning to the ground."
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