Seraphina’s POV
I straightened my shoulders and t his intense gaze. "I’m ready."
His voice broke slightly when he spoke my na. "Seraphina, if this goes sideways... grab the kids and get out. Don’t look back."
"Nothing’s going sideways," I said firmly. "We’re in this together. That ans we win."
For a mont, his mask slipped. He looked like he wanted to pull close and kiss until we both forgot about the danger lurking around us. But then the cold Alpha facade snapped back into place.
"Get back inside," he said loudly enough for anyone listening. "We’re finished here."
He turned and walked back toward the party. I followed, feeling every pair of eyes tracking our movent like predators watching prey.
The hours that followed were pure torture. I stood there like a decoration while guests treated like I was invisible. I watched Cordelia pop grapes between Julian’s lips, her fingers lingering on his mouth. I watched her throw her head back and laugh at his forced jokes like he was the most fascinating man alive.
My stomach churned when Vivian announced to a group of elders that Cordelia represented the "bright future of our pack." The woman bead like she’d already won so grand prize.
Uncle Jasper kept studying with those calculating eyes. Each glance made my skin crawl. He wasn’t looking at like I was a person with thoughts and feelings. I was just another piece on his chess board, waiting to be sacrificed.
The grandfather clock in the corner began its late night chi. My heart hamred against my ribs.
The music died. Uncle Jasper moved to the front of the room, raising a crystal wine glass.
"My dear friends," his voice carried across the suddenly quiet space. "Tonight marks a turning point. Our packs have faced hardship and division. But tonight, we offer sothing extraordinary. An ancient ritual of healing and restoration."
Excited murmurs rippled through the crowd. They had no idea what he really ant.
Jasper turned his predatory smile on Julian. "Alpha Julian, the ti has co. Bring your Luna. We must perform the ceremony in the sacred depths below."
Julian’s hand clamped around my arm. His grip was harder than necessary, playing his part perfectly. He dragged toward the door leading to the basent levels.
Cordelia practically skipped behind us, her eyes bright with sick anticipation. Vivian followed too, nervous energy radiating from her but clearly determined to see this through.
Our footsteps echoed on the stone stairs as we descended. The temperature dropped with each step. The air grew thick with the tallic scent of old blood and sothing else I couldn’t identify.
The basent opened into a cavernous space I’d never seen in all my years here. In the center of the room, soone had drawn an enormous circle using what looked like black salt.
Surrounding the circle were the jars.
Hundreds of them. Each one glowed with an eerie blue light that made my teeth ache. Inside every jar, a tiny fla flickered desperately. Those flas were the spirits of wolves who’d been stripped of their power.
I’d never seen anything so disturbing in my life.
"Magnificent, isn’t it?" Uncle Jasper stepped into the circle’s center. "All this accumulated power, just waiting to be channeled."
His gaze moved between Julian and like a cat eyeing two particularly plump mice.
"Step into the circle," he commanded.
Julian pulled forward until we stood in the black salt ring. The jars seed to pulse brighter, and I felt their occupants’ pain like needles under my skin. They were suffering. They wanted freedom.
Cordelia positioned herself at the circle’s edge, clutching a silver dagger that glead in the strange light. Her beautiful face was twisted with raw greed.
"Finally," she breathed. "I’ll beco the White Wolf. I’ll have everything I’ve ever wanted."
Uncle Jasper began chanting in a language that sounded ancient and wrong. The air started moving in spirals around us. The blue glow from the jars intensified until it hurt to look directly at them.
Sothing hooked into my chest and started pulling. It felt like invisible claws trying to tear my soul free from my body. Beside , Julian began shaking violently. His eyes rolled back until only white showed.
"It’s working!" Vivian shouted over the wind that had sohow started indoors. "Look at their power flowing out!"
Uncle Jasper threw back his head and laughed. The sound was pure evil. "Yes! Give everything! Your strength, your souls, your very essence!"
The pulling sensation grew stronger, more painful. It felt like my heart was being slowly ripped from my chest. But the Fang-Shield root created a heavy weight in my core that wouldn’t budge. The hooks couldn’t find purchase on my protected soul.
I caught Julian’s eye through his performance. His gaze was clear and sharp.
Our charade was over.
"Now?" I whispered.
The fake weakness vanished from Julian’s face. Golden light erupted from his body like a miniature sun.
"NOW!" he roared.
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