Julian’s POV
Every single day I tried to make things right with Seraphina. Every morning I woke up hoping today would be different. But nothing I did seed to matter anymore. She looked at like I was a stranger, soone who had hurt her beyond repair. Still, sothing inside refused to give up. I kept reaching out even when she turned away.
At least Roxanne had listened when I told her to leave. Having her around after everything that happened would have made things impossible. That was one small rcy. But my luck didn’t extend much further than that.
Rogue wolves had been spotted near our territory again. The sightings were becoming more frequent over the past weeks, like shadows creeping closer to our borders each day.
This ant I needed to get to the Solstice Fang imdiately. I had to et with Alpha Maxwell, my strongest ally, to strengthen our defenses and understand exactly what kind of threat we were facing.
But leaving Seraphina alone was not an option. Not now. She was like a caged animal, wild and unpredictable. I could feel her desperation to escape this place, to run from this pack and from . The fear that I might return to find her gone ate at my insides like poison.
I would never let that happen again.
"We leave for the Solstice Fang tomorrow," I announced during dinner. The words fell between us like stones dropping into still water.
We sat across from each other in silence that stretched endlessly. She never lifted her eyes from her plate. The scraping of her fork against the ceramic grated on my nerves. She continued eating as if I were invisible, as if my voice ant nothing.
The irony wasn’t lost on . I used to be the one who ignored her pleas for attention. I was the one who withheld what she desperately wanted from . Now the tables had turned, and feeling her indifference was like a knife twisting in my chest.
"Should I care?" Her voice was completely flat, emotionless. It revealed exactly who she had beco - soone who simply didn’t give a damn about anything I said.
"Yes, because you’re coming with ." I forced authority into my voice even though every word felt like pulling teeth.
She froze mid-bite, then slowly raised her head. When her eyes finally t mine, they blazed with fierce, untad fury.
"No, I’m not." Her voice rose with each word.
But I wasn’t backing down. I couldn’t. She might hate right now, but I knew that soday she would understand. She would see that everything I did ca from love, even if it looked like cruelty to her now.
"Yes, you are." I held her stare, making it clear this wasn’t up for debate.
This was an order, not a request.
"I should tell you to be ashad of dragging along to see your girlfriend." She pushed back from the table with such force that her chair scraped loudly across the floor. "But you don’t know the aning of sha."
She stood there glaring at with pure venom in her eyes before turning and walking away, leaving alone with our barely touched al and my shattered heart.
The truth was, I felt more sha than she could possibly imagine. I wished I could undo that night she kept throwing in my face. But there was no going back, no erasing what allegedly happened. The problem was, no matter how hard I tried to rember, that entire night remained a frustrating blank in my mory.
I didn’t want to call Roxanne a liar. She had never given reason to doubt her before. But I also couldn’t picture myself betraying Seraphina like that. It went against everything I believed about myself. Yet sohow it happened, and I needed answers.
Not knowing was torture. I hated being out of control, and right now I wasn’t even in control of my own mories.
The next morning brought no improvent in our relationship. The car ride was suffocating, filled with heavy silence that pressed down on both of us.
Seraphina stared out the passenger window, her jaw clenched tight. Every mile we traveled felt like we were drifting further apart instead of moving toward the sa destination.
The tension grew worse because Nolan was riding with us. After whatever had happened between him and Seraphina last ti, neither wanted to be near the other. But he was my gamma, and I needed him there.
I still didn’t know why she had slapped him, and maybe I didn’t want to know. Because if he had disrespected her in any way, there would be consequences.
When we finally reached Solstice Fang territory, the atmosphere sohow beca even more strained. Alpha Maxwell and Luna Vivian waited outside to greet us, their smiles looking forced and uncomfortable.
What caught completely off guard was Seraphina’s reaction to seeing her birth parents. She gave them nothing more than a brief, polite nod. No embrace, no warmth, not even casual conversation. Just cold acknowledgnt, as if they were acquaintances rather than the people who brought her into this world.
Pain flickered across Vivian’s face for just a mont before she hid it. Their lack of connection was painful to witness. I hadn’t expected their relationship to be so distant and broken.
Alpha Maxwell led Nolan and into his private office. His usually composed expression showed hints of worry. After we discussed the rogue situation, he leaned back in his chair, his eyes narrowing slightly.
"Julian," he began carefully, "Roxanne returned to us several days ago."
My stomach dropped. "I heard."
"She shared a rather disturbing account." He paused, weighing his words. "She claims you forced her to leave."
I tensed. "I asked her to go, and she complied. It was a private matter."
I had no idea how much she had told them about why I asked her to leave. Nolan knew the whole story since Roxanne had announced it to anyone who would listen, but I wasn’t comfortable discussing it here.
Alpha Maxwell’s gaze sharpened. "You’ve always been welco here. As allies, you know my daughter should always be welco in your territory."
"And she was, Alpha Maxwell," I replied firmly. "Until circumstances changed. Whatever issues exist between Seraphina and are private. Outside interference only makes things worse."
I t his stare directly. "If you want the full story, I suggest you ask Roxanne herself."
Tension crackled between us, an unspoken challenge hanging in the air. Alpha Maxwell studied for a long mont before slowly nodding, accepting my deflection even if he didn’t like it.
We continued our eting, but a new undercurrent of strain ran beneath everything we discussed.
Suddenly, shouting erupted from sowhere inside the packhouse, followed by the sound of sothing crashing. My head snapped up, every instinct going on high alert. Alpha Maxwell shot to his feet, his alpha senses kicking in imdiately.
We exchanged a look that said everything. Trouble was brewing.
Without hesitation, we all rushed from the office, following the escalating commotion. We burst into one of the main common areas, and the scene before us made my blood run cold.
Seraphina and Roxanne stood face to face in a heated confrontation. Roxanne’s cheek bore the bright red mark of a fresh slap, her face twisted with rage and shock.
Seraphina’s eyes burned with barely contained fury, her chest heaving with rapid, angry breaths. Dangerous energy radiated from her like heat from a fire.
"You lying bitch!" Seraphina snarled, her voice trembling with rage, her hands clenched into fists as if ready to strike again.
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