Seraphina’s POV
The morning light filters through our bedroom curtains, casting soft shadows across the hardwood floor. I’m curled up in the reading chair by the window, watching Lily sleep in her bassinet, when Damien appears in the doorway with two cups of coffee.
"You’re up early," he says, crossing the room to hand one of the mugs. His hair is still ssy from sleep, and he’s wearing just sweatpants, his chest bare and distractingly perfect in the gentle morning light.
"Couldn’t sleep." I wrap my fingers around the warm ceramic, grateful for sothing to focus on besides the knot of anxiety that’s been sitting in my stomach since yesterday. "Lily was fussy around three."
"I didn’t hear her." His brow furrows with concern as he settles on the edge of the bed across from . "You should have woken ."
"You need rest too. Besides, it’s not like you could have helped. She was hungry."
He takes a sip of his coffee and studies with those silver-blue eyes that seem to see straight through all my carefully constructed walls.
"I got a call from Riley yesterday," he says finally.
My heart does sothing weird in my chest. "Riley?"
"From the training camp. She wanted to pass along a ssage." Damien’s voice is careful, like he’s walking through a minefield. "She and Lucas are getting engaged."
The words slam into like a punch to the chest. My heart does this weird little skip—part joy, part sothing that feels uncomfortably like grief. Of course Riley and Lucas are engaged. Everyone’s been waiting for them to figure it out for years. I should be thrilled.
"That’s wonderful," I say, and I an it. My voice only wobbles a little. "They’re perfect for each other. Really perfect."
"They want you to co to the engagent party." Damien sets down his coffee, his silver eyes studying my face. "They all do. The whole team has been asking about you."
I feel the blood drain from my face. "Damien, I can’t—"
"Why not?"
"Last ti I led that team, I almost got everyone killed."
The mory hits like a punch to the gut. The mission that went wrong six months before my capture. My tactical error that separated the team in hostile territory.
"That wasn’t your fault," Damien says quietly.
"It was." My hands are shaking now, the coffee mug trembling in my grip. "I made the call to split up. I chose the wrong route. If Marcus hadn’t—if they hadn’t been stronger than , better fighters—"
"Sera." Damien moves to the chair beside , his hand covering mine on the coffee mug. "Everyone ca ho. Everyone was fine."
"I failed them, Damien. And now I’m not even a wolf anymore. What could I possibly offer them now?"
I hear him stand, feel him move closer until his heat is a warm presence at my back.
"You could offer them the chance to see their friend again," he says softly. "The chance to celebrate with soone they care about."
His hands settle on my shoulders, warm and steady. "Or you could be a reminder of how strong you are. How you survived sothing that would have destroyed anyone else."
"They don’t even know," I whisper. "About Ayla. About what I lost."
"You won’t get pity from them." Damien’s thumb traces along my collarbone, a gesture so familiar it makes my chest ache. "You’ll get respect. And love. And probably a lot of questions about why you waited so long to visit."
I lean back against his chest, feeling so of the tension leave my shoulders as his arms wrap around . Lily stirs in her bassinet, making soft baby sounds that tug at my heart.
"What if I go and everything feels wrong?" I ask.
"Then we leave." His voice is matter-of-fact, like it’s the simplest thing in the world. "But you won’t know until you try."
I close my eyes, breathing in his scent—pine and leather and sothing uniquely him that always makes feel safer. Maybe he’s right. Maybe I owe it to Riley and Lucas to celebrate this mont with them. Maybe I owe it to myself to stop hiding.
"Okay," I say finally, the word barely a whisper.
"Okay?"
"I’ll go." I turn in his arms, eting his gaze. "But if this goes badly, I’m blaming you."
His smile is slow and devastating. "I can live with that."
---
Three days later, I’m standing in the parking lot of the Training Facility, my hands clenched so tightly around my car keys that the tal is cutting into my palm.
"You can do this," I mutter to myself, smoothing down the simple black dress I chose for today. It’s nothing fancy, but it’s clean and fits properly and doesn’t have any stains from baby spit-up. Small victories.
The front entrance slides open with a familiar hiss, and the scent hits imdiately. Not the human-filtered version I experience now, but still recognizable. Weapons oil and leather and the particular musk that cos from werewolves training at full intensity.
"Sera!"
I turn toward the voice and see Jake from communications jogging toward , his face lit up with genuine excitent. The sight of his familiar grin does sothing to ease the knot in my stomach.
"Holy shit, it’s really you!" He pulls into a bear hug that lifts off my feet. "We heard you were back, but nobody’s seen you around. How are you feeling?"
"Better," I say automatically. "Much better."
"You look good." His eyes are kind, but I can see the confusion there. The way he’s trying to figure out why sothing feels different about . "Thinner maybe, but good."
"Thanks." I force a smile. "Congratulations to Riley and Lucas. I heard the news."
"Yeah, finally, right? We all saw it coming from a mile away." Jake grins. "Co on, everyone’s in the main training hall. They’re going to lose their minds when they see you."
He leads through corridors that used to feel like ho, past rooms where I spent countless hours honing my tactical skills and leadership abilities. Every step feels heavy, weighted with mories of who I used to be.
The training hall doors are open, and I can hear voices and laughter spilling out. My steps slow as we approach, anxiety spiking sharp and sudden in my chest.
"Hey everyone!" Jake calls out as we enter the room. "Look who I found!"
The reaction is imdiate and overwhelming. Voices calling my na, people moving toward with smiles and open arms. For a mont, it’s exactly like Damien said it would be—love and excitent and genuine happiness to see .
Riley reaches first, pulling into a fierce hug that slls like vanilla.
"Oh my God, Sera! I’ve missed you so much!" Her voice is thick with emotion. "How are you? Really, how are you?"
"I’m okay," I lie, hugging her back and trying not to think about how her enhanced strength makes feel like a fragile human doll in comparison. "I’m so happy for you and Lucas. When’s the big day?"
"October maybe." She pulls back to study my face, her expression suddenly concerned. "You look tired. Are you getting enough rest?"
Before I can answer, more team mbers gather around us—faces I recognize, voices I rember, people who used to trust with their lives. They’re all so happy to see , so genuinely excited, but I can feel their confusion too.
"Where’s Marcus?" I ask, scanning the room for the familiar bulk of our forr specialist.
"Right here!" The voice booms from across the hall, and I turn to see Marcus approaching with two younger wolves trailing behind him. He looks exactly the sa—broad shoulders, dark skin, easy grin that could charm anyone into anything.
"Sera!" Marcus pulls into a hug that crushes the air from my lungs. "About damn ti you showed your face around here. We were starting to think you’d forgotten about us little people."
"Never," I say, my voice muffled against his chest. "Just... recovering."
"Well, you look fantastic." He releases and turns to the two younger wolves. "Tyler, Jenna, co et soone special. This is Seraphina Nightshadow, our forr team leader and the strongest female in our pack."
The words hit like a physical blow, even though I know he ans them as a complint. The strongest female. That’s what I used to be. What everyone still thinks I am.
I force my face into what I hope is a convincing smile as the newcors approach.
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