Seraphina’s POV
I stood at the bus stop three blocks from our house. My hands were shaking. My whole body was shaking.
What the hell did I just do?
The bus wasn’t coming for another fifteen minutes. I kept looking back down the street, toward our neighborhood. Toward the house where Lily was sleeping in her crib, not knowing her mother just walked out on her.
My throat burned. I wanted to cry, but the tears wouldn’t co. It was like my body had shut down completely.
*Move,* I told myself. *You wrote the letter. You made the choice. Now move.*
But where was I supposed to go?
I hadn’t thought about that part. I’d been so focused on leaving, on doing the right thing, that I never planned what ca next. Now I was standing here like an idiot at a bus stop, with nowhere to go and no idea what to do.
The small bag in my hand felt impossibly heavy. Just a few clothes, so cash I’d saved up, my phone. Everything I owned now fit in one little overnight bag.
I couldn’t go to Ophelia’s. That would be the first place Damien looked. And Ophelia would take one look at and demand answers. She’d probably call Damien herself once she found out what I’d done.
I couldn’t go north. The rogue wolves were still out there. Without Ayla, I’d be dead within hours.
So where? Where does a human woman with no plan and no future go?
My phone buzzed. My heart jumped so hard it hurt.
*Damien.*
But when I looked at the screen, it was just spam. So stupid robocall about car insurance.
I’d blocked Damien’s number before I left. It was the only way to be sure I wouldn’t answer when he called. Because I would answer. I was weak like that.
The thought of him finding my letter made my stomach twist into knots. He was probably reading it right now. Probably calling every na in the book. Probably realizing I was right about everything.
Or maybe he was relieved. Maybe this was easier for him. Now he didn’t have to pretend I was enough anymore.
The bus finally arrived with a loud hiss of brakes. The doors opened and I climbed on, dropping my fare into the slot. The driver barely looked at . Just another passenger going sowhere.
I found a seat near the back and pressed my face against the window. The bus pulled away from the stop, carrying further from everything I’d ever loved.
We drove past the coffee shop where Damien and I had our first date. Past the park where Adrian learned to ride his bike. Past the clinic where I gave birth to Lily.
Everything looked so normal. So peaceful.
I wanted to scream.
Each mile took further from my children. My chest felt like soone was squeezing it in a vise.
*This is for them,* I kept telling myself. *This is the right thing.*
But it didn’t feel right. It felt like dying.
I had to get off at the next stop because I couldn’t breathe anymore. The bus pulled away, leaving standing alone on a street corner in a town I didn’t recognize.
I found a small diner and ordered coffee. The waitress was human. She smiled at and asked if I wanted cream. Normal human interaction.
*That’s now,* I thought.
The coffee tasted like dirt, but it was hot. It gave sothing to focus on besides the hole in my chest where my heart used to be.
A businessman at the next table was talking loudly on his phone about quarterly reports and market projections.
How was I supposed to do this? How was I supposed to live in a world I’d never really belonged to?
I watched the people around . A mother with two young kids, trying to keep them from spilling their juice boxes. An elderly couple sharing a piece of pie. A teenage girl texting furiously while her food got cold.
Normal. All of them so beautifully, perfectly normal.
I used to think normal was boring. When I was with Damien, when I was part of the pack, normal seed like settling for less. Now it looked like peace.
My phone buzzed again.
This ti, I almost dropped it.
The na on the screen made my heart stop.
Caleb.
My hands were shaking as I opened the ssage.
*"Sera! Long ti no see, how are you lately?!"*
I stared at the words until they blurred together.
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