Seraphina’s POV
The darkness pressed against like a living thing.
I couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t think. My heart slamd against my ribs so hard I was sure they could hear it through the walls.
*Thump. Thump. Thump.*
Each beat scread his na. *Damien. Damien. Damien.*
He was here. In this house. Looking for .
I pressed my hands over my mouth to muffle the sound of my breathing. My whole body shook. Every muscle locked tight with terror and longing and guilt that threatened to tear apart.
"SERA!"
His voice bood through the house, raw and desperate and so achingly familiar it physically hurt. "SERA, I KNOW YOU’RE HERE!"
Oh God. Oh God, oh God, oh God.
My knees buckled. I slid down the wall of the tiny hiding space, my back scraping against rough wood. The darkness spun around .
*I should go to him. I should run out there and—*
No. No, I couldn’t. That’s why I left. That’s why I ran.
But hearing his voice after three weeks...
Footsteps pounded across the floor above . Heavy. Frantic. The whole house seed to shake with his fury.
"Your wife?" Margaret’s voice filtered through. High-pitched. Alard. "Young man, there’s no one here but family."
*I’m sorry,* I wanted to scream. *I’m so sorry I’m putting you through this.*
More footsteps. Damien was moving through the house like a storm. I could track his path by the sound—kitchen, living room, now the stairs.
*He’s going upstairs.*
My breath ca in short, sharp gasps. The small space suddenly felt impossibly smaller. The walls closing in.
*What if he finds ? What if he doesn’t?*
I didn’t know which possibility terrified more.
A door slamd open sowhere above. Then another. Then another.
"Who’s staying here?" Damien’s voice again, sharp as broken glass.
I bit down on my fist to keep from making a sound. Tears stread down my face, hot and endless.
The floor above my head creaked. He was directly overhead now. In the guest room where I’d been sleeping.
I could picture him standing there, taking in the space with those silver-blue eyes. Looking for any trace of . Any proof that I’d been here.
*He’s so close.*
If I closed my eyes, I could almost see him. The way his jaw would be clenched. The tension in his shoulders. The desperate, wild look that ant his wolf was close to the surface.
"I heard her." His voice cracked, and sothing inside shattered at the sound. "I heard a woman laughing. It sounded just like her."
*I’m here. I’m right here. I’m so sorry.*
"The TV," Caleb said, his voice gentle. Patient. "We were watching so cody show. Maybe the actress sounded similar?"
I pressed my forehead against my knees, my whole body curling in on itself. The guilt was crushing. Suffocating.
*What have I done? What am I doing to him?*
More creaking. More footsteps. He was moving around up there, searching every corner. Every shadow.
*Don’t look here. Please don’t look here.*
But also: *Please look here. Please find . Please make this decision for because I can’t—*
"I can’t sleep." Damien’s voice was barely a whisper now, but I heard it like he was right next to . "Not until I find her. Not until I know she’s okay."
A sob caught in my throat. I stuffed my fist harder against my mouth, my teeth cutting into skin.
"I’m sorry you’re going through this," Margaret said, her voice thick with sympathy. "I truly am. But we can’t help you with sothing we know nothing about."
The lie hung in the air. I could feel it, heavy and wrong.
More footsteps. Coming back down the stairs this ti. Each step taking him further away from .
*No. No, don’t go. Don’t leave here.*
I started to move. Started to push myself up. Started to—
*Stop.*
I froze, my hand on the wall, my whole body trembling with the effort of staying still.
*You left for a reason. Rember? You’re not good enough. You’re human now. Weak. Broken. He deserves better.*
But hearing him so close, hearing the pain in his voice...
"If she contacts you," Damien said, and I could hear him standing at the front door now. Right there. Right fucking there. "Please tell her sothing for ."
*Tell . Please. Tell anything.*
"What’s that?" Caleb asked.
My heart stopped. Ti stopped. Everything stopped.
"Tell her I’m not giving up."
The words hit like physical blows. Each one a knife to the chest.
"Tell her I’ll search for her every day for the rest of my life if that’s what it takes."
*Don’t. Please don’t do this to .*
"And tell her..." His voice broke completely. "Tell her Adrian and her baby girl needs her mother."
I bit down on my hand so hard I tasted blood. The sob that wanted to tear out of was trapped behind my teeth, behind my palm, behind three weeks of running and hiding and pretending I was doing the right thing.
*Adrian. Lily. Oh God, my babies.*
"I’ll tell her," Caleb said quietly. "If I see her."
The front door opened. Closed.
Silence.
I stayed frozen in the darkness, my body shaking so violently my teeth chattered. Tears poured down my face, soaking through my shirt, dripping onto my knees.
*He’s gone. He’s really gone.*
I should have felt relieved. Safe. Grateful that he hadn’t found .
Instead, I felt like I was dying.
The house was so quiet now. No footsteps. No voices. Just the sound of my ragged breathing and the pounding of my traitorous heart.
*Damien.*
Minutes passed. Maybe hours. I couldn’t tell anymore. Ti had lost all aning in this suffocating darkness.
Then—a soft knock on the panel.
"Sera?" Caleb’s voice. Gentle. Careful. "He’s gone. You can co out now."
I couldn’t move. My body had locked up completely, frozen in this small space like I’d been turned to stone.
"Sera?" Another knock. More urgent this ti. "Co on. It’s safe now."
The panel slid open, and light flooded in. I squinted against it, my eyes burning after so long in the dark.
Caleb crouched in the opening, his face tight with concern. Behind him, I could see Margaret hovering, wringing her hands.
"Hey," he said softly. "It’s over. He’s gone."
I tried to stand. Tried to move. But my legs wouldn’t work. They just... wouldn’t.
"I can’t—" My voice ca out as a broken whisper. "I can’t move."
"Okay. Okay, that’s okay." Caleb reached in, his hands finding mine in the darkness. "Co on. Let help you."
He pulled gently, and I let him drag out of the hiding spot. My legs gave out the mont I cleared the opening, and I collapsed onto the floor like a puppet with cut strings.
"Oh, honey." Margaret was beside instantly, her arms wrapping around my shoulders. "Oh, sweetheart."
I couldn’t hold it in anymore. The sob that had been trapped inside for three weeks—for three hours—for three fucking minutes since Damien left—it tore out of with a force that felt like it might rip apart.
"I’m sorry." The words tumbled out between sobs. "I’m so sorry. I’m so, so sorry."
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