30 Chapter 30: Regret’s Shadow
The pack hall echoed with laughter and music. Around me, wolves celebrated Lilith’s official acceptance as our concubine. But I felt nothing like celebrating.
My eyes kept drifting to where Seraphina sat alone in her pathetic gray dress. She held herself rigidly, face blank, giving nothing away. Not a tear, not a scowl, not even a flicker of pain. Just emptiness.
It should have satisfied me. This was what we wanted, wasn’t it? To hurt her as she’d hurt us. To make her suffer for her betrayals.
*You’re a fucking liar,* my wolf growled. *You never wanted this.*
I ignored him, taking another swig of my drink. The alcohol did nothing to dull the hollowness expanding in my chest.
“Ronan,” Lilith purred, pressing herself against my side. Her newly acquired marks stood out pink against her skin. “Why so serious? This is a celebration.”
I looked down at her, this woman we’d just claimed. Beautiful, desirable, willing. Everything a wolf could want.
Except she wasn’t mine. Not really. Not in the way that mattered.
“I’m fine,” I lied, watching over Lilith’s shoulder as Seraphina rose from her seat.
Lilith followed my gaze, her smile turning sharp. “I should go speak with our dear Luna. Make sure she’s enjoying herself.” Before I could stop her, she was gliding across the room toward Seraphina.
I couldn’t hear their exchange over the noise, but I saw Lilith lean in close, whispering something that made Seraphina freeze. Whatever Lilith said, it hit hard. For a second, Seraphina’s mask slipped, and raw shock flashed across her features.
My wolf surged forward, suddenly alert. *She’s hurt. Go to her.*
But I didn’t move. I watched Lilith saunter back to my brothers, looping her arm through Kaelen’s as Seraphina stood motionless, looking like she’d been struck.
Across the room, Beta Malachi raised his glass toward Seraphina, his smile cold and predatory.
Something was very wrong.
I couldn’t bear it anymore. The noise, the false celebration, the sight of Seraphina standing alone while everyone pretended she didn’t exist,
I set down my glass and strode from the hall, ignoring the curious glances that followed me.
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30 Chapter 30: Regret’s Shadow
Outside, the cool night air cleared my head a little, but did nothing for the ache in my chest.
My feet carried me automatically to the training grounds. The open space, the distant treeline it brought a small measure of peace.
“Running away, brother?” Kaelen’s voice came from behind me. I turned to see him and Orion approaching, their expressions as conflicted as I felt.
“Just needed some air,” I replied.
Orion scoffed. “Some celebration, huh? I’ve been to funerals with more genuine happiness.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Kaelen asked sharply.
“It means,” I cut in, “that none of us actually looks happy about claiming our concubine. The pack might be fooled, but we can’t lie to each other.”
Silence stretched between us, tense and uncomfortable.
Orion broke first, kicking at the ground. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Don’t you?” I challenged. “You’ve been walking around like someone pissed in your coffee since that night with Seraphina.”
His head snapped up. “That has nothing to do with anything.”
“Bullshit,” I spat. “It has everything to do with everything”
Kaelen ran a hand through his hair, agitation clear in every line of his body. “This isn’t productive.”
“No?” I laughed bitterly. “Then let’s be productive. Let’s finally talk about the thing we’ve been dancing around for years.” I pointed back toward the hall. “This whole farce we just performed – taking Lilith as our concubine it wasn’t about wanting her. It was about hurting Seraphina.”
–
“Watch yourself, Ronan,” Kaelen warned.
I ignored him. “But it’s not working, is it? Because no matter how much we try to convince ourselves we hate her, the truth is we’ve been lying to ourselves for years.”
“Speak for yourself,” Orion growled, but his eyes betrayed him.
“Fine. I will.” I took a deep breath. “I still love her. I’ve never stopped loving her. And I’m tired of pretending otherwise.”
The confession hung in the air between us. Neither of my brothers spoke, but their faces said everything. Shock, anger, and beneath it all, recognition,
“You’re out of your mind,” Kaelen finally said, but there was no conviction in his voice.
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30 Chapter 30: Regret’s Shadow
“Am I?” I challenged. “Then tell me why you hate her so much. Both of you. Tell me what she really did to you.”
Orion’s jaw clenched, “You know what she did.”
“No, I don’t,” I insisted, “I know what I think she did to me, but you two have never actually explained what happened between you and her. It’s always been vague accusations, but never details.”
Kaelen and Orion exchanged a look I couldn’t quite interpret.
“It doesn’t matter anymore,” Kaelen muttered.
“It matters,” I insisted. “Because whatever it was, was it really worth destroying our mate bond over? Was it worth turning our Luna into a servant? Was it worth the emptiness I know both of you feel every damn day?”
Orion looked away. Kaclen’s expression hardened.
“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” Kaclen said.
“Then tell me, I urged. “What did she do that was so terrible? What made you hate the girl who used to follow you around like you hung the moon?”
Something flickered in Kaelen’s eyes a flash of vulnerability so brief I almost missed it.
“She–” he began.
–
But before he could continue, rapid footsteps approached. We turned to see one of the pack warriors running toward us, his face pale.
“Alphas,” he panted, “you need to come quickly. Lady Lilith–she’s bleeding.”
My brothers and I exchanged startled glances.
“What happened?” Kaclen demanded.
“I don’t know, Alpha. One minute she was fine, dancing and celebrating. The next, she collapsed, blood all over the floor. The pack doctor is with her now.”
“Where’s Seraphina?” I asked, sudden dread pooling in my gut.
The warrior looked confused by my question. “The Luna was gone before it happened, Alpha.”
Kaelen’s expression darkened. “Let’s go,” he ordered, already striding toward the pack hall with Orion close behind.
I stood frozen for a moment, the conversation we’d almost had playing in my head. We’d been so close to truth, to finally confronting the past that had poisoned us for years.
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30 Chapter 30: Regret’s Shadow
But as always, something interrupted. And I couldn’t shake the feeling that Lilith’s sudden illness was more than bad timing.
As I followed my brothers back to the hall, my wolf growled a warning. *Be careful. There’s more happening here than you realize.*
Whether he meant with Lilith or with Seraphina, I wasn’t sure. But one thing was clear – the foundations of lies we’d built our lives on were beginning to crack.
And I feared what would emerge when they finally broke open.
