Seraphina Pov

The silence was thicker than ever that morning.

I didn’t know what was louder, the echo of my own heartbeat or the memory of his hands from last night. The way he had taken me with such brutal indifference, like I was nothing but a task to be completed and discarded.

The memory of how he had adjusted his pants, and walked out as if nothing had happened flashed in my mind. I had laid there, trembling from rage and from the unmistakable pulse that had ignited deep inside me when his skin brushed mine.

The bond. I felt it.

I felt it from the moment his scent wrapped around me and burned its way into my lungs. From the moment our eyes locked in that throne room, I was offered and last night finalized it

“ He didn’t feel it or worse, he did, and ignored it”, I soliloquized using my palm to shield my face.

“ I shouldn't feel this”, I pressed my fingers to the place above my heart, where the ache settled.

“Milady”, a knock at the door snapped me from my thoughts. One of the palace maids peeked in, nervous as always.

“Alpha King requests your presence for breakfast”.

“Alpha King”, l let out air from my mouth.

Not husband, not a mate just title, duty and expectations.

“Tell him I’ll be down shortly”, I nodded, pushing away the sting. “

I brushed a comb through my hair with deliberate strokes, trying to smooth out the chaos he’d left me in, my eyes were harder than I've ever seen, I didn't recognize my reflection anymore but I stood up gracefully.

I wore a high-neck gown of deep navy velvet, long-sleeved and regal. If I was going to play the part of the king’s wife, I would do it with the kind of poise he couldn’t ignore.

But still beneath the fabric, my skin remembered his touch. Not with longing, It remembered with confusion that a mate could touch you like that and walk away like nothing ever happened.

I walked into the grand hall and found him already seated.

Lucien didn’t look up.

“Typical”, I said under my breath.

I took the seat across from him, quiet as a day. The atmosphere was tensed, like two strangers forced into the same picture frame.

“You’re late”, his voice croaked.

“I was dressing,” I replied smoothly. “Forgive me for trying to look like a queen”. I said, he glanced up at that just for a second but it was enough to make my chest throb. His eyes were sharper this morning, colder, as if daring me to try softness again.

“I didn’t marry you for your looks”.

“No,” I said, reaching for the silver spoon. “You married me for my womb”, his hand twitched barely but I caught it.

“ Pardon me, I like to look good”, I said and digged in. He blinked his eyes, ignoring my existence.

We ate in silence for a few moments, the clinking of cutlery was the only sound between us. I fought the urge to grab his collar and shake the truth into him. You’re my mate, you are human, why can't you feel it? But I didn't.

“You cried last night”, he broke the silence, my fingers froze around my glass.

“And you left,” I whispered.

“I guess we both did what we were expected to do”.

“I don’t do comfort”, Lucien’s jaw ticked.

“I didn’t ask for comfort”, I said, sharper than intended.

“I asked for a minute…for a breath”, I added and he rose suddenly, chair scraping back. The servants froze, the entire hall tensed, I could hear my heart beating in my head.

“Then breathe now”,he said coldly.

“Because when the moon cycle ends, I expect results, know this, I won’t wait months”, he said sharply. It was cruel and calculated.

I stood too, slowly. I didn’t care that everyone was watching now, he didn't care either.

“You expect an heir,” I said quietly.

“But not a wife, just a vessel to swing at your volition”, he looked me, dead in the eyes and said nothing.

“Do you feel nothing?”, My voice dropped. “When you’re near me, does your wolf not stir? When you touched me… did you feel nothing?”

“You’re playing a dangerous game”, Lucien’s eyes darkened.

“No,” I whispered.

“I’m just asking the question your silence keeps avoiding”.

He took a step forward. My heart did something stupid, like hope.

“I feel what I choose to feel, Seraphina,” he said, voice low.

“And I choose nothing”, he smirked. It should’ve shattered me but instead, it awakened something colder.

“Then maybe that’s why your wolf won’t answer you,” I said, turning away.

“Maybe it’s not me who’s the problem”, I said and walked out of the hall like I hadn’t just been gutted.

The bond was real, I couldn't deny it.

That night, I stood by the open window of my chamber, letting the night air sting my skin. The stars looked different here and colder like everything else in this cursed castle.

I let my wolf rise, just enough to feel her presence ripple beneath my skin.

She howled quietly.

“She knows,” I whispered.

“It’s him. I know it”, It wasn’t fair. Fated mates weren’t supposed to be this cruel, I've heard stories but never of one this blind.

I pressed a hand to my stomach. A cruel part of me hoped I wasn’t pregnant, not like this.

A soft knock came at the door.

“Yes?”, I stiffened.

“His Majesty requests your presence in the East Wing”, a servant stepped in, head bowed.

“Why?”, I frowned.

“He didn’t say”, he said naively.

“ Let's go”, I followed the servant down the corridor, heart thudding in a rhythm I couldn’t control. I told myself it was nerves. but it was more than that.

The doors opened to the East Wing, an unused chamber filled with old heirlooms and portraits. The dust clung to the air made me cough, just a little.

Lucien stood by the window, arms folded, back to me.

“You sent for me?”

He turned. His expression unreadable.

“I had a dream,” he said quietly. “Last night”.

“You dream?”, I blinked, he ignored that.

“There was a wolf. Silver-eyed, standing on the edge of a cliff”.

“And?”, I swallowed hard, he looked straight at me now.

“She looked like you”, he said and I gasped.

“ What does that even mean?”.

“I don’t believe in signs,” he said.

“But I do believe in instincts…”. The silence stretched again, taut and trembling.

I took a step forward and then stopped.

“Do you feel it?” I asked, he didn’t answer, he didn’t deny it either.

That was enough to set my hope ablaze all over again.