Seraphine’s POV

“Expect the worst… so it hurts less when it comes.”

I kept whispering these words to myself, again and again, until I actually believed and got used to it.

Still, my chest ached. I blinked back the tears that were threatening to roll out.

The maid’s warning echoed faintly in my head: “Your tears will be seen as weakness, and weakness is used against you.”

What kind of rule was that, anyway? In this cursed pack, even breathing wrong could get you killed.

“Move! Bring the bastard in…..now!”

The voice struck like thunder. Cold. Deep. Familiar.

Alpha Agora.

My heart skipped hard against my chest. He’s still here…

“Kiss your last breath if he’s not here by the next tick of the clock!” he growled, cold and deeply. The rumors weren’t wrong, he was who they said he was.

I leaned closer, peering through the tiny hole in the wall. But before I could even catch a glimpse, something silver flashed.

A knife.

It moved my eyes off the peeping hole, and with a clink, the knife thugged into the hole and hooked out.

Sharp and straight.

If I had seen it earlier, it would have been in my eyes.

I jerked back, my heart pounding. Then his voice again.

“Get out. Now!”

My blood ran cold. Was he talking to me? Did he know it was me?

Then…

“Seraphine!”

My entire body froze. My name echoed from him like a death sentence. My palms were slick and wet from sweat, my heart hammering against my ribs.

Moon goddess, am I going to die today?

The whispers of the maids came flooding back: “The Alpha’s personal maids never last long. Some vanish… others are found torn apart.”

I prayed silently as I stepped out from behind the wall.

The air was sharp, heavy with dread. Goosebumps prickled my skin as I clasped the hem of my dress, head bowed low.

He stood near the center table,.broad shoulders tense, eyes glinting faint red beneath the chandelier’s pale light.

“Come forward.”

He didn’t look up from the old scroll in his hand. Still, his command rooted me in place. My legs refused to move, yet somehow, my body obeyed, trembling with each step until I stood before him.

“What were you doing?” His tone was quiet, too quiet. “Spying on your Alpha?”

“I… I wasn’t spying,” I stammered. “I just heard noise and thought maybe you were…”

“Curious? Worried I was in danger?” One brow rose. His voice was deep, mocking.

Brilliant, Seraphine. The Alpha, in danger? Surrounded by guards and war-trained wolves? What kind of excuse was that?

I mean, out of the scraps in my head… I’m dead meat.

I stayed silent, biting my lip hard. My hands were wet with sweat.

He moved closer. I could see the faint scar slicing through his brow, the way his eyes flickered, half man, half beast. One wrong breath and he’d rip my throat out.

“I should end you now,” he murmured, low enough to chill my bones. “Save myself the trouble later. But since you’re so curious… you’ll see for yourself.”

The guards shifted behind me. Boots scraped stone. They were waiting for a command that never came.

“Bring him in.”

Two guards dragged in a bloodied servant, his face swollen, his hands bound. The man collapsed at Agora’s feet.

“So,” the Alpha said softly, “you thought it wise to trade my secrets for coins? Brave. Very brave.”

“No… no… ALPHA, please, spare me this!”

He stretched the dagger, and before the man could say more, he thugged the knife at his throat. One swift strike. I watched the way the blood burst out from his throat with a splash and rolled down.

A wet gasp. Then silence. I could guess no one was breathing, not even me.

Tears dripped down my eyes uncontrollably as I watched the Alpha wipe his hands like nothing happened, maybe a normal daily routine, with no expression on his face.

Turning to the man, he fell directly lifeless. I clamped my hand over my mouth as the body slumped to the floor, blood creeping like ink across the tiles.

Agora turned to me, calm, too calm.

“Still curious?”

I couldn’t move. Couldn’t breathe.

“Clean this mess,” he ordered his men. Then his eyes flicked back to me. “And you…”

My breath hitched.

“You’ll stay close. From now on, I want you where I can see you. Disappear again, and you’ll join the rest of my lifeless maids.”

I swallowed hard. “Y-yes, Alpha.”

“Good. I love that.”

He turned, cloak whispering against the floor as he moved toward the exit. But halfway to the door, he paused.

“Tell me something, Seraphine.”

I blinked. “Y-yes?”

He didn’t turn around. “You smell… familiar.”

My heart faltered. “W-what?”

He slowly turned, pulling a small knife from his belt. His eyes gleamed red again.

“Your scent. It’s not just mine or this pack’s anymore. It reeks of Kael’s filth.”

Confusion slammed into me. “I don’t know what you mean…”

He was suddenly in front of me, the blade pressed to my neck.

“Everyone out.”

The guards scattered in haste.

“It’s too early for betrayal, Seraphine,” he whispered, voice dropping to a lethal growl. “Too early for schemes.”

“I swear I don’t….”

“Enough!” The shout cracked through the room like lightning. “If I find you’ve been marked by another pack…” He leaned close, eyes blazing. “You won’t live long enough to explain.”

My knees buckled. I barely managed a whisper. “I’m not lying…”

He studied me for a long, unbearable silence. Then, at last, he sheathed the blade and turned away.

“Better not be.”

When the door slammed behind him, my strength gave out. I sank to the cold floor, shaking.

Too close. That was too close.

If he truly believed I carried Kael’s scent, his rival enemy’s scent…

And only one person had gotten close enough to plant that scent on me.

The head maid. She was the one with that familiar necklace.

Whatever game she was playing…

“Clean up the blood. Quickly!”