Seraphina's pov

"Sera, this is the last time I allow you to challenge my authority." Marcus covered his cheek and walked away coldly.

After he left, the entire study seemed to freeze solid.

I leaned against the cold door, my body sliding down slowly until I collapsed onto the floor.

The hand that had slapped him was trembling uncontrollably now, my palm burning as if it still held the lingering warmth of his skin and the hardness of his bones.

The mark on the back of my neck was no longer a brand scorching my soul, but a dull ache - like a rusted nail deeply embedded in my spine, grinding against my nerves with every heartbeat.

Our mate bond, the tether once blessed by the Moon Goddess, was now worn to shreds.

It still connected us, still transmitted pain, but it could no longer carry love.

My whole body hurt as if my ribs were broken - is this how a human feels pain? I clenched my teeth. No matter what, even if it kills me, I am going to break my bond with Marcus.

For now, I just need to quietly wait for the remaining twenty-five days.

As long as I survive the thirty-day cooling period required by the Council, I can take Margaret's one billion dollars and leave this suffocating place with my aging parents.

Money can solve many problems.

It can buy my parents a peaceful old age in a new tribe, and it can buy me freedom and dignity.

I closed my eyes, sketching the blueprint of my future - the vast sky without Marcus - and my breathing loosened just a little.

I stood up, pushed open the study door, and headed straight toward the manor's back garden.

Margaret's greatest pride was this moonlit rose garden she tended with her own hands.

What if I pulled them all out? I imagined the moment Margaret saw it - her perpetually fake smile cracking apart, her teeth grinding - and a rush of petty revengeful pleasure surged through me.

I bent down and yanked up the first rose without hesitation, cooing dramatically at the flower, "Sorry, sweetheart, but I genuinely think a foul old hag like Margaret doesn't deserve you."

Then the second rose, the third... I even mimicked her clipped, pretentious tone as I uprooted them: "You lowly human, how could you ever deserve my son Marcus - ugh, eat shit. I'm pulling out every one of your roses today!"

In no time, the ground looked like a miniature rose earthquake. Petals and snapped stems mixed with dirt in complete chaos. Hands on my hips, I whistled at the disaster scene I'd created, feeling as light-hearted as if I were dancing in the center of a ballroom.

I didn't want to return to that banquet where I was unwelcome. I came out through the front gate - but damn it, my car had broken down, and I could only use my legs to walk down the mountain.

Behind me, the lights were still bright. My husband and his mistress were embracing in front of everyone, while I had been driven out of the banquet like a beggar.

I immediately sent Margaret a text message: [Wire me the one billion dollars right now! Otherwise I can't guarantee I won't tell Marcus the truth tonight!]

I hurried toward the front entrance, but the moment I stepped outside, nearly instantly, fat raindrops crashed down without warning, soaking me from head to toe. Perfect. Now I was a full-fledged mutt.

The Moon Goddess clearly wasn't my goddess. She wasn't on my side.

But I had barely taken a few steps when something felt wrong. A foul stench crawled into my nose.

Deep in my consciousness, unease paced restlessly. "It's fine, Seraphina. You're not far from the manor. No rogue wolves will show up here," I muttered to myself.

Because I had Marcus's mark, my senses were far sharper than before. I could smell the metallic sweetness of rain washing over soil and leaves. I could hear raindrops breaking on tree leaves hundreds of meters away. And then - the stench became sharper.

A rogue.

Terror climbed up from the soles of my feet, freezing my blood in an instant. I sped up, almost breaking into a full run.

Behind me, that malicious intent moved as well. Several dark shapes emerged slowly from the trees along the roadside. Their footsteps were nearly inaudible in the rain, but I could feel their mocking, predatory gazes sticking to my back.

"Look what we found - a little beauty, alone and soaking wet," a coarse voice called out in the rain, dripping with undisguised lust.

"This dress looks great on you. Too bad it's soaked. Must feel awful, huh? How about we help you take it off?"

My heart pounded wildly, threatening to burst out of my throat.

I bolted, the rain blurring my vision. My slippery skirt tangled around my legs, and I fell hard, scraping my palms and knees until they were raw and bloody.

They closed in slowly, unhurried, their greedy eyes roaming freely over the outline of my drenched body.

Despair washed over me like icy seawater.

I even thought - maybe dying here is better than going back to Marcus.

"Get away from me! You know who I am! I am Marcus's Luna!" I shouted at them.

"As rogues, we also watch the news. Your alpha already showed up at the banquet with the daughter of the Sun Fangs tribe's alpha."

"Stop talking to the pretty one. My dick is already hard," another rogue growled, lunging toward me -

At that moment, two blinding beams of light sliced through the rain, followed by an ear-splitting screech of brakes. A black sedan drifted sharply, stopping sideways between me and the rogues.

It was a Maybach, its lines sleek and powerful, like a black beast coiled and ready to strike in the storm.

The license plate was just a few simple numbers, but its arrogance was terrifying.

The rogues recognized the silver wolf-head emblem on the hood and scattered instantly.

I lay on the cold ground, trembling, gulping for air.

The back door opened, and a wave of scent - cedar, dry warmth - washed over me, instantly pushing back the night's chill.

A strong hand reached out toward me.

I lifted my head and met a pair of eyes as deep and cold as the far-northern winter night.

Alpha Sebastian, the alpha of the Shadow Wolf Pack - the strongest alpha. I remembered Marcus mentioning him several times, the only alpha he never dared provoke.

Why was he here?

He looked down at me, expressionless, as if everything that had just happened was nothing more than a dull inconvenience.

Heat rushed to my cheeks. Embarrassment, shame, helplessness... all of it coursed through me in a crushing wave.

"Do you need me to carry you into the car?" he finally asked, voice low and steady.

What?!

I shook my head. "Thank you. I'm not injured, just frightened."

I got into the car, and a coat was draped over me. I looked at Sebastian in confusion.

"I don't make a habit of having naked women in my car," he said.

I lowered my head and looked at myself. My dress was soaked, clinging to me completely. The outline of my breasts and the triangular patch between my thighs were painfully visible. My face flamed. "Thank you... I didn't realize..."

Alpha Sebastian only nodded before instructing the driver to head toward Marcus's alpha estate.

The entire ride, he didn't say a word.

When the car stopped at the entrance of Marcus's estate, I was just about to thank him again when Sebastian caught my hand and pressed a gold-embossed card into my palm.

"Seraphina," he said, his eyes locking onto mine, "if you're unhappy in the Crescent Pack, the Shadow Pack's corporate empire will always welcome you. You can always find me."

I held that card in my hand, pushed the car door open, and stepped out.

The heat from his palm still lingering on my skin made me desperate to leave immediately-otherwise I didn't know what irrational thing I might do.

Back in the empty mansion, I felt at peace for the first time.

I sank myself into the bathtub, washing away the mud and humiliation clinging to me.

Marcus didn't come back. This night, this house, finally belonged entirely to me for the first time.

I lay on that king-size bed that had made me feel lonely night after night.

No breath beside me, no heartbeat from that man, no domineering scent mixed with another woman's perfume lingering in the air.

For once, I felt a kind of peace and freedom I had never experienced before.

When I finished washing up and lay in bed, my gaze was once again drawn to that gold-embossed card.

And to the lingering heat on my wrist where he had held me.

I swallowed. I had no idea why Alpha Sebastian would help me.

Victoria, my best friend, had mentioned his reputation when we chatted.

"He's powerful, Seraphina. Stronger than Marcus, but also more dangerous. No she-wolf can get near him."

That was what Victoria had said.

Rumor had it that the Alpha of the Shadow Pack never touched anything that didn't belong to him.

But he had caught me in the most disgraceful state, even offered help willingly.

Could I be his mate?

But I couldn't feel any scent, any excitement.

Maybe the bond between Marcus and me hadn't fully broken.

And I was only human-could I be lucky enough to have a second mate, and one that was a powerful Alpha wolf?

Suddenly, a strange, uncontrollable pull-like a faint current-rushed up from the bottom of my heart.

I squeezed my eyes shut and took a deep breath.

No.

I am not like Marcus.

Before I sever that rotten mate bond completely, I will not allow myself to get entangled with anyone else.

What I want is complete freedom-not just moving from one cage to another.

I immediately threw the card into the trash.

Then I drifted into sleep.

Sebastian's pov

I was furious. I was already thirty and still hadn't found my mate.

That was why I came to Alpha Marcus's banquet. I never intended to come-I had already given up on the idea of finding a mate.

Being thirty without a mate was extremely rare.

But my mother was just like human mothers-she saw her children's marriage and offspring as her life's mission.

Of course, wolf packs and any powerful family need an heir.

Even though I've proven with my actions that my strength alone could keep our pack stable for a hundred years, my mother still wouldn't stop arranging blind dates for me.

I was sick of smelling nothing but heavy perfume and disappointment.

The scent made me nauseous, and neither I nor my wolf felt even the slightest excitement.

Tonight, I happened to be free, but the moment I stepped into the banquet hall, one of the she-wolves I'd been matched with stared at me.

I headed toward the garden behind the hall, and she clung to me like sticky taffy.

Her perfume was so thick it felt like a toxic fog ready to explode, hanging in the humid air endlessly.

I was already sick of scents like that-so sick that it was almost a physical reaction-but I still had to endure her pretending to sound hurt beside me.

"Sebastian, can't you just-"

I couldn't stand listening anymore. I was just about to cut her off when-

My wolf jolted awake deep in my chest.

I immediately knew what it was.

MATE!

The word almost burst out of my throat.

Thirty years of silence shattered in an instant.

It was like a bolt of lightning splitting open my senses, stripping the garden of all color.

I froze.

My wolf roared-a low, ancient, feral sound-like it had finally found the half it had lost.

And when I followed its direction-

There she was.

Along the white stone path beside the rose garden, a woman was bent over, yanking out moonlight roses one by one.

Every time she pulled one out, she cursed under her breath, gritting her teeth as if she wished she could tear the entire garden out by its roots-

"Sorry, baby, I just can't stand that old hag! She doesn't deserve to look after you-pull them all out! Every single one!"

The post-rain air carried the scent of soil and wet leaves.

She was covered in rose petals and mud, her damp hair stuck to her cheek-yet she had more life in her than any noble she-wolf holding a wine glass in the hall.

She wasn't a polished vase.

She was a fire-alive, burning, wild.

My breath stopped.

It was her.

Seraphina.

Marcus's Luna.

A Luna about to be discarded.

And my mate.

Her neck was locked by the old mark-an iron chain suppressing her instincts, blocking the bond between our souls.

She couldn't feel me, but I was consumed by her in a second.

The first time I saw her, she wasn't in a Luna gown with a silver waistpiece, or smiling politely at a reception.

She was crouched in the rose garden alone, cursing, muddy, fierce to her bones.

I had never seen such beautiful chaos.

Of course I recognized her.

And in that moment, my wolf and I fell at the same time-

An ancient, lethal possessiveness surged up from my bones.

She is mine.

Forever.

The she-wolf behind me saw me stop and thought I was listening to her.

Her emotions suddenly burst and she screamed:

"You bastard! You don't care about me at all!"

I didn't even lift an eyelid.

"Leave."

She froze, thinking she misheard.

"What did you-"

I gave her one glance. In that instant, the color drained from her face.

"Follow me again," I said, calm as if stating the weather, "and I'll swallow your father's pack whole."

Her knees buckled; she stumbled back two steps.

"You're insane-you can't-"

"I can," I said softly. "And I will."

She trembled, grabbed at the last straw, and shouted:

"Fine! Then I curse you! I curse you in the name of the Moon Goddess-may you never find your mate! May you be alone, rotting, abandoned by every god for eternity!"

Her voice split the night.

I didn't even turn my head.

Because right in front of me, Seraphina had just yanked out the largest moonlight rose and was cursing in a way that put the she-wolf to shame.

I exhaled lightly.

"Your curse came too late."

The she-wolf's fear collapsed into despair. She screamed and fled the garden, vanishing into the dark.

I didn't look after her.

I looked only toward the rose garden.

Sera finally stopped, straightened her back, dusted off the dirt on her palms as though completing a sacred offering.

She would never know that in that moment I made a decision.

When she turned and walked toward the front gate, I followed immediately.

I didn't even think about my next step.

Instinct had already chosen for me.

I had to follow her.

She walked alone into the rain, so thin, so vulnerable-I wanted the driver to offer her a ride.

Then I smelled it.

Not her scent-

But the filthy stench of rogues hiding in the forest along the road, reeking of rotten flesh and unwashed fur.

The moment the air shifted, my wolf ignited, its fury slamming against my nerves.

It wanted to tear them apart.

By the time I rushed over, they had already surrounded her.

She fell into the mud, her skirt flipping up, soaked and helpless.

She tried to push herself up, only to collapse again.

They stared at her, licking their teeth, laughing with greedy malice.

My rage devoured me.

I drove straight into the storm, tires carving a white line through the rain, nearly defying gravity.

The car spun and stopped perfectly between her and those worthless bastards.

The rogues froze.

They saw the emblem.

They saw the Maybach.

Then they saw me.

The cockiest one collapsed straight into the mud.

They recognized me.

Their luck wasn't intelligence-it was their speed.

Had I gotten out one second earlier, four mangled corpses would be lying on the ground.

They fled into the trees without looking back.

I stood there, staring coldly at Sera kneeling in the rain, breathing raggedly, eyes empty-unable to even recognize me.

I walked up to her and crouched down, offering my hand.

She flinched backward, slipped, almost fell.

I said nothing, waiting patiently.

After a few seconds, she gritted her teeth and grabbed my hand.

I pulled her up and guided her into the car.

She smelled of rain, mud, blood, despair. and a scent I had never encountered.

She leaned against the seat, gasping, shoulders trembling.

I looked at her soaked body.

Her clothes clung to every curve like a second skin-the outline of her nipples, the triangle beneath her skirt-clear enough to be indecent.

My dick twitched instantly, dragged out by her scent.

I bit my tongue hard, forcing the desire down.

She wasn't mine-

Not yet.

I took off my coat and threw it over her.

Not out of gentleness-

but to stop myself from staring at her naked shape.

She looked down at herself, finally realizing that the wet fabric hid nothing.

Her face flushed scarlet, her hands gripping the coat tightly.

I remained expressionless, but inside, I grew even more excited.

The more she tried to hide,

the more she looked like a gift I wanted to unwrap.

A vision flashed across my mind-

Her lying on my bed, wearing nothing but that coat.

Her stubborn eyes on me.

My hand pinning her legs.

My tongue sliding along her collarbone.

Her moans brushing against my ear.

My palms burned, my knuckles trembled.

Just as I was about to lose control, the car braked.

We had arrived.

She hurried to get out.

I pulled out a card from my pocket and handed it to her, my voice cold as if nothing had happened:

"You will need this."

She accepted it blankly, then left.

She stepped out quickly, without saying another word.

As if desperate to cut any tie with me.

I sat in the car, not moving.

Just slowly closed my eyes.

Twenty-five days.

Twenty-five days left of the Council's cooling period.

When it ends,

I will personally rip Marcus out of her world-

root and all.