Seraphine POV
Sleep wasn't coming.
Seraphine lay in the small room they'd given her in the pack hall and felt every muscle in her body screaming. Her shoulder where the northern wolf had bitten her throbbed with a deep ache that even her Omega healing couldn't fully fix. Her ribs were bruised from claws. Her left arm had three deep gashes that were already sealing but still burned.
But the physical pain wasn't keeping her awake.
It was the mate bond.
It was singing inside her chest like something that had finally found its way home. Pulling at her. Demanding she move. Demanding she find Kael. Demanding she stop pretending that sitting in this room alone was something she could manage.
Seraphine got out of bed and dressed quickly in dark clothes. The pack hall was quiet at midnight. Most soldiers were sleeping or treating wounds. She could move through it without being noticed.
She found Kael on the eastern border where they'd fought that afternoon.
He was standing with his arms crossed, looking out at the northern territories like he was trying to see through the darkness. His profile was sharp in the moonlight. Scarred. Weathered. Nothing like the younger Alpha she'd loved five years ago.
This version of him was harder. Worn down by choices and grief and the weight of leading a pack. She could see it in the set of his jaw. In the tension in his shoulders.
Seraphine knew she should leave. Should turn around and walk back to her room. Should maintain the distance that kept her safe.
Instead she sat down beside him on the frozen ground.
Kael didn't startle. Like he'd been feeling her presence the whole time. Like the mate bond had been announcing her arrival long before her feet touched the earth.
He glanced at her but didn't speak. Just looked at her for a long moment like he was trying to memorize the way she looked in the moonlight.
They didn't talk much.
Just sat together in the darkness with the mate bond singing between them. Pulling them closer with every breath. Seraphine could feel the weight of his body beside her. Could feel the heat radiating off him. Could feel the impossible desire to lean into him and forget five years of pain.
Kael's hand lay on the frozen grass between them. So close to hers that one tiny movement would have them touching.
She didn't move.
But she spoke.
Tell me everything, she said quietly. Don't leave anything out this time.
Kael took a sharp breath like he'd been holding it for five years and was finally letting it go.
When your father was killed, Marcus sent a message, Kael began. He said if Moonstone didn't submit to him, he'd take you. Use you as leverage against me. Break you to hurt the pack.
Seraphine listened and felt her heart cracking all over again.
I was terrified, Kael continued. Not for the pack. For you. I couldn't protect you from Marcus if he decided to take you. I couldn't stop him. So I did the only thing I could think of. I made you unimportant to him.
His voice was raw like the words were costing him something fundamental.
I rejected you publicly so he'd think you didn't matter to me. So you wouldn't be valuable as leverage. So you'd be safe even if he came for you.
Seraphine's hands were shaking.
Every day after that, I woke up hating myself for what I'd done. Every moment without you was like dying slowly. I married Lydia because it was part of the strategy to keep the northern packs satisfied. But I never stopped loving you. Not for one second.
He finally turned to look at her directly.
When you disappeared, I thought I'd killed you. I thought my choice had destroyed you and you'd run into the wilderness and died because of me. That was the worst thing. Thinking that trying to protect you had actually killed you.
Kael's voice broke slightly.
Then you came back and my entire world shifted. You were alive. You were powerful. You were everything I'd broken and you'd somehow become even stronger because of it.
Seraphine felt tears sliding down her face and didn't bother wiping them away.
I know what I did was wrong, Kael said. I made a choice that wasn't mine to make. I didn't trust you with the truth. I didn't believe you could handle the danger. I treated you like you needed saving instead of trusting that you were strong enough to fight alongside me.
He reached out slowly, giving her time to pull back. His hand covered hers on the cold grass.
I can't take back five years. I can't undo the rejection. I can't fix the damage I caused. But I'm asking you to try to forgive me. Not because I deserve it. Because maybe we deserve another chance.
The mate bond was roaring now, burning through her like wildfire.
Seraphine looked at their hands touching and realized she couldn't breathe.
I don't know if I can forgive you, she whispered.
I know, Kael said. I don't deserve your forgiveness. But I'm asking you to try.