Then why did it lead me to-
She stepped closer, her voice quiet but sure. “You and I are fated, Kieran. We’ve always known that. I’ve never doubted it-not even after what happened.”
And I…
I couldn’t say anything.
Not when she looked at me like that. Not when she’d just cracked herself open for me.
So I wrapped my arms around Celeste, pulling her into my chest.
She trembled slightly.
And I held her tighter. Even as Ashar growled low beneath my skin-restless. Unconvinced.
SERAPHINA’S POV
Kieran’s behavior had been a dizzying cocktail of infuriating and befuddling since we got divorced.
Today was worse. It rattled me down to my core. Jarred me in a way I couldn’t understand.
The way he’d looked at me in the meditation circle, how he gripped me, his wolf rising to the surface like Ashar was trying to speak for him-only for him to pull away and walk back to her.
I didn’t know what that meant. I didn’t want to.
As the door to the Moon Hall shut behind us, I leaned against the wall, forcing calming breaths. In and out. In and out.
Lucian must have sensed the spiraling questions in my mind, the jumbled emotions running through me, because he leaned in, voice smooth and steady. “Sera? Are you okay?”
I looked up at him, blinking like I was seeing him for the first time.
“I… felt her,” I whispered, still in awe. The feeling had already faded, and the memory was getting hazy with every passing second. But there was no denying it-I had a wolf. Lost, hidden. But there.
He smiled, tucking a loose strand of hair behind my ear. The action was oddly intimate, and my breath hitched in response.
“We should celebrate,” he declared. “Let me take you out to dinner.”
I frowned. “I lost her almost immediately. I’m not sure there’s anything to celebrate.”
He shook his head. “Are you kidding me? That was immense progress. That you were able to sense your wolf on the first try is amazing, Sera!”
I felt my lips twitch. “So you think I’ll be able to sense her better as time goes by?”
He nodded. “Definitely.”
I let the smile show. “Yeah, dinner sounds nice.”
He grinned. “I’ll pick you up at six.” He winked before turning and heading back down the hall.
When he disappeared around the corner, I turned toward the door, wondering if Kieran and Celeste were still in the Moon Hall.
The look on his face flashed in my mind-dazed, baffled, flustered-and I shook my head.
Whatever that was… I was done being entangled in Kieran/Celeste drama.
Four hours later, I was spread-eagled on the mat in the training room, soaked in sweat and ruing the day Maya Cartridge was born.
“Well, look who’s getting stronger,” she mused, dropping to the mat next to me and crossing her legs.
“Oh, is that what this is?” I wheezed. “Cause I could have sworn I was dying”
“Are you kidding me? You breezed through that last drill almost as fast as I do.”
I let out a breathless laugh as I sat up. “I felt my wolf today during meditation.”
Maya’s eyes widened. “That’s amazing, Sera!”
She leaned forward and pulled me into a hug. “I knew you could do it.”
I laughed, leaning into her embrace. “I didn’t take you for a hugger.”
“I’m full of surprises, babe,” she said, pulling away.
I chuckled. “Lucian is taking me out to dinner to celebrate-no, stop that.”
I rolled my eyes as Maya wiggled her eyebrows suggestively. “Oh, is he now? A romantic, candlelit-“
“As friends,” I emphasized. “To celebrate today. I was gonna ask if you wanted to come.”
After what she’d insinuated earlier and that brief tender moment out in the hallway, I needed her presence at dinner as a buffer. Because rumors didn’t rise out of nothing, so if people thought Lucian and I were a thing, then that had to mean he…
“Can’t, babe, sorry.”
I groaned. “Maya…”
She chuckled. “It’s not even about you and Lucian.” She lowered her voice. “I kind of have to lay low for a while. Can’t be seen out in public, especially not with you two.”
I cocked my head. “Huh?”
She leaned over and patted my cheek affectionately. “All in good time, babe. I’ll explain in good time.”
I looked at her in confusion. “Right.”
***
We avoided Luna Noire like the plague, opting for a cute little restaurant in Beverly Hills. It was beautiful, with a touch of vintage charm-the kind of place where conversations floated low, and candlelight softened the atmosphere.
“Maya told me about this place,” Lucian ventured. “She comes here a lot. She lives close by.”
I eyed the candles and subtly rolled my eyes. “Of course she did.”
Dinner with Lucian wasn’t anything we hadn’t done before. Yet, everything felt… different tonight.
Lucian was charming and warm as always, but something behind his eyes had changed. Maybe it was me-replaying Maya’s words in my mind: ‘You can’t tell me you haven’t noticed how he looks at you.’
Or maybe it was him-leaning closer than usual, pouring my wine without asking, that almost imperceptible breath he caught every time I smiled.
The warm atmosphere shifted when Lucian looked over my shoulder and frowned. “Isn’t that your brother?”
I turned in my chair and bit back a curse. It really was Ethan standing at the door. He was talking to the Ma?tre D at the entrance, his hands waving animatedly like he was describing something.
“Is there any place we could go in this city without running into a member of your family?”
Lucian said. There was teasing in his tone, but I didn’t even have it in me to laugh at the joke.
Because he was right. Was there a tracking chip in my neck I didn’t know about?
“Let’s just turn around,” I said, still glaring at Ethan. “Maybe he won’t see-“
Ethan looked up and stiffened, his eyes meeting mine.
“Lovely,” I muttered, turning away.
TE AE
AIR
‘Ignore me,’ I prayed fervently. ‘Ignore me like you’ve done in the last ten-‘
“Sera?”
I exhaled sharply and looked up, not bothering to force a smile. “Ethan.”
His eyes narrowed in suspicion. “What are you doing here?”
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