And all I could do was watch, listen, spellbound.
She was radiant. Brave. Real.
Her speech cracked something inside me.
I’d always seen fragments of her-the quiet girl who hid behind everyone else, the dutiful mother, the shadow of a wife I never really knew.
But this Sera? This fierce, luminous woman?
How had I missed her?
She’d been under my nose for ten fucking years and I’d been blind. Oblivious. So fucking stupid.
By the time she said “I am living proof,” my chest ached with something I couldn’t name.
Was it pride? Regret? Longing?
The silence after her speech was unbearable. I knew the crowd was probably stunned, but I couldn’t let her stand there thinking she had failed.
So I clapped. First.
Hard.
Then the rest followed, and I saw her flinch-then light up as realization hit. That smile… gods, that smile.
I wanted to take a picture, make several copies, and hang them in every space I dwelt, just so I could behold that smile everywhere I went.
When Lucian met her at the bottom of the stairs and took her hand, and that radiant smile was directed at him, the applause still echoing, something inside me twisted so violently it almost choked me.
And then the host announced the opening dance, and all the air was knocked clean out of my lungs.
Lucian and Sera.
No. No, that couldn’t be right.
The opening dance wasn’t just a tradition. It was a statement-a symbolic claim.
And as an Alpha, Lucian knew that.
He knew exactly what it meant to guide her out under the lights first. To take her hand in front of the most elite wolves in the region. He was staking an unspoken, public claim on
Seraphina.
‘Mine, Ashar growled.
My jaw clenched as they began to dance.
She looked at him with something almost shy. And he looked at her like she was the only woman in the room.
Her steps were a little halted, but I saw her relax in his arms as they glided across the dance floor.
My muscles locked tight to keep me from launching myself forward and ripping them apart.
“Should we join them?”, Celeste’s voice sliced through the haze in my mind. Her nails were already digging into my arm again. “We’re supposed to be making an impression.”
I shook my head, forcing my voice steady. “Not feeling up to it. You go ahead if you want.”
Celeste scoffed. “Seriously? It’s our debut, Kie. Are you going to let Sera-after that pathetic woe-is-me speech-and her new lapdog outshine us?”
“Bathroom,” I growled out, standing up.
Before Celeste could protest, I was already walking away, my back to the gathering crowd.
Because if I stepped onto that dancefloor-if I got close enough to see Sera in Lucian’s arms, smiling up at him like that-I didn’t trust myself not to snap.
Not to tear him away from her.
Not to cause a scene.
Gods, what was wrong with me?
SERAPHINA’S POV
I had never danced like this before.
Not at any debutante ball. Not during etiquette class. Not even in the privacy of my own kitchen.
Lucian moved with effortless grace, his hand firm but not controlling against my waist, guiding me with the kind of assurance that made me feel like I could do anything-so long as I let go and followed his lead.
I wasn’t even aware of my feet anymore-just the warmth in his eyes and the comfort in his smile.
The music flowed through me, and for once, I didn’t think, didn’t worry about who was watching me or if I was performing well enough.
I just… moved.
When the song ended, the room erupted with applause again, though this time it wasn’t thunderous like during my speech. It was gentler, more appreciative-a wave of admiration and awe that blanketed us like snowfall.
Lucian leaned in, his breath brushing the shell of my ear. “You’re a natural.
I gave a breathless laugh, flushed from more than just the dance. “That was you. I just followed.”
He pulled back slightly, brows lifting. “No, Sera. You met me step for step. That’s not following. That’s dancing.”
The sincerity in his voice stirred something warm in my chest, but I couldn’t hold his gaze.
Not when his words rattled loose a memory out of the cache I’d long buried.
Years ago. A different ballroom. Different music. My feet in delicate slippers, my body trembling as I tried to find the rhythm.
Ethan’s jaw clenched in frustration as I stumbled yet again.
“You’re off again.” His voice was angry and tight. “Try to keep up.”
He stepped away, pinching the bridge of his nose, muttering something about Celeste never needing this much instruction.
That’s how it always was-there wasn’t a single thing I did that I wasn’t compared with my younger sister.
He’d given up on me with a frustrated sigh, mumbling about how I’d never measure up and that I lacked potential.
I’d stayed late that night, long after everyone else had left-after shooting sneers and snide comments my way.
I practiced in front of the mirror until my legs ached and my toes blistered. Every night, alone in that ballroom until I got better.
But by then, it didn’t matter. No one ever asked me to dance again at galas and balls. Not unless Celeste was already occupied.
And even then, I was always a last resort, and my partner was too grumpy about getting the short end of the stick to appreciate how hard I’d worked.
“Sera?” I blinked, coming back to the present. To Lucian. To the flicker of concern in his eyes. “Where’d you go?”
“Nowhere.” I forced a smile, pushing the memory out of my head, shelving it with the rest
I’d buried.
He seemed ready to press the issue, but a tall man in a sharp gray suit and salt-and-pepper hair stepped up, hand already outstretched. “Alpha Reed. So glad to see you here tonight.”
He gave me a courteous nod. “Miss Seraphina, what a riveting speech.”
My cheeks heated up. “Thank you.”
He turned back to Lucian. “I was wondering if I could have a word with you about the
Crescent City development?”
“Oh,” Lucian glanced at me, hesitation flickering in his eyes.
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