I finished wrapping the makeshift bandage around his arm. “There.”
He didn’t thank me. Just flexed his fingers once, testing it.
I stood and stepped back.
Silence stretched between us as he stood, towering over me.
“Don’t ever do something that unbelievably stupid again,” he commanded, voice low.
I grit my teeth. “You don’t get to tell me what to do. You’re not my husband, and you sure as hell aren’t my Alpha.”
His eyes flashed, darkening with anger, and I stiffened as I felt that familiar aura extend from him. “Don’t you fucking dare,” I hissed. “Aura or not, I will scratch your fucking eyes out.”
He blinked, and I felt the power recede.
“Sera,” he said, voice low. “What happened to you?”
“Excuse me?”
He shook his head. “This isn’t you. The Sera I know isn’t reckless, defiant, antagonistic-“
My sharp bark of laughter cut him off. “Oh, please, like you ever knew me. What if this is who I really am? What if I refuse to keep shrinking to make other people comfortable? I’m done making myself small so I don’t ruffle your fucking feathers.
His gaze locked on mine, filled with disbelief and incredulity. “Then maybe Celeste was right.”
I stiffened. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means,” he said coldly, “maybe you really are the perfect little actress. Hiding your claws behind that wide-eyed innocence. Always playing the martyr?”
My mouth fell open. “Excuse me?”
He stepped closer, eyes burning. “You made everyone at the gala believe that you were the victim. Sweet, quiet Sera. The one everyone overlooked and wronged. And now? Now you’re standing here pretending to be fearless, invincible-even when you could’ve gotten yourself killed. Choose a fucking personality, Seraphina, and stop fucking with everyone’s heads.”
At this point, it was practically muscle memory, the way my hand flew up to strike him across the cheek.
SERAPHINA’S POV
The sound of the slap echoed through the room, loud and vicious, like a shot fired in close quarters.
Kieran’s face jerked to the side, the red imprint of my hand already blooming on his cheek
-proof that I had indeed gotten stronger.
For a heartbeat, we both froze.
Then everything shifted.
The air pressure dropped like an anchor, and I could feel his aura crackling in the air like the moments before a lightning strike.
Kieran’s eyes darkened to near black, his wolf brushing the edges of his control like a beast too long restrained. His nostrils flared. His shoulders rose.
I stepped back instinctively-but not fast enough.
He surged forward, grabbing my wrists, and in the blink of an eye, I was pinned against the wall.
The breath fled my lungs, the back of my head brushing drywall. His body loomed, solid and furious, radiating heat and command like a furnace turned to full.
“What the hell are you doing?” I struggled, kicking against him. “Get the fuck off me!”
“Don’t,” he growled, voice rough with rage. “Do. Not. Test me. Seraphina.”
His forearm pressed lightly against my collarbone-not enough to hurt, but enough to cage me in.
His entire body was pressed so tightly into mine, I was sure he could feel my heart slamming against my ribs-not with fear, but with fury. And a wild emotion I couldn’t quite place.
“I’ve let you run amok for too fucking long” His breath was hot against my face, eyes locked on mine like twin blades.
I ground my teeth. “Don’t talk about me like I’m a rambunctious puppy who slipped her leash.”
He growled. “Stop acting like one.”
“Don’t tell me what to do.”
His eyes narrowed into slits. “You forget who I am.”
“I know who you are,” I hissed. “The Alpha who throws his weight around when a woman calls him out. Is this what you are now? Just power and bruised ego?”
His eyes flashed. “You don’t know me.”
I managed a sardonic laugh as he threw my words back at me. “That we can agree on. Both of us spent the last ten years living with a fucking stranger.”
“I’ve never hidden myself from you.”
I scoffed. “Oh yeah? Then what was all that last night?”
He sneered. “Why don’t you ask your dear friend with the fake stone?”
I scoffed. “The stone may have been fake, but your words weren’t-“
“Don’t pretend to know what goes on in my head, Sera,” he growled.
“Oh, trust me,” I snapped. “I have no fucking idea what goes in your head. But you want to accuse me of playing a role? Of hiding my intentions? Look in the fucking mirror, Kieran, and ask yourself which one of us is the fucking pretender!”
“Don’t you dare yell at me.”
“Or what?” I spat. “You’ll put me through a wall?”
His jaw clenched. “If you ever lay your hands on me like that again, Seraphina…” He leaned in, voice venomous, “I’ll make you regret it.”
I stared up at him, trembling with adrenaline, teeth bared. “Then do it,” I whispered. “Show me exactly how you’re the same as every other person who’s tried to break me.”
His hands tightened around my wrists-but he didn’t move.
Time seemed to slow to a stop, something hot and bright burning between us. The weight of him, the darkness in his eyes, the fury thrumming off him in waves…
It should have all terrified me, but somehow, I just knew, despite everything that had happened-Kieran would never hurt me.
And then-
“Get your hands off her.”
Lucian’s voice cut through the air like a katana, cold and dangerous.
Kieran didn’t turn. “Fuck off, Reed. This is none of your business.”
“It becomes my business when you pin a woman against a wall to make a point.” Lucian’s boots echoed as he crossed the threshold, the sheer authority in his voice enough to crack through the tension.
Kieran’s eyes flicked to him, finally releasing me with a scoff. I shoved past him, my body still trembling, lungs burning from rage and restraint.
“Looks like your knight, has arrived,” Kieran muttered bitterly. “Gods forbid you spend one second not attached at the hip.”
I shot him a glare. Fucking hypocrite.
“Open your eyes, Lucian,” he continued, pointing at me. “This one has a way of blinding people.”
“What the fuck-“
“Looks like you’re the one who’s blind, Blackthorne.” Lucian didn’t miss a beat, gently putting himself between us so it looked like the two Alphas were in a standoff.
“Too blind to recognize a fucking gem when it’s in front of you.” He shrugged. “But then again, that’s always been your curse, hasn’t it? Loving what shines and discarding what lasts.”
Kieran’s lips curled. “You think you know her?” His voice dipped, almost cruel. “Let me guess-you love the version of her that you helped build.”
“At least I built her. I didn’t tear her down.”
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