Chapter 5

CHAPTER 5

SEREN

T he chipped blue mug feels cold and reassuring in my hand as I pad toward the dining room. It’s still early, so I’m not sure if everyone’s returned from the gala yet. A hushed murmur drifts through the cracked-open door as I reach for the knob. Luna Marie’s voice, laced with barely contained excitement, stops me in my tracks.

“...nailed it,” she whispers. “Everyone’s buzzing about them and how perfectly matched they are. Finally, everything is falling into place.” Her voice trails off for a moment. “Oh, Dan, at least pretend to be interested.”

I tilt my chin to the side. Who is she talking about?

I generally stay out of pack business, but Luna Marie’s excitement is infectious, and for once I itch to know what they’re talking about. Ignoring the sudden urge to eavesdrop, I tap lightly on the door before entering.

“I’m thinking…”

Luna Marie stops mid-sentence as I enter the room .

“Hey! Sweetheart, come join us for tea. Ella just brewed some with a few fresh sprigs of lavender from the gardens.”

I notice the beautiful aroma of lavender in the air and smile.

“Thank you, Luna Marie.” I walk to my usual spot at the side, whispering a soft “Good morning” to Alpha Dan. He’s never been much of a talker, and over the years I’ve come to understood it isn’t personal, but just how he is. He grunts as a way of greeting me and checks his phone.

Except for the flowery porcelain teapot and a platter of cured meat, there’s nothing on the table. I frown. This isn’t enough for them; wolves have huge appetites.

“I’ll quickly check if the breakfast will take much more time,” I murmur, leaving my mug on the table as I start to stand.

“Oh, sweetheart, we’re going out for brunch. Your alpha and I just thought we’d have some tea before we leave,” she says, exchanging a glance with the alpha. “But do grab something from the kitchen for yourself.”

Brunch? I wonder if Theron is going with them.

“Umm, I’m not particularly hungry right now,” I answer, and proceed to pour myself some tea.

Unlike every other time I walk into a room and they continue talking like I’m not there, today, my entry feels like sudden death to their conversation.

“Sorry, did I interrupt?”

Luna Marie smiles and takes a sip of her tea. “Don’t worry your pretty head about it, sweetheart. It’s just pack business. You wouldn’t be interested.”

I lower my gaze and plaster a smile on my face. Even after over a decade at their home, I’m treated as an outsider, someone who can’t be trusted with secrets.

Normally, I wouldn’t be fazed by such a dismissal, but the air crackles with sudden tension, and I have no idea why. Alpha Dan’s jaw is clenched.

“We should get going.” His tone is icy and his gaze lingers on Luna Marie for a moment before he pushes himself out of his chair.

In the next thirty seconds, both are out the door and I’m left alone with my mug of rapidly cooling tea, frowning.

I spend the rest of the morning getting my things ready for my new job at Blackwood and fighting hunger pangs. By late afternoon, my stomach growls in protest as I enter the kitchen.

Ella is loading a tray with enough food to feed a small army: eggs, toast, pastries, muffins, and coffee.

“Hey, Ella Bella,” I say, grabbing a plate. “Did Max strike out at the creek again?”

She laughs. “Maybe, but this feast isn’t for him—it’s for your future alpha.”

The plate in my hand clatters back onto the table. “Theron’s back?” I blurt out, my voice pitched higher than usual. “Since when?”

Ella pauses, a smile on her lips. “A while ago. He’s with a friend, though.”

Disappointment flickers through me. My mind bombards me with images of him with some random girl. “Which friend?” I ask, biting my lip .

“Luke,” she replies, handing the tray off to a member of her staff. I feel instant relief it’s not a girl. I’m about to head upstairs when she adds, “You’re not leaving hungry, though.”

Ten minutes and a plate of pasta later, I rush out the door, a knot of unease tightening in my stomach. I’m already queasy from the forced meal, and for some reason the hallway to Theron’s room feels darker and more foreboding than usual.

As I approach his door, I hear people talking inside. But this time they’re loud. Their voices are clear. They’re talking about me. And I stay outside, listening in, wanting to know how Theron talks about me to his inner circle.

Luke’s voice is soft, laced with concern. “Just asking. She did grow up around us.”

Theron’s response is a punch to the gut.

"I set up a job for her at Blackwood.” Theron’s voice is devoid of any warmth. His tone is dismissive, even though he’s talking about my future, and that stings.

“Blackwood? Why? What will she do there? I mean...” Luke’s surprise is a flicker of hope, but Theron roars, cutting him off mid-sentence.

“Why do you care? She’s just some stray my parents picked up eleven years ago.”

The word “stray” slams into me like a physical blow. My foot snags on the rug and I stumble, instinctively reaching out to clutch the wall for support. Stray? Is that all I am to him? Maybe he’s just pretending like I don’t matter so Luke will stop being interested in me. Theron has always been possessive of me.

“You can pretend she doesn’t matter, Theron,” Luke counters, “ but the truth flickers in your eyes whenever she’s around. I always thought you two were fated.”

A sliver of hope pierces through my fears. Could we be fated? That was a teenage fantasy I discarded years ago, even though part of me still yearns for it. Wolves aren’t mated to humans. That’s what I’ve heard all my life.

But Theron’s voice drips with disgust as he responds to something Luke said, something I was too distracted to hear. “Because I don’t like hearing her mentioned. And I don’t understand why you think I’d be interested in her. Have you seen her? In a crowded room, she’d be invisible: no curves, no looks, no personality. She’s as compelling as fucking wallpaper.”

The air whooshes out of my lungs. Tears well up, blurring my vision. All these years, all the moments we shared...it was all a lie. He hates how I look? He hates me ?

My lifelong insecurities come rushing back, clawing at me. But his next words make my whole world crumble.

“Yeah, Seren is my fated mate. So what?” Theron spits out the words like venom. “It isn’t something to be proud of. Of all the females out there, I got stuck with the weakest fucking link. Can you imagine her by my side as my luna? She doesn’t know how to talk, how to act, or even how to dress.”

My knees buckle and I crumple to the floor. I am Theron’s fated mate? He knew. He knew all this time. And still…

“I can’t imagine how last evening would’ve gone if I’d taken her with me instead of your sister,” he continues, oblivious to the wreckage of my emotions. “Vanessa had the alpha queen eating out of her hand. I wish she was my fated mate.”

The world starts to spin. Using the wall for support, I push myself up, a storm brewing within me .

I’m about to back away when I hear Luke question him. “So you’ve offered her a job to keep her around…why? So you can control her life and have her available for a convenient fuck in the office?”

I wait for Theron’s denial, but he breaks the last bit of my heart with his answer.

“What do you want me to say? I’m not giving her a job because she deserves it. She’s lived on my family’s dime all her life, so it’s not like she can survive on her own. I’ll create a position for her, so at least she’ll be giving something back to us.”

Not wanting to hear another word, I turn away, feeling more worthless than the dust motes dancing in the sunlight. I’m just a useless irritant to him. How did I ever think he was in love with me?

I race back to my room, slam the door shut behind me, and rest against it as if keeping a storm from breaking through.

The words “stray,” “weakling,” and “wallpaper” keep echoing through my head.

I’m his fated mate, but he wishes it was Vanessa instead. I’m just someone his family took pity on. He doesn’t care about me; he’s just continuing their generosity by offering me a job and using me on the side.

My first instinct is to run. I can’t stay here anymore. Everything I have was given to me by these people out of pity. Suddenly nothing seems comforting.

I find my college backpack and start throwing in essentials at random until I reach for the small box that holds all my money. Beneath the rolled bills, I spot the shining piece of jewelry, the only expensive item I own. As I pull it out and stare at it, I feel frozen.

“Hey! That’s cheating. You peeked,” Theron whispers, his voice sending a delicious shiver down my spine. I squeeze my eyes shut, savoring the feeling of his touch.

“God, Seren, I love how you get goosebumps every time I’m near you.” His fingertips dance across my cheek, tracing a path to my lips. He captures them in a soft kiss, the gentle pressure spreading delicious warmth all over my body.

Suddenly, a sharp crack echoes through the night, like a twig snapping underfoot. My eyes fly open, wide with alarm. “Theron, what was that?” I gasp, pushing away from him before he can deepen the kiss.

He grabs my arms, his grip surprisingly firm for such a lighthearted moment. “No. You’re not going anywhere.” His voice hardens, a stark contrast to the playful tone from moments before. “When I told you no one would come here, I meant it. You have to trust me.”

“But you said…” I try to protest, but he places his index finger on my lips.

“Eyes closed,” he orders again, his tone a touch softer this time, and I happily follow the command.

He takes a step back and I hear a soft rustle before a cool, smooth sensation brushes against my skin. A necklace. Every fiber of my being wants to peek, but Theron loves to play this game, and I don’t want to spoil it for him.

He chuckles when he sees my eyes pressed together in a silent struggle, then places soft kisses on my eyelids. “Alright, alright, impatient one,” he whispers, his voice warm against my ear. “You can open them now. ”

My eyes fly open, and a gasp escapes my lips. Around my neck rests a breathtaking Venetian glass necklace. The pendant is a large, square amethyst with a deep purple hue, twinkling under the moonlight like one of the stars in the sky.

Tears well up in my eyes. It’s more than beautiful. Theron picked it for me. Just for me. But I can’t keep it. It seems too expensive.

“Happy eighteenth birthday, my Seren-hen.”

I keep running my fingers over it, my mind racing. How will he react if I return it? What will his parents think if I keep it?

He holds my chin between his fingers, tilting my face up so I meet his eyes.

“It’s a family heirloom, but it’s mine, and I’ve decided that only you can have it. It’s yours now. And anyway, if it’s yours, it’s still mine, right? Because you are mine.” He smiles and kisses me.

He told me over and over again that I was his, and I believed him. But he never said he was mine. It’s my fault for being so naive.

A surge of fury replaces the ache in my chest, and I fling the necklace across the room. It strikes the farthest wall and cracks, the glass beads surrounding the pendant shattering all over the floor.

Watching it break into pieces doesn’t even start to make me feel better. But suddenly it’s as if everything is forever changed. The thought brings a deep sense of grief.

Sinking onto the bed, I pull my knees to my chest, the ragged sobs slowly morphing into a choked silence. The weight of his betrayal presses down on me, suffocating. I close my eyes, wishing everything would disappear…including myself.