Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6

THERON

L uke’s voice, laced with concern, cuts through some of my anger. “If you feel this way about her, why not just let her go?”

Let her go? The suggestion is laughable. I smirk. Luke, for all his intelligence, doesn’t understand the game we play. “She’s mine. She’s useful, and having her around keeps things interesting.” I shrug, trying to downplay the possessiveness that coils tight in my gut.

“That’s not fair to her.” he counters.

“Who said I was trying to be fair, Luke? Here’s how it works: she stays put under my watch, right here in Blackwood, and I’ll provide for her. She won’t want for anything.”

I take a sip of my coffee, but the taste is extremely bitter. I put the mug to the side and wash the taste down with a bite of a muffin. Luke seems lost in thought.

“We all make compromises in life,” I offer as an explanation. “I’ve also agreed to take your sister as my chosen mate. She wants the status of luna, which she’ll have, while I get Seren. ”

Luke scoffs. “You mean Seren and others.”

That bothers me. My jaw clenches, fire building again, but I hold back. I don’t need to justify myself to anyone, least of all my friend and future beta. “I’ve busted my ass in training all these years, and it’ll be more of the same hard work once I take over as alpha. I fucking deserve this.”

No one sees them, but I’ve made more than my share of compromises.

“So Seren’s content being your little secret, hidden away with no title while you parade Vanessa around like a trophy?” He takes a step back, his voice heavy with disbelief.

A flicker of suspicion ignites within me. Does he have feelings for Seren? Leaning in, I meet his gaze, challenging him to argue with me again.

“You’re my friend, Luke, but you need to back off.”

Luke shakes his head. “As much as I hate Vanessa for being our parents’ golden child, she doesn’t deserve this either. And most of all, that girl, your mate, who has lived in this house all her life in love with you, deserves so much better than this.”

His heartfelt plea makes me chuckle, and he just throws his hands up in defeat and leaves.

My head throbs, and I decide to light up a cigarette, but my usual lighter refuses to work.

As I’m taking the extra one out of the drawer, I notice the familiar yellow dog-eared flip-book peeking out from underneath other things. I stare at it, remembering how she’d kept shifting on her feet as she presented that flip-book to me, her first piece for an art class. She’d even made it in my favorite color at the time .

I pull it out and flip through it, all the way from one end to the other. The animation slowly turns my sad face into a laughing one. I stare at the cover and flip it again multiple times, my own laughing face mocking me from the pages of the book.

Exhaling a deep breath, I throw it right back into the drawer, retrieve the lighter, and slam the drawer shut.

“Stupid sentimental garbage.”

Throwing the French doors open, I take in the view of blooming flowers as I light up the bud, making a mental note to go find Seren after this. We haven’t really spent much time together since I got back. Maybe Luke’s right, and I have been unfair.

My breath catches in my throat as I inhale the cool menthol smoke and sputter it all out, coughing wildly as the smoke chokes me. I frown, shake my head, and inhale again, only to cough even harder this time.

Pulling my head back, I frown at the cigarette, ash it, and light another, only for it to have the same result.

I try a third, but the same thing happens. A strange, cold feeling starts building in my gut, bile swirling up my throat.

I grab some water, but it goes down the wrong pipe, making me erupt in a coughing fit. Fear pricks at the edges of my consciousness. Something is wrong.

Titan? Titan, what’s wrong?

I call out to my wolf, but his response is a frantic scramble of emotions—fear and something else, something primal. Confusion clouds my judgment for a moment, but then it hits me.

Fuck! Seren .

A strange instinct tells me she heard my talk with Luke, but I dismiss that feeling almost immediately.

Maybe she’s gone out shopping like she said she would yesterday. Maybe something happened to her? My mind races through a nightmarish slideshow of possibilities.

With a trembling hand, I dial security, tripping over my words as I fire off questions.

"Where’s Seren? Who drove her today? What time did she leave?”

I frown at the response. “She’s been home the whole day?”

I drop the receiver and stare at the blank wall as my breathing grows labored.

What could be wrong inside the house? I call Ella to check if she had an accident in the kitchen, but Ella’s response fills me with deep dread. “No, she’s fine. Or she was, until she left the kitchen twenty minutes back. In fact, she was going upstairs to check on you. The silly girl must’ve gotten cold feet.”

My heart thumps a frantic rhythm against my ribs as I sprint down the hallway, barefoot and still wearing only my boxer shorts. Every step against the wooden floor feels slippery. The fear of losing something important makes my heartbeat speed up.

Despite my elevated hearing, the silence outside her room is deafening. I reach the door and tap on it urgently. The sound is loud, but I don’t hear any movement that suggests she’s inside.

Panic claws at my throat.

I try again. Louder this time. “Seren, are you there? ”

This time I hear sobs, and my insides clench.

“Seren, can you please open the door? I need to talk to you.”

Of course she chooses now to be stubborn. I grit my teeth and try to stay calm.

“Seren!” I let my voice get louder. She dislikes conflict, and if she knows I’m angry, she’ll give in faster. I press on, a little harsher. “Open this door!”

Silence hangs heavy in the air, broken only by the pounding in my ears. This isn’t right. She doesn’t ever hide from me. I try the doorknob, but it’s locked. That pisses me off.

“Seren, I’m serious! Open the door or I’ll knock it down!” The threat hangs heavy in the air, but it feels hollow even to me.

Her answer is a muffled sob. It’s faint, barely audible, but I hear it clearly. My stomach twists.

“Go away, Theron,” she whispers, her voice thick with emotion.

“Go away? What’s the meaning of this?” I bark back, frustration simmering in my voice. “Open the damn door!”

Another choked sob is my only response, and then the silence stretches, thick and suffocating. The scent of lilacs wafts faintly from beneath the door, laced with a salty undercurrent of tears.

My wolf stirs within me, a low growl rumbling in my chest. I can sense Titan getting more restless and possessive with each passing second. His need to get in, see her, is starting to overpower everything else.

Just as I’m getting ready to kick the door in, the doorknob turns. She opens the door just a crack, like there’s a criminal on the other side. My rage should be on fire with that, but the sight of her red-rimmed eyes and tear-streaked face makes my breath catch. This isn’t the Seren I’m used to. This...this is a stranger, her eyes filled with a hollowness that punches me straight in the gut.

“What do you want?” she asks tersely.

Before I can stop myself, I reach out, my hand instinctively wrapping around her arm, pulling her close. “Seren, what’s wrong?” I ask, searching her face for answers.

She flinches, her body rigid against mine. “Don’t touch me,” she rasps, her voice barely a whisper.

My eyes scan her body, a primal urge rising within me to check for injuries, anything that could explain this sudden defiance. Finding none, panic gives way to cold fury. She clearly eavesdropped on my conversation with Luke.

“What did you hear?” I demand, my voice low and dangerous. My mind races through every snide remark, every callous statement I flung at Luke. Each one sounds worse than the last.

She pushes against my chest, defiance flickering in her eyes. “Let go of me, Theron!”

I hesitate, torn between the need to understand and my wolf’s possessive growl echoing in my head.

“Leave me alone,” she says, trying to push me aside and close the door again. Suddenly, the world goes dark. A surge of power courses through me, replacing my rational thoughts with a primal instinct to protect, to possess. My wolf has taken over.