[Unwanted Marriage Series 2] RETURN OF THE LYCAN LUNA

Chapter 002

SERAPHINA

I did not sleep.

How could I? Every time I closed my eyes, my mind spun through the same impossible choices.

Stay here alone. You will starve. You do not know how to hunt or forage. Winter is coming and you have no supplies. You will die slowly, cold and hungry and completely alone.

Try to reach civilization on your own. You have no money, no connections, no idea which direction to walk. You could wander for weeks and end up more lost than you are now.

Trust Donatus. Follow a stranger to his pack, hope he is as kind as he seems and not just patient enough to wait until you are trapped before showing his true nature.

None of the options were good. All of them could get me killed.

By the time morning light crept through the window, I had made my choice.

Not because I wanted to, but because dying slowly in this cottage felt worse than taking a risk on the unknown.

Donatus found me sitting on the edge of the bed, already dressed in the too-large clothes he had given me.

"Have you decided?" His voice was careful. Neutral.

I stood up and met his eyes. "Yes. I will come with you."

Something that might have been relief crossed his face, but it disappeared so quickly I could not be sure. He nodded once.

"Good. We leave within the hour. Gather anything you want to bring."

I looked around the small room. I owned nothing except the clothes on my back. "I am ready now."

We walked for three days.

Donatus set a pace that pushed me but never broke me. When my legs started shaking from exhaustion, he called for rest without me having to ask.

When I stumbled over roots and rocks, he steadied me with a hand on my elbow and then let go immediately.

We barely spoke. Just practical words about where to make camp and which berries were safe to eat. I was grateful for the silence. Talking required energy I did not have.

At night I lay awake listening to him breathe on the other side of the small fire waiting for him to try something.

But he never came near me or even touched me except when necessary.

It confused me more than threats would have.

On the third evening, we climbed a hill and I saw BlackCrest Pack spread out in the valley below.

The pack house was large, built from dark wood that gleamed in the fading sunlight. Smaller cottages clustered around it like chicks around a hen. Smoke rose from chimneys. Wolves moved between buildings, going about their evening routines with easy familiarity.

It looked peaceful. Like the packs in the stories I heard as a child before I learned that stories were just pretty lies.

"Home," Donatus said quietly beside me.

I said nothing. I had no home anymore.

We entered the pack grounds just as darkness fell. Wolves stopped what they were doing to stare at us. No, at me.

Their eyes followed me like physical touches.

I kept my gaze on the ground and stayed close to Donatus. I made myself small.

Donatus led me through the main doors of the pack house and up a set of stairs.

The hallway smelled like pine and woodsmoke. He stopped at a door near the end and pushed it open.

"This is your room. Rest tonight. I will send for you in the morning."

The room was small but clean. There's a bed, a chair and a window that looked out over the pack grounds. It's more than I expected and pdeserved.

"Thank you," I managed.

He nodded and left, closing the door quietly behind him.

I sat on the edge of the bed and stared at nothing. My hands were shaking. I had escaped Leone and Reginald and Lucien's twisted prophecy, but now I was trapped in a different kind of cage; dependent on a stranger's charity and surrounded by wolves who had no reason to trust me.

And Cassandra was somewhere far away, probably thinking her mother was dead.

The tears came before I could stop them. I buried my face in my hands and cried as silently as I could.

I cried until there was nothing left. Then I lay down on the bed fully clothed and closed my eyes.

A knock woke me.

I sat up, heart pounding, and tried to orient myself. Sunlight streamed through the window. It's morning already.

"Yes?"

"The Alpha wants to see you."

I scrambled off the bed and opened the door. A young woman stood there, her expression carefully blank.

"Follow me."

She led me down the stairs and through a series of hallways. We stopped at a heavy wooden door. She knocked once, then pushed it open without waiting for an answer.

"The stranger, Alpha."

I stepped inside and the door closed behind me.

Donatus sat behind a large desk. But he was not alone. Five older wolves stood around the room, all of them watching me with identical expressions of suspicion.

"Seraphina." Donatus gestured to a spot in front of the desk. "Come in."

I walked forward on shaking legs and stopped where he indicated.

The elders shifted to get a better look at me. I kept my eyes on Donatus and tried to ignore them.

"These are the pack elders," Donatus said. "I have explained that I found you and brought you here. They have questions."

An older man with grey hair stepped forward. "Where are you from, girl?"

"The north."

"That tells us nothing. Which pack?"

I hesitated. Saying Blackthorn would raise too many questions.

But lying would be worse if they caught me. "I would rather not say."

Murmurs rippled through the elders. The grey-haired man's eyes narrowed.

"She could be anyone," a woman with sharp features said. "A criminal. A spy. Why would you bring her here without knowing anything about her?"

"Because she needed help." Donatus's voice was calm but firm.

"And now what?" Another elder crossed his arms. "What do you plan to do with her?"

"She will work as my personal maid. She needs a position and I need someone I can trust in that role."

The room exploded.

"Your personal maid? Are you mad?"

"She is a complete stranger!"

"Why would you give such a privileged position to someone we know nothing about?"

"This is completely inappropriate!"

Donatus let them argue for a moment, then stood. The room fell silent immediately.

"I have made my decision. Seraphina will serve as my personal maid. She will have my protection and you will treat her with the respect due to anyone working directly for the Alpha. Is that clear?"

The elders exchanged glances. None of them looked happy, but they knew better than to argue with their Alpha's direct command.

"As you say, Alpha," the grey-haired man said stiffly.

"Good. You are dismissed."

They filed out one by one, each of them giving me a look that said this was not over. When the door closed behind the last one, I finally allowed myself to breathe.

Donatus sat back down and gestured to the chair across from him. "Sit."

I sat.

"I am sorry about that. They mean well but they are overly cautious."

I did not know what to say, so I said nothing.

"Being my personal maid means you will clean my office and quarters. Bring my meals, manage my schedule and run errands when needed." He paused.

"It also means you will be under my direct protection. The pack is already suspicious of you. If I assigned you to work in the kitchens or common areas, they would make your life difficult. This way, they know you answer to me."

It made sense. But it also put me in dangerous proximity to him. I'd be alone in his quarters, bringing him meals and running his errands.

What does he really want from you? The question whispered through my mind. Men do not help women for free. There is always a price.

"I know what you are thinking." Donatus's voice was quiet. "You are wondering what I expect in exchange for this protection."

My cheeks burned. "I did not—"

"It is a fair question." He leaned back in his chair.

"I expect you to do your work well. Be respectful to pack members even when they are not respectful to you. And do not give me a reason to regret bringing you here." He held my gaze. "That is all and nothing more."

I wanted to believe him. But trust did not come easily anymore.

"Do you understand?"

"Yes, Alpha."

"Just Donatus. We are not formal here." He pulled a piece of paper from a drawer.

"Someone will show you where everything is. Your duties start tomorrow. For today, rest and familiarize yourself with the pack house."

He dismissed me with a nod. I stood and walked to the door on unsteady legs.

As I reached for the handle, his voice stopped me.

"Seraphina?"

I turned back.

"You are safe here. I know you do not believe that yet but it is true."

I did not believe it but I nodded anyway and left the office, closing the door quietly behind me.

I had agreed to this position. Agreed to stay in this pack.

Now I would have to live with whatever consequences came from trusting a stranger.