[Unwanted Marriage Series 2] RETURN OF THE LYCAN LUNA

Chapter 003

SERAPHINA

The work was simple enough. I cleaned Donatus's office every morning, dusting the bookshelves and sweeping the floors.

I tidied his personal quarters, making the bed and organizing the scattered papers on his desk.

I brought his meals three times a day and managed the schedule he kept for pack business.

When he needed messages delivered to pack members, I carried them without question.

It was menial work but I did it very well and kept my complaints to myself. Complaining would only draw attention, and attention was the last thing I wanted.

The pack members made sure I knew I was not welcome.

I was carrying a tray of dishes back to the kitchen one afternoon when I passed two women standing in the corridor.

They did not bother lowering their voices.

"I still do not understand why he brought her here," the older one said. "She refuses to tell anyone where she is from."

"Obviously she is hiding something. Probably a criminal."

"Or worse. What if she is a spy from another pack?"

I kept walking, my face carefully blank.

In the kitchen, three wolves were preparing vegetables.

.Their conversation stopped the moment I entered. I set the tray down and turned to leave.

"Do you think she is sleeping with him?" one of them whispered.

"Of course she is. Why else would he give her such a privileged position?"

"Poor Alpha. He has always been too kind for his own good. She is clearly using him."

I left before I could hear more.

It was like that everywhere. Whispers following me through the pack house. Eyes tracking my movements. Speculation about who I was and what I wanted.

His secret lover.

Some woman with valuable information he is trying to extract.

A spy sent to infiltrate the pack.

I ignored all of it. Kept my head down and my mouth shut, spoke only when spoken to and never made eye contact unless absolutely necessary.

I moved through the pack house like a ghost, present but not really there.

Weeks passed. The whispers continued but no one confronted me directly. More importantly, no one from Blackthorn came looking for me.

The distance between here and there felt good. Maybe Cassian's plan had worked. Maybe they really did think I was dead.

My memories were coming back in pieces. I could recall more details about my marriage now. The way Leone would corner me in empty corridors. The bruises he left on my wrists from holding too tight. The nights I lay awake listening to him with Clarissa in the next room.

I remembered Cassian too. His gentle hands when he examined me. The way he looked at me like I mattered. The storage shed where we first kissed.

And I remembered the prophecy. Lucien's cold eyes as he explained how he had orchestrated everything. How he destroyed my father's business to force the marriage. How he blackmailed Freya to keep her silent.

But some memories were still foggy. Details that did not quite fit together. I was not sure anymore what was real and what my mind had invented to fill in the gaps.

I was cleaning Donatus's office one evening when I noticed the map hanging on the wall. I had seen it before but never really looked at it closely.

I moved closer, studying the territories marked out in different colours.

My eyes traced north until I found it. Blackthorn Pack. So far away it might as well have been a different world.

The distance should have made me feel safe. Instead, it made me feel trapped. Cassandra was up there somewhere.

My baby girl was growing up without me and I could not even see her. The journey would take weeks, maybe months. I had no money, no supplies, no way to travel safely.

I was staring so hard at the map that I did not hear the door open.

"Thinking about where you came from?"

I spun around. Donatus stood in the doorway, watching me with those calm eyes.

"I..." My throat closed up. "I was just finishing the cleaning."

"It is alright." He stepped into the room and closed the door behind him. "You can look at the map if you want. I am not going to punish you for being curious."

I turned back to the map, keeping my face carefully neutral. "I was just wondering how far I travelled. That is all."

"And did you figure it out?"

"Far enough."

He moved to stand beside me, his eyes following mine to Blackthorn territory. "Is that where you are from?"

I hesitated too long. The silence stretched out between us.

"You do not have to tell me," Donatus said quietly. "But I can guess. You ran from family? Or..." He paused. "From a mate?"

My chest tightened. How had he known?

"A mate," I whispered.

Understanding flooded his face. "That explains the fear. The secrecy. You were running from someone who was supposed to protect you."

I could not look at him. Could not bear to see pity in his eyes.

"Was he abusive?"

I nodded once. A sharp, jerky movement.

Donatus was quiet for a long moment. When he spoke again, his voice was gentle. "You are safe here, Seraphina. I know you do not believe that yet. But no one will force you to go back to someone who hurt you. Not while you are under my protection."

The kindness in his words cracked something inside me. Something I had been holding together with sheer willpower for weeks.

Tears spilled down my cheeks before I could stop them.

"I am sorry." I wiped at my face frantically. "I should not... I will just..."

I tried to leave but Donatus caught my arm gently. "It is alright to cry."

"I am fine. I just need—"

"You do not have to pretend to be strong all the time. You have been through something terrible. It is alright to break down sometimes."

That was all it took. The dam broke completely.

I cried for Cassandra, growing up without her mother. I cried for the mate bond that still pulled at me even though I rejected it, a constant ache in my chest that never went away.

I cried for the life I would never have and the person I used to be before Leone destroyed her piece by piece.

I cried until my throat was raw and my eyes burned. Until there was nothing left inside me except exhaustion.

Donatus did not try to comfort me with empty words. Did not tell me everything would be fine or that I was being dramatic.

He just sat beside me on the floor and let me cry until I had nothing left.

When I finally stopped, my head was pounding and my whole body ached. I felt hollow.

"Thank you," I managed.

"For what?"

"For not..." I could not finish the sentence.

What am I thanking him for exactly?

For not mocking me?

For not using my weakness against me?

For not being like Leone?

"Come on." He stood and offered me his hand. "You should rest. Tomorrow will be better."

I let him help me to my feet. Let him walk me to the door. When I reached my room, I collapsed on the bed fully clothed and closed my eyes.

***

I was in the kitchen the next morning when the shouting started.

At first, I thought it was just pack members arguing. That happened sometimes.

But the voices grew louder, more urgent. I heard running footsteps in the corridor.

Something was wrong.

I moved to the window that overlooked the pack gates. A crowd had gathered. Wolves were pushing and shoving to get a better look at something.

A messenger stood in the centre of the crowd, holding up pieces of paper. He was posting them on buildings. On fence posts. Anywhere people would see them.

My stomach dropped.

I could not read the words from this distance, but I could see wolves pointing and whispering. Could see their eyes scanning the crowd as if searching for someone.

The messenger finished posting one notice and moved to the next building. The crowd surged forward to read it.

Then someone in the crowd looked up. Looked toward the pack house, directly at the window where I stood frozen.

I stumbled back from the window, my heart pounding. No. It could not be. They could not have found me. I had been so careful.

But I knew what those notices said from the whispers even without reading them.

There was a bounty on a woman matching my description.

Anyone who found me and delivered me alive to Blackthorn Pack would be rich beyond their wildest dreams.