Seraphina's POV

I sat by the hotel window, watching the snow swirl into a violent frenzy outside.

My fingers mindlessly traced the wedding band on my left hand. The diamond caught the dim light, cold and hard—exactly like the day we made our deal three years ago.

The memories drifted back through the snow.

Mortimer and I were set up by my mentor, Alfie Bauer, the head of the Healing Department at Shadowfang Academy.

Professor Bauer was friends with Alpha Edwin of the Blade Pack, and when he heard Edwin was breathing down Mortimer's neck to find a mate, he thought of me.

I was his star pupil, after all.

As the daughter of the Silver Moon Alpha, my wolf is a rare, towering silver beast. I have the bloodline, the pedigree, and a healing gift that every werewolf envies.

I'd been trained since I was a pup in the most elite academies to be the perfect, poised Luna.

Everything about me—every ounce of my grace and power—was designed to be a perfect match for the golden heir of the Blade family.

But what no one knew was that our first meeting, orchestrated by our families, was a date I'd been mentally preparing for for ten years.

"Miss Hale, I don't care about werewolf traditions. Fate, fated mates—none of it matters to me. I'm only here because my grandfather is making my life a living hell."

Three years ago, even just sitting there casually, Mortimer radiated the suffocating power of a high-ranking Alpha. His golden eyes held zero warmth, only a cold, professional distance.

"I... feel the same way," I said, looking down to hide the fact that my heart was practically trying to punch its way out of my chest.

Inside my mind, Lily was doing laps. She felt the scent of our fated mate and was dying to let out a mating howl, wanting nothing more than to run over and nuzzle the side of his neck.

"Shut up, Lily," I snapped at her internally. "Don't let him know. Not yet."

"A contract mating of three years. Once he's satisfied, we dissolve the mating. What do you think?"

He reached out a hand. His fingers were long and elegant.

I shook his hand, feeling a spark of heat that could have brought any she-wolf to her knees.

I was naive enough to think that three years of living together would eventually turn the ice in that contract into something real.

But this freezing Alaskan wind just blew the last of my delusions away.

By evening, the moon was casting a bloody red glow over the snow. For someone whose heat had started early, this was a disaster.

My body felt like it was being eaten alive by a slow fire. The physical craving for my mate was shredding my self-control.

Lily was clawing at my mind, begging for that pine-scented wildness to just... take over.

I couldn't stay in that room. My pheromones would eventually leak out and call every crazed male within ten miles.

I threw on my hiking gear and stumbled out into the Glacier Forest, hoping the sub-zero temperatures would kill the burning, shameful heat rising inside me.

As I marched through the snow, I found myself opening my phone. It was like a reflex.

Vivian's I*******m story hit me like a heat-seeking missile, obliterating the last of my dignity.

It was a gallery of photos. The first was a selfie—she looked glowing, her eyes full of mischief. She didn't look like someone who'd just been "ambushed by rogues."

"To Morty, Vivi will always be priceless."

My eyes locked onto one photo in particular—a hand peeling an apple.

Long, powerful fingers, knuckles I knew by heart. And there, glinting in the light, was the wedding band that matched mine. It was a slap in my face.

The kidnapping was a lie.

The comments under the post felt like poisoned arrows.

"You're so spoiled, Vivi. Only you could get away with faking a rogue attack."

"Don't pull a stunt like that again," Mortimer had replied.

Vivian's response to him, "Morty, I'm sorry! I'll apologize to her when she gets back."

Other comments were even worse. "Alpha Mortimer should've just mated with Vivi from the start. Maybe her weak wolf spirit would be cured by now if he had."

"He's with her now, isn't he? Honestly, Vivi is obviously way more important to him than some 'high-blood' Luna."

They weren't even trying to hide it from me. And Mortimer hadn't deleted a single comment or defended me once.

Suddenly, I felt tired. Just... done.

"Lily... stop crying," I whispered, the taste of copper hitting the back of my throat.

Because of Lily's emotional collapse, my pheromones leaked out in an uncontrollable wave.

Almost immediately, I heard heavy breathing coming from the shadows.

Rogues. They were like starving hyenas, their eyes glowing crimson in the snowy dark, drawn by the scent of a female in heat.

"Get back!" I let out a low, ragged growl and sprinted deeper into the forest, trying to use the jagged terrain to lose them.

The snow was coming down harder now. The deep forest was a wall of deathly silence and white.

My breath came in thick clouds, my chest burning from the run.

Suddenly, the entire mountain began to rumble.

A deep, thundering roar echoed from the earth.

I looked up in horror. A wall of snow that had been building for decades on the peak was collapsing. A massive silver wave of destruction was screaming down the mountainside, blocking out the sky.

Fear, cold, and a crushing sense of finality filled my lungs.

Seraphina's POV

The weight of the snow felt like the cold, crushing hand of death, squeezing the last bit of oxygen from my lungs.

I was curled up in a tiny air pocket, my fingers trembling as I gripped my phone, praying for a signal.

If I was going to rot in this forest under the gaze of the Moon Goddess, I wanted to see Mortimer one last time.

I hit the button for a video call.

The dim glow of the screen was blinding in the suffocating darkness.

"Beep—"

The second it connected, my heart stopped.

But before I could even catch a glimpse of those familiar golden eyes, the screen went black.

He hung up.

The rejection hit me harder than the cold. It was like salt on an open wound, a pain that actually managed to outrun the fear of dying.

I didn't know where I found the strength, but ignoring the burning agony in my chest, I called again.

Declined. Again.

My heart sank into the same abyss as my body.

I held my breath and typed out a single line, "Mortimer, there was an avalanche. I'm buried under the forest."

I wasn't even expecting him to come back for me.

I was just placing one last bet on this pathetic ten-year crush—giving myself a reason to finally let go.

To my surprise, he replied instantly.

But every word on that screen felt like a poisoned blade.

"Seraphina, if you want me to come back, find a better excuse. This is a low blow, even for you."

"I'm staying with Vivi for a few more days of observation. When you're done playing games, come home. Stop acting out."

I stared at the words, the taste of copper in my mouth.

The burning heat of my early cycle was instantly snuffed out by pure, icy despair.

The cold seeped into my bones, sealing my wolf, Lily, away in a frozen vault.

I didn't feel the pain anymore. I didn't feel anything.

I stopped replying and let the darkness take me.

The distant howls of rogues and the muffled sounds of the world faded into nothing.

When I finally opened my eyes, everything was a blinding, clinical white. I smelled a mix of disinfectant and a crisp, woody scent.

"You're awake?"

I struggled to turn my stiff neck and met a pair of deep, gentle eyes.

"How are you feeling?" The man pushed up his silver-rimmed glasses. His voice was calm and clear, carrying a strange power that seemed to soothe my wolf. "I'm your healer, Caldwell."

"I..." My throat was shredded, raw as sandpaper.

"You've been out for five days," he said, holding a cup of water to my lips. "Surviving an avalanche like that... it means your wolf has a much stronger will than most. I'll be overseeing your recovery."

"Caldwell?" I repeated weakly.

"That's right." He gave me a professional but warm smile.

Even though I was completely drained, I managed to thank him.

I asked if he could help me get a new phone—I needed to tell my family back at the Silver Moon Pack that I was alive.

An hour later, the second I turned the new phone on, a flood of messages crashed into my inbox.

My parents, my pack mates, my colleagues at the center—everyone was frantic.

Except for my mate.

Mortimer's profile sat at the bottom of the list. Quiet. Empty. Not a single word.

I touched my chest.

There was a dull ache there, a hollow feeling, but that soul-shattering agony that made my wolf tremble? It was gone.

It had been replaced by a silence as flat as dead water.

I called home and told a lie—that I'd missed the avalanche because of a last-minute change in plans. I buried the truth of the disaster that had nearly buried me.

During my stay at the clinic, Caldwell took incredible care of me.

On the day I was discharged, he walked me to the car.

"Back to LA today?" he asked, holding the door. That clean pine scent of his drifted in the cold wind.

"Yeah. Vacation's over." I looked up at him and gave him my first real smile in weeks. "Caldwell, I'm actually a healer too. Maybe we can stay in touch—swap notes on some tough cases?"

His amber eyes flashed with surprise, and then a grin spread across his face. "Really? What are the odds? Maybe the Moon Goddess intended for us to meet. Safe travels, Seraphina."

I boarded the flight to LA. Seconds before they closed the cabin door, I checked social media one last time.

Vivian had posted.

"Guess who's watching the Northern Lights with me? Yep! My personal superhero!"

The photo showed the stunning green aurora stretching across the sky in Sweden.

Underneath, two figures were leaning into each other.

The tall man was only showing his profile, but I knew that jawline, those fingers, and that Alpha scent that used to sting my senses even through a screen.My mate.

I stared at Mortimer's silhouette.

In the back of my mind, Lily let out a low, final whimper of defeat.

I clicked on Mortimer's profile. With one tap, I unpinned his chat.

Mortimer's POV

The Swedish aurora writhed across the sky like a fever dream. Those eerie green lights felt like cold snakes, strangling the breath right out of me. I stood on the balcony, my thumb mindlessly rubbing the edge of my phone.

"You're on edge, Mortimer." Deep in my head, my wolf—Barton—let out a jagged growl. The vibration made my skull ache.

"I'm just thinking about the pack," I shot back.

A moment later, I reached back into the mind-link. "But... fine. Tell me how our mate is doing."

Barton paced restlessly in my mind, claws digging into the void. "I've got nothing. That temporary mark you gave her a year ago? It's gone. Faded to nothing."

His words hit me like a physical blow. It was true. Ever since Alaska, the bond between Seraphina and me had gone stone cold.

She used to be a chronic over-sharer. She'd send me photos of anything—even a weirdly shaped leaf she found on the sidewalk. I usually blew her off. In our world, catching feelings is a death sentence. But now, her chat window was a ghost town.

Was she playing games? Some pathetic attempt at a protest? All because I'd ditched her to save Vivian?

The thought left a bitter taste in my mouth.

"Morty? You there? Come take a picture of me!" Vivian ran over, camera in hand, wearing that innocent little pout. Her eyes flicked toward my phone, and for a split second, I saw a flash of ice in her gaze. It was gone before I could blink. When I looked again, there was nothing but concern.

Maybe I was just seeing things.

"Morty, are you worried about Seraphina?" Vivian tilted her head. "It's all my fault... If I hadn't made you come back that day, she wouldn't be this mad. Maybe you should just... I don't know, apologize?"

Apologize?

I let out a dry, sharp laugh. I was the Alpha of the strongest pack in North America. "Apology" wasn't in my vocabulary. I hated being guilt-tripped, and I hated showing weakness—especially to my mate.

"If she's going to act like a brat over a life-or-death situation, then she's clearly not ready to be a Luna," I said, shoving my phone into my pocket. "Go stand over there. I'll take the shot."

Vivian gave the lens a dazzling smile, but I wasn't even looking at the frame. I told myself she'd only lied about the kidnapping because her wolf was weak and she was spiraling.

She didn't mean any harm. I was just here to keep her calm. My conscience was clear.

So why was Barton howling like his world was ending?

Back at the hotel, a crushing sense of loss started to hollow me out—the kind of grief you only feel when a mate is truly gone. I stared at Seraphina's profile picture. She was in her healer's uniform, looking soft and kind.

"Find her," I ordered.

"I can't!" Barton wailed, curling into a ball. "The bond is dead air. Just static. You idiot—you never should've left her."

"I was saving a life," I hissed.

But the regret was already set in. If I'd just finished the marking ceremony under that blood moon, I'd be able to feel her heart beating right now. Then, the memory of our goodbye flashed back: Seraphina standing in the snow, her face flushed deep red, her eyes glassy.

Damn it. I thought she was just freezing. Now I realized—that was the start of her heat.

Whatever. She'd always been the one chasing me. Maybe I'd throw her a bone and break the silence first. Call it an "alpha's mercy."

I opened the chat, my thumb hovering over the screen. I'd faced down the most bloodthirsty rogues without flinching, yet here I was, actually nervous. It was irritating as hell.

Finally, I sent something short. "See the blood moon yet? Why no photos?"

The ding of the sent message felt like a gunshot in the quiet room.

One minute. Five. Ten. The screen stayed black.

Hours crawled by. My phone was basically an expensive paperweight. The rejection turned into a slow-boil rage in my blood. I slammed the phone onto the nightstand and headed for the shower. I let the ice-cold water hit me, trying to drown out the panic clawing at my chest.

Ten minutes later, I stepped out with a towel around my waist. The screen flickered.

My heart stopped. I didn't even bother grabbing a towel for my hair; I just lunged for the bed. I could feel the corner of my mouth twitching into a smile.

Then I saw the screen, and the smile died.

The chat was still empty. Seraphina hadn't said a word. The notification was just Vivian tagging me in some I*******m post.

I tossed the phone aside, feeling like I'd swallowed a handful of barbed wire.

"Seraphina," I muttered to the empty room. "You've really got some nerve."