Seraphina's POV

I flipped my phone to airplane mode. The moment the screen went black, it felt like I'd finally severed a dead nerve. I closed my eyes, trying to find some peace in the hum of the jet engines.

But the second I drifted off, the nightmare found me.

It was pitch black. Freezing. Fear swallowed me whole, like a demon dragging me into a bottomless pit.

"Mortimer… help me…"

I screamed in my sleep, but there was no answer. Lily, my wolf, was curled up in the darkest corner of my mind, letting out one broken whimper after another. My fingers dug into the armrests, nails sinking into the leather. "Please… save me…"

Through the haze, I felt someone grabbing my hand, trying to pull me out of the abyss.

"Are you okay? Ma'am? Hey, wake up."

The voice was soft but urgent. I snapped my eyes open, gasping for air. My chest ached from hyperventilating. I turned to my side. A girl with round glasses—probably a college student—was staring at me, her face pale and trembling.

I realized then that my aura had spiraled out of control, leaking into the cabin. For a human, the raw grief of a high-blooded werewolf felt like a psychic tidal wave.

I took a shaky breath, forcing Lily to settle down and pulling my jagged scent back inside. The heavy pressure in the air finally lifted.

"Sorry," I said, taking the tissue she offered. My hands wouldn't stop shaking. "I… I didn't mean to scare you."

The girl wiped sweat from her forehead, still looking shaken. "You were having a massive panic attack. It felt like… like a storm was coming. You kept whispering for help. You sounded heartbroken."

Heartbroken? My heart had frozen solid in that snowbank, right along with the video calls he'd cut off.

"Yeah," I muttered. "Surviving an avalanche like that is the kind of life experience you only need once."

The girl's mouth dropped open. "Oh my god… You mean that Alaska avalanche? The one that's been all over the news?"

I closed my eyes. The news talked about the snow, but they didn't mention how an Alpha had left his mate to die.

When the oxygen had run out, the thing that kept me conscious wasn't the fear of death. It was the memory of Mortimer's last message—the one dripping with disgust. For three years, I'd been naive enough to think that if I just did my duty as a Luna, the mating bond would eventually make him care.

But reality had slapped me hard. When a man doesn't love you, he'll believe your dying breath is just another "clumsy lie" for attention.

A total stranger could feel my pain. But my own mate? He'd just cut the connection.

I patted the girl's hand. "It's okay. I made it. I guess the Moon Goddess decided it wasn't my time yet."

When the long flight finally ended, I turned my phone back on.

A message popped up.

"See the blood moon yet? Why no photos?"

I stared at Mortimer's name. He'd sent it hours ago, right when I was boarding. I never expected him to reach out first. In our three years of being mated, our chat history was a joke. Aside from cold pack business, he never started a conversation. Even when I'd swallow my pride and share bits of my life to spark some kind of connection, he'd meet me with dead silence.

He always left me on read. He thought silence was the best way to "teach me a lesson" about my "neediness."

I stared at the screen for a long time. Part of me wanted to ignore him, to give him a taste of his own medicine. But our agreement only had two months left. I typed back, "The blood moon was beautiful. So beautiful I forgot to take pictures."

Knowing his ego, I figured he was done. But then my phone buzzed with an aggressive, immediate vibration.

An instant reply. That never happened.

But as I read the words, the last spark of feeling in my chest died out.

"Vivian's wolf is flaring up. She almost killed herself. Seraphina, as my Luna, do you have any basic compassion? You've been gone for days without even checking on her. You're becoming a stranger to me with this cold-blooded act."

Every word was a jagged whip. I could almost see his golden eyes narrowed in disgust.

I calmly typed one word back, "Sorry."

No explanation. No defense.

I locked the screen. That "sorry" wasn't for him. It was for the girl I used to be—the one who'd spent three years trying to make him love her.

I grabbed my suitcase and walked out of the airport without looking back.

Seraphina's POV

I stood in the airport pickup zone, my hand resting quietly on the handle of my suitcase.

"Morty, hurry up! Humphrey said the guys are throwing us a welcome home party at the Wildwolf Club tonight."

That voice sliced through the air, and my grip on my luggage tightened.

Mortimer and Vivian.

Deep in my mind, Lily scratched restlessly. As they got closer, the scent of pine—the scent that belonged to my fated mate—started to wrap around my ankles like a suffocating vine. I kept my eyes down. I had zero desire to play nice. I just stared at the little car icon on my screen. Uber: two minutes away.

"Luna?"

Vivian's voice carried a note of forced confusion. I acted like I hadn't heard a thing.

"Luna Seraphina! Morty, look, it's Seraphina!"

Once she started using my name, ignoring her would just look petty. I let out a tired sigh, fixed my expression, and turned around.

Vivian was clinging to Mortimer's arm, waving at me with fake excitement before dragging him over. Mortimer looked like he was in a foul mood. The Alpha aura radiating off him was a physical weight, making the humans nearby pick up their pace without even knowing why. There was a ring of burnt gold around his pupils—a sign of pure irritation.

I met his sharp, blade-like gaze with a blank stare. Was he pissed because I'd dared to show up and ruin his "quality time" with Vivian?

"Luna Seraphina, you're just getting back too?" Vivian's eyes flickered with a split-second shadow of malice. Then, she buried herself deeper into Mortimer's side, her face twisting into a mask of guilt. "I am so, so sorry. If it wasn't for my breakdown, Morty wouldn't have ditched you in the glacial forest for Sweden. It's my fault. I'm so fragile, and I ruined your blood moon ritual. I'm truly sorry."

Right on cue, her eyes welled up.

I'd heard this kind of blatant provocation way too many times. I kept my smile professional and elegant, not letting a single pheromone slip. "It's fine. I understand."

Vivian's face froze for a beat. She bit her lip, and when she spoke again, her voice went up an octave, trembling violently. "No, Seraphina, you must hate Morty! Your eyes are like ice... you went missing for days without even a text. Are you punishing him with silence? Just scream at me instead! I'll do anything, just stop this cold-shoulder act with Morty!"

She reached out, trying to grab my sleeve, her "victim" act drawing stares from everyone around us. My Luna upbringing started to crack at the seams. I thought I was numb, but a sharp, stinging sensation flared in the center of my chest. It was the physical feedback of a damaged bond—faint, but unmistakable.

I looked at Mortimer. He hadn't said a word. His golden wolf eyes were frozen over, judging me like I was some "failing Luna."

"Miss Davis, I'm not mad at you. And I'm not mad at... Alpha Mortimer," I said, giving her a shrug. I sounded as detached as if I were talking to a stranger from another pack. "As for not calling? Honestly, the scenery was just too beautiful. I was busy enjoying myself and forgot."

"Heh." A dry, sarcastic snort came from Mortimer.

My spine stiffened, but I didn't explain.

Just then, a flashy Rolls-Royce Wraith pulled up to the curb. Humphrey hopped out, his grin dying the second he saw me. "Luna Seraphina. You're... here too."

I gave him a polite nod.

Vivian took Mortimer's hand, giving me a smirk that didn't reach her eyes. "Humphrey's here. Morty, let's get in. We're blocking traffic."

Mortimer didn't move. He was staring at me with an unreadable expression.

Humphrey took off his sunglasses, looking between my lone suitcase and Mortimer's dark face. He gave a half-assed, formal apology. "My bad. I thought you were still traveling, so I brought the two-door Wraith. There isn't exactly room for four."

The Wraith was a two-door four-seater. Humphrey's girlfriend was already in the passenger seat. The two spots in the back were obviously meant for Mortimer and Vivian.

I knew Humphrey had never really accepted me. He was the one who'd commented on Vivian's post that Mortimer should just mate with her instead.

"It's fine. I already called a car. Go ahead, mine's here anyway."

"Luna Seraphina..." Humphrey started to offer some polite nonsense, but my ride pulled up right behind them.

"Goodbye." I waved, turned my back, and grabbed my suitcase, desperate to get away from his scent.

I hadn't even taken two steps before a violent, scorching Alpha energy exploded behind me. My wrist was snatched in a grip so tight it felt like my bones might snap. His fingers dug deep into my skin.

I could feel it—a faint but frantic tremor of possessiveness vibrating through his palm. It shot up my pulse and slammed into my mind, making Lily let out a whimper of pure terror.

Was he out of his mind?