Seraphine's POV

The cold wind bit at my skin as I stepped outside, but it was nothing compared to the frost settling in my heart. This was it. Years of humiliation, betrayal, and heartbreak ended here. No more.

It had been weeks since I lost my child. Weeks since I lay curled on the cold floor, drenched in pain and desperation, calling out for a mate who never came.

"Leonel, please… save our baby."

The mind-link had remained silent. I had waited—pleaded—for him to answer, to show me that I still mattered. But he never responded. Not then. Not when the searing pain took over my body, twisting through me like fire. Not when I collapsed onto the floor, tears streaming down my face as I begged the Moon Goddess to spare my child.

No one came. Not Leonel. Not the Goddess. No one.

By the time I woke up in the hospital, the truth had already settled in. I had lost my baby. And I had lost Leonel long before that. But I had been too blind, too foolish, to see it.

I had spent those days in a sterile hospital room, waiting. Leonel would come, I told myself. He had to. But three days passed, and he never appeared.

And now, as I sat across from him at the dining table, watching him smirk at another, the betrayal I had buried deep inside came clawing back.

A soft knock at the door broke the tense silence. An Omega entered, bowing respectfully. “Alpha, you have a visitor.”

Leonel set his fork down, his expression unreadable. “Let him in.”

One of his closest friends stepped inside, greeted him warmly, and took the seat beside him—barely acknowledging my presence. Their conversation quickly shifted to the ancient tongue of the kingdom, a language they assumed I couldn’t understand.

“So, Aurora is really going to be your Luna, huh?” his friend teased.

Leonel smirked, the same arrogant curve of his lips that once made my heart race. “Yes. It’s for the future of the Steelfang Pack. Her connections will strengthen us.”

His friend chuckled knowingly. “Don’t lie to yourself. You care about her, don’t you? That’s why you’re choosing her instead.”

Leonel let out a low laugh, the sound like a dagger to my chest. “Of course. Aurora means a lot to me.”

I gripped my fork tightly, my nails digging into my palm. They didn’t know. They didn’t know that the woman they dismissed as a mere Omega could understand every word. They didn’t know I was no ordinary woman.

I am a princess. A hidden heir to a royal bloodline that traces back to the Moon Goddess herself. The ice bloodline—my bloodline—bestows powers few can comprehend. The mark of that power, a glowing white vein etched along my wrist, is invisible to those ignorant of its significance. My family had kept my identity secret for years, guarding it fiercely from those who sought to exploit it.

Yet even within the kingdom’s highest circles, few nobles knew who the princess truly was—me.

I had once been filled with hope. I had discovered I was pregnant, and my heart swelled at the thought of our child. I had planned to propose to Leonel, believing that our love would overcome any obstacle. But fate had other plans.

Elin, my closest friend, had been the one to shatter my illusions. She had handed me her phone with trembling hands, her face pale.

“You need to see this,” she whispered.

Confused, I took the phone and felt the world tilt beneath me.

Aurora’s post. The woman who had always lingered near Leonel.

[Finally, he proposed to me! I knew this day would come. I can’t believe it happened now.]

My breath caught. My hands trembled. “I… I didn’t see this before.”

“That’s because she blocked you,” Elin murmured. “Not just her—Leonel’s mother and some of the pack members did too. They didn’t want you to find out.”

I scrolled through the comments, bile rising in my throat.

[You’re a perfect match!]

[So glad that Omega isn’t going to be our Luna.]

[Aurora is so much better. Thank the Moon Goddess!]

And then, the final blow. Leonel’s mother had commented herself.

[I always knew Aurora was the right choice. That Omega was never good enough for my son.]

I had sacrificed everything for this man. Left my legacy, abandoned my title, and given up my future as the rightful heir to my bloodline—all for him.

And in return, he had chosen someone else.

As if the Moon Goddess herself wished to remind me of my suffering, the eclipse arrived the same week. Darkness covered the sky—just as it had covered my life.

That was the week I lost my child. The week I reached out to Leonel in my most vulnerable moment and was met with silence.

Now, here I was, listening to him laugh, planning a grand ceremony with another woman.

“Are you sure she doesn’t understand us?” his friend asked, casting a glance at my way.

Leonel barely looked at me. “She can’t. She’s just a lowly Omega.”

A lowly Omega.

I pushed back my chair abruptly, the screech of wood against tile slicing through the room. Leonel didn’t even look up as I turned and walked away.

Outside, the cold wind howled, whispering promises of change.

I had already lost everything.

But I would not lose myself.

It was time to go home.

Seraphine's POV

Shadows flickered across the walls of my chamber as I sat beside the frost-kissed window, gripping the softly glowing crescent pendant my mother had gifted me before I departed from the palace. The gentle, rhythmic pulse of light against my skin was the only tether keeping me anchored, a silent reassurance of the Moon Goddess’s presence and the sacred lineage flowing through my veins.

How naive I had been to believe that love alone would be enough. I had fought desperately to remain in the Steelfang Pack, pleading with my family to let me stay with Leonel. "I love him," I had begged, each word trembling with desperation. "Please, let me stay. I’ll be safe. I swear it!"

Evander, my second eldest brother, had been my fiercest opponent. His gaze burned with an intensity I had rarely witnessed. “They will never protect you the way we can, Seraphine! You are the ice princess, for the Moon’s sake. Do you truly think they even comprehend what you are? What’s at risk?”

But I had ignored him. I had chosen to trust Leonel, the man who had once saved my life—three years ago, when a rebel faction had abducted me. I could still recall the way he fought for me, how he pulled me back from the brink of death. That day, I had believed he was my fate. My savior.

Now, I scarcely recognized him. The man I had once cherished was gone, replaced by someone cold and unfamiliar. The truth could no longer be denied: Leonel was never my protector. He was my ruin.

The morning light offered no comfort, only a fever that clung to me like a cruel specter, a relentless reminder of my frailty. Each step toward the pack hospital felt like scaling a mountain. My body had betrayed me once more, refusing to let me escape the torment of my loss.

The healer, a gentle woman with streaks of silver in her hair, examined me with careful hands and sorrowful eyes. “Your body is still reeling from the loss,” she murmured softly. “You must rest, child. You are still healing.”

I nodded, though her words barely registered. Rest. As if sleep could mend the gaping void within me. The loss of my child—the one tie I had to a future—was a wound no healer could ever hope to close.

Upon returning to the pack house, an unbearable emptiness greeted me. Leonel, as expected, was nowhere to be found. I didn’t even bother to ask where he had gone. Elin, my sole confidante, met me at the door, her face etched with concern.

"He’s with her again," she murmured, her voice scarcely above a whisper.

I stiffened, my hands curling into fists at my sides. I didn’t need to ask who she was.

"Did he say when he’d return?" I forced my voice to remain steady.

Elin hesitated, her gaze dropping. "They’re planning their wedding. The pack… they’ve been ordered to keep it from you."

For a moment, the world seemed to shift beneath me. Then, unexpectedly, I laughed—a sharp, hollow sound that echoed through the vacant hall. "Of course. Why wouldn’t he? He wanted me blind, obedient."

The bitterness within me solidified into something colder, sharper. "But I’m finished, Elin," I said quietly. "I’m leaving."

That night, sleep eluded me. The silence of the pack house felt suffocating, pressing against me like an unseen weight. Seeking solace, I wandered downstairs for a glass of water, hoping the cool liquid would calm the storm raging inside me.

An eerie stillness hung in the air, the kind that sent a shiver crawling down my spine. As I neared the kitchen, hushed voices reached my ears.

"I still can’t believe someone killed him," Aurora’s honeyed, poisonous voice slithered through the darkness. "The prince’s death… Do you think—"

"Enough," Leonel cut in sharply, his tone tense and urgent. "We shouldn’t discuss his death here."

I froze, my blood turning to ice. They were speaking of Maximilian. My brother.

Aurora huffed, impatience lacing her words. "You’re too cautious, Leonel. And what of the princess?"

Leonel’s voice dropped, the words muffled yet strained. "… difficult… locate…"

My pulse quickened, unease tightening around my chest. Why were they discussing my family? Why were they speaking of me?

The floorboards creaked beneath my foot, and silence swallowed the room.

"Who’s there?" Leonel’s voice cut through the darkness, sharp and commanding.

Seraphine's POV

The corridor lay engulfed in darkness, with only the pale moonlight streaming through the grand windows, casting eerie, shifting shadows along the walls. My pulse pounded in my ears, the oppressive atmosphere thick enough to choke on. Rooted in place, I barely dared to breathe as Leonel’s sharp voice sliced through the silence again, sending a fresh wave of chills down my spine.

"Who’s there?"

I swallowed the lump lodged in my throat, the icy air pressing into my skin like an unwelcome touch. Drawing every ounce of strength left in me, I stepped forward, allowing the dim glow to illuminate my face. Leonel’s gaze locked onto mine, a flicker of surprise flashing in his eyes before he quickly concealed it beneath his usual cold, unreadable mask.

"Seraphine," he murmured, his voice slightly softer, though a thread of suspicion still wove through his words. "What are you doing here so late?"

Forcing my composure, I willed my voice not to waver. "I couldn’t sleep. I came down for some water." My eyes flicked to Aurora, who stood just behind Leonel, her gaze gleaming with something that made my stomach turn. A triumphant smirk played on her lips, as if she had already won some cruel game.

Leonel’s brows furrowed slightly, his sharp eyes scanning me carefully. "Did you hear anything?"

My heart skipped a beat, but I met his stare with an unwavering expression, my voice betraying none of the unease clawing at my chest. "No. I just arrived."

Aurora sighed dramatically, her tone dripping with artificial sweetness. "We didn’t mean to disturb you, Seraphine. Leonel and I were just wrapping up."

My jaw clenched involuntarily, my fingers curling at my sides as I leveled my gaze at Leonel. "Wrapping up what?"

For the briefest moment, Aurora’s smug expression faltered before she could recover. Leonel, ever the master of deception, smoothly intervened, his tone almost casual. "We had a late meeting with Aurora’s pack. It ran longer than expected, and she wanted to stop by for tea before heading home."

My gaze darted to the table near them—bare, untouched, without even the faintest sign of tea or conversation. The air carried no lingering warmth from a recently brewed drink. The lie was blatant, and my stomach twisted, yet I forced my features to remain neutral, unwilling to grant them the satisfaction of knowing they had rattled me.

"Tea at three in the morning?" My voice was soft, but the edge to it was unmistakable.

Aurora stiffened, a flicker of irritation crossing her face, but before she could speak, Leonel placed a firm hand on her arm, silencing her. "You’ve been looking exhausted lately, Seraphine," he said, his voice taking on a forced gentleness. "You should take a break. Get some fresh air tomorrow. It’ll help clear your mind."

Every instinct in me screamed that something was wrong. Yet, I nodded, a small, artificial smile tugging at my lips. "Maybe I will."

Leonel’s shoulders relaxed slightly, as though he had won a battle only he understood. He smiled faintly, but there was no warmth in it. "Good. You’ll feel better."

Aurora shot me one last gloating look before brushing past me, her perfume sickly sweet in the stagnant air. Leonel followed, sparing me only a final, indifferent glance. "Go back to bed," he instructed, disappearing into the darkened hallway with her.

For several moments, I stood frozen, my hands trembling at my sides. My breath came in shallow bursts as I cast my gaze back to the empty table. The realization settled like lead in my stomach, solidifying the suspicions that had been gnawing at me. Whatever Leonel and Aurora were doing, it wasn’t just a late-night meeting.

The first streaks of dawn bled through my curtains, but the warmth of the sun did nothing to chase away the weight pressing against my chest. The conversation still lingered in my mind, gnawing at my thoughts, and as the hours stretched on, the unease only deepened. The crescent pendant around my neck, once a source of comfort, now felt distant, like a relic from another life.

By the time Elin arrived in the kitchen, I was already awake and dressed, too restless to sleep. She paused upon seeing me, setting a tray of fresh bread and fruit on the table.

"You’re up early," she remarked, her tone light, but the concern in her gaze was unmistakable.

"Couldn’t sleep," I admitted, sinking into a chair. I hesitated for a moment before asking, "Elin, do you know if anything’s happening tomorrow?"

Elin froze, her hands hovering over the tray, and I watched as her expression subtly shifted—guarded, cautious. She avoided my gaze, and the unease coiled tighter in my gut.

"Why do you ask?" she replied carefully.

I exhaled slowly, keeping my voice level. "Leonel told me I should go out tomorrow. He said I needed fresh air." I paused, feeling the words settle uneasily in my chest. "It felt… off."

For a long moment, Elin said nothing, then sighed heavily. "You’re not going to like this, Belle."

"Tell me," I demanded, my voice sharper than intended.

Elin glanced around the empty kitchen as if making sure no one else was listening before leaning in closer. "It’s an engagement party," she whispered. "For Leonel and Aurora."