Page 24

SOREN

" W HAT THE FUCK IS THIS?!"

Glass shatters against the wall, sharp shards skidding across the floor, but I don't flinch. I barely even blink as I watch Callahan come apart at the seams.

He's shaking, chest heaving like he's been running for miles.

His golden hair is a mess, wild from the way he's been dragging his fingers through it.

His hands are clenched so tight his knuckles have gone bone-white, trembling from the sheer force of his rage.

His eyes are blown wide, rimmed red with something frenzied, something deranged .

It's almost funny. Almost pitiful.

He points at me, a single accusing finger. "It was you," he breathes, voice raw. Then, louder, wild with hysteria, "YOU TOOK HER FROM ME!"

The door rattles.

I tilt my head, dragging my gaze lazily over him, the perfect picture of boredom. "You're going to have to be a lot more specific."

In a flash, he's in my face. The heat of his fury rolls off him in waves. "Seraphina?—"

I nod. "Yes. Seraphina. My wife . You met her tonight, at the celebration."

A low, crazed growl rips out of his throat. His hands twitch at his sides, like he wants to grab me, shake me, tear me apart.

It almost earns a laugh from me, but I school my features, keeping them impassive. Because watching him unravel is far too entertaining.

"You knew who she was! You knew what she meant to me!"

I feign confusion. "You're not making any sense?—"

"She was my mate!" he roars. "I rejected her, but that doesn't make her any less mine ."

That, it throws me off balance. That, I hadn't known. And like that, the pieces of the puzzle begin to fit. Seraphina's expression that night he made the announcement. Her feral dismissal of me that had bordered on an animalistic snarl. Her crying out for him at night, the yearning, the pain.

The realization settles in my gut, heavy and sick.

She wasn't just in love with him.

She was bound to him.

And fuck—that's why she doesn't know what we are yet. Why she hasn't felt it.

Because she hasn't even gotten over his rejection. And to do that... she would have to remember it, remember everything.

My eyes shutter and my fists clench as I watch Ronan rant like a child who's lost his favorite fucking puppy. Like he didn't just reveal to me that the reason Seraphina ran into the night without thinking was because he'd gotten engaged to someone else and rejected her on the same night.

There are wounds people don't heal from.

Wounds that fester, that rot, that turn a person into something else entirely.

Some don't survive a rejection. Some lose their minds from the pain of severing something so intrinsic to their very existence.

That Seraphina—an Omega—didn't... speaks to the depth of her will. Her strength.

And if I didn't already adore her before, I do now.

"The boy." Ronan's voice cracks. The rage has ebbed, leaving something more fragile.

He looks at me, finally, with horror. "He is mine, isn't he?

" He runs his fingers through dark blonde hair, shoulders shaking.

"Of course, he's mine. That's why you took her, isn't it?

To get back at me for what I did to Rayne and the rest of your family?—"

A storm detonates inside me.

"You speak one more word of my family, my wife, my son, and I'll forget that you are a guest in my home."

"He's fucking blonde, you piece of shit!

" Ronan swears, and I see it then. I see the little boy whose cuts I treated, whose broken bones I set.

The one who used to follow me like a shadow, wide-eyed and desperate to prove himself.

The one who had ratted a detail I had so carelessly revealed to him in trust to the rogues who had attacked when we least expected it and set our haven on fire.

"He's either mine or she was fucking someone else on the side.

But Seraphina was never that type of woman. "

When I don't respond, he exhales a pained breath. "Fuck. You knew. You've known all this time that she was pregnant with my child. It was you who intercepted the spies and the men I sent in search for her, wasn't it?"

I shrug, pulling my most nonchalant look. "You did the same with Eric. I thought I'd repay the favor." I stroke my jaw in false contemplation. "Perhaps, I should have kept her in the dungeons, starved and carved her up to pieces. That would certainly have been the better punishment."

The words taste like a lie and settle heavily in my chest, unwanted.

But this is necessary, I tell myself. This is why I saved Seraphina.

To use her as a bargaining chip. It was only a speculation that Ronan would care about her enough to lose his shit like this, but seeing it happen gives me a sick sort of satisfaction, knowing I have something of his to ruin, just like he's ruined everything of mine. I have to do this. I need to.

His brown eyes widen with horror. "You are a monster."

The words are so raw, I startle, releasing a dark laugh.

"Oh, that is rich coming from you." I tilt my head slightly, letting the laughter drain from my face.

"I want your marriage to Tova annulled. I want the peace treaty rewritten, in which you agree to rescind authority over the lands and packs you stole from me.

My borders will be closed again and your unlimited access to my resources and weapons will be revoked.

You will release my men you hold in your dungeons and withdraw the spies you have littered around my lands, lest I return them to you in body bags.

More importantly, the little clause that allows for hostile takeovers will be removed. "

Ronan's muscles strain and the veins around his neck look to be seconds away from popping. "Seraphina isn't worth that much. You can keep her."

He's bluffing. I can smell his fear as sharply as I can the scent of myrrh and alcohol. I smile, letting a little of Kaelin to the surface. Let him see the wolf lurking beneath my skin, the hunger that ravages the depth of my soul when I think of Seraphina. "Oh, but I plan to."

I part my lips to say more. But then?—

A sharp pulse of fear sears through me. It is so damn strong, my grip on Callahan falters. And it isn't coming from me.

Kaelin whines inside my chest as a vicious ache replaces the fear.

The last time I felt this, Seraphina was curled up on the bathroom floor, barely conscious, shaking and cold.

I run .

I don't hear the footsteps chasing after me. I don't care.

I track her scent, moving fast, my mind already playing the worst. My fear mingles with hers, making me wild with panic.

A commotion by the back hall seizes my attention and my heart stalls when someone says, " Oh my, is she alright? "

The crowd parts, letting me through, and they stare at me with varying degrees of worry, surprise and disbelief as I push past face after face, body after body until...

"She just came out of nowhere!" An annoyingly nasal voice echoes, and one glance up reveals Kaida Callahan, staring at me with something like fear. "She fell."

"No. You pushed her," someone else remarks.

I hit my knees by Seraphina's side, heart caving at the sight of her on the ground, face frozen in a painful expression. Pale. Motionless. My fingers search for her pulse. It's faint. Too faint.

A tremor ripples through me.

I cradle her to my chest. "Get Rayne. Any physician. Now!"

Feet shuffle around, informing me that someone's tending to that particular order.

Murmurs rise. Someone calls my name. It might have been Tova, but everyone other than Seraphina is shrouded in a cloud of red.

A threat. And I growl, snapping and ready to sink my teeth into any one who comes close. Ready to fucking kill them.

Wisely, they give me wide berth, scurrying out of my path like I am a viper coiled tightly and ready to bite.

My focus hones in sharply on her.

And the raw sobbing sound she makes as I lift her into my arms.

"Shh," I whisper, arms tightening around her smaller frame. "I've got you."

She quietens, head lolling right to rest against my heart.

I see Ronan in my peripheral, watching us with worry and loathing. And my pack, they stare. Our guests watch with incredulity.

Because never has it been heard of that Soren Winter lost his shit over a woman. Not even Rayne could get this reaction out of me.

Because I have just revealed to them—to the entire world that I do have a weakness and my entire world orbits around the fragile woman in my arms.

And I am not ashamed.

"She's alright," the Glacial Pack's physician says, rubbing a sore spot on his jaw.

He's still dressed for the celebrations, though most of the guests have already been sent home.

"It's completely normal for the body to grow tired when the mind is constantly at war.

The more her memories return, the worse the dizzy spells will become. "

My canines grind together. My foot skids across the rug. "You said it was unlikely she'd regain them at all."

He nods, lowering his voice. "I did. But something must have triggered her tonight—something strong enough to shake her after months of perfect health and healing.

" A weary smile tugs at his lips. "The brain is still a mystery to us.

You must forgive me for my incorrect analysis.

On the bright side, she's recovering faster than expected. "

I know what that means. And I shove the grief that comes with it into the same dark corner of my mind where the rest of my regrets fester. "How long?"

He rubs his jaw again, thoughtful. "A couple of months, give or take."

A couple of months.

That's all the time I have left before she remembers everything.

Before she realizes what a lying bastard I am.

Before she looks at me and sees a monster instead of the man who saved her.

A couple of months. What sort of miracle would it take to make her stay?

Not because of the thrall of the bond, but because she wants to?