Chapter 2 The Fall
1090 Words
Seraphina’s POV
“Are you going to keep staring at me, or are you going to explain why your people just tried to kill us?”
I didn’t flinch when Dominic said it.
His voice was sharp, but there was fear under it.
The kind men hide behind anger.
I wiped blood from my mouth with the back of my hand.
“Because this city doesn’t forgive mistakes,” I said calmly.
Dante stood between us like a wall that didn’t know who it was protecting.
His shoulders were tense.
His jaw was locked tight.
I could feel him even without touching him.
Something inside me kept pulling toward him.
“You don’t get to play innocent,” Dominic snapped.
“Those were Valente wolves.”
“Those were soldiers,” I corrected.
“They don’t ask permission before they strike.”
Dante exhaled slowly, like he was counting his breaths.
“We don’t have time for this,” Dante said.
“They’ll regroup.”
“They always do.”
His eyes flicked to the shattered windows behind us.
Lightning flashed, bright enough to light the blood on the floor.
I tightened my grip on the silver blade.
It burned, but I didn’t drop it.
Pain was familiar.
Fear was not.
And I refused to show either.
“Explain the bond,” Dominic said.
His eyes locked on me now.
Not angry.
Searching.
“Because I felt it too.”
The words hit harder than I expected.
Dante stiffened.
I felt a shock in my chest.
“I didn’t ask for it,” I said quietly.
“I didn’t even know it was possible.”
The truth tasted bitter in my mouth.
The building shook.
A deep thud echoed through the floor.
Then another.
“They’re coming up,” Dante said.
His voice dropped into command without effort.
Glass exploded from the far wall.
Wolves poured in through smoke and sparks.
Silver flashed in their hands.
The room turned violent in seconds.
“Together?” I asked, without thinking.
The word surprised even me.
Dante’s eyes met mine.
There was no hesitation in them.
“Together,” he said.
He shifted first.
Bone and muscle moved fast, clean.
A black wolf slammed into the nearest attacker.
Dominic followed, gold fur tearing through the chaos like fire.
I stayed human, blade ready.
A wolf lunged for Dante’s side.
I moved before thinking.
The blade sank deep.
The scream that followed was sharp and short.
Blood sprayed across my arm.
The burn in my hand flared hotter.
Silver hated me.
I hated it back.
I kicked the wolf away and spun.
Another was already coming.
Dante tore its throat out mid leap.
He landed in front of me, massive and deadly.
Protective.
The bond surged hard.
It felt like heat under my skin.
“Behind you,” Dominic shouted.
I dropped low.
A blade passed where my head had been.
I rolled and slashed upward.
The room filled with snarls and gunfire.
Smoke burned my lungs.
My heart pounded like it wanted out of my chest.
Still, I didn’t slow.
Fear would get me killed.
“Window,” Dominic yelled.
I saw it.
Shattered glass.
Rain is pouring in.
Thirty eight floors down.
“No,” I said automatically.
“Yes,” Dante replied.
His voice didn’t shake.
“We jump.”
Another explosion rocked the floor.
Ceiling lights burst.
Darkness swallowed half the room.
I didn’t argue again.
There was no time.
I ran.
A hand grabbed my arm.
I screamed and stabbed without looking.
The grip released.
I kept moving.
Dante caught me at the edge.
His arms locked around my waist.
The city stretched below us, endless and hungry.
Rain soaked us both.
The bond flared like a warning.
“Trust me,” he said near my ear.
Not loud.
Not dramatic.
Just certain.
Dominic didn’t hesitate.
He ran and jumped.
Shifted midair.
Landed clean across the gap.
I turned back immediately.
Dante didn’t count down.
He ran with me.
We jumped.
The world dropped away.
The wind tore the breath from my lungs.
I screamed, then laughed, then screamed again.
Dante twisted in the air.
Shielded me with his body.
We hit hard.
Pain exploded through him.
I felt it through the bond.
He didn’t make a sound.
Just rolled and pushed me clear.
Dominic was there in seconds.
“We move,” Dominic said.
No emotion.
Pure survival.
We ran.
Fire escapes burned my hands and feet.
Rain made everything slick.
I slipped once.
Dante caught me without breaking pace.
His hand stayed on mine after.
The alley swallowed us.
Dark and narrow.
Sirens wailed somewhere far away.
Too human.
Too close.
We didn’t slow until the subway stairs.
We tore through them.
People screamed.
Metal shattered.
The train arrived like fate.
The doors closed behind us.
The car lurched forward.
Red emergency lights flickered on.
Everyone moved away from us.
No one asked questions.
We stood pressed together in the corner.
Too close.
Too aware.
Dante’s back against my chest.
Dominic’s arm braced around him.
My breathing slowed first.
Then Dante’s.
Then Dominic’s.
The bond hummed low and steady.
“You’re bleeding,” Dante said softly.
“I’ve had worse,” I replied.
He didn’t argue.
His hand found mine.
Dominic looked away.
Jaw tight.
Hands clenched.
“Don’t,” he said quietly.
It wasn’t a command.
It was a plea.
The train rocked.
Our bodies pressed closer.
I felt everything.
Every breath.
Every hesitation.
“You rejected me,” I whispered.
Dante didn’t deny it.
“You needed protection,” he said.
The truth in it hurt worse than anger.
I swallowed hard.
Dominic laughed once.
Sharp and humorless.
“Always the hero,” he muttered.
Dante closed his eyes.
Just for a second.
Claws scraped against the outside of the train.
Sparks flew past the windows.
Wolves ran alongside us in the tunnel.
Passengers screamed again.
I didn’t look away.
The train slowed.
Lights flickered.
The bond tightened painfully.
Something felt wrong.
Cold.
The doors were forced open.
Darkness rushed in.
Then the scent.
Iron.
Blood.
I froze.
Every instinct screamed.
Dante shifted slightly in front of me.
Dominic growled low and deep.
I couldn’t bre
athe.
A familiar voice echoed through the tunnel.
“Hello, daughter.”
My father stepped into the red light.
Silver chains hung from his hands.
His smile was calm.
Certain.
Cruel.
“Did you really think,” he said softly,
“that you could run from me?”
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