THE BEGINNING OF HIS SUSPICION
1402 Words
∆SERAPHINA∆
"Kneel."
The command left my mouth cold and steady, carrying none of the hesitation that trembled beneath my ribs, and the instant it existed in the space between us.
Lydia’s laughter died in her throat as if an invisible hand had closed around it, I can clearly see that her body obeyed before her mind could understand.
Her knees struck the floor with a heavy, and unforgiving sound, her fingers scrambling uselessly against the polished wood as her muscles locked beneath the weight of something she could neither fight nor comprehend.
For a long, suspended moment, she did not breathe.
Neither did I.
Her head lifted slowly, and her silver eyes wide with naked horror as her lips parted in disbelief, her voice breaking as she whispered, "What did you just do to me? How dare you do this to me?"
Inside me, my wolf stirred in satisfaction at the sight in front of her.
She did not snarl, she did not rage either, she just watched.
She stood tall and silent in the dark space of my mind, her presence remained immense and suffocating, her authority coiled and ready, and I could feel her satisfaction bleeding into my veins as Lydia trembled beneath us.
"I just told you to kneel, and you did... Looks like you remembered your place perfectly." I said it smoothly, my voice became softer now, but no less powerful, and Lydia’s claws dragged against the floor as she tried to force herself upright, but her arms shaking violently as panic replaced her arrogance.
"This isn’t real... This can't be real," she gasped in horror, her breathing turned uneven, and desperate. "You can’t do this, you don’t have a wolf, you don’t have anything.... You're just a Luna in name no less than a marionette, how dare you do this to me?"
Her denial might have hurt once, but now it only sounded foolish.
I could feel the hold I had on her, invisible and absolute, threaded through instinct and blood, and for the first time since my wolf had awakened, I understood something terrifyingly clear.
She was not the only one kneeling, the world itself was shifting around me.
Just then the door was opened.
"What is going on in here?"
Kael’s voice cut across the room, sharp and commanding, and instinctively, immediately, I pulled back.
Not because I was afraid of him, but because I was not ready for him to know about the truth of me finding my wolf.
I shoved the power back into its cage, forcing my wolf down despite her displeasure, despite the way she resisted, despite the quiet growl that vibrated through my chest as Lydia’s body suddenly sagged forward.
She collapsed onto her hands, gasping as if she had been drowning.
Kael crossed the room in two long strides, dropping beside her as his hand caught her arm, and his expression darkening.
"Lydia."
She clung to him instantly, her fingers curling into his sleeve as she leaned against his chest, her voice weak and trembling, I know she has suffered under the power and pressure but not to the extent of jumping into arms of someone's husband while faking a cry as if I strangled her to the death.
"I don’t know what happened, I suddenly felt dizzy and my legs gave out.... Luna Seraphina must hate me so much to the extent of hurting me despite knowing about my injuries."
His jaw tightened as he steadied her, his gaze flicking toward me briefly, and his eyes narrowing for a fraction of a second as his wolf brushed against mine.
He did not understand it, but he felt it for sure.
Something in his expression shifted, something sharp and uncertain, before it disappeared behind cold dismissal.
"You pushed yourself too far, you must be tired," he said to her, his voice firm with quiet authority, and Lydia nodded faintly, playing her part perfectly.
I stood there, silent, my heart still hammering against my ribs, and my hands steady even as my wolf paced restlessly beneath my skin.
"She will recover," I said evenly. "Her injuries are already healing."
He did not thank me, he did not even acknowledge me.
"You can leave."
The words were casual, and careless, as if I were nothing more than an inconvenience that had outlived its usefulness.
I did not argue, I did not react either as he means nothing to me just like the way I'm to him.
I turned and walked out.
The moment the door closed behind me, I felt Lydia’s fear snap free, her relief flooding the air like poison, and my wolf settled slowly, her presence retreating but not sleeping.
She was awake now, and she was watching everything as if she is waiting for an opportunity to berserk and take revenge on everyone who once looked down on me.
I returned back to my room, it felt smaller than usual and colder as well.
I stood in front of the mirror, staring at my reflection as if I might find someone else staring back, someone stronger, and someone unrecognizable.
But it was still me.
Still the Luna they pitied.
Still the wife he did not want.
Still the woman who had just forced a Beta to kneel.
My fingers lifted slowly, brushing the mark at my throat as the memory surfaced uninvited.
A soft and urgent voice in the darkness of my childhood room.
"They must never see her not until you are strong enough to survive them."
I had not understood the words from my dream back then, but I did now.
My wolf shifted beneath my skin, restless, powerful, and just waiting for me unleash her to prove who she is to the world, but I've no other option to calm her down, "It's not right time yet!"
A knock sounded behind me, I did not turn as I knew who it might be.
The door opened anyway.
Kael stepped inside without invitation, his presence filling the room as his eyes settled on me, unreadable, and distant.
"Lydia told me what happened."
I met his gaze in the mirror. "And what did she say?"
His mouth tightened slightly. "She said you mishandled her wounds and made them worse."
I let out a quiet breath.
Of course she had, that's nothing new from her.
"She is lying."
His expression did not change.
"She is one of my most valuable Betas," he said calmly. "She has served this pack loyally for years, and she does not invent injuries for amusement."
No.
She invents them for you.
I turned to face him fully.
"And what exactly do you think I gain from harming her?"
His eyes darkened slightly.
"If this is your way of trying to get my attention, then you should understand that there are more effective methods."
The words landed exactly as he intended them to.
Cold, dismissing, and cruel just like always, something inside me hardened completely as I finally saw him for what he truly was.
"I do not want your attention."
His brow lifted faintly as if waiting for my further words.
"I just want a divorce."
He stared at me for a minute, then he laughed.
Not loudly, not angrily, just amused.
"As if it were that simple."
He stepped closer, his presence overwhelming, and his voice lowering. "You are my Luna, whether you like it or not."
His hand lifted, brushing lightly against my throat, his fingers pausing where my pulse betrayed me.
His fingers stilled there for a fraction longer than necessary, as if something beneath my skin had answered him.
His wolf stirred being confused and uneasy.
"You belong here...."
I did not answer, because for the first time since I arrived in this pack, I knew the truth.
I did not belong to him, I never had.
He turned toward the door, his hand resting on the handle as he paused, and his voice quieter now. "Do not create problems you cannot survive, I hope you understand what I'm trying to say."
He opened the door.
Then as if something pulled him back, he stopped, his jaw tightened slightly, as if fighting an instinct he could not explain.
His back is still to me, but his voice changed.
Not cold, not amused either just suspicious.
"Sera," he said quietly, "since when did you learn to hide things from me?"
- Writer
