The Engima's Luna

Chapter Seven : The Morning After

Seraphina slowly opened her eyes.

For a few seconds, she didn't move.

The ceiling above her looked unfamiliar.

No.

It was familiar.

Her room.

Her bed.

Her curtains.

Her scent.

But something still felt wrong.

Her mind was wrapped in a thick haze, and she couldn't quite remember how she had ended up there.

She blinked several times.

"What... happened?"

A soft voice answered inside her mind.

You awakened.

Seraphina froze.

She hadn't heard her wolf this clearly in years.

"Luneth?"

Finally! You're awake!

The excitement in Luneth's voice was almost enough to make Seraphina wince.

"Slow down."

I can't slow down! We found them!

Seraphina frowned.

"Found who?"

There was a pause.

Then Luneth practically squealed inside her mind.

Our mates!

Seraphina's eyes widened.

She immediately remembered the forest.

The strange power.

Three men standing beneath the trees.

Three different scents.

Her heart suddenly began beating faster.

"Wait..."

Azael. Kaelen. Rhydian.

Seraphina pulled the blanket closer to herself.

"Luneth..."

They're ours.

"All three?"

All three.

Seraphina buried her face in her pillow.

"Oh, Moon..."

Luneth sounded delighted.

Azael is the mysterious one.

Seraphina's cheeks warmed.

"Stop."

Kaelen smells like warmth and strength.

"Luneth."

And Rhydian is—

"I said stop!"

She could practically feel her wolf laughing.

Seraphina sat up slowly.

Her memories became clearer.

Azael catching her.

His arms around her.

His voice telling her to rest.

She remembered the strange sense of safety she had felt in his arms.

Her cheeks grew even warmer.

"I can't believe this."

Why?

"Because..."

She hesitated.

"Because they're our mates."

Exactly!

Seraphina hugged her pillow.

A tiny smile appeared on her face.

For the first time since the ceremony, the thought didn't frighten her.

It made something warm flutter inside her chest.

She remembered Kaelen's calm voice.

You don't have to understand it tonight.

Then Rhydian's smile.

Neither did I.

And Azael...

She couldn't explain what she felt whenever she remembered him.

Something deeper.

Something that made her heart feel strangely full.

She smiled again.

Then the smile slowly disappeared.

"But what if they don't want this?"

Luneth went quiet.

Seraphina lowered her gaze.

"What if they only felt the bond because of what happened last night?"

She swallowed.

"What if they regret it?"

They won't.

"You don't know that."

I felt them.

"Luneth..."

They wanted to come closer to you.

Seraphina's heart skipped.

"How do you know?"

Because our wolves were calling to each other.

She looked toward the wall separating her room from the guest room.

Three men.

Just one wall away.

Suddenly, the thought made her nervous.

"What if they think I'm strange?"

You are strange.

"Luneth!"

In a good way.

Seraphina sighed.

Despite herself, she smiled.

Then she quietly slipped out of bed.

She needed air.

---

On the other side of the wall, three men were already awake.

Azael stood near the window.

Kaelen sat in a chair, arms crossed.

Rhydian was staring at the ceiling.

None of them had slept properly.

Then something changed.

A faint warmth brushed through the bond.

Azael's head lifted.

Kaelen immediately looked toward the wall.

Rhydian sat up.

"She's awake."

Azael didn't answer.

He could feel her.

Not clearly.

Not enough to understand her thoughts.

But enough to sense her emotions.

Warmth.

Shyness.

Then uncertainty.

Fear.

His jaw tightened.

"What happened?"

Kaelen frowned.

"I don't know."

Rhydian stood.

"She's afraid."

The three exchanged looks.

A moment later, the feeling shifted again.

Embarrassment.

Hope.

Then fear.

Rhydian rubbed the back of his neck.

"Why is she suddenly so nervous?"

Kaelen shook his head.

"I don't know."

Azael stared at the wall.

His wolf was becoming restless.

He wanted to cross the distance.

To see her.

To make sure she was all right.

To hold her.

But he didn't understand why she had suddenly become frightened.

The desire to get closer was almost physical.

Kaelen exhaled slowly.

"She's pulling away emotionally."

Rhydian frowned.

"Did we do something?"

"No."

Azael's answer came immediately.

"Then why does it feel like she's afraid of us?"

None of them had an answer.

---

Seraphina stepped onto her balcony.

The cool morning air touched her face.

She closed her eyes.

For a moment, she simply stood there.

Her balcony had always been her favorite place.

A small wooden chair sat near the railing, surrounded by potted flowers and trailing vines. A soft blanket rested over the back of the chair.

It was cozy.

Private.

Safe.

Seraphina wrapped her arms around herself.

"I need to think."

**You need them.**

"Luneth."

**I'm only saying the truth.**

Seraphina laughed softly.

Then her eyes drifted toward the neighboring balcony.

She froze.

Three figures stood there.

Azael.

Kaelen.

Rhydian.

Her heart nearly stopped.

They had clearly sensed her too.

For several seconds, nobody spoke.

Rhydian's expression softened first.

Kaelen looked concerned.

Azael simply watched her.

Seraphina suddenly became very aware of herself.

Her loose hair.

Her simple nightdress.

Her bare feet.

She hugged herself tighter.

Azael's eyes narrowed slightly.

Not because he disliked what he saw.

Quite the opposite.

Something about seeing her standing there alone, arms wrapped around herself, awakened a fierce instinct inside him.

He wanted to cross the space between the balconies.

He wanted to pull her into his arms.

Kaelen felt the same pull.

Rhydian did too.

But none of them moved.

They didn't want to frighten her.

Seraphina looked away first.

Her cheeks burned.

Then footsteps sounded behind her.

"Seraphina?"

She turned.

Elara stood in the doorway.

"Mom."

Her mother's eyes immediately softened.

"You're awake."

Seraphina nodded.

Elara smiled.

"I came to call you for breakfast."

Then she looked toward the neighboring balcony.

She noticed the three men.

Then she looked back at her daughter.

One glance was enough.

Elara understood.

"Come here."

Seraphina hesitated.

Then walked toward her mother.

Elara opened her arms.

Seraphina immediately stepped into them.

She hugged her mother tightly, resting her face against her shoulder.

Elara wrapped both arms around her.

"You don't have to figure everything out today."

Seraphina's eyes stung.

"What if everything changes?"

"It already has."

Seraphina pulled back slightly.

Elara brushed a strand of hair away from her face.

"But that doesn't mean you have to change who you are."

Seraphina looked down.

"What if they don't want me?"

Elara's expression softened even further.

"Oh, sweetheart."

She pulled her daughter close again.

"You don't have to be afraid of being unwanted."

Seraphina closed her eyes.

"They're my mates."

"I know."

"Three of them."

"I know."

"I'm an Omega."

"I know that too."

Seraphina gave a tiny, embarrassed laugh.

"Then why aren't you panicking?"

Elara smiled.

"Because I'm looking at my daughter."

She gently touched Seraphina's cheek.

"Not at her rank."

Seraphina's eyes filled with tears.

"And whatever happens with those three men, you are still my daughter. You are still a Ravencroft."

Seraphina hugged her mother again.

"Thank you."

Elara kissed the top of her head.

"Now come downstairs before your father sends someone to drag you to breakfast."

Seraphina laughed.

"He wouldn't."

"He absolutely would."

Across the neighboring balcony, the three men watched quietly.

They couldn't hear every word.

But they could see Seraphina in her mother's arms.

And somehow, the sight eased something inside them.

She wasn't rejecting them.

She was simply afraid.

Azael's gaze softened.

Kaelen exhaled.

Rhydian smiled faintly.

They could wait.

For now.

Because the woman only one wall away was already their Luna in the eyes of their wolves.

And they had no intention of rushing her.

Not when they wanted her to choose them freely