SERAPHINA’S POV
Even though I had already seen fragnts of it inside Celeste’s mories, hearing her recount everything aloud still unsettled sothing deep inside .
When I was in her mind earlier, the mories ca in flashes—broken images tangled with emotion.
Chains biting into skin. The tallic sll of blood. Olivia collapsing to the ground. Kharis fading away.
But now those pieces had been arranged into a full story. The truth carried a very different weight when it was spoken out loud.
And sitting across from Celeste as she finished speaking, the room felt strangely small despite its size.
Soft lamplight cast long shadows across the walls. The curtains had been drawn shut, sealing us away from the rest of the house.
The air felt heavy, almost suffocating, as if the room itself had absorbed every ugly word Celeste had just spoken.
For several long seconds after she finished, no one said anything.
For once, she didn’t look composed.
Her shoulders were tight, and the proud tilt of her chin was held a little too rigidly. Strands of her hair clung to the dampness at her temples, and her gaze kept drifting toward Celeste still tried to carry herself with the sa defiant poise she had always worn like armor.
But the effort showed now.
The story she had just told had shaken her far more than she wanted us to see.
Across from her, Ethan stood near the dresser, one hand braced against the polished wood.
His shoulders were rigid. His breathing was slow.
I could see the effort it was costing him to hold himself together.
It was probably the sa effort I was exerting.
Because while Celeste spoke, the mory of a long-forgotten dream surfaced.
The one I’d had not long after she disappeared—dark water on concrete, the echo of dripping sowhere underground, and Celeste huddled in the corner beside a wall of chains.
At the ti, I had dismissed it as nothing more than a nightmare. But now, listening to Celeste describe the truck, the restraints, the filthy compound...
My hands clenched at my sides, nails carving crescents into my palms.
That dream hadn’t been entirely false after all.
If I had taken it seriously back then...
Would Olivia still be alive?
Would Kharis still exist?
Would Catherine have ever gotten involved?
‘You cannot change what has already passed.’ Alina’s voice brushed gently through my thoughts. ‘What matters is what lies ahead.’
I exhaled slowly.
She was right.
Dwelling on the past wouldn’t solve anything now.
Ethan straightened slowly, dragging a hand down his face as if trying to wipe the exhaustion from his expression.
When he looked up again, his eyes had hardened.
“After Catherine took you from that place,” he said, his voice quieter than before but no less tense, “what happened next?”
Celeste lifted her gaze toward him.
For a mont, she didn’t answer.
Then she shrugged lightly. “As I said, she brought to the Maldives.”
Ethan’s jaw tightened. “And?”
Celeste leaned back against the headboard, lips flat.
“She had a project,” she said.
Ethan frowned. “What kind of project?”
“An experintal one.”
The unease in my chest deepened.
“Explain,” I said quietly.
Celeste glanced at briefly before continuing.
“She believed certain wolves possessed unique energetic properties,” she said. “Properties that could be studied.”
Her gaze lingered on for a mont.
Then she added casually, “Amplified, even.”
Ethan pressed his fingers to the bridge of his nose. “So, you let her experint on you?”
Celeste tilted her head slightly. “Of course I did.”
His fist slamd into the wooden dresser with a sharp crack that echoed through the bedroom.
“How could you be that stupid?” he snapped.
Celeste’s eyes flashed. “Excuse ?”
“How could you trust her?”
“She was offering my wolf back!”
“And you believed that?”
“I didn’t have many other options.”
Ethan let out a harsh laugh. “You had us.”
Celeste’s smile vanished. “Oh, please.” Her tone dripped with contempt. “You expect to believe that?”
“Yes,” Ethan said sharply.
Celeste’s expression tightened, her fingers curling faintly against the silver cuffs.
“We called all the ti,” he went on, the anger in his tone sharpening. “You made it sound like you were enjoying yourself. Lounging sowhere in the Maldives, drinking cocktails, avoiding us because you didn’t want to co ho.”
Celeste said nothing.
“If you had just said you were in trouble—if you had given us anything to go on—I would have sent soone to retrieve you imdiately. We could have found a better solution.”
Celeste let out a quiet, mocking laugh. “That’s a nice story.”
Ethan’s eyes narrowed. “What is that supposed to an?”
“You were all too busy back then.”
“Busy with what?”
Celeste’s eyes flicked toward . “With her.”
Ethan stared at her, blinking in disbelief. “That’s your excuse?”
“It’s not an excuse; it’s the truth.”
He stepped closer to the bed. “You’re saying we wouldn’t have helped you?”
“I’m saying you wouldn’t have cared enough to try.”
“That’s not true.”
“Isn’t it?” Her voice hardened. “I might have believed you if I didn’t see firsthand how you all flock around your dearest Sera.”
The tension in the room thickened.
I stepped forward before the argunt could spiral any further.
“Enough.”
Both of them turned toward .
Ethan’s breathing was uneven.
Celeste’s eyes glead with quiet hostility.
“Arguing isn’t getting us anywhere,” I said calmly.
Neither of them spoke.
I looked back at Celeste. She shifted slightly on the bed, the silver cuffs clinking softly as she adjusted her wrists.
For a mont, she said nothing, her gaze moving between Ethan and as if weighing how much she wanted to say.
Then she sighed.
“After a while, Catherine’s project stopped making progress,” she said.
Ethan crossed his arms. “Shocker.”
Celeste ignored him.
“So naturally,” she continued, her voice steady but edged with sothing sharper, “I began considering other options.”
“What kind of options?” I asked
“Leaving,” she replied simply.
Ethan’s brows drew together. “And suddenly you rembered you had a family?”
Celeste’s eyes flicked toward him, irritation flashing briefly.
“At the ti,” she said coolly, “I was planning to speak with Mother. I was going to leave with her.”
“But then,” she continued, “sothing happened that changed things.”
Celeste leaned forward slightly, the movent slow, deliberate. “I overheard a voicemail.”
Ethan frowned. “What voicemail?”
Her gaze settled on . “Yours.”
My pulse stilled.
“You had called Mother,” Celeste said calmly. “She didn’t answer, so the ssage played out loud.”
Ethan shifted beside .
“What did she say?” he asked.
Disdain flashed in Celeste’s eyes. “She told Mother she had shifted."
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