POV: Seraphina
I can't cry.
I'm standing beside my dead husband's casket, and I can't cry. Everyone's watching me, waiting for tears that won't come. My chest feels hollow, like someone scooped out my heart and left nothing behind.
What kind of wife doesn't cry at her husband's funeral?
The blood-red moon hangs overhead like an angry eye. Hundreds of pack members surround me in a sea of black clothing. I feel their stares burning into my skin. Poor Seraphina. Failed Luna. Couldn't even give him an heir.
Marcus died three days ago. Heart attack, they said. He was thirty-two and perfectly healthy. Now he's in that wooden box, and I'm supposed to be devastated.
I should be. He was my husband for four years. He was kind. He never yelled at me. He did everything a good Alpha should do.
So why do I feel so empty?
We gather to honor Alpha Marcus Silvercrest, Elder Damien's voice booms across the clearing. He's an old wolf with cold eyes and a colder smile. Taken from us too soon. A beloved leader. A devoted Alpha.
The pack members nod and murmur agreement. I stand frozen, my hands clasped in front of me to stop them from shaking.
Something always felt missing between Marcus and me. Like we were two puzzle pieces that almost fit but not quite. I blamed myself. Tried harder. Smiled more. Did everything a Luna should do.
It was never enough.
May the Moon Goddess guide him home, Damien raises his hands. Two warriors step forward with torches.
This is it. Once they light the funeral pyre, Marcus will be gone forever. I should say something. Do something. Feel something.
The flames catch. Orange and gold fingers crawl up the wooden platform, reaching for the casket. Heat washes over my face.
That's when the black SUV roars up the path.
Everyone turns. The vehicle screeches to a stop, and my breath catches in my throat.
Kael Silvercrest steps out.
Marcus's younger brother. The War Chief everyone whispers about when they think I can't hear. Dangerous. Ruthless. Monster.
I've only seen him five times in four years. He avoided every family dinner, every pack gathering. Marcus said he was busy protecting our borders. I thought maybe Kael just didn't like me.
He's taller than Marcus was. Dark hair, storm-gray eyes, and a face that looks carved from stone. He moves through the crowd like a predator, and wolves step back without thinking.
Then his eyes find mine across the flames.
Everything stops.
Pain explodes in my chest. Not the dull ache of grief this is sharp, burning, like someone's driving a hot knife between my ribs. My knees buckle. I gasp for air that won't come.
What's happening?
Across the clearing, Kael freezes mid-step. His hand flies to his chest. His face goes pale. For one impossible second, the world narrows to just us. The flames. The burning in my chest. His gray eyes locked on mine.
I feel... pulled. Like an invisible rope is tied around my heart, yanking me toward him. Every cell in my body is screaming at me to run to him, to close the distance between us.
This is insane. My husband just died. What's wrong with me?
Then Kael's face hardens. Whatever I saw in his eyes shock, recognition, something else disappears behind a wall of ice. He looks away deliberately and walks to stand with the warriors at the back of the crowd.
The burning in my chest fades to a dull ache. I can breathe again, but my heart's racing like I just ran a marathon.
Seraphina? Elder Damien's voice cuts through my confusion. Are you unwell?
Everyone's staring at me. I realize I'm still half-collapsed, gripping the edge of the platform to stay upright.
I'm fine, I force out. My voice sounds hollow.
Grief, someone whispers. Poor thing.
But it wasn't grief. That pain was something else entirely. Something I've never felt before.
The ceremony continues. Damien says more words I don't hear. The flames grow higher. Marcus's casket starts to burn.
I can feel Kael's presence at the back of the crowd like a physical weight. Every time I try to look at him, he's staring anywhere but at me.
Why did that happen? What was that feeling?
And why won't he look at me now?
The ceremony ends. Pack members start to drift away in small groups, heading back to the main house for the wake. I stay frozen by the pyre, watching flames devour the last pieces of my marriage.
Footsteps crunch on gravel behind me. I turn, expecting another pack member with empty condolences.
It's Natasha. My best friend since childhood. She's wearing black, but her eyes are red and swollen like she's been crying for hours.
Sera, she chokes out my nickname. I'm so sorry. I'm so, so sorry.
Finally, someone who understands. I reach for her, grateful for one person who actually cares
Natasha's hand goes to her stomach. She's shaking. Tears stream down her face.
I didn't know how to tell you, she whispers. I never wanted it to happen like this.
Ice runs down my spine. Tell me what?
She looks up at me with devastated eyes. Her hand is still pressed to her stomach.
I'm pregnant, Natasha says. The baby is Marcus's.
The world tilts sideways. I can't breathe again, but this time it has nothing to do with mysterious chest pains or gray-eyed warriors.
My best friend. My husband.
What? The word comes out broken.
We were together for six months, Natasha's voice cracks. He was going to tell you. He was going to end things with you and
Get away from me.
Sera, please
GET AWAY FROM ME!
My scream echoes across the clearing. Every pack member still lingering turns to stare.
Natasha stumbles backward, sobbing. Elder Damien appears out of nowhere, his cold eyes calculating.
What's going on here? he demands.
Natasha looks at me, then at Damien, then back at me. I'm carrying Alpha Marcus's child, she announces loudly enough for everyone to hear. We were in love. He was going to make me his Luna.
Gasps ripple through the crowd. Whispers explode like wildfire.
Damien's eyes gleam with something that makes my skin crawl. Is this true, Seraphina? Did you know about this affair?
I can't speak. Can't think. Can't process that my entire life just shattered in the space of five minutes.
This changes everything, Damien says quietly, but his voice carries. The Council will need to meet. Tonight.
He looks at me with those cold eyes, and I see it satisfaction. Like he's been waiting for this moment.
After all, Damien continues, his smile sharp as a knife, pack law is very clear about what happens to a Luna when her Alpha dies without an heir.