Chapter 67 067

Chapter 67 067
Natasha

I was folding the last of my clothes, what little I could take when the knock came.

They were three sharp and authoritative raps and my heart stopped instantly. Did someone see me packing? Did they know?

"Natasha. Open the door."

It was clearly Seraphina's voice. She didn’t sound angry exactly, but her voice sounded firm and commanding.

I shoved my small bag under the bed and opened the door.

She stood there in an elegant dress, her blonde hair pulled back, every inch the alpha's mate, but her eyes were sharp and searching as they swept over me.

"We need to talk," She stepped inside without waiting for an invitation, closing the door behind her. "Sit."

"Is something wrong?" My voice came out too high and nervous.

"That's what I'm trying to determine," She studied me with an intensity that made me want to squirm.

"You've been different lately. You seem distracted and you’ve clearly been sneaking around. And Mikhail—" She paused. "He has been acting strange too."

My stomach dropped to my feet.

"I don't know what you mean."

"Don't insult my intelligence," Her tone was sharp now. "I've been watching you both for weeks. The way you look at each other when you think no one's paying attention. How you disappear at the same time. That day in the garden, I saw your face when Dimitri announced the courtship."

Oh god. Oh god, she knew.

"Seraphina, I—"

"Are you sleeping with him?"

The question hung in the air like a blade. I couldn't breathe. I tried to figure out how to lie convincingly enough but nothing was coming to mind.

"Answer me," She moved closer, her presence overwhelming. "Are you sleeping with Mikhail?"

The word broke me.

"Yes," It came out as a sob. "Yes, I'm sleeping with him. I'm in love with him. And we're—" I stopped, but it was too late. I had already said too much.

Seraphina's eyes widened. "You're what?"

"Nothing. Forget I said anything."

"Natasha," She grabbed my shoulders. "You're what?"

I couldn't hold it in anymore. The secret was poison, and I had been carrying it for too long. Everything spilled out of me in a rush.

How it started, how we fell in love, the plan to run away and the date we set.

"We're leaving tomorrow night," I finished, tears streaming down my face. "We're going to disappear and start over somewhere Dimitri can't find us."

Seraphina stared at me like I had grown a second head. For a long moment, she said nothing, just stood there processing what I had told her.

Then she sat heavily on my bed.

"My God," She breathed. "You're serious."

"I know it's insane."

"Insane?" She let out a shocked laugh. "That's putting it mildly. Do you understand what Dimitri will do when he finds out? What he'll do to both of you?"

"We'll be gone before he finds out."

"He'll hunt you," She looked at me, her expression grave. "You don't know him like I do. He doesn't accept defiance. He doesn't tolerate being made a fool. He'll send trackers, hire hunters and tear apart every city until he finds you."

"We're willing to take that risk." I said.

"Are you?" She stood again, pacing. "Are you really? Because it's not just running away and starting over. It's looking over your shoulder for the rest of your life. It's never being safe, never being settled. It's—" She stopped. "It's being exiled from everything you've ever known."

"I know," I wrapped my arms around myself. "But what's the alternative? Mikhail mates Irina and I watch them together every day? Pretend my heart isn't breaking? That's not living."

Something flickered in Seraphina's eyes. Understanding maybe. Or recognition of something she didn't want to name.

"You really love him." She said quietly.

"More than anything."

"And he loves you?"

"Yes," I didn't hesitate. "He's willing to give up everything for me. His position and his future. All of it."

Seraphina turned away, staring at the wall, the silence stretching between us. I could see the tension in her shoulders, the way her hands clenched at her sides.

"Seraphina?" I ventured.

"Do you know what you're asking?" Her voice was strained. "Not just of yourselves, but of anyone who helps you? If Dimitri finds out I knew and said nothing—"

"I'm not asking you to lie for us—"

"Yes, you are," She spun to face me. "That's exactly what you're asking. You want me to keep silent while brother and sister run away right before the mating ceremony that Dimitri himself arranged. You want me to pretend I have no idea while he tears the territory apart looking for you both."

"I'm asking you to give us a chance," I said desperately. "Just don't tell him. Not tonight. Not tomorrow. Give us enough time to get away."

"And if he finds out I knew?" Her eyes flashed. "What do you think he'll do to me?"

I had no answer for that. We both knew what Dimitri was capable of when he felt betrayed.

"Please," I whispered. "I know it's unfair. I know it's dangerous, but we have no one else."

She closed her eyes, her jaw tight. "This is madness."

"I know."

"You could both die out there. There could be rogues, rival packs, hunters and countless other things."

"We know."

"Dimitri will never forgive this. He will never forgive Mikhail for defying him like this."

"We know!" My voice broke. "We know all of it, Seraphina. We know what we're risking and we're doing it anyway because the alternative is worse. Because I can't—"

I choked on a sob. "I can't watch him mate someone else. I can't pretend to be happy while my heart is breaking. I can't live like that."

She looked at me for a long moment, her expression unreadable. Then something in her face softened, just slightly. A crack in the perfect mask she always wore.

"No," She said quietly. "I don't suppose you can."

Hope flickered in my chest. "Does that mean—"

"It means I need time to think." She moved to the door. "You're asking me to make a decision that could destroy everything. I can't just—" She took a shaky breath. "I need time."

"How long?"

"Tonight. I'll come to you tonight with an answer." She paused, her hand on the doorknob. "But Natasha, don't do anything until I talk to you again. Promise me."

"I promise."

She nodded, then hesitated. "When are you planning to leave?"

"Tomorrow night."

"That gives you maybe a six-hour head start before anyone realizes you're gone," She wasn't looking at me. "Maybe eight if you're lucky and people are too distracted to notice right away."

It wasn't quite advice, but it wasn't quite nothing either.

"Thank you." I whispered.

"I haven't decided anything yet," Her voice was sharp again. "Don't thank me."

But before she left, she paused one more time.

"For what it's worth," She said quietly, still not looking at me, "I hope you make it."

Then she was gone, leaving me alone with my racing heart and the terrible knowledge that our secret was no longer ours.

I collapsed on my bed, shaking. Seraphina knew. Seraphina knew everything, and now our entire future depended on what she decided to do with that knowledge.

Should I tell Mikhail? Warn him that we had been discovered?

No. Not yet. If I told him, he would panic. He might do something rash.

I waited and paced my room. I stared at the small bag hidden under my bed. Watched the sun crawl across the sky with agonizing slowness, and prayed that whatever Seraphina decided, it would give us the one thing we desperately needed.

A chance.