Chapter 69: Shattered Masks

Seraphine's POV

"Mmm... you caught me..."

The words left my mouth deliberately breathless. Intimate. Loud enough for people nearby to hear clearly.

I felt Soren's entire body go rigid against mine.

"I... are you... what?" His voice came out strangled.

I stayed pressed against his chest. Close enough to feel his heart hammering. Close enough for everyone watching to see exactly what this looked like.

Through the bond, something ice-cold crashed into me.

Rage. Pure fucking rage.

My chest tightened painfully, but I kept my expression soft. Kept my body leaning into Soren's like I belonged there.

"I'm having such a wonderful time," I said, letting my voice go syrupy sweet.

More whispers rippled through the crowd around us.

"That girl is absolutely shameless."

"Where did she even come from?"

"Poor boy looks mortified."

Soren tried to extract himself without being obvious. "I think... you've had too much to drink..."

"Have I?" I grabbed his hand before he could pull away completely. "But the night's still so young!"

His face flushed darker. "Miss, I really should—"

I caught movement in my peripheral vision.

Kaelen.

His hand was clenched around a wine glass so tightly I could see the strain in his knuckles even from this distance.

Then the glass shattered.

Red wine splashed across the floor like blood. Crystal fragments scattered across marble.

Several people near him stepped back quickly.

Through the bond, that ice-cold fury intensified into something almost physical. Like being submerged in freezing water.

Good. Feel that. Feel exactly what I feel every fucking day watching you with her.

"That's quite inappropriate," an elderly woman nearby said loudly. "Young women these days have no sense of decorum."

I felt my cheeks burn but kept my smile fixed.

Soren finally managed to put some distance between us. "I apologize, but I really must—"

"Of course," I said quickly. "I understand completely."

But I didn't step back. I just stood there, close enough that anyone watching would draw their own conclusions about what had just happened between us.

The bond thrashed violently.

I risked another glance toward Kaelen.

His eyes had started glowing gold, practically blazing in the dim lighting.

The air around him seemed to thicken. Other wolves in the vicinity shifted uncomfortably, their instincts clearly screaming danger.

Alpha rage. Barely contained.

Vespera was pulling at his arm frantically. "Hon-honey, please. Let's go outside..."

She pressed herself against his side, her voice pitched deliberately soft and intimate. Trying to redirect his attention back to her.

He didn't even look at her.

She tried again, more desperate this time. "The bonfire would be so romantic right now. Just the two of us."

Her hand slid down his arm possessively.

Kaelen shook her off.

Not gently. Not subtly.

He physically removed her hand from his arm and took a step away from her.

Vespera's expression cracked.

All that practiced elegance just... fractured.

For one unguarded moment, her face twisted into something ugly. Something desperate and furious.

I felt a sick surge of satisfaction watching her fail.

But then reality crashed back down.

What the fuck am I doing?

The thought hit me like cold water. I looked at Soren's embarrassed face. At the judgmental stares from everyone around us. At my own hands still trembling from adrenaline.

I used this innocent guy as a weapon. Made myself into a spectacle. For what? To hurt someone who doesn't even give a shit about me?

Shame flooded through me, hot and choking.

The bond pulsed again. Pain mixed with that overwhelming rage now.

Does it hurt? Good. Now you know how it feels.

But the satisfaction felt hollow. Twisted.

What's the difference between me and him right now? We're both using people to score points against each other.

My stomach churned.

I saw Lucian suddenly cutting through the crowd.

Heading straight for us.

My heart dropped.

He's coming for me. Kaelen sent him to—

But Lucian walked right past me.

Went directly to Soren instead.

"Excuse me, sir." His voice was polite but absolutely firm. "I need you to come with me for a moment."

Soren looked confused and increasingly nervous. "Right now? Did I... did we do something wrong?"

His face had gone pale. Probably thinking our inappropriately intimate dancing had attracted official censure.

"Just come with me, please," Lucian said.

It wasn't a request.

Soren turned to me helplessly. "I'm sorry, I have to..."

"I'll be waiting for you," I said, making my voice deliberately sweet.

One last little jab.

I saw Kaelen across the room. Blood was dripping from his palm where the broken glass had cut him.

Vespera reached for his injured hand.

He jerked away from her touch.

Those golden eyes stayed locked on me. Burning with barely controlled violence.

I couldn't breathe.

Time to go. Right fucking now.

I turned and pushed into the crowd, moving fast.

My legs felt unsteady. The bond kept jumping and flaring, making it hard to think straight.

What did I just do? What the fuck did I just do?

The shame was suffocating now. Worse than anything I'd felt before.

I'd deliberately humiliated myself. Made a spectacle. Used an innocent person as a prop.

And for what? To prove I could hurt him back?

I shoved past a group of chattering women. One of them gave me a disgusted look.

I kept moving.

The Pack House entrance loomed ahead. I stumbled through it into a wide corridor.

And immediately got lost.

Hallways branched off in multiple directions. Doors everywhere. All identical.

Which way? Where's the fucking exit?

I chose a direction randomly and ran.

The bond was going crazy now. Pulsing frantically like a tracking beacon.

He's coming. He's definitely coming.

I turned a corner. Another hallway. More doors.

No no no, where is it—

Another turn. The corridors seemed to multiply around me.

My breath came in short panicked gasps.

The wig felt too tight suddenly. The dress was restricting my movements. Everything was wrong.

I rounded another corner and nearly sobbed with relief.

A huge door. Moonlight and firelight spilling in through the cracks around its frame.

The exit.

I ran for it.

My hand closed around the cold metal handle. I yanked it open.

Cold night air rushed in. Freedom was right there.

I took one step forward.

A hand clamped down hard on my wrist.