Chapter 239 CHAPTER 239

Chapter 239 CHAPTER 239
Sebastian felt the ground vanish beneath him before it slammed back into existence. He hit stone hard, the impact knocking the air from his lungs as a pulse of unfamiliar magic crackled through his body.

For a second, he didn’t move.

Then instinct surged.

He pushed himself up, jaw clenched, breath uneven. “Ella,” he said quickly, turning his head.

“I’m here,” she answered, somewhere to his left. Her voice was tight, but steady enough. “I’m okay… I think.”

The space around them was dim, lit only by a faint glow that didn’t seem to come from any visible source. The air felt thick, damp, like it had been sitting untouched for years. The stone beneath his hands was cold, rough, real—but the magic in it wasn’t.

Sebastian’s shoulders tensed. He drew in a breath and reached for the shift.

Nothing.

He stilled.

Tried again, harder this time—forcing the call, reaching deeper for Kael.

Still nothing.

A sharp pressure coiled through his chest, like something had wrapped around his wolf and held him down.

“What is this place…?” he muttered under his breath.

Footsteps echoed before he could try again.

Slow. Measured. Unhurried.

Sebastian’s head snapped toward the sound just as a figure emerged from the shadows ahead.

She didn’t look like what he had expected.

Instead, she walked toward them with a soft, almost welcoming smile, her hands loosely folded in front of her as if she were receiving guests into her home.

“Ah,” she said gently, her voice smooth, almost warm. “You made it.”

Ella shifted closer to Sebastian without thinking. “Where are we?” she asked, her eyes scanning the room.

The woman tilted her head slightly, as if amused by the question. “You’ll find names don’t change the nature of a place,” she replied. “But if it helps… you’re somewhere you won’t be leaving anytime soon.”

Sebastian straightened slowly, placing himself just slightly in front of Ella without making it obvious. “Who are you?”

The woman’s smile deepened, not wider, just… more certain.

She stepped closer, stopping just within arm’s reach.

“I suppose we should do this properly,” she said, extending her hand toward him. “I never got the chance to meet you before.”

Sebastian didn’t take it.

Her gaze flickered briefly to his unmoving hand, then back to his face, unbothered.

“Seraphine,” she said. “Your ex- girlfriend Sara’s mother.”

The name landed like a strike.

Sebastian’s expression changed immediately, his posture tightened, locking into place.

It clicked.

The drained wolves.

The missing boys.

“You,” he said, his voice lower now. “You’re the one behind all of it.”

Seraphine didn’t deny it.

Instead, she let out a soft breath, as if he had simply stated something obvious. “Behind is such a limited word,” she replied. “I prefer to think of it as… guiding things where they need to go.”

Ella frowned. “You call abducting people ‘guiding’?”

Seraphine’s gaze shifted to her briefly, calm, assessing. “I call it necessary,” she said. “Every system requires sacrifice to function. You just happened to notice this one.”

Sebastian’s jaw tightened. “Those are people. Not pieces in your plan.”

“And yet,” Seraphine said lightly, “they served their purpose far better than they ever would have otherwise. I needed strength for what was coming.”

Silence stretched for a moment.

Then she looked back at Sebastian, her expression softening just a fraction. “You, however, are different.”

Sebastian didn’t respond.

“I’ve heard quite a bit about you,” she continued. “My daughter had… interesting tastes.”

There was something in the way she said it—something dismissive, almost amused.

Sebastian’s eyes narrowed. “Sara almost killed me.”

Seraphine gave a small, thoughtful hum. “Did she?” she asked, not pushing the point. “Regardless, I won’t be needing you in that capacity.”

Ella blinked. “What does that even mean?”

Seraphine’s lips curved slightly. “It means,” she said, her tone still even, “I have no intention of sharing a man with my daughter. Not when you can be of far more use to me.”

Before Sebastian could respond, two figures stepped forward from the shadows behind her.

“Take them,” Seraphine said calmly.

The moment they moved, Sebastian reacted.

He lunged forward, shifting his weight, pulling instinctively on his wolf again—

Pain tore through him.

It hit sharp and sudden, like lightning snapping through his veins. His body jerked, his knees nearly giving out as the magic coiled tighter around him.

He sucked in a breath through clenched teeth.

“No,” Seraphine said softly, almost like a correction. “That won’t work here.”

Sebastian forced himself upright again, breathing harder now. “What did you do?”

“Just adjusted the balance,” she replied. “You’ll find your usual advantages… limited.”

Ella stepped back as one of the guards reached for her. “Don’t touch me…”

They grabbed her anyway.

Sebastian moved again, but the moment he did, the same force slammed into him, dropping him to one knee this time.

“Stop,” Ella said quickly, her voice tight as she looked at him. “Sebastian, don’t.”

His hands curled into fists against the stone.

Seraphine watched the exchange with quiet interest, then turned away as if it had already lost its novelty.

“Bring them,” she said.

They were dragged through narrow corridors, the air growing colder with each step. The faint light dimmed further, replaced by deeper shadows and the distant sound of something dripping steadily.

Sebastian forced himself to stay upright as they walked, his gaze moving, tracking, memorizing.

They stopped in front of a thick wooden door reinforced with iron. It creaked open slowly, revealing a dimly lit room beyond.

Two figures looked up.

For a moment, no one spoke.

Then one of them stepped forward, her expression shifting in disbelief.

“Who are these?” Helena said, her voice catching slightly.

Ella blinked. “Queen Helena?”

Before either of them could move further, Seraphine stepped into the room behind them.

“I thought you might appreciate the company,” she said lightly.

Helena’s gaze snapped to her, her posture straightening immediately. “What do you want?”

Seraphine’s eyes flickered toward Sebastian. “This one,” she said, almost casually, “is rather important.”

Jocelyn, who had been standing slightly behind Helena, shifted her gaze toward him, studying him more closely.

“Do you know who he is?” Seraphine asked, her tone almost conversational.

Helena didn’t answer.

Seraphine smiled faintly. “He’s Lisa’s mate.”

The words settled heavily in the room.

Sebastian didn’t move.

Helena’s expression changed - subtle, but unmistakable.

Seraphine continued, as if discussing something trivial. “Which means,” she added, “if anything happens to him… it won’t just end with him.”

Ella’s breath hitched slightly.

Jocelyn’s jaw tightened. “You’re playing a dangerous game.”

Seraphine’s gaze shifted to Jocelyn now. “Am I?” she asked softly. “Or am I simply making use of what already exists?”

Jocelyn didn’t respond.

Seraphine stepped closer to her. “You’ve been holding back,” she said quietly. “I can feel it.”

Jocelyn’s fingers curled slightly at her sides.

“You can stop this,” Seraphine continued. “Give me what you’re hiding, and he lives.”

Silence.

“Refuse,” she added, her voice lowering just enough to carry weight, “and I start taking him apart piece by piece. Slowly enough that she feels every moment of it.”

No one spoke.

Seraphine held Jocelyn’s gaze for a second longer, then straightened.

“Think about it,” she said.

Without another word, she turned and walked out.

The door shut behind her with a heavy thud.

For a moment, the room stayed quiet.

Then Helena stepped forward quickly. “What happened?” she asked, her eyes moving between Sebastian and Ella. “How did you get here?”

Ella let out a breath, running a hand through her hair as if trying to steady herself. “There was a portal,” she said. “They tried to abduct Lisa at school.”

Sebastian stayed silent, his focus still sharp, alert.

“She—Isabel—” Ella continued, her voice tightening. “She took Lisa’s necklace. I don’t even know how, but the moment she did, the portal opened.”

Helena frowned. “Isabel?”

Ella nodded quickly. “Yeah. Lisa trusted her. Took her in, stood by her… treated her like family. And she just—” She cut herself off, shaking her head. “She betrayed her.”

At the mention of the name, Jocelyn stilled.

“Isabel? Did you say the girl’s name is Isabel?” she repeated slowly.

Ella glanced at her. “Yeah. Do you know her?”

Jocelyn didn’t answer immediately.

Instead, she stepped closer, her gaze intent. “What does she look like?” she said.

Ella hesitated, then described Isabel in detail to her. 

Jocelyn’s expression shifted, tightening, piece by piece.

Helena noticed. “What is it?”

Jocelyn’s gaze dropped for a moment, then lifted again, distant now in a way that hadn’t been there before.

“That girl,” she said quietly, “is my daughter.”

The words settled heavily in the room.

Ella blinked. “What?”

Jocelyn didn’t look at her. “Isabel,” she repeated, her voice steadier now, though something beneath it had changed. “She’s mine.”

Silence followed.

Jocelyn’s gaze drifted toward the door, as if she could see through it, past the walls, past the distance.

“How did my sister find her…?” she murmured.

Sebastian watched her carefully. “Seraphine?”

Jocelyn let out a slow breath. “She’s done this before,” she said. “She takes what she can shape. Breaks it, bends it, turns it into something that serves her.”

Ella swallowed. “You think she’s using Isabel the same way?”

Jocelyn didn’t answer right away.

When she did, her voice was quieter.

“I don’t think,” she said. “I know.”