21 Chapter 21 Breaking Point Reached
Pain flickered across Vivian’s face for just a moment before she hid it. Their lack of
connection was painful to witness. I hadn’t expected their relationship to be so distant and broken.
We sat across from each other in silence that stretched endlessly. She never lifted her eyes from her plate. The scraping of her fork against the ceramic grated on my nerves. She continued eating as if I were invisible, as if my voice meant nothing.
Alpha Maxwell’s gaze sharpened. “You’ve always been welcome here. As allies, you know my daughter should always be welcome in your territory.”
We continued our meeting, but a new undercurrent of strain ran beneath everything we discussed.
This meant I needed to get to the Solstice Fang immediately. I had to meet with Alpha Maxwell, my strongest ally, to strengthen our defenses and understand exactly what kind of threat we were facing.
Julian’s POV
“We leave for the Solstice Fang tomorrow,” I announced during dinner. The words fell between us like stones dropping into still water.
This was an order, not a request.
“Should I care?” Her voice was completely flat, emotionless. It revealed exactly who she had become – someone who simply didn’t give a damn about anything I said.
Seraphina and Roxanne stood face to face in a heated confrontation. Roxanne’s cheek bore the bright red mark of a fresh slap, her face twisted with rage and shock.
Rogue wolves had been spotted near our territory again. The sightings were becoming more frequent over the past weeks, like shadows creeping closer to our borders each day.
The next morning brought no improvement in our relationship. The car ride was suffocating, filled with heavy silence that pressed down on both of us.
“You lying bitch!” Seraphina snarled, her voice trembling with rage, her hands clenched into fists as if ready to strike again.
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21 Chapter 21 Breaking Point Reached
Seraphina’s eyes burned with barely contained fury, her chest heaving with rapid, angry breaths. Dangerous energy radiated from her like heat from a fire.
I still didn’t know why she had slapped him, and maybe I didn’t want to know. Because if he had disrespected her in any way, there would be consequences.
She froze mid-bite, then slowly raised her head. When her eyes finally met mine, they blazed with fierce, untamed fury.
“She shared a rather disturbing account.” He paused, weighing his words. “She claims you forced her to leave.”
“No, I’m not.” Her voice rose with each word.
What caught me completely off guard was Seraphina’s reaction to seeing her birth parents. She gave them nothing more than a brief, polite nod. No embrace, no warmth, not even casual conversation. Just cold acknowledgment, as if they were acquaintances rather than the people who brought her into this world.
Every single day I tried to make things right with Seraphina. Every morning I woke up hoping today would be different. But nothing I did seemed to matter anymore. She looked at me like I was a stranger, someone who had hurt her beyond repair. Still, something inside me refused to give up. I kept reaching out even when she turned away.
At least Roxanne had listened when I told her to leave. Having her around after everything that happened would have made things impossible. That was one small mercy. But my luck didn’t extend much further than that.
I tensed. “I asked her to go, and she complied. It was a private matter.”
But leaving Seraphina alone was not an option. Not now. She was like a caged animal, wild and unpredictable. I could feel her desperation to escape this place, to run from this pack and from me. The fear that I might return to find her gone ate at my insides like poison.
I had no idea how much she had told them about why I asked her to leave. Nolan knew the whole story since Roxanne had announced it to anyone who would listen, but I wasn’t comfortable discussing it here.
Alpha Maxwell led Nolan and me into his private office. His usually composed expression showed hints of worry. After we discussed the rogue situation, he leaned back in his chair, his eyes narrowing slightly.
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21 Chapter 21 Breaking Point Reached
“Yes, because you’re coming with me.” I forced authority into my voice even though every word felt like pulling teeth.
Not knowing was torture. I hated being out of control, and right now I wasn’t even in control of my own memories.
“Yes, you are.” I held her stare, making it clear this wasn’t up for debate.
“And she was, Alpha Maxwell,” I replied firmly. “Until circumstances changed. Whatever issues exist between Seraphina and me are private. Outside interference only makes things worse.”
“Julian,” he began carefully, “Roxanne returned to us several days ago.”
Suddenly, shouting erupted from somewhere inside the packhouse, followed by the sound of something crashing. My head snapped up, every instinct going on high alert. Alpha Maxwell shot to his feet, his alpha senses kicking in immediately.
I didn’t want to call Roxanne a liar. She had never given me reason to doubt her before. But I also couldn’t picture myself betraying Seraphina like that. It went against everything I believed about myself. Yet somehow it happened, and I needed answers.
She stood there glaring at me with pure venom in her eyes before turning and walking away, leaving me alone with our barely touched meal and my shattered heart.
We exchanged a look that said everything. Trouble was brewing.
My stomach dropped. “I heard.”
When we finally reached Solstice Fang territory, the atmosphere somehow became even more strained. Alpha Maxwell and Luna Vivian waited outside to greet us, their smiles looking forced and uncomfortable.
Seraphina stared out the passenger window, her jaw clenched tight. Every mile we traveled felt like we were drifting further apart instead of moving toward the same destination.
Without hesitation, we all rushed from the office, following the escalating commotion. We burst into one of the main common areas, and the scene before us made my blood run cold.
But I wasn’t backing down. I couldn’t. She might hate me right now, but I knew that someday she would understand. She would see that everything I did came from love, even if it looked like cruelty to her now.
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“I should tell you to be ashamed of dragging me along to see your girlfriend.” She
pushed back from the table with such force that her chair scraped loudly across the floor. “But you don’t know the meaning of shame.”
I would never let that happen again.
The tension grew worse because Nolan was riding with us. After whatever had happened between him and Seraphina last time, neither wanted to be near the other. But he was my gamma, and I needed him there.
The truth was, I felt more shame than she could possibly imagine. I wished I could undo that night she kept throwing in my face. But there was no going back, no erasing what allegedly happened. The problem was, no matter how hard I tried to remember, that entire night remained a frustrating blank in my memory.
I met his stare directly. “If you want the full story, I suggest you ask Roxanne herself.”
Tension crackled between us, an unspoken challenge hanging in the air. Alpha Maxwell studied me for a long moment before slowly nodding, accepting my deflection even if he didn’t like it.
The irony wasn’t lost on me. I used to be the one who ignored her pleas for attention. I was the one who withheld what she desperately wanted from me. Now the tables had turned, and feeling her indifference was like a knife twisting in my chest.
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