4 Chapter 4 Silence Speaks Volumes
“Your silence speaks volumes because we both understand Roxanne was always your first choice, and I was just an inconvenient obstacle.” Seraphina’s words jolted me back to reality. Before I could form a reply, she turned away, her reflection ghostlike against the dark window. Her silence became deafening. I watched her shoulders cave inward, defeat flickering across her features. 1
Then Roxanne had left the Solstice Fang. Completely alone.
I’d been enraged when my father arranged our marriage because rejection had been my only desire. Nevertheless, I had to respect our mate bond for my father’s sake and the pack’s stability. Still, I’d discovered an escape clause. A brief postponement to give myself breathing room.
“I have no idea what you mean.” The words came out rougher than intended. Seraphina’s habit of bottling everything up until it exploded was driving me to the edge. Her silences had grown longer, her thoughts locked away where I couldn’t access them.
“Answer me this, Julian. Just be truthful for once. If Alpha Quintus hadn’t demanded it, if there wasn’t some ancient agreement between our packs, would you have picked me as your Luna?” The question hit me like lightning, freezing my thoughts completely.
“Obviously it does. Something’s bothering you.”
I’d also realized that having Seraphina as the Zenith Fang’s Luna wasn’t a burden. She possessed strength and remarkable capability. An excellent choice in my judgment. Even a flawless Luna.
My jaw tightened. This wasn’t how conversations between an Alpha and his… whatever Seraphina represented to me… were supposed to unfold.
My mind raced, searching for the perfect response while my mouth remained stubbornly silent.
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4 Chapter 4 Silence Speaks Volumes
Yet everything had shifted during these years. Seeing Seraphina, truly observing her, hadn’t been difficult. I’d watched her from the sidelines. Witnessed her transformation into someone I’d never imagined she could become.
Roxanne had never been anything beyond a little sister in my eyes. I’d watched her grow up, and my feelings for her were purely protective. But Seraphina’s hostility toward Roxanne remained a mystery. It transported me back to the day Roxanne departed years ago.
Rain had pounded against the windows as Roxanne spoke through her tears, her voice fracturing as she revealed how Seraphina had rejected every peace offering.
The arrangement was temporary for someone I viewed as a beloved sister. Once my succession concluded, she would return to the Solstice Fang.
“Why is Roxanne staying in the packhouse?” Seraphina’s tone turned razor-sharp, her stare cutting deeper than any physical wound. “Why bring me tonight if your goal was to make me look like a fool?”
Years. I’d sworn to mark her during my alpha ceremony, but my father had demanded our engagement in the interim, and I’d reluctantly agreed.
“I tried to apologize for what my mother did,” she’d whispered, “but Seraphina refused to listen. The things she said to me… were cruel. She even banished me from the Solstice Fang.”
“I’ll make it right. I’m returning everything to Seraphina – Alpha Maxwell, Luna Celeste, all of it.” The defeat in her voice had cut deeper than the storm outside. She’d been so broken, consumed with guilt over her birth mother’s actions of switching her and Seraphina as infants, stealing Seraphina’s rightful life.
She never missed pack meetings, always offering valuable insights and assistance. I could leave this pack for weeks, and upon my return, everything would remain perfectly organized.
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“Your reasoning escapes me. You’re required at these functions as the pack’s luna.” The explanation seemed obvious to me. Her attendance wasn’t optional at pack events, whether they were major celebrations or intimate gatherings. She usually handled these situations flawlessly, which made her current reaction even more puzzling.
“Does it matter to you?” Her voice cut through the air like a blade. This sharp edge was foreign coming from her.
She’d worked tirelessly and supported the Fang in unexpected ways. She showed strength when necessary and protected everyone around the pack, whether they held high or low positions. Most of her time was spent at the orphanage with the young ones, consoling them and trying to heal the wounds left by absent parents. She understood their pain better than anyone, despite having two sets of parents herself.
“Bothering me?” She let out a harsh laugh. “That’s what you’re calling this, Julian? Just bothered? You showed Roxanne off like I was nothing more than wallpaper in our own home. Did you even notice I existed tonight?”
Julian’s POV
The delay was simply avoiding the unavoidable since Alpha Quintus would never reconsider. My father was honorable and just, but my personal desires meant nothing to him.
Years ago, that same question would have received an immediate negative response. But now I recognized her genuine compassion, her dedication to every pack member regardless of their status.
However terrible the situation was, Roxanne bore no responsibility since she’d been an innocent baby during the deception. Seraphina couldn’t see past her anger. She’d rejected every attempt Roxanne made at reconciliation, constantly attacking and belittling her, which infuriated me because Roxanne was genuinely trying to correct an unforgivable wrong.
Understanding her had always eluded me because observing her over these years revealed the most compassionate person I’d ever encountered,
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4 Chapter 4 Silence Speaks Volumes
someone who sacrificed everything for others.
Our relationship didn’t follow the typical mate bond story, but Roxanne had never posed a threat to me. She’d grown up alongside me in our childhood. She’d been absent from both the Solstice Fang and the Zenith Moon Fang for nearly four years, returning specifically for my upcoming Alpha Succession Ceremony. I valued her gesture, and my decision to host her stemmed from considering her family to both of us.
“Are you alright?” The question slipped out, though her rigid posture already gave me the answer.
But the contradiction continued to torment me. She was completely different from Roxanne’s descriptions. Was Seraphina performing the role of perfect Luna, or had Roxanne been lying to me?
The accusation slammed into me like an unexpected blow. I searched her face, trying to piece together how a simple pack gathering had morphed into this nightmare. I hadn’t intended to hurt her feelings.
The road to the packhouse stretched ahead of us, thick with unspoken tension. Seraphina remained silent in the passenger seat, her gaze locked on the blur of trees rushing past her window. I could feel waves of fury rolling off her, hot and suffocating. It left me completely bewildered. What had I done wrong? Tonight’s gathering had been routine, nothing unusual from where I stood.
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