I did not 5

Chapter 5 

After handling the messages in the pack channel, Dorian left the study. In just half a day, he felt years older. 

He tried calling Vivienne, but could not get through. 

He went to find Seraphina. She was in the living room playing with Leo. 

“I told you to take Leo and apologize to Vivienne. Did you send a message? Did she respond?” 

Seraphina did not expect his first question to be about this. She felt irritated. 

Now that she was living in the Blackthorn territory, she had already considered herself the lady of this place. Although Dorian had never officially marked her, he had claimed her. His teeth marks were deep in her wolf soul, more binding than any public 

announcement. 

Vivienne, on the other hand, had only been claimed. A nominal mate, recognized by contract but without a mark. 

Seraphina nudged Leo gently. “Leo does not think he did anything wrong. I think he was just playing.” 

Leo spoke in his childish voice. “Leo did nothing wrong.” 

Dorian asked patiently, “If Leo damaged someone else’s things, why does he not need to apologize?” 

Leo looked confused. “The study belongs to father. Father loves me, so I do not need to apologize.” 

Seraphina stroked Leo’s head indulgently. She did not notice Dorian’s expression darkening. 

Dorian was not foolish. He could sense Seraphina stirring trouble behind the scenes. If Leo had only entered the study for fun, why had the only things destroyed been Vivienne’s sketches? 

Leo’s refusal to apologize was so confident it did not seem like a child. Dorian did not want to spoil him. 

“Leo, hold out your hand.” 

Leo glanced at his mother. Seraphina hesitated, then nodded. 

Dorian took the disciplinary ruler from the housekeeper. It was a traditional Blackthorn tool he had once been taught with. He had never imagined he would one day use it on his own pup. 

The ruler struck, leaving a red mark across Leo’s palm. 

The pup cried out in pain. “It hurts! Father is mean! I do not like Father anymore!” 

Seraphina rushed forward in concern. “Dorian, why did you hit him? Did he do something wrong?” 

Dorian glanced at her. By this point, Seraphina still believed she had done nothing wrong. The girl he remembered as gentle and considerate had completely changed. Now she was a spoiled, short-sighted mother. 

Dorian felt regret. If he had not angered Vivienne or had told her everything earlier and let her raise Leo, maybe Leo would not have become like this. 

Leo, still in pain, bit his teeth and slammed into Dorian. 

Dorian was unprepared. He fell backward, hitting the corner of the cabinet. Blood flowed immediately. 

The housekeeper panicked and called for a physician. His gaze toward the mother and child carried some disapproval. 

Seraphina froze when she saw the blood. She tried to stop Leo. “How can you do this? That is your father!” 

“He hit me! I do not like him! Mother, you never hit me!” 

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Choptor 5 

+25 BONUS 

Seraphina was stunned. She had always treated Leo as the Blackthorn heir, spoiling him. He was proof of Dorian marking her, a line Vivienne could never cross. Yet she had never disciplined him. 

Now she regretted it. What if Dorian stopped loving Leo? What if he had another child with another woman, as he had with Vivienne? 

She could not think further. She ran to check Dorian’s wound while pushing Leo. “You were wrong! Apologize to your father! Look, he is bleeding!” 

Leo broke free and ran through a gap in the group. Seraphina could not catch him. She stayed by Dorian, her voice trembling “V am sorry, Dorian. I failed to manage Leo. I will discipline him properly from now on.” 

Dorian squinted at her. 

He suddenly missed Vivienne. When he had been hurt before, Vivienne stayed by his side. She frowned, flustered, tending to his injuries, scolding him for carelessness, her eyes full of concern. 

He sighed and closed his eyes in exhaustion. 

At that moment, someone knocked on the main door. 

The housekeeper went to answer. 

“Hello. Who are you looking for?” 

“I am Vivienne Hale’s legal representative,” the calm voice outside said. “I am here to deliver the claiming release confirmation and the official mate termination agreement to Dorian Blackthorn.” 

Dorian’s wolf froze in his chest. 

This was not a mark release. It was a claiming release. 

Vivienne had never been marked. She had only been claimed, a bond that could be terminated at any time. 

Seraphina’s mark, however, would remain in his wolf soul forever. 

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