SERAPHINA’S POVMy mind continues to linger on the conversation with Kamila hours after she has already gone.I can easily list the benefits I'd gain from this truce—or dare I say, friendship—with her. Yet, my mind draws a blank when I try to figure out what I could offer her in return, something she doesn't already possess in abundance.I'm just a humble orphan with no family history, while she's practically royalty, born with a diamond-encrusted silver spoon and a rich lineage of Alpha wolf warriors.The best I can offer are tips for surviving in the wild. The idea makes me laugh out loud. I mean, a human giving a werewolf tips on wilderness survival? It's like a fish teaching a bird how to fly. But then, having seen her so-called 'survival skills,' maybe she could actually use the advice. My nights of being locked out of the orphanage by the older girls and being forced to find shelter in the forest might actually pay off.“What do you think, Olivia?” I ask her now, resting my he
SERAPHINA’S POVI don't go to meet Artemis in the teacher's lounge until Jasper has found the nurse, and Olivia receives the attention she needs, now that she's awake.Eventually, she falls asleep once more. This time, however, we're assured that she's really just sleeping, not slipping back into a coma. I can finally breathe again. When she wakes up, we can get her to testify against whoever it was, and finally have Morgan right where we want him. Somehow, in the end, being patient and doing absolutely nothing paid off. I knock three times on the door leading to the teacher's lounge and walk in, expecting to see only Artemis—but he's not alone.With him is the entire campaign team. The moment our eyes meet, Alice jumps up, popping a bottle of champagne just as everyone else in the room screams 'Congratulations!' I'm stunned and surprised, taking a moment to look around before Alice and Juliet rush in to hug me. I can't help but chuckle now, reveling in this precious, happy moment
SERAPHINA’S POVMy idea of payback is possibly the cheesiest thing Artemis will ever see in his life. I plan to do something grand enough to shake the feeling of being indebted to him. What do I do instead?I plan a modest snack table featuring the best items the school's vending machines can offer, complete with a side of ketchup and my laptop for another scary movie night. Compared to the elaborate hangout he planned before, mine feels like child's play. But I guess he'll just have to take what he gets?By the time I'm done setting up, I can't help but notice how shabby and empty the table looks from my perspective. It makes me wonder how he managed to order pizza and stock up on all those snacks before. Exhausted, I decide to leave things as they are. Just then, a knock on the door jolts me from my thoughts, and I head over to answer it.“Heads up, Artemis. It's not the best, but just know it's all worth three hours of hard human effort,” I explain as I pull the door open. To
SERAPHINA’S POVI sit alone on Artemis's balcony, wrapped in my own arms, staring quietly at the full moon overhead. My thoughts keep drifting back to that unsettling dream – was it even a dream? - wrestling with the impossibility of making sense of it all. The only logical explanation I can muster is that I must have sleepwalked—trashed the room and nearly stabbed Artemis as he walked in.I still can't piece together how that knife ended up in my hands; there are unnerving gaps in my memory. “Here you go,” Artemis says, reappearing to hand me a bowl of ice cream.I take it, stirring the chocolate ice cream absentmindedly with my spoon as he sits beside me, digging into his own bowl. “I'm sorry,” I finally murmur, unable to meet his eyes.“For what exactly? Trashing my room or nearly turning me into a cyclops?” he teases, chuckling to lighten the mood.I offer a bitter laugh in return, biting my lip and looking away. “Hey, you said it was an accident. So, it's okay.”“No, it's no
SERAPHINA’S POVThe next morning, I'm jolted from my deep slumber by the sound of laughter – particularly the kind you'd hear after every punchline in an old nineties sitcom.I ignore it, thinking it's just an extension of my dream until it resounds again, originating from the outside world, and my body descends. I groan with annoyance, hating the fact that I'm being woken up so early in the morning and swiftly turning to get whoever it is to shut the fuck up. Then, out of nowhere, a migraine hits me like a bomb.I can feel every blood vessel pumping blood to my brain, each pulse fast and hard, causing excruciating pain in the process. Settling back down on my pillow, I keep my eyes shut, waiting for the discomfort to subside. Once it does, I tentatively open my eyes, only to be immediately blinded by the morning light flooding the room. Ah, it's definitely morning.Obnoxious laughter echoes once again. Slowly turning to the side, my vision begins to normalize. I find myself stari
SERAPHINA’S POVI cough just as Juliet, who's been my makeover maestro for the evening, dabs into her eyeshadow palette to add another layer onto my lids. "Sera, you'll smudge it if you keep squirming like that," she warns."Is all this really necessary?" I ask, a touch of exasperation in my voice. Two hours of skincare treatments, an hour for hair, and now we're thirty minutes deep into the makeup phase. I’m in Alice and Juliet’s room, and my face feels as though it's laminated with all the products they've applied. I mean, it's just a three-hour party, and let's be honest—I'll probably enjoy only the first hour before my social battery taps out.Juliet rolls her eyes but remains laser-focused on my eyes. "Yes, Sera, it's absolutely necessary. You're the star tonight; you have to look the part.""But it feels like you're prepping me for the Oscars, not a college party," I counter, sneaking a glance at my increasingly unfamiliar reflection in the mirror.Alice, who's giving the f
SERAPHINA’S POVIt seemed like a fantastic idea in my head to approach Lucian, but as I draw closer to the group of guys he's with, self-doubt and nervousness flood over me. Just when I'm about to retreat, our eyes lock—his silver eyes meeting mine. We both freeze for a moment, suspended in time.His eyes widen as if he's seeing me for the first time, or maybe he's just taking in my new look. Whatever it is, it seems to catch him completely off guard."Hey!" he's the first to break the silence, pulling away from his friends almost immediately."Hey!" I echo, injecting my voice with enthusiasm as I attempt to cloak my nervousness.In mere seconds, he's closed the distance between us, standing close enough for me to catch the mix of his cologne and a slight, manly musk."Awesome party you've got going on here," he says, edging even closer.Fumbling awkwardly with my fingers, I suddenly become hyper-aware of my outfit, my makeup, every little detail. But even in the midst of my self-c
A FEW MOMENTS EARLIERARTEMIS’ POV"Any sign of Morgan yet?""None. He's done a good job of hiding ever since evidence came to light about his crew attacking Kamila and Sera," Jasper replies as we complete our final round through the school.It's as if the bastard has vanished off the face of the earth. Despite my efforts to get the school to flush him out, it's like hitting a brick wall; the investigation just can't seem to break through.He crossed a line with Seraphina, even after my warnings. And he thinks he can get away with it? Not a chance. I'll draw out the big guns if I have to. Run, hide—it won't matter. I will find him. And when I do, blood will spill.My phone buzzes in my pocket, and I check the message from Ace. ‘They're done,’ it reads, which means Sera and her friends are almost at the party.I can't help the small smile that manages to find its way to my face when he sends a picture along with the text.Her two friends are literally dragging her out of the room, wh