Chapter 2

Seraphine’s Point of View

"Cassius..." I continued to weep for my fallen husband even as I felt someone hoisting me up from the ground.

"Come on, Raph. Cassius is already dead. Let's get you back to your room."

I bristled at Maximus’ words. I slapped his reaching hands away from me as I took a step away from him. My grief and anger are getting the best of me. My mind is swirling with violent thoughts as I glared at my husband's murderer.

"Step the fuck away from me, you traitorous bastard!" I shouted at him, pouring all my anger and pain on it as much as I could. I need an outlet for all the emotions that are occupying my whole being, because if I bottle it up inside me, it might explode tragically.

"Seraphine. It has to be done."

His words did nothing but enrage me even more.

"Fuck you, Wilder! Just fuck you! I don't know what you want to achieve by killing my mate, but I'm telling you, you won't ever succeed on it! No traitorous bastard ever succeeds in their evil deeds!"

I whimpered when Maximus strides fast in my direction to grip my chin tightly against his bloodied hand. The hand that has Cassius' blood.

"I will not repeat myself, Seraphine, so listen carefully," he growled in my face as his grip tightened that had me tearing up. "Your so-called mate is dead. I am the new Alpha of Silvercrest Pack, and you will be my Luna. We will get married next week during the full moon, and I will hear no protest from you. Unless you want me to punish someone for your insolence, you will obey me. Do you understand?"

I stared at him with pure loathing and horror in my eyes.

My best friend... the shy, stuttering boy I befriended when I was twelve, the boy who swore to always protect me, just threatened me so I wouldn't disobey him.

"M-maximus..." I mumbled in disbelief. "What happened to you?"

For a brief moment, several emotions swept in his eyes. But he was so quick to mask it with coldness and cruelty that I almost thought I was just hallucinating. "Silverton happened." He responded with pure disdain before hauling me up and guiding me inside the homestead where my room is located.

I tried to look back at my husband but Maximus’ grip on my waist was so tight that I had to bite my lips to stop myself from groaning at the pain.

His hold eased up when we entered my room. Maximus gently guided me to lay down on my bed. Then he knelt down on the side and stared at me. The previous madness and cruelty in his eyes completely disappeared, replaced by a soft look that I could only interpret as fondness.

When he lifted his hand near my face, I flinched, thinking he would hit me. The brief flash of pain in his eyes made me feel a bit guilty for my reaction, but when I remembered how he mercilessly murdered my mate, the guilt quickly faded as if it never appeared.

My wariness over him is not unwarranted as far as I know.

Instead of the hit that I expected, his hand just brushed away a fringe that was covering my eyes. "I won't ever hurt you, Raph. I'm sorry if my grip hurt you a while ago. I didn't mean to hurt you, I just wanted to make a statement that you would understand. But you don't have to be wary of me; I will never harm you."

"But you already did," I whispered.

The change in his expression is instantaneous. His steel cold eyes were sharp as it drifted on the wall. "It was a necessary pain. You will move on and live without him. You'll get through it."

It was a testament of my exhaustion that I didn't strike him right there and then despite the rage that rose in my chest at his tactless remark. Instead, I smacked his hand away and turned around to avoid looking at his face, lest the urge to punch him override my exhaustion.

I heard him sigh, then rustled around my bed. "I will leave you alone for the meantime. You can mourn for your husband, but I don't want to see you in this state during our marriage. You know the consequences if you continue to be this petulant."

As much as I wanted to scream profanities at him, I was too exhausted to retaliate. So I just continued ignoring him, pretending I didn't hear him speak at all.

The sounds of his footsteps leaving the room made me feel a bit relieved, and then I burst out crying.

Cassius... my beloved mate... is gone.

With how quick things escalated, I haven't had the chance to properly mourn my husband. It still feels so unreal. It was just hours ago that I was talking to him, that I kissed him. Neither of us knew it would be the last time we’ll do that.

Maybe it was also the exhaustion of the events that had me feeling thousands of emotions at once that made me unable to process in my brain what's going to be my future from now on. But amidst crying for my dead mate and a destroyed future, I had slowly fallen asleep, letting myself drift to the only place where I could see my mate.

In my dreams.

###

"I, Maximus Wilder, stand in front of you today to announce the changes that will occur in Silvercrest Pack," Maximus started, his voice loud and clear, deep and demanding attention as his cold eyes swept across the crowd. "Yesterday, I challenged Cassius Silverton to a death match. The unfortunate fool had been too complacent and confident in his skills that he completely missed what I had challenged him for, thinking that the match was only to see who yields and who wins. And so he turned his back on me when he thought I yielded. A fool, he was."

I gritted my teeth, feeling the strain in my jaw as I've been doing it for a while so as to not outright attack Maximus for what he's saying about Cassius. My grip on the chair tightened as well because my wolf has been itching to come out and claw at Maximus' throat, the same way he killed my husband.

My whole body is on fire, and my wolf is almost begging me to do something to avenge our mate. Now that I’ve gotten a few hours of sleep and the exhaustion has subsided, my wolf started arguing with me. But no matter how much I wanted to do something, I couldn't. I know for sure that Maximus' threat that he will punish the other pack members for any of my insolence isn't all bark. If he managed to kill Cassius, my mate, someone I dearly love, I know he wouldn't hesitate to hurt anyone else.

And I'm still the Luna of the pack, and I have a role I need to fulfill now that my true mate and Alpha are no longer here to protect them.

"And everyone here knows the rule of a death match," Maximus continued. "If the challenger wins, they take everything their opponent has. If the current Alpha wins, the challenger will be banished permanently. And seeing that your previous Alpha has died stupidly, I am now the Silvercrest Pack's new Alpha."

Tears welled up in my eyes at his proclamation. I dreaded hearing what follows next, especially when I noticed how he glanced in my direction.

"And your previous Luna, Seraphine Wildfrost, will still be the pack’s Luna. My Luna."

The murmur that rippled across the crowd made my heart clench. I know what they're all thinking, but they couldn't voice it out. They're all afraid of the new Alpha the same way I am.

"Seraphine and I will marry next week during the full moon. Alfric Forest will officiate the wedding, and all of you will attend as witness," Maximus exclaimed with a wide smile on his face. "The death of Cassius Silverton and the rise of Maximus Wilder marks a new era for our pack, and I expect all of you to follow through with the new rules and regulations that I will announce shortly. I had assigned new Generals as well, since our previous ones had been easily defeated and are no longer trustworthy to keep our safety. The Elders will remain as it is, though I have a few additions that I trust will help us improve. The rest of you will remain the way you are. Any insolence or signs of rebellion will immediately be punished. I am merciful, but I have my limits. If you have been warned once, you might want to ponder over things then. If you received a second warning, expect that it wouldn't be nice for you. There is no third warning, because I will end whoever dared to disobey me thrice. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Alpha." The pack members simultaneously responded, their voices trembling in hatred and fear.

And I just watched it all from my place, unable to do something for them.

Maximus flashed an arrogant, satisfied smile. "Alright. I'll proceed with the rules..."

I muted everything he said afterwards. I let myself get lost on my train of thoughts.

Our pack has always been lively and unified. Even with the previous Alpha and Luna, it has never been filled with this fear. Cassius and I made sure our pack members would always feel safe and happy in our pack. Punishments are never something traumatic, but it's not like there's anyone we punish severely because everyone has always been good at following the rules, and we all got along.

Despite Cassius' cold and aloof personality, he's a great leader. He's reliable and trustworthy that our pack members respect him a lot. They admire him, he inspired them. It was easy for the pack to approach him when some problems occur, because Cassius is great at providing solutions. Whereas I stand as a sort of comfort for my pack members. Despite my husband’s reliability, he’s not quite gifted in emotional intelligence. Which is where I enter.

My pack members reached out for me when struck with emotional struggles. They asked for advice, and an ear to listen to them. It was why our pack is close-knit.

But now... all my pack members are filled with terror. A lot of them are still in a state of mourning for the fallen ones from the ambush yesterday, and a lot of them are still grasping the sudden changes in our pack.

It's a lot to think of without the terror the new Alpha is giving.

And they can’t reach out to me because I'm just as helpless as they are. I’m just as wrecked as they are. My hands are tied as well. How can I help them? How can I reassure them that everything will be fine?

I would give everything just to wake up from this nightmare. I miss my mate. Half of me shattered when he died. The other half refused to continue to live.

But how can I be so selfish that I want to die just to end my misery and longing when my pack is also suffering from their own loss? It's not just me who lost something, all of us did.

I didn't know how long it lasted. I only came back to reality when I felt a strong arm wrapped on my waist and hoisted me up. When I tried to pull away, I heard him growl in my ears.

"Seraphine," he hissed, hands gripping my waist a bit tight in warning. My skin crawled in hatred and disgust, yet I stopped struggling against his hold and instead, let myself lean on his side. It seemed to satisfy him as he pulled us back inside the homestead.

He didn't bring me to my room. My heart dropped when he led me to the room that Cassius and I shared when we got married. Everything that might remind me of my late husband was gone. Our frame, his clothes, his scattered things and paperwork— all of it was gone. There was no sign that Cassius Silverton had ever used the room.

Instead, on the side table beside the bed was a frame of Maximus and me when we were younger. He had his arms on my shoulder, and my arms wrapped around his waist. We were smiling widely despite the mud on our face.

I almost smiled as the memory of that day came crashing on my mind. But almost immediately, upon realizing our current state, I frowned deeply.

"Where did you put his things?"

"Burned it. All of it," he replied, smirking.

I felt my blood boil then I pushed him away. "Fuck you! And you expect me to share a room with you?! No fucking way!”

Maximus raised an eyebrow as he slowly approached me. He softly caressed my cheeks and despite the itch to strike him in the face, I remained still. I continued to glare defiantly at him.

"Dear Raph. I didn't exactly give you a choice, did I?" He smirked again. "We will share this room from now on."

"No," I gritted out. "I will sleep on the floor if you continue insisting."

"Oh, so that's how you want to play this out?" He cocked his head on the side. He stepped closer and lifted my chin so our eyes properly met. "I told you I will punish the others for your insolence, right? Since I can't hurt you, the others will suffice."

My eyes went wide in horror and regret.

"No—"

"How about I remove all their beds? Including their pillow and blankets, have them sleep on the cold and hard floor? Quite a good idea, right?"

I shake my head frantically. "No, no. I didn—"

"Or, I could just have them sleeping outside the homestead. On the dirty ground where they belong, while the two of us sleep peacefully on our soft bed," his smile turned evil and malicious. "What do you think, love?"

I felt sick to my core. His words were making me nauseous. But I couldn't let him continue with his idea especially seeing the crazy look in his eyes.

So I swallowed my anger and fear as I shakily reached for his hand that was on my cheek. I softly caressed it as I peered into his widening eyes. "I... I'll sleep beside you. We'll sleep together, on this bed. We'll share this room. Hmm? That's a better idea, isn't it?"

His eyes darkened. But despite how dilated his pupils were, he still managed to gaze at me with so much fondness I almost threw up right there. But I held it in, not wanting to risk changing his mind.

"You're right. That's a better idea," he said as he slowly leaned down.

I had to suppress the distressing noise I almost made when he kissed my forehead.

"I love you so much, Seraphine. I will take care of you, and I will cherish you the most in this world like what you deserve."

I'm sorry, Cassius. I'm sorry.