Chapter 0208

I've never begged for anything in my life. Never gotten on my knees. Until today. Today, I'll crawl through broken glass if it means she'll stay. Adrian's warning echoes in my skull. 'Become whatever she needs you to be.' At the time, I didn't understand. Now I do. It means swallowing my pride like I've never done before.

The realization hits like a knife between the ribs. She's running from me. From what I became after leaving Victor. My own mate fears me.

'Fix this, or I'll tear this world apart.' My wolf's threat vibrates through my bones.

Even without his warning, I'd move mountains to make this right. This delicate angel somehow tamed the storm inside me. Losing Evelyn was nothing compared to the thought of losing Seraphina.

As she paints, I see the blood on my hands threw her back into her nightmares. When her breathing turns ragged, I'm already moving. I catch her before her knees hit the ground, pulling her away from the cliff's edge.

Nathaniel stands there watching. My lips curl back in a snarl. He bares his throat instantly. "Cleared the area myself. You know I'd never talk."

An Alpha showing submission? Unheard of. The pack would scent weakness like sharks to blood. Challenges would come daily until I bathed in enough challengers' blood to reclaim my title.

Cradling Seraphina, I descend the waterfall. "Run the pack until I handle this. Nothing matters more than her."

"Understood, Alpha."

She stays unconscious past curious pack members. Nathaniel must've given orders - a few sharp barks send everyone scattering.

I tuck her into bed, then grab fresh clothes from my room. The chair creaks as I drag it beside her bed. No more running. We need to talk. I need her to see I'm not the monster she thinks.

But maybe I am. Victor's been rotting in my cells for months. My personal stress relief. All that rage, that loneliness - it's twisted into something monstrous.

She called my music angry. I never noticed. That playlist was born from losing Evelyn, when I believed I'd always be alone. It fit then. It fits now.

Except... I haven't touched those songs since Seraphina arrived. The emptiness is gone. Replaced by something terrifying - hope. She made me believe in a life I never dared imagine. And I might've ruined it all by being exactly what I feared becoming.

Earbuds in, I craft a new playlist. Songs that say what I can't. That show how she's changing me, even if she doesn't know it.

The mattress shifts. I look up to find wide gray eyes staring at me. Slowly, I remove the earbuds. Waiting.

"Who died?" Her voice cracks.

"No one. Victor Blackwood. I hurt him, but he's breathing."