Chapter 0223

"Are you fucking kidding me? Did nothing I said last night get through to you? Do you not understand how vital you are to me? Sacrificing yourself for me isn't saving my life—it's destroying it. Without you, I have nothing. Remember that song lyric you love? You showed me what it feels like to be whole, and now that lightness is everything. You think I can go back to that emptiness after knowing this? I can't. There's no life for me without you, Seraphina. Nothing."

I pace the room, my hands raking through my hair. "For the first time, I understand what my father endured all those years." I stop abruptly, turning to face her. "And I'm telling you right now—I'm not strong enough to survive it. I wouldn't last ten fucking minutes without you, let alone a decade like he did. Do you hear me?"

Closing the distance between us, I grip her arms. "You are my everything. Without you, there's no point. No reason to keep breathing."

I press my forehead to hers, breathing her in. "I know I can't ask you to walk away. That protective instinct is in your blood, just like the fight is in mine. But promise me this—never step between me and danger again. Stand beside me, fight with me. I'll hate every second of you being at risk, but I'll accept it. Just don't shield me with your body. Promise me that."

Her palms cradle my face. "I'll try, Sebastian. No guarantees—Valeria feels that pull to protect you too. But I'll do my best to fight at your side, not in front of you."

I crush her against me, claiming her mouth in a desperate kiss. My hands roam her body, needing to feel her alive and unharmed. Breaking the kiss, I demand, "Let me see you. Did that bloodsucker hurt you? I know there aren't deep wounds, but show me the bruises."

I strip her shirt off, dropping to my knees to examine the darkening marks along her ribs where the vampire focused his blows. My lips trace each bruise, following the trail up her sternum.

Her fingers tangle in my hair as I wrap my arms around her waist. "I love you, Seraphina. So damn much it terrifies me."

She yanks my head back, forcing me to meet her gaze. "I love you too, Sebastian." Her thumbs brush my cheekbones before she kisses me, soft yet possessive. Wrapping her legs around my waist, she locks herself against me as I carry her to the bed.

"Show me how much you love me," she whispers.

I nuzzle her nose with mine. "Nothing would make me happier than losing myself in you, sweetheart. But if I do, I won't stop myself from marking you."

Her hands frame my face. "Would that be so terrible?"

I stiffen. "Once I mark you, there's no going back. You'd be mine forever. Are you absolutely certain?"

"We still have obstacles, I know that. But one thing's crystal clear—I want to be yours, and you to be mine. We were crafted for each other. So yes, Sebastian, mark me. Claim me. Make me yours in every way possible."

The Shattered Alpha's Heir

The crisp mountain air carried the scent of pine as Evelyn Sinclair tightened her grip on the dagger. Moonlight glinted off the silver blade, casting eerie shadows across the forest floor.

Selene, her wolf spirit, growled low in her mind. "We're being watched."

Evelyn didn't need the warning. Years of training under her father, Gregory Sinclair, had honed her instincts. She could feel the presence lurking just beyond the tree line—predatory, calculating.

Then the attack came.

A massive black wolf lunged from the darkness, fangs bared. Evelyn twisted, barely avoiding the snapping jaws. She countered with a swift kick to the creature's ribs, sending it crashing into a nearby oak.

The wolf shifted mid-fall, transforming into a broad-shouldered man with piercing amber eyes. Adrian Grey, future Alpha of Blackthorn Pack, wiped blood from his split lip.

"Still holding a grudge, Sinclair?" His voice was rough, edged with amusement.

Evelyn flipped the dagger in her hand. "You started this when you sabotaged my patrol route."

Adrian smirked. "And you ended it by dumping a bucket of wolfsbane on my head."

Before she could retort, a howl echoed through the trees—urgent, panicked. Both froze.

That wasn't part of their rivalry.

Adrian's expression darkened. "The eastern border."

They ran without another word, their feud forgotten. Because whatever was out there wasn't playing games.

And it smelled like death.

The clearing was a nightmare.

Bodies littered the ground, their throats torn out. Evelyn recognized Julian's face among them, his eyes frozen in terror. Her stomach twisted.

Adrian knelt beside the youngest victim—a boy no older than twelve. His hands shook as he closed the child's unseeing eyes.

"Victor Blackwood's work," he snarled.

Evelyn's blood ran cold. The banished Beta had returned. And if the carnage was any indication, he wasn't alone.

Selene's warning came too late.

The arrow struck Adrian square in the chest.

Evelyn barely caught him as he collapsed, her hands slick with his blood. Shadows moved at the edge of the clearing, laughter drifting on the wind.

Victor's voice slithered through the trees. "Tell your Alpha... the hunt has just begun."

Then silence.

Evelyn pressed her palm to Adrian's wound, his breath coming in ragged gasps. She made a vow then, teeth bared at the unseen enemy.

This time, the Guardian wouldn't hold back.

And the woods would run red before dawn.