Chapter 95: Chapter 95 Born from Ashes
Seraphina’s POV
Exhaustion weighed heavily on my shoulders as Theo and I walked up the familiar stone path to our front door. The day at the Fang house had drained every ounce of energy from my body, though seeing the children’s bright faces and watching Theo paint with such concentration had filled my heart completely.
"Did you see how good my wolf looked?" Theo asked, his small fingers still wrapped around mine.
"It was incredible, sweetheart," I replied, giving his hand a gentle squeeze. "You have such talent."
The moment we stepped inside, my gaze immediately shot to the kitchen counter where my phone lay silent and dark. No notifications. No missed calls. Nothing. The familiar ache that had been gnawing at my chest all day intensified into something sharper. Julian had vanished without a trace over a day ago, leaving me with nothing but silence.
Yet through the invisible thread that connected us, I could sense his presence somewhere in the world. That steady pulse of life hummed quietly in my chest, reassuring me that he was breathing, that his heart was still beating. It was the only thing preventing complete panic from consuming me.
I prepared Theo’s dinner, loading his pasta with an absurd amount of cheese just the way he liked it. He babbled enthusiastically about his new friends, the other wolf pups, his art projects, filling the kitchen with his innocent chatter. I responded appropriately, smiled at the right moments, but part of my mind remained elsewhere, straining to hear footsteps that would never come.
After his bath, I carried him to his bedroom and tucked the soft blue blanket under his chin. He smelled like lavender soap and sleepy warmth.
"When is daddy coming back?" he asked, his dark eyes already growing heavy with exhaustion.
"Very soon, my precious boy," I whispered, stroking his damp hair away from his forehead. "He’s just taking care of some important business."
"Alright," he mumbled, already drifting toward sleep. "Make sure you tell him I miss him lots."
My throat constricted painfully. "I promise I will."
I pressed a soft kiss to his forehead and dimmed the lights, leaving his door slightly open. My daughter. Was anyone reading her bedtime stories? Did she feel safe wherever she was?
Washing dishes became my refuge from the spiraling thoughts. The rhythmic motion of scrubbing plates, the warm soapy water, the familiar clinking sounds, all of it helped ground me in something normal when everything else felt like it was crumbling. Clean, rinse, repeat. Keep your hands busy. Don’t let your mind wander.
When the phone suddenly rang, my heart nearly exploded from my chest. Soapy water splashed across the counter as I lunged for the device, expecting to see Julian’s name lighting up the screen.
Instead, Dorian’s name stared back at me.
Hope withered into something bitter and cold. I answered with trembling fingers. "Dorian?"
"Where is he, Seraphina?" His voice cut through the line like a blade, sharp and accusatory. "Where’s Julian?"
The directness of his question caught me completely off guard. "I have no idea. He left without telling me his destination." The truth was all I had to offer. I only knew he’d gone to someone he trusted completely.
"Cut the games," he snarled, and I could practically see the sneer twisting his features. "You two are plotting something. He disappears right after we talk? That’s no accident."
Something inside me finally snapped. All the worry, the fear, the endless nights wondering about my missing child, it all erupted at once. "Plotting something?" I hissed, keeping my voice low so Theo wouldn’t wake. "The only thing I’m doing is trying to find my daughter! Where is she, Dorian? Just tell me she’s safe. That’s all I need to know!"
Silence stretched between us before he spoke again, his tone turning arctic. "Why did he really leave, Seraphina? I don’t appreciate being lied to."
"I told him you’ve been stalking me, that you’re completely obsessed! But I never mentioned our daughter. I kept my promise. Now keep yours. Where. Is. She?"
He actually laughed, a soft, cruel sound that made my skin crawl. "Don’t worry yourself. She’s incredibly happy. She has two devoted parents who care for her perfectly."
Those words sliced through my heart like a dagger. "I am her mother!" I cried, tears finally breaking free. My hand shook so violently I had to grip the counter for support. "Why does she need different parents? I’m here! I’m alive!"
"You betrayed me, Seraphina," he said, his voice dropping to a venomous whisper. "I rescued you. I pulled you out of that nightmare life. And you never even thanked me. You just disappeared."
"I had to escape from everything! From everyone!" I sobbed. "That doesn’t give you the right to steal my child!"
"Soon," he said, his tone suddenly becoming light and playful, as if this was all just an amusing game. "I’ll tell you everything. But right now, this is just too entertaining."
The line went dead. Beep. Beep. Beep.
He had ended the call.
I slumped down the kitchen cabinet until I hit the cold tile floor, the phone slipping from my numb fingers. I wrapped my arms around myself, but nothing could stop the violent trembling. Tears fell silently, hopeless and endless. He wasn’t going to help me. He was enjoying my suffering.
Eventually, I dragged myself to bed. Theo slept peacefully, his chest rising and falling in perfect rhythm. I focused on that steady motion, using it as my anchor. But when exhaustion finally claimed me, my dreams were anything but peaceful.
This wasn’t an ordinary dream. It felt too vivid, too immediate. Like a memory that didn’t belong to me.
A woman was running through chaos. She was heavily pregnant and in agony.
The world burned around her. Gray smoke and brilliant orange flames filled the air. Shouts echoed through the destruction, but these weren’t the voices of her people. These were the sounds of attackers.
The metallic scent of blood hung thick and choking.
She had to escape the smoke. She ran toward the safety of the deep forest.
Something hidden caught her foot and she crashed hard to the ground. The impact knocked all breath from her lungs. A sharp cry tore from her throat.
For a moment, she simply lay in the cold mud.
Then she forced herself to turn over. She needed to see what had caused her fall.
It wasn’t a root. It wasn’t a stone. It was a body.
It was her mate.
His skin was deathly pale. His clothing was shredded. His eyes stared wide and lifeless at the burning sky above.
A sob erupted from her chest, raw and devastating, but a sharp kick in her belly forced her to her feet.
She struggled upward. Her legs trembled beneath her.
No time to grieve.
She had to survive. She had to live. For her baby.
She ran until the horrific sounds of battle faded to distant echoes behind her.
Finally, she collapsed against a massive oak tree in the deep woods, sliding down its rough bark as she gasped desperately for air.
She closed her eyes, trying to clear the dancing black spots from her vision.
When she opened them again, she looked back toward where she’d come from.
Through the gaps between trees, she could see the orange glow.
It wasn’t just fire. It was everything. Her home. Her pack’s territory. Her entire world being consumed. Destroyed completely.
She didn’t cry this time. She simply watched the light fade away.
The quiet didn’t last.
Pain struck again, worse than before. A crushing, tearing agony that began low and seized her entire torso.
Everything went white.
The woman dropped to her knees, clawing at the rough tree bark.
"Not now," she whispered. "Please, not now."
But her body refused to listen.
Her water broke in a sudden, warm rush, streaming down her legs and soaking the cold earth beneath her.
She was completely alone.
No doctor, no midwife, no pack member to help her.
Just her, the dark wilderness, and the frozen ground.
She crawled away from the tree, finding a small, relatively dry space beneath thick bushes. She collapsed onto the damp, dead leaves.
She wanted to scream, but knew she couldn’t risk making noise. The enemy might still be hunting.
She bit down hard on her own forearm, sinking her teeth into the flesh until she tasted blood. The sharp pain in her arm provided a small distraction from the crushing agony in her abdomen.
She pushed with every ounce of strength remaining in her body. Again and again, with deep, muffled grunts. Time became meaningless.
It felt eternal. It felt like death.
Then, she heard something new.
Not a cry of pain. Something different. Something tiny but fierce. Absolutely furious at being brought into this world.
She stopped pushing and stared down at the small, wet form between her legs.
A son.
He was covered in blood and mud, crying with remarkable strength.
His life was a brilliant spark of light cutting through all the darkness.
She wrapped her torn shirt around him, holding him close to her racing heart.
Exhaustion crashed over her in waves. She was freezing and weak. She leaned back against the leaves, cradling her son.
She gazed over his tiny head toward the red glow of the dying fires. The place where her pack had lived. The place where her old life had ended.
What she felt wasn’t sadness. It was something much deeper.
She held her son tighter, rocking him gently in the silence. She spoke to the empty night, making a sacred promise.
"They destroyed everything," she whispered, her voice flat and hard as stone.
She kissed the top of the baby’s soft head.
"I will never forget this night," she vowed. "I will have my revenge."
