Chapter 98: Chapter 98 Shattered Truth
Seraphina’s POV
The ground beneath me seemed to crumble away. My lungs seized, refusing to draw air as ice-cold realization crashed through my veins. I stood frozen, staring at the two people who had raised me, who had just shattered every truth I thought I knew about my existence.
"This can’t be happening," I breathed, my voice barely audible above the thundering of my heart. "Tell me this is some sick game you’re playing." My hands trembled at my sides. "Because if you think this is amusing, you’re wrong. Dead wrong."
My mother moved toward me, her fingers reaching out with desperate gentleness. The sight of her approaching hand made my skin crawl with betrayal.
"Stay back," I gasped, stumbling backward until my spine hit the bookshelf. "Don’t you dare touch me. Not after what you just confessed."
"Seraphina, listen to us," my mother pleaded, tears streaming down her cheeks. "You believe we despise you, but that’s never been true. Every choice we made, every sacrifice, was to shield you from harm."
Shield me? The hypocrisy burned through my chest like acid. My already fractured heart splintered into smaller pieces.
"That’s exactly why we had no choice," my father added, his voice strained with years of buried guilt. "We had to collaborate with Roxanne’s birth mother. We switched you both the moment you were born. It was the only way to guarantee your survival."
The words felt surreal, like dialogue from someone else’s nightmare.
"Shield me?" I finally managed, though my voice cracked with unshed tears and raw disbelief. "Shield me from what exactly? What terror could have been so overwhelming that you decided to abandon your own daughter? Like I was worthless cargo to be traded away?" Each word scraped against my throat, burning with the fire of absolute betrayal. The agony in my chest threatened to suffocate me.
These people did this to me. The very people who should have protected me above all else.
My father’s throat worked as he swallowed hard, unable to meet my eyes. "Seraphina, please. Take a seat."
"Absolutely not," I snapped, finding strength in my mounting fury. "I’ll remain standing while you explain why my entire life has been built on deception."
My childhood had already been poisoned by lies about my paternity, but now I had to face the devastating truth that my own parents had never wanted me at all.
Without protest, both of them lowered themselves into the leather armchairs, their movements heavy with decades of hidden shame. They watched me expectantly while oppressive silence filled the space between us. My knees began to shake from the shock, forcing me to sink into the chair opposite them. "Keep talking," I commanded.
My father lifted his gaze to mine, and I saw a haunted grief there that chilled me to the bone. "Right before your birth, Seraphina," he began, each word seeming to cost him, "we were forced to participate in something terrible. Something that will haunt us until we die."
My attention zeroed in on his phrasing. "We?" I interrupted, leaning forward as my pulse hammered against my ribs. "Who exactly is ’we’?"
He winced as if my question had struck him physically. "Myself," he answered, staring past me into painful memories, "along with several other alpha leaders. The Alpha King personally selected us."
Selected? By royalty? My thoughts spun as I tried to process this revelation. "Selected for what purpose?" I demanded, desperation creeping into my tone. "What was this terrible act you committed?"
He shook his head with stubborn finality. "That knowledge will never be yours to bear. It’s far too dangerous. Some secrets are better left buried."
His refusal ignited fresh frustration within me, but I could read the unshakeable resolve in his expression. I despised being excluded from the truth, yet I swallowed my protests, knowing I needed to hear the rest of their confession.
He pressed on, his voice dropping to a gravelly whisper. "From that moment forward, we knew our lives would be forever changed. We lived in constant fear, always watching for retaliation. We believed the danger had passed. We truly hoped it had." His breath caught. "Then your mother conceived you."
My mother grasped his hand desperately, her tearful gaze begging me for forgiveness.
"The royal oracle," my father continued, "brought us a warning. She prophesied a devastating war approaching. A conflict that would consume everything in its path, claiming countless innocent lives. But from this destruction, a white wolf Luna would emerge. Born with the power to end the bloodshed and restore peace." His voice grew heavy with dread. "However, to fulfill this destiny, she would have to sacrifice her life."
A white wolf Luna. Death. The words hung between us like a death sentence. My mind struggled to absorb their meaning.
"We demanded to know the identity of this prophesied wolf," my father went on, emotion thickening his voice. "Who would bear this burden? The seer agreed to reveal the truth privately." He squeezed my mother’s trembling fingers. "She told us the white wolf Luna would be you, Seraphina. Our precious daughter."
The oxygen seemed to disappear from the room. My chest constricted painfully, as if someone had driven their fist deep into my stomach. Though I sensed where this story was leading, the reality felt impossible to accept.
"We were shattered," my mother whispered through broken sobs. "No parent should watch their child die for any cause, no matter how noble. We refused to accept that fate."
I stared at them through blurred vision, too stunned to respond or react.
"It would have been merciful," my father said, his voice raw with old pain, "if your mother had lost you naturally. But you were too developed, and attempting something like that would have killed her as well." He closed his eyes, battling whatever memory tormented him.
The implication was clear: they had wished I was never born, that I had simply disappeared.
"So we searched for alternatives. We studied everything we could find about white wolves, seeking ways to prevent your transformation and suppress your abilities. Ancient texts and forgotten prophecies all confirmed the same truth: a white wolf can only shift and fully access her powers when she’s on her destined pack territory, after bonding with her fated mate. Only where she’s meant to rule as Luna."
"Unfortunately," he continued, despair weighing down every word, "the prophecy revealed another devastating detail. Your true mate was destined to be Julian. We couldn’t keep you separated forever because of our alliance with his pack. Eventually, you would have to meet."
"We understood," my father concluded, his voice breaking completely, "that staying with us would trigger your transformation into your true form. But we had to protect you and keep you alive. So we made the hardest decision of our lives. To switch you at birth. The day you entered this world."
