Chapter 99: Chapter 99 Innocent Comfort
Seraphina’s POV
"You are the most despicable people I have ever encountered," I said, my voice trembling at first but gaining strength as painful memories flooded back. "My entire existence has been nothing but abuse. I have spent my whole life feeling insecure, terrified, unwanted, and unloved."
My mother’s typically composed expression wavered with an emotion I could not identify. My father’s face darkened. "Seraphina," he began, his voice a deep rumble, "everything we did was to protect you."
A bitter laugh escaped my lips, sharp and humorless, filled with years of accumulated resentment. "Protect me? Stop this ridiculous charade!" I snapped, my voice escalating. "If protection was truly your motivation, then explain why you brought me back here. Why was it suddenly acceptable for me to be mated to Julian?"
They shared a meaningful glance, engaging in one of their silent conversations that only fueled my rage further. My mother finally responded, her voice strained with tension. "We had no other option, Seraphina."
"No option?" I scoffed dismissively. "You had choices. Multiple choices. You could have chosen differently the moment I was born. You could have decided to keep your own child. To nurture me, to shield me from harm. Even if there is truth to this prophecy nonsense you keep spouting, you could have protected me properly. Instead, you chose abandonment. You discarded me like I was worthless, like some defective object you refused to handle." The agony of that rejection tore through me again, as devastating as a physical assault despite the passage of years.
My father moved closer, his hands extended in a pleading gesture. "The prophecy is undeniably real, Seraphina. It explains why you are a white wolf. It is the reason we could not-"
I interrupted him sharply, shaking my head. "I do not care about any of that! Prophecies, white wolves, whatever grand scheme you believe you are part of - none of it matters to me. All I ever wanted was to be loved." My voice cracked with raw emotion. "Why did you never show me any affection or attention after I returned home? If you genuinely wanted to protect me as you claim, why did you treat me like some unwanted burden you could barely tolerate? I gave everything. I worked desperately to be perfect, to be valuable, to earn even the smallest acknowledgment from you, but you regarded me as though I were invisible. As if I did not exist."
My mother’s gaze dropped to the floor, but my father maintained eye contact. "We acknowledge our failures, Seraphina. We recognize our mistakes. We intend to make amends. However, right now, the priority is your safety. Ensuring no one discovers you are the white wolf."
"Make amends?" Another harsh, joyless laugh erupted from me. "It is far too late to repair a lifetime of neglect. I do not want your protection! Remove yourselves from my sight. Leave my pack immediately."
My father’s jaw clenched tight. "You need to stop this selfishness, Seraphina. You must consider your son now. You are a mother."
That statement crossed every boundary. My body turned rigid, cold fury replacing the burning anguish. "Do not dare," I hissed, stepping forward with narrowed eyes. "Never presume to lecture me about motherhood. I consider my son in every decision I make. Unlike you. I would never take any action that could endanger or harm my child. I will not accept advice or lessons from people who abandoned their own daughter. Do you comprehend me?"
They remained silent, clearly defeated. My father’s shoulders sagged slightly. "There is still much we have not revealed to you, Seraphina."
"Keep it," I told them, my voice now flat and emotionally vacant. "Keep your secrets. Keep your lies. I have had enough."
I needed escape, needed to breathe. Fortunately, the early morning hour meant everyone was likely still sleeping.
I found myself outside near the training grounds, where a small wooden bench rested beneath an oak tree. I collapsed onto it, wrapping my arms around myself protectively. I attempted to maintain strength, to keep the rigid mask on my face, but the dam had shattered. Tears overflowed, hot and relentless, streaming down my cheeks. My shoulders trembled with silent sobs. Everything ached. The betrayal, the abandonment, the hollow pain of a stolen childhood. I closed my eyes, wishing I could simply vanish.
I had somehow managed to move beyond that life and everything I had endured, and everything had been bearable when I believed another woman had kidnapped me and essentially traded me for her daughter because she wanted better for her child. But knowing my own parents had done this to me was unbearable.
Then, a small, gentle hand touched my shoulder.
I gasped in surprise and opened my eyes. Through my tear-blurred vision, a familiar little face gazed up at me. Elena. Her large, innocent eyes were filled with worry.
"Aunty Seraphina?" she whispered softly. "Why are you crying?"
I quickly wiped my eyes, attempting to regain composure. "Elena? What brings you out here? It is still very early. Why are you not at home?"
She tilted her head curiously. "Mommy is not there. I woke up, and she was not in her bed. I was searching for her."
My heart ached for this child. I reached out, gently pulling her onto my lap. She settled perfectly, a warm, small weight against me. As I held her, trying to provide comfort, I inhaled and detected her scent.
It was peculiar. Contradictory. There was a faint familiarity to it, something that triggered a memory I could not quite grasp. Simultaneously, something about it seemed wrong. I blinked, dismissing the thought. Your emotions are overwhelming you, Seraphina, I reasoned. You are upset. You are imagining things.
"You should not leave the house when your parents are absent, sweetheart," I murmured, stroking her hair. "Your mommy surely loves you deeply. You were probably sleeping, and she did not want to disturb you. You should have waited for her return."
Elena nodded, burying her face against my chest. "Okay," she mumbled. Then, she wrapped her tiny arms around my neck, embracing me tightly.
Instantly, the world transformed. The warmth of her small hug, the innocent trust radiating from her, immediately soothed me. It resembled Theo’s presence, that instant peace he brought me. For a moment, the crushing weight of my anger and grief lifted. I held her closer, breathing in her childhood purity.
But the peaceful moment was destroyed.
"What do you think you are doing?!"
A furious voice shattered the quiet morning. I looked up, startled, to see Roxanne approaching rapidly, her face contorted with rage. Her eyes, typically gentle, were narrowed and focused on me with chilling accusation.
