Chapter 362: Chapter 362 - There won’t be anyone left to give me blood
Flashback continues (Sixteen Years Ago)
It wasn’t the first time her mother had taken Daisy’s side, and the pain of that truth cut deeper every single time.
Seraphine couldn’t even remember a moment when things had been different. Ever since she was tiny, Daisy had always come first, no matter what.
Her tears, her complaints, her actual physical pain, none of it ever seemed to matter to her mom as long as Daisy stayed happy.
There were so many awful days when Seraphine was sick and weak, barely able to lift her head, yet her mother would still force her to give Daisy her blood, treating her like she was just a tool, like Seraphine herself meant absolutely nothing.
That heartbreaking thought had barely formed in her mind when a sharp, stinging slap cracked across her cheek. The pain exploded across her face, jerking her head violently to the side as hot, angry tears flooded her eyes.
"You hot-headed child," Noelle snarled, her voice full of disgust as she glared down at her. "You really think you can talk back to me like that? You should be more like Daisy."
Seraphine pressed a trembling hand to her burning cheek, trying desperately to hold back the sob clawing its way up her throat. From the porch, Daisy stood there clutching the glass jar with that smug, satisfied smile, looking so pleased with herself.
"Aunt Noelle, she snuck off to the Grimroot Pack with Voren and brought back this stupid fish. She needs to stay far away from him because I like him."
Noelle’s face turned to stone, cold and furious. She stepped closer, towering over Seraphine with pure rage in her eyes. "Did you hear what she said? Don’t you ever talk to Voren again. And the same goes for Ravyn. Don’t you dare get any ideas in your head just because Luna Kylie shows you a little attention."
She jabbed a finger hard into Seraphine’s chest. "If you keep acting like this, we’re leaving this pack for good, and I mean it."
Something deep inside Seraphine shattered. She was so exhausted from being pushed around, from constantly being compared to Daisy, from feeling like her own heart and feelings were completely worthless.
She lifted her chin with stubborn defiance and stared straight into her mother’s eyes. "V wouldn’t let you do that. Luna Oriana already told me I could join the Grimroot Pack whenever I wanted. If you want to leave so badly, then go ahead and do it by yourself."
The words had barely left her lips before Noelle’s hands shot out and grabbed both of her ears in a vicious, twisting grip.
A raw, agonized cry ripped from Seraphine’s throat as blinding pain shot through her head.
Noelle yanked upward with brutal force, lifting her clear off the ground until her feet dangled helplessly. "You’ve become so stubborn and disrespectful," her mother hissed, her face twisted with pure fury.
"Mom! Stop! You’re hurting me so much!" Seraphine screamed, hot tears pouring down her cheeks as she kicked and struggled in her mother’s iron grip, her heart breaking with every second.
"You should’ve thought about that before going against Daisy," Noelle growled, her fingers digging in even harder. "If she wants both Ravyn and Voren, then you stay the hell out of her way. You don’t deserve anything good in this life, nothing at all."
With a vicious shove, Noelle hurled her to the floor. Seraphine slammed down hard, a sharp burst of pain radiating through her back. She tried frantically to crawl away, but her mother was on her instantly.
Another brutal slap exploded across her face, making the whole world blur through her tears.
"Help!" Seraphine cried out desperately, her voice cracking with terror as she thrashed and fought with every ounce of strength she had left. But no matter how hard she struggled, she was powerless against her mother.
Then Daisy’s voice sliced through the chaos, sickeningly sweet. "Mom, don’t listen to her. Let’s just wipe her memory of Voren. I found someone to do it and good thing Luna Kylie wants her to be Ravyn’s future wife. Her attention should be focused on him. Seraphine, should be madly in love with Ravyn instead of Voren."
Noelle paused, a cruel smile slowly curling her lips. "Why Ravyn? He’ll be the Alpha of this pack someday. Then you can become Luna."
Seraphine froze completely, the pain momentarily drowned out by a crushing wave of shock. "You called my mother yours?" She stared back and forth between Daisy and Noelle, her heart pounding with disbelief and betrayal.
Noelle’s expression turned terrifyingly dark, her eyes filling with something so cold and deadly that pure terror flooded through Seraphine. "Now that you know..." her voice dropped to a chilling whisper, "you have to die."
A savage kick flew straight toward her. Survival instinct exploded inside Seraphine. The Alpha and Luna weren’t home, and neither was her father, the Beta.
She desperately scanned around for anyone, her nanny, a warrior, a servant, literally anyone who could save her, but then the horrifying truth hit her like a punch to the gut: her nanny was Daisy’s mother. That realization twisted like a knife deep in her stomach.
With every last bit of terrified strength she could summon, Seraphine scrambled to her feet and bolted into the woods.
Branches whipped and tore at her arms, roots snagged viciously at her feet, but she kept running, her heart hammering wildly in her chest.
She only planned to return to the pack house after ensuring the Alpha and Luna were there but behind her, Daisy’s voice rang out through the trees. "Mom, if you kill her, there won’t be anyone left to give me blood."
The words must have stopped her mother, because no pounding footsteps chased after her. Noelle didn’t follow.
Seraphine finally collapsed beside a thick tree deep in the forest, slamming her back against the rough bark as she gasped and sobbed for air, her whole body shaking uncontrollably.
Ravyn was away at Cross Academy training and it made sense the Alpha and Beta were all away too. They sometimes went to watch Ravyn’s performance.
Voren had gone to the city with tons of promises made to her. Even though Ravyn hated her, surely he wouldn’t have just stood by and let this happen... would he?
Before she could spiral any deeper into that terrifying thought, something slammed into the back of her head with crushing force. Pain exploded through her skull like lightning, and the whole world spun violently around her.
"There," Daisy’s voice came from behind her, dripping with cruel satisfaction. "Your stupid goldfish are gone, and so are all your stupid memories of Voren and everything you heard from my mother."
Seraphine didn’t hear anything else. Darkness swallowed her completely.
By the time she woke up, Luna Kylie’s warm, worried gaze was the first thing she saw. "Sera, are you alright? What happened?" Sadly, she could not remember a thin, except an excruciating headache.
End of flashback.
