Seraphina’s POV

The shower water scalded my skin, but I refused to adjust the temperature. I remained under the burning stream for what felt like hours, letting it cascade over me in hopes it would wash away the suffocating grief that clung to every part of me.

It was useless.

My wolf ached with a hollow emptiness that seemed to consume everything. She craved our mate’s return, yearned for his arms around us, his presence filling the void that now existed everywhere I looked. By sending him away from our home, I had essentially rejected him, and she absorbed every ounce of his pain while I struggled just to draw breath.

Eventually, I forced myself out and prepared to face the children.

Bath time couldn’t wait any longer. More than anything, I needed the distraction before my spiraling thoughts drove me to madness.

Their bath routine never failed to lift my spirits, even temporarily. The bathroom erupted in chaos - water everywhere, their delighted shrieks echoing off the tiles as they splashed with abandon. Their uninhibited giggles made their tiny stomachs bounce, and their pure happiness had a way of penetrating even the darkest corners of my heart.

But sorrow always managed to find me again.

As I gently cleaned their perfect little forms, images of another child flickered through my mind. A baby who would have shared their coloring, their features. A sibling who would have completed our family. A life that Vivian’s violence had stolen from us all.

I shoved those thoughts aside with desperate force. These two beautiful children splashing before me deserved my full attention and love.

After drying them off, we headed downstairs where I began preparing dinner while they constructed an elaborate fortress from wooden blocks around my feet.

While dicing vegetables, something they said struck me as so amusing that genuine laughter burst from my chest - rich, honest, and completely spontaneous. They immediately dissolved into delighted giggles in response, drawn to the sound of my joy like magnets.

That simple moment - me cooking while they played and laughed - felt like the most precious gift. It represented everything I wanted our life to be: normal, safe, filled with love. I clung to that feeling with everything I had.

We settled at the dinner table and had barely begun eating when Elena raised her serious gaze to mine.

"Mommy," she said with the gravity only children possess. "Where is Daddy?"

My son immediately looked up as well, awaiting my response.

This question haunted every mealtime now. How could I keep fabricating explanations when their father would never return to this house?

I set down my fork and manufactured a gentle smile. "He’s working late at the pack house tonight, sweetheart. There are many important things he needs to handle there. He’ll be home later, I promise."

I held my breath, bracing for the usual barrage of follow-up questions or potential meltdowns, but mercifully they simply nodded and returned to their food. Their innocent trust both comforted and devastated me.

Just as relief began to settle in my chest, the back door creaked open.

Vivian appeared in the doorway.

She looked utterly shattered.

Every line of her face spoke of complete defeat. Her complexion had turned ashen, marked with the evidence of endless tears. Her normally proud posture had crumbled under the weight of losing Quincy, her mate.

I desperately tried to summon compassion for her situation. She had, after all, lost the man she loved more than life itself.

But empathy refused to come.

Standing in my kitchen, all I could see were flashes of her betrayal. The murderous hatred blazing in her eyes as she attacked me. Her foot connecting brutally with my abdomen while I begged for mercy I hadn’t deserved to need. The crimson stain spreading. The tiny soul who never got the chance to draw breath because of her rage.

I silently prayed she would simply retreat to her room without acknowledgment. Despite everything, I couldn’t bring myself to cast her out when she had nowhere else to go after losing everything.

Instead, Vivian approached our table.

"Seraphina," her voice emerged as barely a whisper, hoarse from crying. "I need to apologize to you."

Every muscle in my body went rigid. I noticed the children’s confused glances darting between us, sensing the sudden shift in atmosphere.

I forced my expression to remain pleasant.

"Children," I announced with artificial brightness. "You’ve finished eating. Please head upstairs and begin getting ready for bed. I’ll be up to tuck you in shortly."

They obeyed without protest, pressing sticky kisses to my cheek before doing something unexpected - they each embraced Vivian tenderly. She held them close, her grip almost desperate.

The moment their footsteps faded, my mask dissolved completely. The truth sat in my chest like a block of ice.

I studied Vivian, who remained frozen in place, waiting.

"You lost your mate," I began, my voice deliberately controlled. "That represents unimaginable agony. Quincy was an honorable man. Yes, he killed my biological father years ago, but there was a time when I looked up to him as a father figure. I never would have attempted to harm him."

Vivian winced visibly. "I understand that now. My son explained everything."

"Your trust in me was nonexistent then," I continued, refusing to acknowledge her interruption. "I comprehend why. You never believed I was good enough for your son. You never trusted me with your pack or your family."

I drew a trembling breath, allowing just enough anger to surface to strengthen my resolve.

"But none of that is relevant anymore," I said, my tone turning to steel. "None of your fear or distrust alters the fact that your assault on me that day resulted in the death of my child."

I gestured toward my empty womb.

"Nothing will resurrect my innocent baby. No words you speak can repair that damage."

Vivian began weeping silently, tears carving paths down her weathered face. She extended her hand toward me.

I recoiled. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

"I reject your apology," I declared simply. "Furthermore, I never want to see you again."

She started to speak, but I silenced her.

"I recognize that you’re grieving. You’re mourning your mate’s death. Out of respect for Quincy’ memory, I won’t force you from this house today."

I locked eyes with her, ensuring she absorbed every word.

"But whenever you encounter me, you will avert your gaze. We are not friends. We will never be family again. We are merely two people sharing temporary shelter. Stay out of my sight, and we’ll coexist peacefully."