Seraphina’s POV

The breath vanished from my chest in an instant. Alpha Quincy, my father-in-law, waited like a sentinel on the stone steps of the imposing mansion.

"So you decided to return after all." His words sliced through the evening air with surgical precision. There was no question in his tone, only cold judgment wrapped in disappointment. "After creating such chaos. After bringing disgrace upon our pack."

The shame hit me first, a scorching wave that made me feel no bigger than a scolded child. But beneath that shame, ice-cold fury began to crystallize. I had brought no disgrace to anyone. All I had done was search for a moment of peace in a world that seemed determined to crush me.

Yet here I stood, captured once again.

Julian moved closer, his palm settling against the small of my back. The touch held no comfort, no reassurance. Instead, it felt like a brand, a declaration of ownership that made my skin crawl. I wanted to twist away from his grip, but exhaustion had seeped into my very bones.

"Father," Julian said, his voice carefully controlled despite the coiled tension I could sense radiating from his frame. "We should continue this conversation inside."

Alpha Quincy’s piercing gaze never wavered from my face. "There is nothing to discuss, son. Your Luna abandoned her post. She fled from her responsibilities, from her home. What message does such behavior send to our people?"

His words struck like physical blows. He had never spoken to me with such venom before, and the shock of it left me reeling.

"I did not abandon anything," I managed, my voice trembling but growing stronger with each word. I forced my spine straight, reaching for whatever dignity remained to me. "I left because I was miserable. Because I deserved something better than being treated like an unwanted burden."

The sound he made was harsh and mocking. His arm swept toward the magnificent structure behind him, all marble columns and gleaming windows. "A burden? You are the Luna of this pack! You possess everything any woman could dream of! A powerful mate, a magnificent home, influence!"

Material comfort means nothing when your soul is withering away. I had experienced more genuine joy during those few precious days with my father than I had felt in five long years within these walls.

"What I have is a prison!" The words erupted from me, my voice cracking with the force of my emotion. My eyes burned with unshed tears, but I refused to let them fall before him. "A beautiful prison, perhaps, but a prison nonetheless. And influence? What influence do you mean? The influence to be dismissed? The influence to be told constantly that I do not belong here?"

They could all pretend ignorance about how the pack members treated me, but everyone knew the truth. Everyone understood how deeply I was despised, and not a single person had ever lifted a finger to change that reality.

Julian’s fingers dug deeper into my back.

"Enough," he said softly, but the word carried the weight of a threat.

"No, it is not enough!" I wrenched myself away from his touch, finally reclaiming some fragment of my own agency. "You are always the one deciding when enough is enough, Julian. But I am done with it. Done with being commanded what to do, what to think, what to say. Done with being despised for circumstances I never chose!"

Alpha Quincy’s complexion darkened to deep crimson. "Despised? Julian, is this the poison you have been feeding her?"

His attention shifted to his son, anger redirecting its target. I knew he was disappointed in me, but he was also among the few who had ever shown me any care at all. His love was tough and demanding, but it was real.

Julian’s jaw turned to stone. He looked between his father and me, his expression unreadable, storm clouds gathering in those dark eyes. For one breathless moment, I thought he might finally speak up, might defend me or offer some explanation.

But he remained silent, his broad shoulders rigid with tension.

"I need to see my father," I said, addressing neither of them directly. My voice had grown quieter now, filled with a different kind of fear. "Where is he? Tell me he is safe."

Alpha Quincy appeared genuinely surprised and confused. Clearly, he knew nothing about this.

"Your father is unharmed," Julian said, attempting to guide me forward, but I planted my feet firmly.

"I want to see him," I declared, not requesting but demanding. "Right now."

Julian finally broke his silence. "You will see him. But first, you will come inside. We have business to settle."

I felt the final spark of resistance drain from my body. My shoulders collapsed inward. I had faced down their anger, their disappointment, and still nothing had changed. I was right back where I had started, trapped in my gilded cage.

As I moved toward the grand entrance with Julian’s heavy hand gripping my arm, I felt the weight of countless stares. Fang members watched from shadows and doorways, judging, just as Alpha Quincy had predicted. I could almost hear their whispered conversations, painting me as the weak Luna who had tried to flee and failed.

My chest felt hollow with defeat. I had dreamed of freedom, of a life where I was more than just Julian’s mate, more than the Luna, more than the despised outsider. But those dreams now tasted like bitter ash.

I was being dragged back not by love or understanding, but by threats and raw power.

Of course, my humiliation would not be complete without encountering Roxanne first.

She seemed unaware of my return until this very moment, shock and something that looked like pain flickering across her features.

I took no joy in others’ suffering, but when it came to her, I sometimes wished she could experience even a fraction of the agony she had always inflicted upon me.

Something electric seemed to pulse between Roxanne and Julian. He was glaring at her with deadly intensity, while she appeared on the verge of tears.

I could not understand why he had been so determined to bring me back when he was clearly causing pain to the woman he truly loved.

"You brought her back," she said, her gaze moving between Julian and me, and suddenly I realized this confrontation had nothing to do with me and everything to do with their relationship. I started to walk away, but her next words stopped me cold.

"You still brought her back after last night." The words hit me like a physical blow, stealing my breath and sending my heart plummeting into some dark abyss.