26 Chapter 26
Seraphina’s POV 1
The next morning, I arrived at Nightshadow Industries with dark circles under my eyes and a heavy heart that felt like it had been carved out of lead. I’d spent the entire night staring at my bedroom ceiling, reying every moment from the lobby encounter, every word Anna
had spoken, every second of Damien’s devastating silence.
As I settled into my desk, I could hear Anna’s shrillughter echoing from the break room, already holding court with whoever was
unfortunate enough to be within earshot.
“Oh, it’s such a romantic story!” her voice carried across the marble floors like fingernails on a chalkboard. “Five years we’ve been apart,
but true love always finds a way, doesn’t it?”
I forced myself to focus on myputer screen, pulling up Damien’s schedule for the day and trying to ignore the way my
tightened every time I heard Anna’s voice. Professionalposure, I reminded myself. That was all I had left.
chest
At exactly nine o’clock, Anna sauntered over to my desk wearing a blood-red dress that was so tight it looked like it had been painted on. Her tinum blonde hair was styled in perfect waves, and her makeup was applied with the precision of someone preparing for a photo
shoot rather than a day at the office.
“Good morning, bestie!” she chirped, plopping herself onto the corner of my desk with enough force to scatter my carefully organized
paperwork. “Isn’t this just like old times? Working together again!”
I gathered the scattered papers with steady hands, not trusting myself to look directly at her. “Good morning, Anna. If you don’t mind, I
have quite a bit of work to catch up on.”
“Oh, work!” Anna waved her hand dismissively, her perfectly manicured nails catching the morning light. “Don’t worry about that silly little stuff. I’ll handle all the important tasks. You just focus on… I don’t know, filing or something. The boring omega work.”
Before I could respond, the elevator chimed, and Damien stepped onto the floor. He looked devastatingly handsome in his charcoal gray suit, his dark hair perfectly styled and his blue eyes scanning the office with that familiar intensity. When his gazended on me,
something flickered across his expressio.
Anna immediately sprang into action, practicallyunching herself from my desk to intercept him before he could reach his office.
“Damien, darling!” she cooed, pressing herself against his side with the subtlety of a freight train. “I was just organizing our work division with Sera. I thought I could handle all your personal scheduling and important meetings, while she takes care of the more… basic
administrative tasks.”
I watched Damien’s jaw tighten almost imperceptibly. “Miss ckwood, I believe ire exined the office hierarchy yesterday.
Seraphina is my senior assistant. She handles my scheduling.”
Anna’s smile never wavered, but I caught the sh of irritation in her eyes. “Of course, of course! I just thought, given our special
rtionship, that you might prefer-”
“There are no special rtionships in my office,” Damien cut her off, his voice carrying that particr edge that made smart employees
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step back. “There is work, and there ispetence. Nothing else matters.”
With that deration, he strode into his office and closed the door with a decisive click.
Anna’s perfect mask slipped for just a moment, revealing something ugly and calcting beneath the surface. But the moment passed quickly, reced by that same sharine smile.
“Well,” she said, turning back to me with false brightness, “I suppose we’ll just have to work extra hard to prove our value, won’t we?”
The morning progressed with Anna performing what could only be described as an borate theater production. Whenever Damien’s door was open, she became the picture of professional efficiency-answering phones with crisp politeness, organizing files with impressive speed, even bringing him coffee with the kind of deferential respect that would have impressed ire herself.
The moment his door closed, however, Anna transformed into something entirely different.
“Sera, darling,” she purred, sliding a stack of her own filing onto my desk. “Would you mind taking care of these for me? I’m far too busy
with the important work to handle such menial tasks.”
When I opened my mouth to protest, she leaned closer, her voice dropping to a whisper that carried just enough venom to make my skin
crawl. “Remember your ce, omega. Some of us are destined for greatness, and some of us are destined to serve. I think we both know
which category you fall into.”
By lunch, my desk had be a dumping ground for every task Anna didn’t want to handle herself. She’d managed to saddle me with
her correspondence, her filing, even her personal coffee runs, all while maintaining that same innocent smile whenever Damien was
within sight.
I was just finishing thest of Anna’s neglected reports when Damien’s phone rang with the sharp, urgent tone reserved for pack
emergencies.
“What?” His voice carried through the soundproof office, sharp with concern. “How bad? … When did this start? … I’ll be there within the
hour.”
He hung up and immediately began gathering files from his desk, his movements efficient and focused. This was pack business—the kind
of territorial crisis that required an Alpha’s immediate personal attention.
I was already reaching for my phone to call the corporate jet pilot when Anna shouldered past me, nearly knocking me off my chair.
“I’ll handle this,” she announced, grabbing the phone from my hand. “Travel arrangements are definitely senior assistant work.”
“Anna, I’ve been managing his travel for weeks. I know his preferences-” 1
She interrupted with a smug smile. “Trust me, darling, I can handle anything my man needs.”
“Actually,” Anna said brightly, “I should probablye with you! As your future Luna, I should be involved in pack business.”
Damien’s expression went cold as arctic wind. “This is a territorial dispute involving potential violence and bloodshed,” he said, his voice
carrying enough Alpha authority to make the windows rattle. “You will remain here. Both of you.”
Anna’s face fell, her perfect mask slipping to reveal something petnt and ugly. “But Damien—”
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“The decision is final.” He gathered his files and strode past both of us without another word.
The moment the elevator doors closed behind him, Anna’s entire demeanor shifted. The sweet, simpering mask fell awaypletely,
reced by something that made my wolf whimper in my mind.
Before I could react, Anna’s hand shot out and grabbed a fistful of my hair, jerking my head back with enough force to make my scalp
burn. Her perfectly manicured nails bit into my skin as she leaned close, her breath hot against my car.
“Listen carefully, you pathetic little omega,” she hissed, her voice dripping with the same venom I remembered from our school days. “I
know exactly what you’re trying to do here. You think you can waltz in and steal what’s mine? You think batting your eyshes and
ying the innocent victim will make him forget about his true mate?”
She yanked harder, making tears spring to my eyes. “I am Damien’s first love. I am the mother of his future children. I am going to be the
Luna of this pack, and you… you’re nothing but a temporary inconvenience.
*Fight back!* A snarled in my mind, her mental voice sharp with protective fury. *Don’t let her do this to us again!*
But the years of conditioning, the ingrained omega responses to aggression, kept me frozen in ce. Anna seemed to sense my internal
struggle and smiled with cruel satisfaction.
“That’s better. Now, while Damien is away handling real pack business, you’re going to remember your ce.” She released my hair with a
sharp shove that nearly sent me tumbling off my chair. “Coffee. ck, two sugars. And I want it in the good china, not that cheap stuff
they serve the regr employees.”
She sauntered away, her hips swaying with exaggerated confidence, before turning back with an afterthought.
“Oh, and Sera? Consider this practice for when I’m Luna. You’ll need to get veryfortable with serving your betters.”
I sat there for several minutes after she disappeared into the break room, my hands shaking with suppressed rage and my scalp still
burning from her grip. The familiar taste of humiliation filled my mouth, transporting me back to those horrible years when Anna and
Valerie had made my life a living hell. 1
*She can’t keep doing this to us,* A whispered, her mental voice thick with pain. *We’re not that helpless girl anymore. We’re stronger
now.*
I was just beginning to believe that maybe A was right, maybe I should march into that break room and give Anna a piece of my mind,
when my phone rang.
The disy showed a number I hadn’t seen in over five years, but I recognized it immediately. My hands went cold as I stared at the
screen, my heart hammering against my ribs.
Elizabeth Knight. My adoptive mother.
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