129 Chapter 129


    Seraphina’s POV 1


    The silence stretched on for what felt like hours, though it couldn’t have been more than a few seconds. Every face in our immediate vicinity was turned toward me, and I could practically feel their judgment crawling across my skin like insects.


    “I need some air,” I said quietly, my voice sounding strange and distant even to my own ears.


    Damien’s grip on my waist tightened. “Sera-”


    “Please.” I looked up at him, and whatever he saw in my expression made him release me immediately. “I just


    need a minute. Don’t follow me.”


    I walked away before he could protest, pushing through the crowd of elegantly dressed guests who watched


    me go with poorly concealed curiosity. Each step taking me further from the warm glow of the ballroom and deeper into my own humiliation.


    The French doors leading to the terrace were mercifully unlocked. I stepped outside into the cool night air,


    grateful for the rtive quiet and the absence of staring eyes. The terrace overlooked the gardens, where


    fairy lights twinkled among perfectly manicured hedges and fountain bubbled softly in the distance.


    I gripped the stone balustrade and tried to breathe.


    *Your nanny.* The words echoed in my head like a broken record. *I always thought she was your nanny.*


    God. How many other people thought the same thing? How many conversations had happened behind my


    back, people wondering why the powerful Alpha Damien Nightshadow kept some random human woman


    around his house?


    The worst part was that Emma’s mistake wasn’t exactly unreasonable,


    I was just… ordinary. Human. Forgettable.


    A soft breeze rustled the leaves in the garden below, carrying with it the distant sound ofughter and music from the party inside. Riley’s engagement party. The celebration I’d promised to attend, the night that was


    supposed to help me feel normal again.


    11:48


    175


    Instead, I felt more isted than ever.


    I closed my eyes and tried to center myself the way I used to when A was part of me. But there was no


    warm presence in the back of my mind anymore, no fierce wolf spirit to lend me strength. Just empty silence where my other half used to be.


    “Pull yourself together,” I whispered to the night air. “You’re being ridiculous.”


    But the words felt hollow. Because deep down, I knew Emma was right to be confused. What was I doing here, ying dress-up in fancy clothes and pretending I belonged in this world? I wasn’t a Luna anymore. I


    wasn’t even a wolf.


    The French doors opened again, and this time I heard multiple sets of footsteps. Guests were starting to spill out onto the terrace, probably looking for quieter spaces to continue their conversations.


    I should go back inside. Find Damien. Make polite excuses and leave before I embarrassed myself further.


    That’s when it happened.


    A young server appeared from nowhere, carrying a tray loaded with champagne flutes. He was moving quickly, probably trying to refill sses for the guests who’d wandered outside. But something went wrong- maybe he caught his foot on the edge of a decorative nter, maybe he just misjudged the distance between


    tables.


    Whatever the cause, he stumbled forward with a startled yelp, the tray tilting dangerously as he fought to


    regain his bnce.


    Time seemed to slow down as I watched twelve crystal sses slide toward the edge of the silver tray. If I’d


    still been a wolf, my enhanced reflexes would have kicked in automatically. I would have moved faster than


    humanly possible, either catching the server or diving out of the way with supernatural grace.


    Instead, I stood there like a statue, my purely human reaction time far too slow to save me from what was


    The tray hit the stone terrace with a crash that seemed to echo across the entire garden. Crystal shattered,


    champagne exploded in every direction, and I went down hard, my expensive heels sliding out from under


    me on the suddenly slick stone.


    I hit the ground with a thud that knocked the air from my lungs, champagne soaking through my carefully


    11.48


    215


    chosen dress and pooling around me in a puddle of humiliation. Broken ss glittered in my hair, and the sticky liquid burned my eyes.


    “Oh God!” the server gasped, dropping to his knees beside me. “Ma’am, I’m so sorry! Are you hurt? I’m so, so


    sorry!”


    But his voice was drowned out by the sound of footsteps as every guest on the terrace rushed toward themotion. I could hear exmations of surprise, concerned murmurs, the rustle of expensive fabric as


    people gathered around to gawk at the spectacle I’d be.


    I tried to push myself up, but my hands slipped on the wet stone and I went down again, this time with even less dignity. Champagne dripped from my hair, my dress waspletely ruined, and I was pretty sure I had ss embedded in my palms.


    “Someone help her up!” a voice called out.


    “Is she bleeding?”


    “What happened?”


    I finally managed to get to my hands and knees, though the position made me feel even more pathetic.


    Champagne continued to drip from my clothes, forming a growing puddle beneath me.


    That’s when Emma stepped forward, her voice carrying clearly across the suddenly silent terrace.


    “Excuse me!” she called out to the server, her tone sharp with outrage. “How dare you show such disrespect


    to the Alpha’s mate!”


    My head snapped up in horror. No. She wouldn’t. She couldn’t—


    “I don’t care how clumsy you are,” Emma continued, her voice growing louder with each word. “You cannot


    treat Damien’s partner this way, even though she’s only human now!”


    The words hit the crowd like a bomb.


    Only human now.


    The whispers started immediately, a susurrus of shocked voices that seemed toe from every direction at


    once.


    11:48


    375


    “Human?”


    “Did she say human?”


    “But how can an Alpha mate with a human?”


    “That’s not possible.”


    “Unless she wasn’t always human…”


    I closed my eyes, wishing the stone terrace would open up and swallow me whole. But Emma wasn’t finished.


    “Everyone step back,” shemanded, moving toward me with exaggerated concern. “Give her some space. She’s probably hurt, and without her wolf healing…” She let the sentence hang in the air like a loaded weapon.


    Without her wolf healing.


    The confirmation hit the crowd like a second wave of shock. I could hear the whispers growing louder, more


    incredulous.


    “She lost her wolf?”


    “How is that even possible?”


    “What kind of mate loses their wolf?”


    “Their children…” someone said, their voice dropping to a horrified whisper. “Their children must be filthy


    half-breeds.”


    The blood drained from my face so fast I thought I might pass out right there on the champagne-soaked


    terrace.


    “That’s disgusting,” another voice chimed in. “Mixing pure Alpha blood with human gics. What was he


    thinking?”


    “The bloodline will be tainted forever.”


    Each word was like a dagger through my chest. I tried to stand, desperate to escape, but my legs wouldn’t


    support me. The champagne had made the stone surface treacherous, and without supernatural bnce or


    strength, I was helpless.


    11:48


    Emma crouched down beside me, her face a mask of perfectly performed concern that didn’t quite reach her


    eyes.


    “Let me help you,” she said sweetly, though her voice was loud enough for everyone to hear. “I know this must be so difficult for you. Being human in a world of wolves… raising mixed-blood children without the strength to protect them properly…”