Chapter 2

Lying on the cold stone bed, I caressed my belly, my gaze empty.

After three years with Kaelen, this child, so hard-won, had come at the worst possible time.

The Moon Goddess's blessing still resonated within me, and I hadn't even had the chance to share the joyous news with Kaelen.

Perhaps it was for the best. If he didn't know, I could leave in peace.

Tears slipped from the corners of my eyes, vanishing into my hair.

I lay awake all night; Kaelen never came home.

The next day, I went to the herbalist's cottage.

"Your bloodline is unique; conception is already difficult for you. If you go through with an abortion, you might never be able to bear your own children again."

The herbalist's words drained the color from my face, and my fingers clenched involuntarily.

I looked down at my flat stomach, my heart aching with conflict.

In the end, I couldn't bring myself to drink the potion.

The child was innocent.

I returned, utterly devastated, and nearly collided with Kaelen as he was heading out.

He looked at me, his lips parted as if to speak, but then he hesitated.

I paid no mind to the strange look in his eyes and walked past him.

But Kaelen turned and caught my arm.

"Ella, Seraphina's injuries need my energy to soothe, so she'll be staying in our den for a few days. She was hurt because of you, and I can't..."

Seeing him about to offer another excuse, I cut him off, my voice heavy with exhaustion.

"Fine. Let her stay."

Whether I agreed or not, he would let her stay anyway.My attitude made Kaelen pause.

"Ella, why you are..."

He wanted to ask why I was so calm, why I wasn’t jealous over him.

I couldn't be bothered to engage.

I entered the house and paused when I saw Seraphina sitting in the living room.

So, she had already moved in.

I gave a self-deprecating laugh, but my eyes couldn't help but sting with unshed tears.

During the evening gathering for dinner, Kaelen insisted on pulling me over, as if to prove his and Seraphina's innocence.

He made me sit beside him near the head of the table, my face expressionless.

One was the partner who had betrayed me; the other, the woman he had betrayed me with.

I didn’t know what expression I was supposed to wear.

Halfway through the meal, Kaelen left the table.

Seraphina looked at me, a flicker of provocation in her eyes.

"Ella," she began, "after witnessing us intertwined with your own eyes yesterday, you must hate me terribly, mustn't you?"

Truthfully, I didn’t hate her.

She was merely an outsider; the one who had truly wounded me was the partner supposedly connected to my very soul.

I ignored her and lowered my head, focusing on my food.

Just then, Seraphina gave a sudden, faint smile. Immediately after, she began to foam at the mouth, her breathing growing rapid.

"Seraphina!"

The wine glass in Kaelen's hand shattered on the floor as he dropped it, and he rushed over to cradle her.

"I… I think I've been poisoned," she gasped, "this meat… it has wolfsbane in it…"The werewolf chef dropped to his knees with a thud. "I didn't know Miss Seraphina was so sensitive to wolfsbane! It... it was Luna who said she wanted barbecue with special spices..."

I instantly looked up, my face a mask of disbelief.

"When did I..."

Seraphina looked at me, tears streaming down her fragile face.

"Ella, I know you hate me, but I really didn't do it on purpose..."

"I'm sorry, maybe I just deserve to die..."

Seraphina wept, looking utterly pitiful.

Kaelen's gaze was icy as he looked at me, his eyes filled with disappointment.

"Ella, how could you be so malicious?"

All my explanations caught in my throat. I stared blankly at Kaelen.

The man who just yesterday had sworn he loved only me now wouldn't even listen to a single word of explanation.

I couldn't help but give a bitter smile, a sharp pain clenching my heart again.

Kaelen swept Seraphina into his arms and rushed off to find the healer.

As for me, I pulled out the first-aid kit and tended to the gash on my leg.

The man who once fretted over me if I so much as scraped my knee was, in the end, gone...

I wiped away my tears and picked up the communication crystal, the one that could contact the outside world.

"Help me draft a declaration to sever the mate bond."