Chapter 9
Apr 30, 2025
Lyra (Seraphina)
Gasps still echoed through the ceremonial hall like waves crashing against stone. Whispers buzzed on all sides, wolves turning their heads, nobles leaning in to confirm what they’d just heard.
Me. Lyra Thorne, the rogue servant, was Seraphina Drayne, daughter of the Alpha King.
Lucien took a full step back, as if I’d slapped him.
His jaw clenched, and something dark flickered behind his eyes. Hurt? Rage? Betrayal?
“You lied to me,” he said, his voice sharp and cutting. “This whole time.”
I took a shaky breath, trying to hold my ground. My hands trembled, but I kept them at my sides.
“I didn’t lie,” I said quietly, “I just… survived.”
“Survived?” he scoffed. “While scrubbing floors and sneaking around our estate? What were you doing in Hawthorne, then? Spying on my pack?”
“No!” My voice cracked through the hall, loud enough to silence the whispers. “I wasn’t spying.”
Lucien’s eyes narrowed. “I don’t believe you.”
The tension between us was thick, choking. The entire hall seemed to hold its breath.
“Enough,” Alpha Magnus said, stepping forward. His voice was firm, but calm. “This will be handled after the wedding.”
Lucien snapped. “I’m not marrying some servant-turned-princess.”
The words hit like a slap to the face.
My eyes stung, but I refused to let a single tear fall. Not here. Not in front of them.
I straightened my back and stepped toward him, the silver of my dress gleaming in the light.
“And I don’t want to marry a cold-hearted brute who punishes people for breathing wrong.”
Lucien’s eyes flared.
His scoff was loud, mocking. “What even is your real name?”
Before I could answer, my father stepped forward, his presence like thunder rolling through the room.
“Her name,” he said, voice booming, “is Seraphina Drayne. And you will treat her like royalty.”
Lucien’s jaw tightened. His fists curled at his sides.
“Royalty?” he spat. “Royalty, who lied to me? Who lived under my roof, cleaned my room, and never once told the truth? She let everyone walk over her. She let me—”
He stopped.
Too late.
Because I heard the words he didn’t finish.
She let me treat her like trash.
I looked at him then—not as the angry boy who once made me go to bed without dinner, but as the man who now had to face the truth of what he’d done.
And I saw guilt. Even if it was buried under pride. My father stepped between us, his eyes burning.
“If your son won’t respect her,” he said to Alpha Magnus, “I’ll find another mate worthy of my daughter.”
