Chapter 2

(Seraphina''s POV)

I shouldn''t have been watching the warrior training. But I needed five minutes. Five minutes where I wasn''t cooking or cleaning or being reminded how worthless I am.

The training ground is behind the pack house. I hid behind the equipment shed. Grover was sparring with Roland. He moved like water. Fast. Powerful. Beautiful.

I''m so stupid.

"Look what we have here."

I spun around. Daphne. Grover''s girlfriend. Future Luna. Perfect blonde hair. Perfect everything. She had three of her friends with her. All smiling like wolves who found a wounded rabbit.

"Spying on my man, freak?"

My stomach dropped. "I wasn''t—"

"Shut up." Daphne stepped closer. She was wearing heels. Always wearing heels to make herself taller. "You think I don''t see how you look at him? You''re obsessed."

"I''m not."

"Liar." She grabbed my hair. Yanked hard. "You killed his brother. Now you want him too? Disgusting."

Her friends circled me. Trapped. I should run. But my legs wouldn''t move.

"You know what I think?" Daphne''s voice was sweet poison. "I think you need to remember your place."

She pushed me down. Hard. I hit the ground with my hands out. Gravel cut my palms.

Then her heel was on my neck. Pressing down. Sharp. Heavy.

"Say it," she hissed. "Say you''re nothing."

I couldn''t breathe. The heel dug deeper. She was going to kill me. Right here. And no one would care.

"Say it!"

Something inside me snapped. Not fear. Rage. Pure, burning rage.

I grabbed her ankle. Twisted. She screamed and fell. I was on her before she could get up. Hitting. Scratching. All the anger I''d swallowed for years exploding out.

"Get off me! GET OFF ME!"

I didn''t stop. Couldn''t stop. Four years of pain pouring out of my fists.

Strong hands grabbed me. Lifted me off her. I fought against them until I saw who it was.

Grover.

His eyes were furious. Not at Daphne. At me. Always at me.

Daphne was crying. Blood on her perfect face. Her perfect dress torn. "She attacked me! She''s crazy! Just like when she killed Yves!"

"I know." Grover''s voice was cold. His hands were around my neck now. Squeezing. "You never learn, do you?"

I couldn''t speak. Couldn''t breathe. He was going to kill me. Maybe that was better.

"Daphne is going to be Luna," he said. His face was inches from mine. "My Luna. Do you understand?"

I tried to nod. His grip loosened slightly.

Then he said the words that destroyed me.

"I, Grover Kane, reject you, Seraphina Valentine, as my mate and Luna."

The world stopped. Everything stopped.

He knew. He''d always known. I was his mate and he''d spent four years torturing me anyway.

The mate bond hit me like lightning. Then shattered like glass. Pain. Overwhelming pain. Worse than anything Gwen had ever done to me. Worse than losing my family. Worse than dying.

I fell to my knees. Gasping. Choking. The rejection burned through my blood like acid.

"Take her to the cells," Grover ordered. "Ten lashes a day until she accepts the rejection."

They dragged me away. I couldn''t fight. Could barely think. The pain was everything.

The cells were underground. Dark. Cold. They chained my wrists to the wall. Left me there.

I cried for hours. Days maybe. Time meant nothing. The pain meant everything.

Ozymandias was dying in my head. Whimpering. Broken.

They came every morning. Ten lashes. My back was raw meat. But the physical pain was nothing compared to the rejection. That burned constant. Never stopping.

On the third day, I couldn''t take anymore.

"I accept," I whispered to the dark. "I, Seraphina Valentine, accept your rejection."

The bond snapped completely. Like cutting a rope holding my soul to my body.

I screamed until my voice was gone. Then I just lay there. Empty. Broken.

My mate had rejected me. The one person who was supposed to love me unconditionally. He''d known what I was and chosen to hurt me anyway.

Ozymandias went silent. Maybe she was dead. Maybe we both were.

I closed my eyes and wished I could disappear forever.