Chapter 2
Seraphina’s POV 1
Ophelia draggedback to her small apartment above the bakery, her eyes blazing with determination. “We're
not letting those bastards win,” she declared, pulling out makeup and rifling through her closet.
She spun around, holding up an emerald green dress that perfectly matched my eyes. “Tonight, we show them
what they lost.”
The dress was beautiful-silky and elegant, with a flowing skirt that hugged my curves in all the right places.
As Ophelia worked on my makeup, carefully applying smoky eyeshadow that made my green eyes pop, | felt
something shifting inside
“There,” Ophelia stepped back, admiring her handiwork. “Now you look like the goddess you are.”
| barely recognized myself in the mirror. The woman staring back atlooked confident, mysterious, beautiful.
Nothing like the broken
omega who'd fled Gabriel's house just hours ago.
“Con,” Ophelia grabbed my hand. “Silver Moon Harbor awaits.”
“I can’t believe we're actually doing this,” I whispered as we approached the grand entrance.
“Believe it, honey,” Ophelia grinned, straightening her own dress and passeda mask. “Tonight, we're not
wolves from nowhere.
Tonight, we're mysterious beauties who belong wherever we damn well please.”
The ballroom took my breath
Way. Crystal chandeliers cast rainbow patterns across marble floors, and hundreds of werewolves in elegant
attire mingled beneath soaring ceilings. Everyone wore elaborate masks, adding an air of mystery to the already
intoxicating
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt
atmosphere.
“Holy shit,” | breathed, then immediately covered my mouth.
She pressed two tequila shots into my hands, raising her own. “To new beginnings and leaving the past in the
dust!”
The alcohol burned down my throat, but it was a good burn-cleansing, like it was washing away the bitter taste
of betrayal. Ophelia
immediately ordered two more.
“I don’t usually drink this much,” | protested weakly.
“You don’t usually find your boyfriend screwing your sister either,” she pointed out. “Extraordinary
circumstances call for extraordinary
measures.”
By the third round, | was feeling deliciously dizzy and incredibly free. The pain was still there, but muffled now,
wrapped in cotton and
shoved into a corner of my mind.
“Dance with me,” Ophelia pulledtoward the crowded dance floor, and for the first tin hours, | smiled
genuinely.
We lost ourselves in the music, spinning and laughing like we didn’t have a care in the world. Other wolves
watched us with interest, but
| was too caught up in the moment to care. This was what freedom felt like.
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When a slow song began to play, | was about to suggest we get sair when | felt a warm hand capture mine.
| turned, and my breath caught in my throat.
The man standing beforewore an elegant silver mask that covered the upper half of his face, but what |
could see was devastating. Strong jaw, sensual lips curved in a slight smile, and eyes... God, those eyes. They
were the deepest blue I'd ever seen, so dark they were almost black, but when the light hit them just right, they
seemed to shimmer with silver.
“The most beautiful woman in the room wouldn't refuse a dance, would she?” His voice was like aged whiskey-
smooth, rich, with just
enough roughness to make my pulse skip.
| should have said no. Should have remembered that | was hurting, that I'd just had my heart shattered. Instead,
| found myself placing my hand in his and letting him leadonto the dance floor.
“Why not?” | heard myself say. “Let's dance.”
He was tall-at least six and a half feet-with broad shoulders that filled out his expensive suit perfectly. When he
pulledclose, | could feel the solid warmth of his chest, the careful strength in his hands as one settled on my
waist and the other cradled my palm.
“I've been watching you since you walked in,” he murmured near my ear, his breath sending shivers down my
spine. “You're absolutely
captivating.”
The compliment should have felt empty-we were strangers, after all-but something in his voice made it feel
genuine.
“You're not from around here, are you?” | found myself asking, tilting my head back to look into those
mesmerizing eyes.
“What gaveaway?” There was amusement in his voice, and | could see his lips curve into a more genuine
smile.
“You don't feel... local.” It was hard to explain, but his scent was different from the wolves I'd grown up with.
Richer, more complex.
“Very perceptive.” His hand on my waist tightened slightly, drawingcloser until there was barely an inch of
space between us. “I'm
here for friends. | would have arrived sooner.”
“And what about you?” he continued, spinningslowly before pullingback against his chest. “Let me
guess-dragged here by a
well-meaning friend as well?”
| laughed despite myself. “Something like that. Though her methods are a bit more aggressive than most.”
We moved together like we'd been dancing for years instead of minutes, our bodies finding a rhythm that felt as
natural as breathing.
“You have beautiful eyes,” he said suddenly, his voice dropping to barely above a whisper. “Like emeralds in
moonlight.”
“I could say the same,” | replied, mesmerized by the way his eyes seemed to catch and hold the light. “I've
never seen eyes quite like
yours.”
The song was ending, but neither of us made any move to separate. If anything, he heldcloser, his hand
sliding from my waist to the
small of my back.
“I think | need sfresh air.”
“Cwith me.” He ledtoward a dim corridor that led to the emergency exit.
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“I really want to kiss you. May 1?” | nodded.