Casper
Serene is so delicate.
After Lilith left the pack house, she collapsed from exhaustion.
The stress of trying to hold her family together has become too much for her to handle, and her body has given out.
Now, I am sitting by her hospital bed, watching her sleep.
I wish the Moon Goddess had paired me with her instead of Lilith.
She is a much better match for me and for Luna of the Moonclaw Pack.
“Cyrus,” she moans in her sleep.
The sound of that name on her lips feels wrong, and I hate it.
It should be my name that she is calling out, not his.
Not after everything we have been through together.
I am the one who has protected her all of these years.
I am the one who has picked up the broken pieces.
She whimpers for him again, and my heart wrenches painfully.
I push the feelings of jealousy aside.
This isn’t about me.
This is about Serene and how Lilith has continued to hurt her, over and over again.
The monitors beep slowly, and I reach for Serene’s hand, needing to feel the warmth of her skin to know that she is okay.
I squeeze her hand gently, and her eyes flutter open.
“Casper?”
”I am here,” I whisper.
“I will always be here.”
Serene throws her arm over her face and lets out a dramatic sigh.
Tears drip down her cheeks, and my heart clenches again.
“Don’t cry,” I beg her.
“There is nothing for you to cry over.”
”You must think I am so foolish,” she whimpers.
“I passed out for no reason at all.”
”I don’t think that at all,” I assure her.
“You are trying to carry too much on your shoulders.
This is a burden that you never should have had to carry, but now Lilith is gone.
You don’t have to worry about her anymore.”
”No,” she whimpers again.
“Alpha Victor really let her leave?
This is her home.”
“She is gone.”
A stray tear drips from her eye, and she wipes it away.
“I don’t blame Lilith,” she tells me.
“Not really.”
I have to suppress the growl in my chest.
“How can you not blame her?
She has ruined everything.”
Serene squeezes my hand.
“Lilith is troubled.
She changed when her mother died; surely you have seen it too.
She only reacts the way she does because she is so afraid of losing everything, but she has already lost it all.
To be honest, I pity her.”
”You won’t pity her after you hear what she has done,” I grumble selfishly.
Serene’s eyes widen.
“What has she done?”
”No,” I mutter.
“I can’t tell you.
It isn’t my place and certainly not when you are in such a delicate state.”
”Please,” she begs, pushing her bottom lip out into a pout.
“I need to know what she has done.”
”She burned the house,” I whisper.
Serene covers her mouth with her hand.
“I don’t believe it.
Lilith would never do something like that.”
”She did,” I reply, unable to keep the growl from my voice.
“Her scent was all over the place.”
Squeezing her eyes shut, Serene takes a deep breath.
“I don’t believe it.
Lilith is good.
Deep down, I know she is good.”
Lifting her hand to my lips, I place a gentle kiss on her knuckles.
“You are too pure for this world.
How can you care for someone so much who has done terrible things to you?”
”I choose to see the good in everyone,” she smiles, and her whole face brightens.
“Just like you.
I see the good in you.”
”Gods, you are perfect.” The words fly from my lips before I can stop them.
Serene smiles sheepishly, and blush travels across her nose.
It is a pity that Lilith didn’t see what she had right in front of her.
I would never make that mistake if you were my mate.”
My frustration with my mate builds in my chest, and I worry that if I stay here much longer, I will take my anger out on Serene, and that is not what she needs while she is healing.
Slowly, I get to my feet and brush her golden locks from her forehead.
“You need rest,” I tell her before kissing her forehead.
“I will be back later in the day.”
Serene smiles weakly.
“I look forward to it.”
I slip from the hospital room and close the door quietly behind me.
I glance through the window one more time before I leave and see Serene drifting back off to sleep with a smile on her lips.
As I look in on the woman who should have been my mate, I decided that I won’t let Lilith get away with making Serene feel this way another moment.
I storm from the hospital and make my way to my car.
I slide into the driver’s seat and let out the growl that I have been holding back.
I pull out my phone and dial Lilith’s number.
It rings repeatedly, and she doesn’t pick up.
I growl again before pressing send again.
This time, it only rings two times before someone answers.
“What?” A male voice grumbles through the speaker.
Jealousy flares in my chest.
“Who the fuck are you and why are you with my mate?”
The man gives no answer, but laughs.
Then, the call goes dead.
I dial her number again, but it doesn’t go through.
Another growl rips through my chest, and I toss my phone into the seat beside me.
“What the fuck was that?”
It is two o’clock in the morning, and another man is answering her phone.
How could she have moved on so quickly?
Does she truly not still feel the bond between us?
Panic and dread fill my veins as I have never felt before.
If Lilith has moved on, what am I supposed to do?