Betrayed By My Mate Saved By His Rival

---- Chapter 23 Seraphina's POV I turned. At the edge of the square stood a familiar figure. Ethan. He was a wraith in a suit too large for his skeletal frame. His haunted eyes were bloodshot pits of obsession, fixed only on me. The powerful Alpha I once knew was gone, replaced by this... ghost. "Sera..." he walked toward me, his voice trembling. " Please, don't do this." Julian immediately stepped in front of me, blocking his path. "Ethan Blackwood," Julian's voice was ice. "You are not invited." "T'm not here for you." Ethan's eyes were locked on me, ignoring Julian completely.

"Sera, I have to talk to you." "We have nothing to talk about," my voice was flat. "Yes, we do!" He suddenly fell to his knees. "I know I was wrong! I know it was all my fault!" The guests began to whisper, but my face remained a ---- mask. "Sera, please!" He scrambled toward me on his knees, a fallen king begging in the dirt. "It was a lie! All of it! I never stopped loving you! Not for a second!" "Get up," my voice was flat, devoid of pity. "You're a disgrace." "I don't care!" Tears streamed down his face. "I don't care about anything as long as you forgive me!" "Forgive you?" I sneered.

"Ethan, do you really think I would forgive the man who murdered his own pup?" "Marcus..." he choked out. "I thought he wasn't my son..." "So you killed him?" my voice rose. "Even if he wasn't yours, he was an innocent pup!"" "I know! I know I was wrong!" he shook his head desperately. "But we're fated mates! The Moon Goddess chose us! We can start over!" "Start over?" I scoffed. "Start over with the murderer of my pup?" Just then, his eyes fell on Lydia, who was hiding behind me. "Lydia?" His eyes went wide. "She's... she's alive?" ---- My daughter shrank back, clutching my dress in fear.

"'My daughter!" Ethan was ecstatic, delirious. "She's not dead! Sera, she's alive!" He tried to rush forward, but Julian threw out an arm, stopping him. "Don't come near her," Julian's voice was dangerous. " She's afraid of you." "That's not true!" Ethan struggled. "I'm her father!" "A father?" My laugh was a bitter, ugly sound. "You mean the monster who threw her from a cliff?" "That was a mistake!" he screamed hysterically. "I thought she was Julian's pup!" "So you decided to kill her?" Julian's eyes blazed with fury.

"Just because you suspected she wasn't your blood?" "L.." Ethan was speechless. "Go away, Ethan," I said, turning to continue the ceremony. "We're done." "No!" He exploded, his Alpha power washing over the square. "You are my Luna! You will always be my Luna!" Julian instantly released his own power to counter it. ---- The two forces crashed in the air, a crushing pressure that made everyone gasp. "She is my mate now," Julian said coldly. "Leave, or I won't be so polite." "Who do you think you are?" Ethan roared.

"She is my fated mate!" Asickening crack echoed through the square as his bones snapped and reformed under his skin. His suit shredded as a wave of coarse black fur erupted from him. In seconds, the man was gone. In his place stood a monster of shadow and fury. He let out a threatening snarl at Julian. Not to be outdone, Julian began to shift. Asilver-white wolf, even larger and more menacing than the black one, emerged. The two giant wolves circled each other, snarling, the air crackling with the sheer force of their combined rage. The ground itself seemed to tremble. This wasn't a fight.

It was the beginning of a war. "Stop it!" I shouted. "This is a mating ceremony!" Just then, a terrified scream came from behind me. ---- "No! Don't drop me!" I turned to see Lydia on the ground, clutching her head and trembling. "No, Daddy, please!" she shrieked, her tiny hands clawing at the stone ground as if she were already falling. "Don't drop me! I'll be good! I'll be good, I promise!" Her trauma was back. Seeing Ethan's wolf form, she was reliving that horrible night. "Baby!" I dropped to my knees and held her. "It's okay!

Mommy's here!" "T'm scared," she whimpered, burrowing into my side. " The black wolf... he's come to finish the job." The monster vanished. Ethan stood in its place, naked and horribly human. The sight of his own daughter, reliving a terror he had inflicted, finally broke him. His face was a mask of pure, unadulterated agony. "She's... she's afraid of me?" he asked, his voice full of disbelief. "Isn't it obvious?" I said, holding my daughter and glaring at him. "All she feels for you is terror."