Ex-Alpha's Regret: Siren's Comeback novel Chapter 73

POV: Seraphina

The moment I crushed the sweet memories, the ritual shifted, as if sensing my resolve. It unleashed the pain. The visions of love were replaced by a maelstrom of my darkest moments, each one a fresh, vivid torture designed to break me from the inside out. I saw myself at the Pup Creche, my son's voice ringing in my ears, his childish face twisted with contempt as he declared me useless. I felt the cold stone of the floor against my knees as I begged Damian for my father's life, the humiliation a physical taste of bile in my mouth. I saw the silver rose, the sacred symbol of my mother, being placed in Sylvie's triumphant, delicate hand.

And then, I felt it all over again. The tearing pain in my womb, the gush of warm blood against my thighs, the life of my child being stolen from me in a tide of red. I saw the doctor's pitying eyes, heard Damian's cold, dismissive voice telling the servants to simply "clean up the mess."

But this time, the pain did not break me. The agony was a whetstone, and it was sharpening my hatred into a razor's edge. The memories were no longer a source of grief; they were fuel for a fire that was consuming everything else inside me. Each humiliation, each act of cruelty, became a brick in a wall I was building around my soul, a fortress of pure, cold, unforgiving rage.

My inner wolf rose to her full height within my mindscape, her silver fur bristling, her eyes glowing with a cold, blue fire. She let out a silent howl of defiance, her power surging through me, a shield against the soul-tearing agony of the ritual. The pain was immense, a universe of torment, but my hatred was stronger. It was the only thing I had left.

POV: Sylvie

The lie came easily, another stone in the foundation of the new reality I was building for him. He sniffled, burying his face in my shoulder, and I held him tight, my thoughts a whirlwind. I had won. I had the Alpha, the heir, the house. I had everything. So why did I feel so… insecure?

The thought of Damian, out there in the dark, hunting for her, filled me with a poisonous jealousy. I was terrified of what he would find. I wanted him to drag her back in chains. I wanted him to kill her. But most of all, I was terrified he would bring her back, and that this act of defiance would somehow rekindle a spark of respect in him that I had worked so hard to extinguish. That he would see a strength in her that he had never seen in me.

I walked over to the window, holding Nico, and stared out into the vast, dark forest. I clutched my son a little tighter, a possessive, desperate gesture.