She Chose Fire

The moment the words left Damien's mouth, the room fell into dead silence.

Seraphina stared at Damien in disbelief. Beneath the blanket, her hands clenched tightly, trembling uncontrollably.

"What did you just say?"

Damien dodged her gaze and couldn't bring himself to repeat it. "I-I was just asking. If you didn't do it, then forget I even said anything."

As they had been mates for so long, how could Seraphina not know what he was truly thinking?

"You weren't just asking. You were convinced that I wanted Layla dead. And not just you. My parents, even Leo, probably think the same, don't they?"

Damien faltered for a moment. "No. We're just worried about you."

Seraphina's eyes reddened, and she nearly laughed in bitter mockery.

Before she fell unconscious, she had heard what Bryan said.

After waking up, she faced Damien's suspicion.

If it weren't to make sure Seraphina could trade life for Layla's, they probably wouldn't have bothered saving her that day at all.

They would've let her die just like that. Then the entire Sunfire Pack would've gotten what they wanted, and everyone would've been satisfied.

Seraphina turned her head away. "Get out. I don't want to see you."

Damien froze. "Sera—"

"Out!"

Damien frowned, clearly displeased, but in the end, he still left the room.

As soon as the stone door closed, Seraphina's tears finally fell.

Even though most of her memories were already gone, what remained was still enough to make her heart ache, to fill her with grievance and a powerless anger she couldn't control.

She wiped her tears fiercely. This would be the last time she ever cried because of them.

Only two days remained.

The Mooncrest on her forehead burned once more.

Very soon, she would disappear, just like all of them wanted.

The next day, the Sunfire Pack decorated the territory inside and out, making everything even more festive.

Although Seraphina no longer cared, the sight of silver ribbons and white moonflowers everywhere still stung her eyes.

Most of her wounds had already healed. Worried about Blaze, she left the pack and went to Whisper Ridge.

As she had guessed, Blaze was hiding there.

The moment it saw her, it whimpered and backed away. The bloodstains on its fur had already dried without being cleaned.

Seraphina sighed. "Blaze, I know you didn't mean to hurt me. Come here. I can read the memory in your spirit."

Only then did Blaze crawl closer, keeping low to the ground.

Seraphina placed her palm on its head, and everything from the day before unfolded before her eyes.

Blaze had been resting in Seraphina's room when it suddenly heard footsteps. It opened its eyes and saw Layla approaching.

Layla smiled faintly and cast a mind-control spell on it.

That day, Blaze only looked as if it were targeting Layla. In truth, it had been controlled to hurt Seraphina.

"So it really was her."

Seraphina withdrew her hand, not surprised by the result at all.

The reason was simple. Layla didn't need anyone to trade lives with her, so she had to stop the ritual from happening at any cost.

Seraphina sneered and lifted her hand, using her power to clean the blood from Blaze's fur.

"Tomorrow, I'm going to Howlpeak. Now that you've been branded guilty, I can't leave you alone. So… will you come with me?"

Blaze quietly wrapped its tail around her arm.

Seraphina had never imagined that the one who would stand by her in the end would be a spirit wolf she had met by chance.

After staying there for half the day, Seraphina left Whisper Ridge, but she didn't return to the pack.

Instead, she went to Destiny Temple.

A soul tapestry was hung at the temple. It was made of countless silver threads, each one symbolizing a bonded pair.

She easily found the thread that belonged to her and Damien and held it in her hand, staring at it in silence.

The temple guardian walked over to greet her. "Hi, Seraphina. What brings you to visit me today—wait, what are you doing?!"

A blade of light formed in Seraphina's hand, and she cut through the soul thread belonging to her and Damien without hesitation.

The moment it snapped, the names carved into the Promise Stone dissolved into specks of light, as if they had weathered away.

The soul thread connected both mates. Once it was severed, both sides could feel it.

So it wasn't long before Damien appeared at the temple.

He stared at the two severed ends of the silver thread in Seraphina's hand as they slowly turned gray and faded.

Panic crushed his chest, and even his voice trembled.

"Seraphina, what have you done?"

He rushed over, grabbed the broken ends, and tried to tie them together. "How could you cut our bond?"

Seraphina asked calmly, "Didn't we already agree? You and Layla would hold the ceremony, and we would break our bond first."

Damien's eyes turned red. "It's fake. It's just play-pretend. We never had to do this!"

But no matter how hard he tried, the silver strands slipped apart every time. The knot could never be tied.

Nearby, the guardian sighed. "Stop wasting your effort. Do you think the soul thread can be tied back together just like that?"

Damien froze. His eyes watered. "Then what should I do?"

The guardian stroked his long beard. "Only the Moon Goddess herself can reestablish the bond."

Damien immediately grabbed Seraphina's hand. "Sera, let's do it. Let's reestablish our bond now. We'll pray to the Moon Goddess!"

Seraphina looked at him quietly, unable to understand why he cared so much about that single thread.

When she did not answer, Damien grew even more anxious.

He took Seraphina back to the territory, only to find Leo in the courtyard, trying to cheer Layla up.

Damien frowned and called Leo over. "Leo, your mom is injured. Have you even asked her how she's doing?"

Leo froze. He didn't even dare to look at Seraphina. He turned his head away and mumbled softly, "Mom is too strict. Aunt Layla is gentle. I like being with Aunt Layla."

Damien's brow furrowed deeper. "You little…"

Layla spoke gently at that moment. "Damien, Leo is still young. It's my fault. I know I might never have my own child because I'm weak, so I treated Sera's son like my own and got too close. Blame me, not him."

Damien opened his mouth but said nothing in the end when he saw how fragile Layla looked.

Meanwhile, Seraphina smiled softly. "If he likes Layla, let him stay with her."

After all, by tomorrow, Leo would truly be calling Layla "Mom".

As for the life-trading ritual, that was never going to happen.