LOGINThird Person's POV"Mortimer, during that half-month you were out traveling with Vivian, Sera almost died out there. If you had paid even a fraction of attention to her, if you had just checked her status through the mating bond, or even bothered to glance at the news from Alaska, you would have known exactly what she went through.""But all your attention was entirely consumed by your precious Vivi! You didn't know that the avalanche left her with severe PTSD. You didn't know she was waking up in cold sweats from nightmares every single night. You had no idea she's been seeing a therapist and swallowing anti-anxiety meds just to suppress her traumatized, terrified wolf!""Now that she has Dash, she finally started to heal just a little bit. And what do you do? You drag her right back into hell! Mortimer, come on!"Trista's anger violently surged again, her jaw locked tight as she spat the curses through gritted teeth.Mortimer's face was terrifyingly pale.Avalanche... PTSD... almost
Third Person's POV"It's hard to say. Usually, it's caused by seeing something that terrifies them, or triggering severe traumatic memories. To know the exact cause, we'll have to wait until Luna Seraphina wakes up and ask her directly."Mortimer nodded, not asking further."Can I go in and see her now?""Of course. Once she is transferred to a regular ward, you can stay with her."Mortimer nodded again, but his brows locked even tighter.The worry in his heart didn't dissipate; instead, it grew exponentially heavier."A stress response? Something that terrifies her..." he muttered softly, pondering the doctor's words.Just then, a commotion echoed from the corridor."Honey, calm down! Don't be impulsive!" Wilmot's anxious voice rang out from around the corner.Immediately after, Trista's figure stormed into Mortimer's line of sight.Spotting him instantly, she marched over furiously."Mortimer, you bastard! Haven't you made Sera miserable enough?!""You knew damn well she almost died
Third Person's POVLong before Mortimer had actually agreed to go to Alaska with her, Seraphina had secretly practiced skiing countless times in private.She had desperately wanted to make sure she wouldn't hold him back when they finally hit the slopes together.Hearing her confident answer, Mortimer's expression froze for a fraction of a second. "You know how to ski?"Seraphina gave a short, affirmative "Mhm," and immediately grabbed her snowboard, walking straight toward the lifts without looking back.Mortimer stood behind her, his chest completely overflowing with frustration.Sometimes, having an incredibly capable wife wasn't a good thing—he didn't even get the chance to show off or act like a protective Alpha.He sighed heavily and followed her up the slope. "Then let's ski together."Seraphina didn't refuse.She pulled her goggles down over her eyes and took a deep breath. Behind the tinted lenses, that suffocating sense of dread seemed to lessen just a fraction.After comple
Third Person's POVSeraphina had absolutely no idea why he was suddenly apologizing.Mortimer's lips parted, looking as though he desperately wanted to say something else, but couldn't figure out how to force the words past his throat.It wasn't until the elevator reached the underground garage and Seraphina stepped out first that Mortimer finally called out to her from behind, "Sera."Seraphina turned around.Mortimer pressed his lips together and closed the distance between them. His voice dropped into a low, hesitant rumble. "If... if I hadn't yielded so much to Vivian, do you think... would we already have little wolf pups by now?"It took every single ounce of his courage just to force that question out.He was carefully, desperately testing the waters, praying to catch even the slightest glimmer of possibility in her response.But Seraphina simply stared at him blankly for a second before letting out an utterly unbothered, careless laugh."How is that possible?" she replied, her
Third Person's POVThe elevator was completely empty except for the two of them. On a weekend morning, the entire apartment building was suffocatingly quiet.The mirrored doors reflected their figures standing side by side. Seraphina stared at the reflection, suddenly feeling a sharp, bitter sense of déjà vu.Shortly after she and Mortimer first got married, there had been a few times when they shared an elevator ride just like this.Back then, it was their first mating anniversary. She had spent hours baking his favorite dessert from scratch, bringing it to him in the elevator with a heart full of nervous joy.But Mortimer had merely given it a freezing, dismissive glance. Without missing a beat, he answered an international call from Vivian, casually pushing the carefully wrapped box right back into her hands.Another time, harboring a secret, unspeakable affection, she had cautiously inched closer to him. Looking at their reflections standing shoulder-to-shoulder, she had desperate
Third Person's POVBecause she had promised Mortimer she would attend the corporate team-building retreat, Seraphina didn't sleep in.Just as she finished packing Dash's medications and daily essentials, her phone chimed with a message, "Are you awake?"It was Mortimer.She replied, "I'm up.""I'm coming over now. I brought you breakfast.""Thanks."The exact second she hit send, her doorbell rang.Seraphina threw a glance toward the entryway—who would be visiting this early in the morning?Even though some of her colleagues lived in the same apartment complex, they didn't visit each other frequently, let alone show up bright and early on a weekend.She walked over to the door and checked the intercom screen."Mortimer?" she murmured in surprise.Didn't he just text that he was "coming over now"?It had been less than a minute. How was he already standing right outside her door?She pulled the door open."Morning." Mortimer stood out in the hall, the corners of his lips curved upward
Seraphina's POVI flipped my phone to airplane mode. The moment the screen went black, it felt like I'd finally severed a dead nerve. I closed my eyes, trying to find some peace in the hum of the jet engines.But the second I drifted off, the nightmare found me.It was pitch black. Freezing. Fear s
Mortimer's POVThe Swedish aurora writhed across the sky like a fever dream. Those eerie green lights felt like cold snakes, strangling the breath right out of me. I stood on the balcony, my thumb mindlessly rubbing the edge of my phone."You're on edge, Mortimer." Deep in my head, my wolf—Barton—l
Seraphina's POVThe weight of the snow felt like the cold, crushing hand of death, squeezing the last bit of oxygen from my lungs.I was curled up in a tiny air pocket, my fingers trembling as I gripped my phone, praying for a signal.If I was going to rot in this forest under the gaze of the Moon
Seraphina's POVI sat by the hotel window, watching the snow swirl into a violent frenzy outside.My fingers mindlessly traced the wedding band on my left hand. The diamond caught the dim light, cold and hard—exactly like the day we made our deal three years ago.The memories drifted back through t







