She belongs to us

“Seraphina,” I heard Orion call out, his voice rough and urgent. “What happened? Where are you?”

“It’s okay,” I called back, trying to keep my voice steady. “I’m here.”

“Are you hurt?” Orion asked, his worry apparent. “Hey? Answer me.”

“I’m fine,” I lied, trying to hide my panic. I had no idea how to get out of this situation. How to get away from Lucian and his twisted plans.

I heard footsteps, the sound of someone approaching. And then I felt a hand grip my shoulder, pulling me away from the wall.

“You’re safe,” he murmured, his breath hot against my ear. “You’re safe.”

I turned to him, my eyes filling with tears. “Please help me,” I begged.

Orion sighed and stepped back, his eyes narrowing on Lucian. “What did you do to her?” he asked, his voice low and dangerous.

Lucian snarled and stepped towards Orion, his eyes glowing with rage. “This is none of your concern,” he snarled. “She’s mine.”

Orion laughed and shook his head. “She’s my concern now. You should have known better than to try and take her from me.”

“She’s my mate now,” Lucian sneered. “She belongs to me.”

“I know,” he said. “But she’s still my omega, and I’ll do whatever it takes to protect her.”

Lucian sneered and stepped towards Orion, his hands clenched into fists. “You can’t protect her,” he snarled. “I’ll kill you if you try.”

Orion laughed and stepped back, his eyes never leaving Lucian’s face. “Go ahead,” he said. “You can kill me, but you’ll never lay a hand on her again. Not while I’m alive.”

Lucian’s eyes narrowed, his body trembling with rage. “You’ll pay for this,” he growled.

“I already have,” Orion said. “I lost everything because of you.”

Lucian snarled and stepped forward, his fangs bared. “You’ll regret this,” he hissed. “I’ll make sure of it.”

Orion smiled and shrugged. “We’ll see,” he said. “Now, Seraphina. Let’s go.”

Lucian howled in rage and turned to me, his eyes glowing with hatred. “You can’t leave,” he snarled. “I won’t let you go.”

“You won’t have a choice,” I told him defiantly. “I’m not some omega that can be taken from their pack and kept like a pet.”

“And you think Orion gives a damn?” Lucian sneered. “He’s going to give you back to your father, isn’t he? No, my little omega, you’re mine. Mine to do with as I please, and if you think you’re going to escape... you’d better think again.”

He leaned forward and grabbed my chin roughly, forcing me to look up into his eyes. “You’re mine now,” he hissed. “You belong here, and no one will ever take you away from me.”

I shoved him as hard as I could and he stumbled back, cursing. “I hate you,” I cried. “I hate everything about you!”

Orion let out a low growl and pinned me against the wall, his hand closing over my mouth. “Don’t say that,” he snapped at me. “I won’t allow it.”

My heart flipped over in my chest at his words. “But I do hate you,” I whispered, pulling his hand away from my mouth to look at him.

His eyes softened at my confession. “Yes, Seraphina,” he said gently. “You hate me. And that’s fine. You should. But don’t forget that I’m here to protect you. I’ve always been here, watching out for you, and I will continue to do so as long as I have breath in my body.”

I felt tears begin to roll down my cheeks and Orion’s hold on me grew tighter. “What about Lucian?” I asked, sobbing. “He hurt me.”

“I’m sorry, Seraphina,” he whispered. “He is not the Alpha that we should have had.”

“I thought you said he was,” I sniffled.

“I said he was a brother,” Orion corrected. “Not an Alpha. He has never been in control of our pack. He was taken from us before he was even old enough to come into heat. It’s no wonder he’s so twisted and cruel.”

I nodded, trying to get my breathing under control. “I don’t understand,” I murmured. “Why did you bring me here?”

“We took you away from your pack,” Orion said softly. “To protect you from Lucian, and to find another way to end this war.”

I felt like I was going to throw up. “I’m not your pawn,” I insisted. “You can’t just take me from my pack and treat me like this.”

“I know that,” Orion said, his voice soft and soothing. “But it was the only way that we could get you out of there alive. Lucian would have killed you, Seraphina. You know that, right?”

I nodded mutely, still trying to stop my sobs. “You don’t care about me,” I said. “You only care about stopping this war.”

Orion shook his head slowly. “No, Seraphina,” he said. “That’s not true. I care about you. I care about all of you, and I’ll do everything in my power to keep you safe.”

I pressed my forehead against his chest and wept until my tears ran dry. Orion held me, stroking my hair and whispering words of comfort, and I clung to him like a drowning woman.

Eventually, Lucian came back into the room, his expression twisted with anger. He looked at me for a long moment, his eyes glowing with rage.