When The Moon Hides Her Crown (Seraphina) by Pooja novel Chapter 234

SERAPHINA

“They are not afraid!” he bellowed, his roar echoing off the walls. “They are fulfilling their duty! The sacred duty of serving the Alpha King, the greatest power in the realm! The same Alpha King you dared to offend when you ran from your wedding!” His chest heaved, eyes burning like twin embers. “All because of your delusions, your pathetic dream of grasping something that was never yours!”

He stepped closer, pointing a trembling hand at me. “It’s by the Goddess‘ grace that you still have a chance to marry the Alpha King, since no one outside knows about this scandal. The marriage proposal stands exactly as before. So now, obey me and-”

“I will not marry the Alpha King,” I said, cutting him off, my voice ringing through the room like a blade.

“SERAPHINA!” Father roared, his composure shattering completely.

But I didn’t flinch. “I told you that I will not marry, Dad! How many times do I have to say it?!” My voice rose, defiance burning through the panic. “By now, everyone in this Academy and the Council already knows I don’t want this. My dreams, my goals, they’re not like the others. I want anything but marriage in this life! If that’s so clear, then why am I still being forced into it? Why me? Why is it always me?”

“Because you were promised to the Alpha King since your birth!” he snapped.

My heart stopped.

“What?” The word fell from my lips, barely a whisper.

Promised? Since birth?

Ronan’s face flashed in my mind, his eyes, his scent, his voice, and I shook my head in disbelief. “That’s impossible. You’re lying to me.”

Father reached into his coat, pulled out a sealed scroll, and threw it onto the floor. The parchment rolled open across the tiles with a soft rustle. “Then tell that to your mother,” he growled.

I stared down at the document, my breath catching in my throat. My hands trembled as my eyes traced the familiar handwriting, the delicate curve of my mother’s signature, her name inked beside the words that sealed my fate. A promise. A vow. A lifetime traded before I even took my first breath.

“No…” I whispered, my vision blurring as my chest tightened painfully. “No, that can’t be

true..”

Ronan. My love. My mate.

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Chapter 234 The Last Thread

“I don’t accept this,” I said, my voice breaking. “I will not marry-”

“Enough!” Father’s growl shook the air. “This discussion is over! Your mother chose this for you, and you will obey! You will marry the Alpha King. That is final!”

“No!” I screamed back, my wolf snarling within me. “My mother would never have chosen this for me! She loved me, she feared for me! She would never-”

SLAP!

The sound cracked through the air like thunder. My head snapped to the side with the force of his strike, my cheek blazing with heat. I stood frozen, the world spinning around me.

A thick, suffocating and heavy silence fell between us breaking something inside me.

Father stepped closer, his presence towering over me like a shadow that devoured all light. His voice came out low and venomous.

“Do you know why your mother never gave me a son after you?”

I slowly lifted my head, meeting his burning glare.

He gave a bitter laugh, humorless, sharp. “Of course you don’t. So, let me tell you the truth. She said she didn’t need a son because you were enough. That our daughter would make us proud. That you would bring us joy.” His lip curled. “Only since the day you were born, you’ve done nothing but disappoint me. You’ve never once made me proud. Never once made me happy.”

My stomach twisted painfully, but he wasn’t done.

“Your mother wanted me to be patient,” he coldly continued, “To give you time. To give you freedom. And this–this rebellion, this humiliation is what I get in return.” His voice rose, filled with thunder and disgust. “You’ve shamed me before the entire realm. And now it’s come to the point that I am ashamed to even call you my daughter. I came here today for one reason only, for the marriage I promised the King. My reputation is on the line, Seraphina. Mine.”

He took a step back, his aura expanding like a storm ready to break. “So now,” he growled, “You will choose.”

The word hit me like a blow. “What do you mean…choose?”

“Choose,” he thundered, “between the throne and your father,”

Everything inside me froze. My pulse stuttered in disbelief.

“If

you choose the throne,” he said, his voice turning cold and deliberate, “I will cut all ties

you. You will be stripped of my name, of your bloodline, of everything that binds you to

with

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Chapter 234 The Last Thread

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1. 1. me. You will never return to my pack. You will never again see your mother’s grave.”

My heart sank into my stomach. “You can’t–you can’t do this…”

“You will be dead to me,” he declared, the words falling like a curse.

I stared at him, my chest aching as though something inside had shattered. My father, the first man I ever trusted, ever loved, had just condemned me. Betrayed me in the cruelest way imaginable.

“Dad…” My voice trembled. “Am I really your daughter?”

“Unfortunately, yes,” he spat. “Or I would have spared myself the years of tolerating you. But my patience is over. Choose me and accept your place as the King’s bride or I will turn my back and leave you here to rot. I already have my heir, your cousin. My brother–in–law’s son. I don’t need a daughter like you.”

Listening to him, tears gathered in my eyes without me realizing. When my mother died, I would sit outside my dad’s room at night with the blanket in my hand but never dared to go in and tell him that I had a nightmare. Still his presence would give me a sense of safety. Even though he stopped smiling at me, even though he did not want me around, he had not abandoned me.

My only family had not let me go, but now I lost that last thread too.

“Then…” I whispered, my voice quiet but steady, “…it’s goodbye, Dad.”

His eyes darkened with fury, but I held his gaze, refusing to tremble. “I’m sorry I wasn’t born a son. But I don’t regret being born a woman. I may not be the daughter you could be proud of, but I’ll become something that no one can break. I’ll be Seraphina–until my last breath.”

Father breathed in anger, his entire body shaking, “Then… from now on you are dead for me,” declaring he turned around and left without looking back.

I stood there, staring at his fading silhouette until the door slammed shut as tears rolled down my cheek. I slid to the floor closing my eyes to control my tears and emotions so that Ronan never felt them with our mate bound but they kept flowing. Endlessly.