When The Moon Hides Her Crown (Seraphina) by Pooja novel Chapter 283

THIRD PERSON POINT OF VIEW

Chapter 283 The Rags Of Longing

Petal returned to her territory in a daze. Standing in the forest, she looked toward the temple and then Elysium Haven. Both places had been the foundations of her life, places she could never tear herself away from, much like how she could never tear herself away from Dread. From his love.

But his words, spoken earlier about claiming her on her twenty–first birthday, gnawed at her. Only she knew how much she longed to be with him and end this constant cycle of leaving and returning. Yet, his statement about marking her, about never letting her go, unsettled her to her core.

Because doing so would expose her identity as Blood Petal. This temple, her protectors, Elysium Haven, everything she had worked so hard to protect could be destroyed. Exposing herself to the world would put everyone in danger. Becoming his Queen meant revealing the very identity she had fought to keep hidden.

She walked toward the temple, standing in front of it, her heart heavy with the weight of her thoughts. The silence around her was suffocating as her mind replayed his words: “If you come to me…I will make you mine.”

As she was lost in thought, Theo burst out of the temple, panic written across his face.

“Petal, where have you been?! We need to get inside, quickly! Someone might die!”

Petal frowned, “What’s wrong?”

Theo wiped the sweat from his brow, visibly anxious. “Aran is back.”

Petal’s eyes widened. Without another word, she rushed into the temple, where she found Silas and Aran facing each other, their glares full of hatred, as if they were both ready to tear each other apart.

“How dare you return here, Aran?” Silas spat, his voice cold and dangerous. “Don’t tell me you’re now licking up what you spit out?!”

Aran’s smirk was filled with anger. “Who’s going to stop me, Silas? This is Blood Petal’s house. Unless she tells me to leave, I won’t.”

“You!” Silas raised his hand, ready to strike, but Aran did the same. Before either of them could act, Petal’s voice rang out, cutting through the tension like a knife.

“How about you two stop?”

Their eyes snapped to her as her white–golden aura flared, and her red eyes gleamed with authority. “This is your first and last warning,” she added, her tone commanding. Instantly, both men dropped their hands and pulled away, their glares still sharp but controlled.

“Outsiders are a threat to the temple, Petal,” Silas growled, his gaze lingering on Aran. “Now kick this traitor out.”

Aran’s eyes

flared in rage when he was called with that name.

Petal’s expression softened, but her voice remained firm. “Aran, please follow me out.”

Silas and Aran exchanged another glare before Aran followed Petal out of the temple. They walked in silence through the woods, the weight of the past hanging between them. Petal had been very little when she saw Aran leaving the temple. Her memory of him holding her in his arms was also very vague. Silas hated to talk about him but whenever Aran came he would talk to her long while exiting the temple and share about his progress in his pack of healers.

However this year, he was absolutely furious because of his encounter with Silas.

Chapter 283 The Rage Of Longing

“You came to see your father, didn’t you?” Petal asked softly, her voice filled with curiosity.

Aran nodded, his expression hardening. “My father is buried behind this temple. I only come once a year but that asshole Silas acts like he owns my father’s grave.”

Petal listened quietly before asking the question that had been weighing on her mind. “Why do you two hate each other so much?”

Aran stopped suddenly, his fists clenching as he murmured, “I loved a woman, someone Silas wouldn’t allow in the temple. She wasn’t one of the protectors, she was an outsider. I chose to leave so that I could be with her, I’ve always wanted to live in the outside world. I loved it and Silas hated that. Since then, we’ve been at odds.”

Petal blinked, stunned by this new side of their story. “Then…are you living happily with your love?”

A bitter smile twisted Aran’s lips. “I killed her.”

Petal froze. “What?”

“She betrayed me,” Aran said coldly, walking past her. “In the worst way possible and now I can never fall in love with anyone.”

Petal stood motionless, grappling with the weight of his words. She finally managed to ask, “Do you hate her?”

Aran stopped, turning to meet her gaze. “No,” he replied quietly, “I hate myself.”

He walked back to her, his eyes softened with something she hadn’t expected. “These are the eyes of someone who’s been in love,” he murmured, catching her off guard. “Be careful, Petal. You might regret it forever.”

And with that, he turned and walked away, leaving Petal standing in the woods, her heart a tangled mess of emotions.

Unbeknownst to her, Silas had overheard their conversation from a distance, watching her reaction with a horror that confirmed his suspicion.

Petal glanced at the direction of the flower garden and her heart clenched painfully. But she did not dare to go there again.

THE LYCAN REALM

Dread sat in the chair, his gaze fixed on the bedroom door, his violet eyes black as he waited for it to open. His ears strained for the soft sound of her footsteps, and his senses were desperate to catch even the faintest trace of her scent. But once again, the time they had promised to meet passed, and she didn’t come.

His fists clenched so tightly that his knuckles turned white, his lycan struggling to break free. The rage was simmering inside him, bubbling to the surface with every passing minute. “Why?” he growled low, his voice a dangerous rasp.

Three days. Three endless days, and still no sign of her. The anger, the frustration, the helplessness, it was all too much. Only he knew how close he had come to losing control, how desperately he had been fighting to keep his sanity intact as she refused to show up, as if she had never existed in his world at all.

He had barely moved from that spot, waiting, staring at the door as if it might open of its own accord. Every second had felt like an eternity, and the ache in his chest was a constant reminder of her absence.

His lycan surged beneath his skin, an uncontrollable beast clawing at the surface, desperate to go after her, whether she was in the depths of the earth or hiding in another realm. It didn’t matter. He would find her, drag

Chapter 283 The Rage Of Longing

her back by any means necessary. But then, something stirred in the room, the painting rattled.

Dread’s eyes snapped to it, the soft movement of the canvas catching his attention. In that moment his mind spiraled to his mother’s last words, before she abandoned him in the woods to die.

“You will never be loved. You will be alone forever…” her words echoed in his mind.

The blood appeared in his eyes, veins bulging in his neck as rage twisted inside him. Slowly, his steps carried him to the painting, his hand turning into claws as he reached out to touch it. The image of Petal’s face stared back at him, as he whispered, “It is not true, right?”

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