When The Moon Hides Her Crown (Seraphina) by Pooja novel Chapter 299

SERAPHINA

“This time, it won’t just be the females of Elysium Haven…” Ryker’s voice whispered in my ear just before Ronan appeared, halting my attack. “It will be every female in the werewolf realm, Seraphina…so now, choose. Me or Dread Lord…”

Tears streamed down my face, drowning me in despair. How—how could I have forgotten him? For nine hundred years, Ronan never left my side. He kept his promise, through life and death, even though I couldn’t remember him. Every fleeting moment I spent with him, nine hundred years ago, every scrap of happiness he brought to my loveless existence flooded my mind,until the tears flowed harder.

Ryker dragged me through the mist, pulling me into his dark palace. He glanced at me once, then grabbed my hair, mercilessly yanking me by it. “You made your choice, remember that Seraphina,” he growled, throwing me into the center of the grand palace. My tears hit the cold black tiles. He yanked my head back, his grip like iron as he glared into my eyes.

“You chose the life of the she-wolves of the realm and willingly come here with me,” he reminded me, crushing his lips to mine with brutal force. “You chose me over Ronan. And this time…” His lips pulled away, but the venom in his words didn’t. He forced me to look ahead, where a woman hung from the wall, her chest ripped open, her face half-torn off, her throat impaled by a sword.

My heart stopped. “Lily…” I whispered in horror, tears blurring my vision.

Ryker bit my ear and whispered, “The other women will face a fate worse than this if you try to use your powers or be clever like last time, Seraphina.” He waved his hand, showing me the vision of shadows lurking behind every she-wolf in the realm, even the newborn females. “There’s no escape this time. No dark magic where your ‘King’ can slip in. No old Ryker who underestimated his little flower. This king of dark magic has suffered, died, rotted, and burned in love and yearning for you for nine hundred years, Seraphina.” His eyes were wild with obsession as he forced me to look into them. “And this time, sacrificing yourself for Ronan will be the least of your worries. Unless you want everyone to die. Their lives are in my hands, and every door you choose will lead you back to me.”

His hand slid gently down my cheek, and then he crushed his lips to mine, as if trying to bite through them. “This time, you won’t have time to think like last time…because every minute you delay, ten women will fall—”

The screams of the women pierced my ears, one after another, their lives extinguished in an instant. I squeezed my eyes shut in disgust, a single tear slipping down my face.

Everything was repeating…

I had lost them nine hundred years ago…but this time—

“What do you want from me?” I barely managed to say between his wild, overpowering kisses.

Ryker broke the kiss slowly, his gaze meeting mine with burning obsession and lust. “Obviously, I want you,” he murmured, his eyes trailing over my body with desire. “But knowing your powers, it won’t be easy unless I suffer another curse…or worse. I’ve waited for you for nine hundred years, Seraphina, and I refuse to wait any longer. So give up your powers and become mine, if you want to save those she-wolves.”

I stared at him, disbelief flooding my chest. “What?”

His expression hardened, the fire in his eyes unyielding. “You don’t need to be a goddess, or Blood Petal. Just be Seraphina. Just be mine,” he whispered.

His words froze me. My entire body grew cold at his demand. “You have one hour to think it over Seraphina,” he continued, his voice dark with finality. “After that your silence or refusal of my demand will cost you a life every second. Every she-wolf, including everyone in the clearing of the Blackpine Forest. Everyone you care for.”

His lips crashed onto mine again, and before I could respond, he pulled away, turning to leave. “I’ll be back—”

I sat motionless in the center of the room, alone. My mind was a blank void. This palace had once existed in my nightmares, and now it was a nightmare made real. Nine hundred years had passed, and everything had changed; what I built, what I sacrificed, had all been twisted into this hellish existence under Ryker's control.

I didn’t regret those nine hundred years. I didn’t regret my decisions; Dread, the transformation into a flower, everything. But if that sacrifice now only led to more ruin, more innocent lives lost, then that cost had to be paid in a different way.

Tears rolled down my cheeks as Dread’s smile flashed in my mind, followed by the agony in his voice and the heartbreak in his eyes when I chose to turn into a flower. I remembered his fear—the fear of losing me in the clearing.

I closed my eyes, wiping away the last tear I would shed in this life.

After a long pause, I opened my eyes and stared ahead at the throne. I stood up, my legs shaky but determined. “Now…there will be no more loss. Everything lost will be recovered.”

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