SERAPHINA'S POV
The music stops abruptly in a messy way, and all eyes instantly turn to the brawl happening right on the dance floor in front of me. Faces display shock, horror, and confusion.
No one knows what happened, except me.
I'm petrified as I watch Artemis attack Lucian like a rabid dog, seemingly out of control. I hadn't thought he was watching, hadn't thought he'd notice or care.
But he did.
After a few blows straight to Lucian's face, which explodes with vibrant red liquid, I snap out of my reverie, realizing I need to stop him before it gets worse, before he kills Lucian.
It looks like he wants to.
The look in his eyes, the way he pulls his fist all the way back and swings so violently, seems feral. He's unleashing everything he's felt over the past couple of days on Lucian and more.
"Artemis..." I take a cautious step forward, but he doesn't respond, breathing hard like something not human.
I catch a glimpse of his eyes, now shifted to bright gold with thin slit irises, burning with rage.
"You bastard!" He yells furiously, throwing more punches, blood splattering. "He put you up to this, didn't he? This is just another way to fuck with me, isn't it?"
"Artemis, stop!" I yell, but he ignores me, engulfed in getting his pound of flesh.
Jasper rushes forward, pulling his friend off Lucian before Artemis' instincts kick in, and he elbows Jasper right in the jaw. Jasper, with a clenched jaw, doesn't give up on holding him back.
Guards rush forward, and soon enough, four of them try to separate the fight, managing to pull him off long enough to get Lucian out of the way.
"Let me go, I need to kill that bastard!" Artemis shouts, shrugging off two guards and moving forward again until I force myself between them.
"Stop it," I say more sternly, staring into his eyes.
They calm down instantly, gold turning blue and looking pained.
"You don't understand, Sera. This has been his plan from the very beginning, to use you to get to me." Artemis' words are filled with conviction.
My brows furrow, and I try to make sense of his words - I know he has always had it out for Lucian, but this time, he sounds so sure, so convinced that this was intentional.
"What are you talking about?"
"That bastard," he points to Lucian, who is holding onto his broken, bloody nose on the floor, barely able to breathe through it. "My father put him up to all of this. Always the royal ass-sucker. A damn good actor, too. That's why he plays his part so well - the role of the knight, the sweet, loyal Lucian, eager-to-please and slow to anger."
Artemis' eyes look embittered, like he too had fallen for the part he accuses Lucian of. "But in truth, I know what he really is - manipulative, scheming, heartless, two-faced piece of dog shit. I'd know because there's no lie between brothers. He doesn't care about you or anything besides his own sick, demented existence and messing with me."
My head is spinning, and I try to match his words to those honest gray eyes, to the charming smiles, and the playful banter - but it's an impossible image to conjure.
Lucian has always been there for me, even when Artemis still hated me. He defended me, stood by my side, and had been ridiculously sweet on multiple occasions.
He was wrong to have kissed me, and he has had his many fuck-ups as well, but being called manipulative, heartless, scheming?
I-I...can't see it, yet I'm moved by the depth of emotions in Artemis' eyes, the depth of his rage and a suppressed bitterness.
Those are the eyes of a man who has suffered his cruel share of blows.
My gaze swings to Lucian instantly - hoping it's a misunderstanding, praying it's all a lie spun from Artemis' emotional roller-coaster.
But my heart knows better; Artemis would never lie to me.
"Is that true?" I ask.
Lucian looks at me, his eyes filled with immense hurt that I'd ever believe the accusation. Then, in the blink of an eye, his expression shifts.
His trembling lips form a smirk, and he lets out a deep laugh, playful, as if intrigued by the fact that he's been caught in a game.
"Surprise," he announces with a wicked flash in his eyes. "I must say, I'm almost sad it's over. You were quite the entertaining audience, Sera."
My breath catches in my throat as I gasp and stagger backward, unable to believe what I've heard or seen, not believing what's in front of me.
I see him differently now; his eyes aren't so innocent anymore. They hold a cunning glint, the playful charm now revealing a manipulative edge.
His grin, once comforting, appears sinister, a mask to his deceit. How could I have missed it? The realization hits hard, crumbling the image I had of him.
I feel like I've woken up from a long, naive dream to see a harsh reality. Lucian, the friend I trusted, was nothing but a facade.
All this time, everything-every single moment between us, our friendship, his words, his confession-everything was a lie.
Suddenly, the room becomes too small.
I'm more aware of the thousands of eyes watching me, staring and making comments, than the clothes on my back.
The rehearsal is on a halt, and for a moment, I catch the displeased gaze of the Alpha King. Of Kamila. Of a man with a striking resemblance to Kamila.
I feel suffocated.
So, I leave.
"Sera!" Artemis yells after me while I run to the nearest room, somewhere secluded to hide my shame.
I don't look back, not bothering to respond, and run through the next door. I hear his footsteps following closely behind before the door shuts behind him.
There's suddenly pounding at the door as soon as he walks in; it sounds like more than one person trying to get in.
"Prince Artemis!" They yell from the other side, "Your highness!"
I know they're his father's guards, probably trying to get him out of here, dragging him back to where he belongs. He goes for the door, ripping it open and glaring at them.
"Get out, or else there will be more than one body being dragged to the hospital tonight."
Cold, stiff, choking silence follows the threat, and he shuts the door, turning to face me with softer eyes.
"You think it was stupid of me to ever believe him. Go ahead and say it."
"No... I don't," he draws closer until he's standing just behind me, and I can subtly feel the heat of his body. "He derives no other pleasure than lying and deceiving everyone into playing a part; it's all he does. It's how he's spun enough lies and rumors about me. I let it hurt me for most of the time until I met you, and it didn't matter anymore," he says in a soft tone, placing a gentle hand on my shoulder.
It's comforting, but it doesn't change how I feel, the betrayal that's too thick to swallow, hanging in my neck, shocking me while stabbing at my heart.
The smiles he gave all seemed too genuine to be fake. Does this mean that none of it was true... that not a single exchange between us was real and I believed everything?
"I feel so stupid." I cover my face in my palms.
"It's not your fault. I should have warned you better. I just... I just thought you wouldn't believe me. Plus, you hated me then."
His words come as a shock, and I look at him, the sad smile on his lips completely resigned to the fact that no one would ever take his side compared to Lucian's.
"I do believe you. Even if I never found out, I'd still believe you," I assure him.
He chuckles lightly, patting my head a bit. "That's reassuring."
He pauses for a moment once the smile fades, pulling away with a sigh, and settles on one of the couches.
"No one is immune to his charms, not even my father back when he was still honing his skills."
"What?" I drop right next to him.
"Lucian's father was a close friend and confidant to my father, and when he died, my father took him in mostly out of pity and remorse. Then we became close - we used to call ourselves brothers, equals, regardless of the obvious preference from my father in the beginning."
"I became the unwanted son, and Lucian was the child he never had. Even then, seeing the signs, wondering why he got more toys than I did, more praises and adoration from my own family, I didn't hate him. Jealous, maybe, but what kid wouldn't be?" Artemis shares, a hint of sadness in his tone.
"You were just a child; what they did wasn't fair," I say with a frown, trying to imagine what it would be like to be treated unfairly by a parent.
His lips purse, and he takes another shaky, deep breath.
"When we were 12, father took us out for an outdoor training exercise where we would practice hunting."
He pauses, lost in thought.
"What happened?" I ask, squeezing his knee, bringing him back to the moment.
"Lucian was always better at everything then, so he suggested we go together, and we did. We crossed the markers set for our safety because he thought we could handle anything. But things went wrong; we met a large grizzly bear that decided to wake up at the wrong moment."
"We tried to fight it off together, but we were just boys, barely strong enough in our wolf form and hardly experts at combat. And then, when Lucian was in danger, almost torn apart by the beast, I distracted it and got injured. I told him to call for help while I held its attention because of the risks."
"I was battered and tired, but I fought it off on my own for hours. I almost died that day. I don't even know how I survived, but I did. It was the first thing that died by my hands, my first awakening to how fickle life could be."
My heart breaks, imagining a younger version of him fighting alone, bathed in blood, facing such a dangerous situation.
"I limped my way back home that day at dawn, terrified that something had happened to him, that he had been attacked by more bears, and that I'd be blamed for it. But when I got back, he was there, eating to his heart's content, being treated for a small gash on his shoulder, shocked that I made it out."
I gasp, shocked by his revelation.
"And what do you think my father did when he saw me, his only son who went out to hunt and never came back?" He scoffs bitterly.
"Artemis..." I say, feeling his pain; a severe stab to my chest.
"He glared at me like I was some demon spawn and struck me across the face," he seethes. "Lucian had told him how I pushed to cross the markers, poked at sleeping bears, and ran off on my own. He made himself the hero, and my father never believed me. Only I know what really happened. That day, no one came for me, Sera. I'd have died there in those woods, and no one batted an eye. Not my father, and definitely not my brother."
"I'm so sorry," I whisper, my breath caught in my throat, suffocated by the raw, angry intensity of his words - the shattering agony behind them.
"When I see him talking to you, it's unbearable. Watching him trying to take you from me... You are everything, Sera. My everything."
His words, full of emotion, pierce my heart, especially considering the upcoming events. It's painful to hear these words when everything is about to change-when everything is about to fall apart.
I blink away the hot tears in my eyes, forcing a smile.
"You didn't deserve any of that, and I'm glad you made it out alive that day."
He smiles, relieved that I believe him after so many years of being doubted, of watching everyone love the kind, caring Lucian and not him.
His head leans against me, kissing the back of my palm, looking at me through his lashes with a deep, soulful longing in his eyes, stirring something deep within me.
"I love you," he whispers again, with a burning devotion in his eyes that almost scares me.
My heart races. I slide my hand away from his grip, getting off the couch and walking closer towards the large windows.
"Sera?" his voice comes out tortured again, scared by the distance I've put between us.
Tears well up in my eyes now-the tears I've been trying so hard to hold back.
"What's wrong?"
"Artemis... the plan failed. You're getting married tomorrow," I point out the bitter truth staring us in the face, and he shakes his head over and over again.
"No, no, the plan hasn't failed yet; we still have a few hours. I'm not going to show up for it, refuse until the bitter end. We could run away together by morning, start up somewhere else. Tonight was supposed to be just for show so that my father would never suspect anything," he argues desperately, throwing plans in the air - plans we both know won't work.
You can't run from the Alpha King.
Most of the lands are his territory, and he now has the backing of the human population since the fickle alliance. It'd be impossible to run forever, and even if somehow that works, Artemis can't run from me.
If the wild doesn't kill us, I will.
I shake my head, biting my lips, knowing that there's nothing either of us can do about this anymore, that it's too late.
We lost.
"I want to break up, Artemis."