Chapter 560 – Sera, please, spare me five minutes of your time
Noelle regretted spilling that last secret the second the words left her mouth. The moment she understood it had cost her tongue instead of the stone cracking against her skull, pure regret tore through her like another blade. She should have kept quiet.
She should have let those creatures take Seraphine and her real parents and never looked back. If she had just stayed silent none of this would have happened.
Her careful plans would still be standing, Daisy would rule as Luna with her head held high, and Noelle would never have ended up lying broken in the snow, body cut to pieces because she had been too terrified to keep her secrets buried where they belonged.
Pain slashed through her mouth without mercy. Blood flooded it instantly, thick and hot, choking her as she tried to drag in air. Her eyes bulged wide with raw terror. She wanted to scream, wanted to beg, to promise anything, to take every word back. But the words were gone forever.
Nothing was left for her to use. In the end, she could only force broken, muffled sounds past the ruin of her mouth while tears streamed down her face, mixed with the blood already freezing on her skin.
Voren was nowhere near satisfied. If Noelle had never brought that witch into the Centenary Pack, the moon goddess would never have used her to shove Sera and Ravyn together that night. The thought alone made anger coil tight and hot through his chest.
"Add one eye."
Noelle’s entire body shook so hard, the snow around her trembled as one of her eyes was extracted from it’s socket, it flew wide as pure terror swallowed her whole.
She desperately shook her head, trying to plead with everything she had left, but no words could escape anymore. Only a helpless, broken whimper made it out.
She pressed her remaining hand over her bleeding eye socket, trembling so violently her fingers could barely stay in place against the slick skin.
Bloodfang finally handed control back to Voren, figuring the work was finished. But as Voren looked at the man who now knew far too much, another cold thought hit him hard.
He could not let anyone else hear certain pieces of this confession. Especially the part about Coco possibly being the witch’s daughter. Too much sat on the line. He could not risk that information spreading before he understood every corner of the truth himself.
"Remove his tongue."
Chuck’s eyes widened in pure panic. It exploded across his face so fast the color drained right out of him. He desperately tried to plead, but the words locked in his throat and refused to come.
His remaining hand lifted as he shook his head frantically, eyes wild. He wanted to beg, wanted to promise he would never speak a single word of what he had heard.
But these outlanders were wild and merciless. Two of them grabbed him immediately, pinning him hard into the snow before he could even try to fight.
Chuck’s eyes darted toward Noelle. For the first time the sight of her did not fill him with anger. It filled him with pure, gut-deep fear. He knew exactly what was coming.
His body thrashed violently against the men holding him, muscles straining, remaining arm flailing, but their grip only tightened like iron. The leader moved with practiced skill and removed his tongue the same way he had done to his wife.
The impact left Chuck unable to scream. His mouth opened wide but only a strangled, wet sound escaped. Then his body went limp. He collapsed beside Noelle in the snow, chest heaving hard as tears poured freely from his eyes and the cold bit into every open wound.
Noelle looked at him, and Chuck looked back at her, but neither of them could speak. Neither could offer even the smallest comfort.
They could only lie there together in the bloody snow, broken by the full weight of every choice they had ever made.
"Thank you."
Voren’s voice stayed calm as he spoke to the outlanders. He quickly transferred money to them without another word, but the leader frowned, brows pulling together.
"Alpha Voren, this wasn’t necessary. We owe you too much."
Voren did not answer, but his phone beeped. He glanced down and saw a video from the outlanders’ leader, showing everything that had transpired from the exact moment Noelle and Chuck were captured. The sight of it brought a faint, cold smile to his lips.
"You earned it. Keep it as a bonus."
The outlanders bowed respectfully before melting away into the snow in different directions. Voren took a deep breath that fogged in the freezing air. He watched them disappear completely before calling the Centenary Pack warriors to come carry the couple back inside the borders. Once that was done, he sat back in his car and closed the door against the storm.
Seraphine was stunned when the video ended. She slowly handed the phone back to Voren, her expression hazy and distant as she tried to process every brutal second she had just watched.
It was clear why Voren had not wanted to show this confession to anyone else. Sure, he could have edited the video and cut certain parts out, but his principles would never allow it. He had wanted her to know the truth exactly as it had happened, no matter how ugly.
"I see why you didn’t want to talk about it. You’re ashamed of having slept with a witch."
Her words came out gentle, almost soft. There was no accusation in them at all. Only quiet understanding. If Coco’s mother really was the witch, then it would make sense that Coco had inherited some of those powers or was still thriving on them.
Voren did not answer, but the way his jaw clenched tight was enough. Seraphine noticed immediately and leaned closer to him, her voice low and steady.
"You know I won’t judge you, right? Whatever happened in our past stays in our past."
Voren finally looked at her. Something vulnerable and raw sat in his eyes that made her chest ache hard. She reached for his hand without hesitation.
Then she removed the ring she had taken from his finger when they first arrived at the Centenary Pack and slipped it back onto him, pressing a soft kiss against the metal.
The simple gesture made Voren smile for real. Something warm spread through his chest, slow and steady. For the first time since hearing Noelle’s full confession, the heavy weight pressing against him eased just enough to let him breathe.
But when Seraphine took out her own ring and started to put it on, Voren gently took it from her fingers.
"I should do that, don’t you think?"
Seraphine smiled softly, the expression warm and open. "Of course."
Voren carefully slipped the ring onto her finger, the motion slow and deliberate in the best way. Then he lifted her hand and kissed her fingers longingly, lingering there as if the simple contact could erase some of the darkness they had just on the phone.
Seraphine leaned closer until their shoulders touched. For a while neither of them spoke. Only the steady thrum of the helicopter filled the cabin while the quiet warmth between them slowly eased the tension.
Eventually Seraphine’s eyelids grew heavy. She rested against him, head finding the familiar spot on his shoulder, and drifted into sleep while the rotor blades kept their steady rhythm overhead.
Hours later the helicopter touched down on the soil of New York City. A black limo already waited for them on the tarmac. It was full night. The city lights glittered sharp and bright in the distance as they made their way toward Voren’s mansion through the quiet streets.
But the second they reached the gates, both of them noticed a familiar car parked right in front of the mansion. Voren did not immediately press the remote to open the automated gates.
Instead he stared at the vehicle for a long moment before turning toward Seraphine, voice low. "That’s Ravyn’s car."
Just as expected, Ravyn stepped out, looking better than they last saw him. He walked slowly toward the passenger side, every step heavy, his expression filled with deep sorrow that the city lights could not hide.
When he reached the vehicle, he looked directly at Seraphine and pleaded, even though the glass still separated them.
"Sera, please, spare me five minutes of your time."