When The Moon Hides Her Crown novel Chapter 196

SERAPHINA

“Why did you reject her?”

He looked up at me, tear–streaked cheeks and salt on his face, tears blurring his sight. “She -she cheated on me,” he stammered.

“How?” I asked, my voice low.

“That–that’s personal-”

“I asked how,” I cut him off.

He was silent for a few seconds. Whether from guilt or shame, his face shifted; then a flicker of anger flared. He began, “She slept with another man and lied to me, saying she thought I was that man.” His words trembled, hot and raw. “How could she not tell? And even if she didn’t know, why didn’t she scream when she realized? She whored herself out to a powerful Alpha behind my back, and now she’s killed herself to make me feel guilty…”

Before he could finish, I raised my fist and struck him.

The room froze. His nose broke with a sickening crack; dark blood spread across the white tile as he crumpled, rolling on the floor.

“She committed suicide to make you feel guilty?” My wolf clawed to the surface, my eyes flashing. “Judging by your aura, it’s easy to tell you’re not even an Omega but a Delta, a pathetic fool that can barely earn respect for himself. Yet the Moon Goddess blessed you with a soulmate…an innocent Omega who foolishly devoted her entire life to trash like you. And now she’s dead because she couldn’t let you go.”

I took a step closer, voice dropping to a cold whisper that silenced the room. “Cheating, you say? A whore? You’re the mutt here, the one who failed to protect the sacred bond. If you had loved her, truly loved her, you would’ve felt the truth through your mate bond. You would’ve felt pain if she had truly cheated on you.”

He stare up at me, clutching his bleeding nose, eyes swimming with pain and bitterness. “You Alphas…talk big and harass the weak,” he spat, forcing himself to stand. “You don’t have a soulmate, do you? That’s why it’s so easy for you to talk! I pray the Goddess lets you taste the same betrayal one day…” he spat, causing me to freeze on the spot. My body seemed to lock as I felt like another curse was being added to my already cursed life. After all I did see visions, “…to watch your mate cheat on you, to be left with nothing-”

Before he could finish, a blur of motion struck him like lightning. A kick landed in his gut so hard it lifted him off the floor and sent him crashing into the shelf, then the wall. I gasped and turned-

Ronan stood beside me, burning in silent fury.

1

“What the fuck did you just say, motherfucker?” Ronan’s voice was pure venom. His wolf glared through his eyes, and his aura exploded into the room, dark, blood thirsty and merciless. Every wolf flinched.

The Delta howled in pain, sliding down the wall. Only Ronan wasn’t done.

“I asked you. What the fuck did you just say?!” He seized the man by the collar and slammed his head against the wall again, the crack echoing through the stunned silence as blood splattered across the tiles.

I froze, breath catching in my throat, my wolf stunned into silence.

“Alpha Ronan!” Aran’s voice cracked as he tried to intervene, but Ronan had already slammed the man’s face against the wall several times before hurling him across the

room.

“Alpha Ronan, please! He’ll die!” Aran yelled, gesturing for his wolves to surround and check the injured man.

“Ronan…” I quickly stepped in front of him, blocking his path. “No.” I shook my head.

Violence against a commander was a violation of Academy law. If the instructors found out, Ronan could be in serious trouble, because of me.

His breathing came harsh and ragged, but he forced himself to still, obeying me. His furious eyes, however, stayed locked on the wolf.

“You’d better never cross my path again,” Ronan growled, his voice low and deadly. “If you want to live.”

“Take him to the emergency ward, now!” Aran barked.

Before anyone could move, a sound froze the room.

Laughter.

Broken, gurgling laughter, dripping with blood.

The Delta wolf, half–conscious and mangled, was laughing. Even through the blood and swelling, he managed a twisted grin. The room went utterly silent. I felt Ronan’s aura shift, dark, cold, and merciless.

“Acting so high and mighty,” the wolf rasped, spitting blood on the floor. “Let’s see if you’ll keep that tone when your soulmate betrays you!”

My heart dropped. Me betray Ronan?

Ronan went still, eyes like burning coals fixed on the man.

2

“What’s with that expression?” the wolf taunted, leaning weakly against the wall. “Can’t picture your mate with another man, can you?” His voice cracked, but he pressed on, the madness in his tone silencing everyone. “Every man’s the same, Alpha or Delta. Tell me, what would you do if your soulmate cheated on you? Reject her? Kill her? Or maybe…do the same back?”

No one moved. The air was thick enough to choke on.

His question clawed at something deep inside me. It was said that when you love someone and they betray you, one of you must die because that kind of love doesn’t survive betrayal.

If it were me…if I were in that she–wolf’s place…I couldn’t imagine living after hurting Ronan that way. I’d rather die.

Ronan’s voice broke through my spiraling thoughts.

“First of all, my mate would never cheat on me.”

The certainty in his tone was so sharp it silenced even the healers.

“Since she’ll never do that, I shouldn’t even answer your nonsense. But I will…because you’re a fucked–up piece of shit.”

He took a step forward, violet eyes blazing. “If my soulmate ever did cheat on me,” he said, every word measured and burning, “I would still love her.”

I gasped softly, my heart stuttering.

“My love for her isn’t limited to her body. She’s mine in every way: mind, heart, and soul. As long as I’m breathing, I’ll run to her, even if she’s with another man. I’ll bring her back. I’ll remind her of my love again and again until my last breath. Because in this lifetime, I’ve been given only one soulmate. And she can’t be replaced, humiliated, or rejected. My mate,” his voice slowed slightly, “Is my life.”

My heart skipped a beat.