Chapter 248

**He Promised to Give Me the World, Yet the Price Was My Soul by Caden Blake**
**Chapter 251: What’s Wrong?**
**SERAPHINA**
For far too long, I had danced around the question that haunted my thoughts. My heart raced at the mere possibility of the truth, for I understood that their connection was woven from threads far stronger than mere blood or loyalty. The depths of their bond were unfathomable, and I dreaded the revelation that awaited me.
But now, that truth clawed at my insides, demanding to be unearthed.
He spoke in a hushed tone, almost as if the very air around us would shatter at his words. “Asher’s mother… she was the secret lover of Alpha King Charles. It’s ironic, really, because she was supposed to be his soulmate. Born of Alpha blood, yet her father’s pack had long since crumbled into dust. Survival became her only option, and she clung to the King, hiding the truth of their bond like a precious secret. But when the King took a Luna Queen into the kingdom, her entire world was thrown into chaos.”
I listened, my heart pounding, as he continued, “She was terrified that the child growing within her would never find a place in the royal family. In a desperate bid to secure a future for her unborn baby, she threw herself into an experiment, seeking the King’s attention at any cost. But when the Blood Petal made contact with her belly, it shattered something deep inside her. She began to forget everything— except for the King. By the time Asher was five, he witnessed his mother’s belly swell, marked by the touch of the blood petal. Each time it connected with her, she inflicted pain upon herself, diminishing her very essence until she was a mere shadow of her former self. Yet, as soon as she healed, her belly would swell once more, and she would plunge back into that horrific ritual… harm herself again and again.”
He paused, his gaze flicking to mine, searching for the calm that had long since evaporated. “When Asher turned ten, he tried to intervene, to stop her self- destructive spiral, but she—she slit his throat,” he said, his voice trembling slightly as my eyes widened in disbelief. “Fortunately, Asher’s uncle, his mother’s brother, arrived just in time, and Asher was barely saved. Yet, despite the pain, he would return to his mother, time and again. But she never recognized him. She couldn’t even recall the moment of his birth. And every child she bore after Asher, she killed. Asher witnessed it all. He saw each one die right before his eyes.”
A chill swept through me, my hands turning numb as the cold seeped into my veins like ice water. His words wrapped around my heart, squeezing it until I struggled to breathe.
Suddenly, everything fell into place—the bloodthirsty aura that surrounded Asher, the deadly glint in his eyes, the smoldering rage that seemed to follow him like a dark cloud. His obsession with destroying the Blood Petal wasn’t merely hatred; it was a lifetime’s worth of anguish and loss.
How could I have ever fathomed the torment he endured? To watch his own mother disintegrate into a hollow version of herself, her mind fracturing while he stood helplessly by, beginning from the tender age of five? It was no wonder his loathing for the blood petal consumed him entirely. No one could grasp the depths of his pain -not even me.
And just like Ronan, Asher had navigated the halls of the Lupine Academy, searching for me, yearning for the Blood Petal.
The mark between my brows pulsated, a sharp throb that echoed the frantic rhythm of my heart.
“What’s wrong?” Ronan’s brow knitted together in concern, his eyes scanning my face for signs of the turmoil brewing within me.
I shook my head, words failing me as I struggled to articulate the whirlwind of emotions swirling inside. dress up quickly,” I
murmured, turning toward the net
bathroom, seeking refuge behind the door. My heart raced wildly in my chest and I pressed my palm
against attempting to calm the
strange, unsettling sensation that coiled around me like a serpent.
“What is this this strange feeling?” I whispered to myself, sliding down against the door, clutching my chest as if I could physically hold my fear at bay The mark on my brow burned with an intensity that felt almost alive, pulsing in rhythm with my erratig heartbeat. First came the nightmare, followed by ant
overwhelming sense of dread that clung to me like a shadow. And why,
of all times, did I see my father’s
face?

I had never dreamed of him before, never once felt his presence in my sleep. Yet now, it loomed over me like an inescapable specter. “Something doesn’t feel right I murmured, my voice quaking with uncertainty.
Meanwhile, Ronan remained outside, his gaze fixed on the door, an inscrutable expression on his face. He didn’t knock, but he could feel the shift within me through our bond—the rapid beat of my heart, the unease that permeated my emotions.
“Why does she need to go in the bathroom to change?” he muttered under his breath, his thoughts still tethered to me. Just as he raised his hand to knock, a sudden buzz in his mind-link jolted him.
“A-Alpha The message fragmented, the words barely coherent through the connection.
Ronan’s frown deepened, and he shook his head, frustration flickering in his eyes. “Seraphina, I’m waiting for you outside. Come out when you’re ready,” he called gently, though his tone held an undercurrent of urgency.
He turned, heading for the door, but before stepping away entirely, he reached out to Mace through their mind-link.
“I can’t hear you,” Ronan murmured, his footsteps quickening as he moved down the hallway. His pace was brisk, determined as he approached the broken fountain outside, his mind racing with thoughts. “What did you say again?”
Mace’s voice came through again, clearer this time, though still fragmented: “Alpha Ryker really did not enrolt in the Lupine Academy with fake documents or anything. He didn’t even go through the background check process. He just walked straight into the Lupine Academy without anyone stopping him because… the person who led him through could not be
questioned by anyone in this realm.”
Verkas growled in my mind, the realization hitting hard, “Alpha King Charles Gravenhurst.”