Chapter 3 Matchmaking

• "A matchmaking event," my mother says, her eyes bright for the first time since the massacre. "We need to secure your future, Seraphine."
• I stand by the window of our new chambers in the palace, watching warriors train in the courtyard below. Two weeks since I carried my mother's bleeding body through the forest. Two weeks since I turned down the beta title that should have been mine—the title I'd trained for my entire life.
• "Mother, there's a war coming." I try to keep my voice gentle. "The Northern Kingdom sent assassins to slaughter our pack. This isn't the time for—"
• "This is exactly the time," she cuts me off, her smile fading. "Look what being warriors brought our family. Your father and brothers lie in fresh graves." Her hands tremble as she smooths the silk fabrics laid out by the royal seamstress. "I won't lose you too."
• I bite back my first response. My mother has lost everything—everyone except me. But so have I.
• "What about what I want?" The words escape before I can stop them.
• "What you want?" My mother blinks, genuinely confused. "You want to fight. To die like them."
• "I want justice," I correct her, fighting to keep my voice steady. "I want to protect what's left of our pack. I want to use the skills Father taught me."
• "The same skills that couldn't save him?" The moment the words leave her mouth, I see regret flash across her face. "Sera, I'm sorry. I didn't mean—"
• "You did." I turn away, the truth of her words cutting deeper than any blade. I wasn't there when they needed me. I was patrolling borders like a common guard because no one believed my visions.
• "Seraphine—" my mother reaches for me.
• "The Alpha King approved this... event?" I ask, changing the subject before I say something I'll regret.
• My mother nods, relief softening her features. "He thinks it's an excellent idea. A strong alliance through marriage could strengthen our position."
• Of course he does. Alpha King Aldrich, who relegated me to guard duty despite my skills, who mocked my visions, who never saw me as anything but a problem to be managed. Now he wants me married off and out of the way.
• "We've invited noble men from all thirteen packs," my mother continues, her excitement returning. "You'll find a mate before war breaks out."
• "And if I don't want a mate?" I challenge, already knowing the answer.
• "Every wolf needs a mate, Seraphine." My mother sighs. "Even the Red Phantom."
• I wince at the title—a name whispered with fear on battlefields, earned through blood and skill. Now reduced to a fairy tale as my mother discusses ribbons and lace.
• "This is ridiculous," Emogen growls within me. My wolf paces restlessly, agitated and confined. "We should be training, not playing dress-up."
• "She's all we have left," I responded internally. "What would you have me do?"
• "Honor your father!" Emogen snarls. "We're warriors, not some noble's broodmare. The Beta title is our birthright. Our pack needs us."
• "She needs us more," I argue, but my conviction waivers.
• "You owe her your love, not your life," my wolf counters.
• I excuse myself from my mother's excited chatter. "I need some air," I mutter, slipping out of our chambers.
• My feet carry me to the armory by instinct. The scent of metal and leather wraps around me like an embrace. This is where I've always belonged—among weapons and warriors, not silks and suitors.
• "There she is." Luna looks up from her forge, hammer poised mid-strike. The kingdom's master swordsmith, only a few years my senior but already legendary for her craft. "I was wondering when you'd escape."
• "I haven't escaped anything," I say, settling on a bench across from her.
• Luna snorts, returning to her work. The rhythmic clang of her hammer punctuates her words. "Right. That's why you're hiding in my armory instead of being measured for your wedding dress."
• "It's not a wedding dress," I protest weakly. "It's for a... gathering."
• "A matchmaking circus," Luna corrects, dunking the glowing metal into water. Steam hisses up, momentarily obscuring her face. "Tell me, Red Phantom—is this really what you want?"
• Before I can answer, the door bursts open. Koda, Talon, and Vex—warriors I've trained with since childhood—file in, their expressions lighting up when they see me.
• "Seraphine!" Koda's massive frame fills the doorway, his training leathers dark with sweat. As the Alpha King's personal guard, he's one of the few who could match me in combat. "We heard rumors, but I didn't believe them. Tell me you didn't turn down the beta title."
• I meet his eyes briefly before looking away.
• "She did," Talon says quietly, missing nothing. "Her mother's planning a matchmaking event."
• "Bullshit," Vex spits. The only female warrior besides me in the King's guard, her loyalty to my family runs deep. "After everything that happened? After what you saw in your vision?"
• "I don't have a choice," I say.
• "That's never stopped you before," Luna observes, not looking up from her work.
• "It's different now," I argue, but the words sound empty even to me.
• "Different how?" Vex challenges, crossing her arms. "Because your mother wants you to play pretend? To act like you're not the finest warrior this kingdom has ever seen?"
• "Because she lost everything!" I snap, rising to my feet. "Because she watched her mate and two sons die while she lay in a pool of her own blood. Because she had to be carried through miles of forest by her daughter while rogues hunted them. Because she's broken, Vex. She's all I have left, and she's broken."
• Silence falls over the armory. Even Luna's hammer goes quiet.
• "And what about the rest of us?" Talon asks. "What about the pack that needs leadership? The wolves who trusted your father—who trust you?"
• "The Northern packs are mobilizing," Koda adds, his voice grave. "Our scouts report movement in the mountains. The rogues who killed your family were just the beginning, Sera. War is coming, just like your dream predicted."
• "And Alpha King Aldrich wants me married off and out of the way," I say bitterly. "Convenient, isn't it?"
• Luna sets down her hammer carefully. "Maybe that's the point."
• "What do you mean?" I turned to her.
• "Think about it," she says. "Your visions have always been accurate. You saw the attack coming. You warned them. You were right when everyone—including the Alpha King—was wrong. That makes you dangerous."
• "Or valuable," Vex suggests.
• "Or both," Talon adds.
• Koda steps closer, lowering his voice. "There are whispers in the court, Sera. Questions about why the Alpha King sent you away on patrol that day. Why no one heeded your warning."
• "What are you saying?" I ask, though I already suspect.
• "I'm saying that perhaps there's more than one way to honor your mother," Koda replies. "Perhaps you don't have to choose between being the daughter she needs and the warrior your pack deserves."
• Emogen stirs within me, suddenly alert. "He's right. We can play their game while fighting our own battles."
• "Find your mate," Luna suggests, her silver eyes glinting mischievously. "Just be sure it's someone who understands what it means to be paired with the Red Phantom."
• "Someone who won't try to cage you," Vex adds.
• "Someone with connections," Talon muses. "Access to information about the Northern Kingdom's movements."
• I look between my friends, feeling a spark of possibility where before there was only resignation. "You think I should go through with this?"
• "I think," Koda says carefully, "that sometimes the best position from which to fight isn't always on the battlefield. Sometimes it's from within."
• "At least until you figure out what the Alpha King is really up to," Luna adds.
• "And what the Northern Kingdom claims was stolen," Talon reminds us. "Whatever it is, it was worth starting a war over."
• I consider their words, feeling Emogen's agreement rumbling through me. Perhaps there is a middle path—one that doesn't require me to abandon either my duty or my mother.
• "You're not just the Red Phantom," Vex says gently. "You're not just your father's daughter. You're Seraphine Velkan. And we need you—all of you."
• I look down at my hands—calloused from years of wielding weapons, now expected to hold delicate fans and dance with suitors. These hands saved my mother. Perhaps they could save more.
• My hand falls to the sword at my hip—the blade Luna forged for me on my eighteenth birthday after I bested every warrior in the kingdom save for the Alpha King himself. The blade that has become as much a part of me as Emogen herself.
• I slowly unbuckle my sword belt for what might be the last time. Each movement feels like betrayal, but I force myself to continue.
• "What are you doing?" Luna asks, though she already knows.
• "Honoring my promise," I say, removing my sword and carefully placing it in her hands. Everyone watches in stunned silence as I continue to unbuckle my battle armor, piece by piece, until I stand before them in nothing but simple clothes.
• Luna takes my armor and sword reverently, as if receiving sacred relics. The wolf insignia of my family gleams in the torchlight, a reminder of everything I'm setting aside.
• "This isn't goodbye," Vex insists, but her voice breaks.
• "It has to be," I say, though every word tastes like ash. "At least for now."
• "We'll keep these safe," Luna promises, setting my weapons and armor on her workbench. "For when you need them again."
• "If I need them again," I correct her, though Emogen howls in protest within me.
• "You will," Koda says with quiet certainty. "The Red Phantom may rest, but she doesn't die."
• I force a smile that doesn't reach my eyes. "Goodbye, guys." The words feel inadequate for what I'm leaving behind—not just weapons and armor, but a life, an identity, a purpose.
• As I step outside the armory, I feel like I've left a piece of myself behind.
• "We have to do this, Emogen," I urge my wolf, who paces restlessly within me. "This is all for mom. Besides, perhaps married life will suit me."
• "Seraphine!" My mother calls from across the courtyard, waving excitedly from the tailor's shop.
• I wave back, summoning a smile. "See, that smile is worth everything," I mumble to my wolf. "We can't fail her, Emogen. We must do this."
• As I walk over to her, every step feels like a battle—the hardest I've ever fought—against my own nature. But for my mother, I will fight it. For her, I will wear silks instead of armor, dance instead of train, smile instead of fight.
• "We've picked a gown for you," Mother says, showing me a beautiful Cinderella-like blue dress. Her eyes sparkle with more life than I've seen since the massacre.
• I run my fingers over the delicate fabric, so unlike the leather and steel I'm accustomed to. "It's beautiful," I say, and I mean it, though not for the reasons she might think.
• "Great, so it's settled," she says, practically giddy. "Tomorrow night, you'll meet your mate. Two days after that, you'll be a married wolf."
• I take the dress, silencing Emogen's protests in my mind. "I can't wait."
• As I watch my mother flutter around the shop, selecting accessories and discussing hairstyles with the attendants, my mind runs through the names of the thirteen pack nobles who will attend. One of them will become my mate—but which one might serve my true purpose best? Which one might have connections to the Northern Kingdom, access to information about what was stolen, knowledge of why the Alpha King ignored my warning?
• Most importantly, as I consider using marriage as a weapon in a different kind of battle:
• Who can I trust?