Alpha's Regret: Claiming My Stolen Twins

Seraphina’s POV

The antiseptic smell hit me first, sharp and clinical. Hospital. Again.

My fingers twitched against the rough sheets. They obeyed when I commanded them to move, but when I attempted to shift my legs, agony exploded through my entire body.

This wasn’t ordinary pain. This was liquid fire coursing through my veins. Every breath felt like razor blades slicing between my ribs. My stomach, my back, every inch of me pulsed with torment. The thin hospital blanket might as well have been made of concrete pressing down on my battered flesh.

A strangled whimper escaped my lips as I squeezed my eyes shut. I had to sit up. I had to understand where I was, what had happened.

Bracing myself with trembling arms, I forced my torso upward. The movement sent a scream tearing from my throat as white-hot pain crashed over me in waves. I collapsed back onto the pillows, tears streaming down my cheeks.

"Whoa, take it easy there."

The deep male voice made me flinch violently. My eyes snapped open to find a middle-aged man in a white coat standing beside my bed, his expression concerned but cautious.

"You need to move slowly, Miss. Your injuries are severe," he said, extending his hand toward me.

The sight of his approaching fingers triggered something primal and terrifying. Memories crashed through my mind like a freight train. The basement. Those brutal hands. The sickening thuds as boots connected with my ribs over and over. And Dorian, standing in the shadows, watching with dead eyes.

When the doctor’s fingertips barely grazed my shoulder, I lashed out with surprising strength, slapping his hand away.

"Don’t touch me," I gasped, my voice cracked and raw. The betrayal burned hotter than the physical wounds. "Stay back. Who are you? Where am I?"

The doctor stepped away, raising both hands peacefully. "I’m Dr. Robert. You’re in St. Mary’s Hospital. You’re safe now, I promise."

Safe. The word was a cruel joke.

My brother had orchestrated this nightmare. My own flesh and blood had watched men destroy me.

I pulled the blanket up to my chin, creating a barrier between myself and the world. My heart hammered against my damaged ribs like a caged animal. I couldn’t trust anyone. Not anymore.

"Please just leave me alone," I whispered, staring at the sterile white wall.

The door burst open with jarring suddenness, and a voice I now despised filled the room like poison.

"Seraphina. Thank God you’re awake."

Dorian stood in the doorway, immaculate as always in his designer suit and perfectly styled hair. He swept past Dr. Robert as if the man didn’t exist, rushing toward my bedside with theatrical urgency.

His face was a masterpiece of false concern as he reached for my hand. "I’ve been sick with worry. Thank the Goddess you’re alive."

Instead of pulling away, I struck his hand with every ounce of strength I possessed. The slap echoed through the room like a gunshot.

I met his eyes with all the hatred burning in my soul. "Don’t you dare touch me, you sick freak."

Dr. Robert shifted uncomfortably, but Dorian acted as if we were alone. His expression crumpled into wounded confusion that might have fooled anyone who hadn’t seen his true face.

"Seraphina, what’s wrong with you? I don’t understand." His voice broke with practiced emotion. "I’m your brother."

The word hit me like a physical blow. Brother. What a mockery.

I laughed, a sound so bitter and harsh it didn’t seem to come from my own throat. "You’re nothing to me. The only thing you are is the sick animal who stood there and watched two men beat me half to death."

His eyes widened in what looked like genuine shock. He stumbled backward, running trembling fingers through his hair. "Seraphina, I’m so sorry. If I had known who you were, if you had just told me you were my sister..."

Wrong apology. He was sorry about my identity, not about the violence.

The grief that crashed over me was worse than any physical pain. It was the death of every childhood dream I’d ever had about finding my family.

I stared at him with empty eyes. "You want to discuss what you put my body through today? Fine. This pain will fade. These bruises will heal."

My voice shattered as the real agony poured out. "But you stole my daughter. You ripped her from my arms before I could even hold her. That is unforgivable."

Dorian’s face hardened, the mask of concern finally slipping away. "This is about Julian, isn’t it? He poisoned you against your own family. He knew exactly who you were and kept you from me."

Terror for my mate ignited in my chest like wildfire. "Leave Julian out of this."

"Stop protecting him!" Dorian roared, his calm facade exploding. "After what his family did to ours, you still defend that monster?"

"He is my mate!" I screamed back. "He’s nothing like you!"

Dorian’s smile was pure malice, cold and calculating. "Not for much longer. Your precious mate bond won’t last." 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Ice flooded my veins. My breath caught in my throat as panic seized me. "What are you talking about? What are you planning?"

His eyes glittered with dangerous satisfaction. "The people who murdered our father will pay in blood, Seraphina. Justice demands it."

"Julian never killed anyone!" I pleaded desperately. "His father did those things, not him. Julian is innocent!"

"Innocent or guilty doesn’t matter," Dorian snarled. "He carries his father’s sins. That’s how justice works in our world."

"I’ll stop you," I gasped, trying again to rise from the bed. The pain slammed me back down like a physical wall, leaving me trapped and helpless.

Dorian leaned over me until I could feel his breath on my face, his voice dropping to a whisper that chilled my blood.

"Nothing can stop what’s already begun, Seraphina. Not you, not your precious mate, not anyone." His smile turned triumphant and cruel. "Right now, as we speak, the Solstice pack is burning to the ground."