The Rescue & A Dark Truth

 

 

Selene woke to the scent of blood and fire.

Her own blood, thick and coppery on her tongue. Firelight flickered in the dim cave, casting long shadows against the stone walls.

And she wasn’t alone.

A man crouched near the entrance, his back to her, watching the night beyond. His presence was too solid, too still, and every instinct in her body screamed danger. She shifted slowly, testing her limbs. The movement sent sharp pain slicing through her ribs, but she bit down on the groan.

She’d been running. She’d fought, survived the river, and then—nothing. Just darkness swallowing her whole.

Now she was here.

Alive.

Selene forced herself upright. It took everything she had to stay steady, to push past the pain and weakness. She moved soundlessly, her fingers brushing against a rock, cold and jagged.

She lunged.

Or tried to.

In a blink, she was slammed against the cave wall, her wrist pinned above her head. The rock slipped from her fingers, clattering uselessly to the ground.

Her captor barely looked winded.

Up close, he was worse than she expected. Tall, broad-shouldered, dressed in dark, worn leathers that smelled of the forest and blood. His hair was black, untamed, falling past his shoulders in careless waves. But it was his eyes that held her frozen.

Golden. Feral. Rogue.

Selene bared her teeth, her wolf rising beneath her skin. “Let. Me. Go.”

The rogue tilted his head, considering her like she was something amusing. Then, he did the opposite of what she expected.

He let her go.

Selene staggered but caught herself, rubbing her sore wrist. She glared up at him, already calculating her next move.

The man stepped back, hands open, as if to say I’m not here to kill you. But rogues didn’t do favors. They didn’t save wolves like her unless they wanted something.

“You fight like someone who hasn’t accepted she’s already dead,” he said, voice low, rough.

Selene stiffened.

“And you talk like a man who doesn’t mind losing his throat,” she shot back.

He laughed—actual laughter, like she’d just told a joke. Then, too fast, he was close again, the heat of him pressing against her space.

“If you had the strength, you would’ve killed me already,” he murmured. “You don’t. That’s why you’re still here.”

Selene clenched her jaw. She hated that he was right.

“I can help you survive,” the rogue said, watching her carefully. “But you’ll owe me.”

There it was. The price.

Selene forced her breathing to steady. He was dangerous, that much was clear. She had no reason to trust him. But she was alone, injured, and if he wanted her dead, she would be by now.

“What do you want?” she asked warily.

The rogue studied her for a long moment before finally saying, “Your loyalty.”

Selene let out a sharp laugh. “I’m not some stray you can leash.”

“No,” he agreed. “You’re something else entirely.”

Something in his tone sent unease crawling up her spine.

“Who are you?” she asked.

He didn’t answer right away. Instead, he crouched near the fire, tossing in another piece of wood. Only when the flames flared higher did he finally speak.

“Lucian.”

The name dropped like a stone between them.

Selene went still.

She knew that name. Every wolf did. Lucian Valor. The exiled Alpha. The rogue who had killed his own mate.

And now he was here. Offering to help her.

Selene’s stomach twisted. “Why would I trust a killer?”

Lucian’s lips curled in something that wasn’t quite a smile. “Because I tell the truth. And I have one you need to hear.”

He leaned forward, eyes catching the firelight, burning with something dark and unreadable.

“Your mate—Darius?” His voice turned sharp, deliberate. “He planned your downfall long before that ceremony.”

The words hit like a blade to the gut.

Selene’s heart pounded in her chest, memories flashing—Darius turning his back on her, the cheers for Lyra, the betrayal she hadn’t seen coming. But that wasn’t possible. Darius had been cruel, yes. But premeditated?

Lucian watched her carefully. “You were never meant to be Luna. He made sure of that.”

Selene’s breath came too fast, her vision narrowing. It wasn’t true. It couldn’t be.

Except—what if it was?

Lucian stood, stepping back toward the cave entrance. “Rest,” he said. “You’ll need your strength.”

Selene didn’t move, her mind racing.

Darius had betrayed her.

Not out of impulse. Not out of weakness.

But by design.

And if that was true…

Then she wasn’t just going to survive.

She was going to make him pay.

Rage burned. Slow at first, curling like smoke in her chest. Then hotter, hungrier, searing away the weakness that had kept her shackled.

Selene had spent too long in the dark, too long bleeding for a mate who had never been hers. A mate who had chosen to break her. Darius hadn’t just cast her aside—he had plotted it, played his role so perfectly she had never questioned it.

Her hands clenched into fists, nails biting into her palms.

Lucian watched her, unreadable as ever. His golden eyes flickered in the firelight, like he could see the shift inside her.

Good. Let him.

Selene inhaled slowly, steadying the storm building beneath her skin. “Tell me everything.”

Lucian tilted his head, considering her. “Are you sure you want to hear it?”

She bared her teeth. “I wouldn’t have asked if I wasn’t.”

Something like approval flashed across his face. He moved closer, slow, deliberate, like he was testing how far he could push before she lashed out.

Then he said the words that shattered the last piece of her restraint.

“Darius made a deal with the Werewolf Council to remove you. They promised him power in exchange for your death.”

The world tilted.

Her breath hitched, but she forced herself to stay still, to absorb the truth without breaking.

The Council. The true masters. The hidden threat.

Selene had always known they ruled from the shadows, shaping alliances, deciding which Alphas rose and which fell. She had just never thought—

No. She had never wanted to believe they had been watching her.

Lucian’s voice was calm, almost patient. “You weren’t weak, Selene. You were in the way.”

The final piece clicked into place.

It hadn’t mattered how hard she tried. How much she had sacrificed. Darius had never seen her as his Luna, not because she had failed—but because she had never been meant to succeed.

Selene exhaled slowly. The rage inside her had changed now, sharpened into something cold and deadly.

She met Lucian’s gaze, steady and unyielding. “Why are you telling me this?”

He shrugged, as if the answer was obvious. “Because you’re going to need allies. And I don’t like the Council any more than you do.”

Selene studied him, searching for the lie. A rogue with no pack. An exile with his own grudges. His reasons were his own, but she wasn’t naïve enough to believe this was just about revenge.

Still.

If he was telling the truth, if the Council had truly orchestrated her downfall—

Then this wasn’t just about Darius anymore.

This was war.

Selene pulled herself to her feet, ignoring the way her body screamed in protest. Lucian didn’t move, letting her find her balance.

She had been left for dead. Stripped of her title. Branded as nothing.

But she was still here.

And she was done being a pawn.

Selene lifted her chin. “What do you need from me?”

Lucian’s smile was slow, edged with something dangerous. “I already told you.”

He turned toward the cave entrance, glancing back just once.

“Your loyalty.”