SELENEA huge wedding ceremony…. If we did that, news would spread that the Alpha of the Denizens had found his mate, and a lot of people would try to get a glimpse of me out of curiosity.If that happened, Lucas might see me and recognise me, and he'd know I didn't die, he'd know I would come after him…My thoughts were occupied with the deal I made with Tristan earlier as I brushed out my wet hair.Once we got into the pack house, he was whisked away to attend to pack issues while I was left alone to my own devices.The huge bathtub in Tristan's bathroom, well our bathroom…since we shared the room now, was calling to me, and I decided to take a long soak while waiting for Tristan.It had been an hour now but he still hadn't come back. I didn't think anything major had happened while we were out that they needed his attention.I stared at myself in the mirror, from my snow blonde hair and snow white pupils down to the slight curves on my body. My father always said I looked just like
SELENE“You'll join in on the next meeting.”When Tristan had said those words three days ago, I thought he was joking, but as I followed him down the halls of the pack house, my stomach knotted in nerves.I had no idea why I was nervous. I'd been in meetings before, presided over them. But not as an outsider, and not with people who already hated my presence.My body was tense, my instincts whispering that I did not belong here, in the midst of the enemy.Lucas was my enemy now. I had to remind myself that I was not betraying my pack, I was simply trying to save them.Beside me, Tristan radiated authority, his presence impossible to ignore.“This way.” His hand on my back seared into my skin, and I had to hold myself back from reacting to it.What is wrong with me?I can't believe I was getting butterflies over something as simple as a touch. It had never been like this before, not even when I found out that Lucas was my mate.After a few more seconds of walking, we stopped in front
SELENE As soon as the conference room door shut behind the last person, Tristan turned away from me and started pacing, his steps heavy, his hands flexing into fists at his sides. The muscles in his back tensed beneath his black shirt, the fabric stretching as if it could barely contain the force of his anger. I frowned as I watched him, confusion etched on my face. What was going on? “What’s wrong with you?” I asked, leaning back in my chair. His sudden tension made no sense. He didn’t answer me, instead his strides became even more agitated as he moved back and forth across the room. Every few steps, his claws slipped out, his control fraying. Then, as suddenly as he had started pacing, he whirled toward me with a low, guttural snarl. “Did you sleep with Lucas?” he spat at me, his eyes blazing with accusation. The words hit me like a whip and I blinked, taken aback by the question even as my heart started beating faster. "What? Why would you think that?” “Did. You. Sleep.
SELENE“You want to know why I want Lucas dead?” My voice came out hoarse from hours of crying.“Yes.” Tristan's voice was as low as mine, as if he didn't want to disturb the quiet.I swallowed hard and turned away slightly, staring at the shattered chair he had thrown earlier. The jagged edges of the broken wood reminded me too much of my own past.I hesitated, the words sticking in my throat. But I knew I had to tell him. I had to make him understand."I'm the daughter of the former alpha of the Razorback pack," I said, the words tumbling out in a rush. I wanted to get this story over with as soon as possible instead of dwelling on it."Lucas was my mate, we were supposed to rule together, and my father approved of him, he loved him like the son he never had. When my father died, Lucas took over as alpha, and I was Luna.”Tristan's eyes widened in surprise. "You're the daughter of...?"I nodded, confirming his thoughts.“You never told me you were Luna of the Razorback pack.”“No on
SELENE“What are you doing?” A giggle left my lips as Tristan scooped me up into his arms, cradling me like a bride.He didn’t answer, didn’t even hesitate as he walked right out of the conference room as if carrying me around like a sack of flour was the most normal thing in the world.“Tristan—” I hissed, but my words were cut off by the shocked gasps of the pack members that stopped in their tracks to stare at us.Some of the warriors who were in the meeting did a double take as they saw us, and I caught a glimpse of their stunned faces, some wide-eyed, others exchanging knowing smirks. One warrior even let out a low whistle, and I knew my face was as red as a tomato.“Alpha…?” One of them started to ask, but Tristan didn't even acknowledge them, he just kept walking, completely unfazed.I wonder what they thought happened in there, or what they'll think when they see the broken chair.Oh, Goddess…Heat flooded my cheeks, and I buried my face in his shoulder, trying to avoid the eye
TRISTANThe amber liquid in my glass swirled lazily as I rolled my wrist, staring blankly into the dim light of my office. I brought the glass up to my lips, taking a sip, and the whiskey burned on its way down, but it did nothing to dull the ache in my chest.I can't believe she went through all that, and I treated her that way….My mind was still reeling with everything Selene had told me. The weight of it settled deep in my chest, suffocating. It wasn’t just guilt, although I was feeling a lot of that emotion at the moment, it was fury, regret, and something darker that churned in my gut.I let her enter the Hole mere hours after suffering betrayal, near death, and the unimaginable loss of her baby. And not just any betrayal—her mate had been the one to shatter her.Her former mate, I reminded myself, but the correction did nothing to ease the sickening feeling twisting inside me.I exhaled sharply, dragging a hand down my face. My fingers trembled, my grip tightening around the gl
SELENEAs I stepped into the training room, my eyes widened in awe. The room was massive, bigger than anyone I've ever seen, with a raised platform in the center where Tristan and another soldier were sparring.Around it, several other platforms were scattered, each occupied by fighters locked in combat. The sound of grunting and pounding footsteps filled the air, and I watched, mesmerized, as they clashed.But what caught my attention was the amount of gym equipment they had in here. Machines lined the walls, there were rows of treadmills, racks of weights stood in neat rows, exercise machines that seemed to stretch on forever, and punching bags hung from the ceiling like waiting prey.And this was just the main room.There were at least three doors leading to smaller rooms, probably for more specialized training, each one filled with their own equipments, everything about this space screamed discipline, efficiency, and power.My gaze moved back to Tristan, and I watched him spar. Hi
SELENE“Not bad.” The approval in Tristan's eyes was enough to distract me, and when my foot raised up into a sharp kick, he caught my ankle mid air, yanking me forward.I landed hard against his chest, his arm wrapping around my waist.“Careful,” he murmured against my ear. “I might think you want to be in my arms.”He was not taking me seriously, I growled in frustration, and twisted, breaking free.I dropped to the ground again, sweeping Tristan's legs out from under him. He hit the ground with a grunt, but he rolled immediately, using the momentum to throw me off balance.I barely had time to react before he was on top of her, pinning my wrists to the ground.“Yield,” he murmured, his face inches from mine.“Not yet.” I growled at him.I slammed her forehead into his, and he loosened his grip just enough for me to twist free, flipping them over so I straddled his waist.It wasn’t the most graceful move, but it worked.The crowd watching roared in shock at seeing their alpha on his
SELENE“He’s gone again…” I murmured to myself under my breath as I stabbed at a piece of bacon with my fork. It was perfectly crisp and smoky, but I barely tasted it.The plate in front of me was half full, but I was already losing interest in eating.I stared at the seat next to me as if Tristan would suddenly appear in it despite the fact that I knew he would not.Recently, Tristan had been busy…busier than he had been since I got here…and for some reason he refused to tell me why.I guess I got used to his presence. The way he would drape his arm around my waist when I sat beside him. The way his eyes softened whenever he looked at me, even when he thought I was not paying attention…it felt lonely eating all my meals alone with nobody but myself to talk to especially when I barely had any friends here.I missed him…and I hated that I missed him. How did I let myself fall for him, despite all the walls that I tried t
TRISTAN“You have always been mine and I am not going to let some random stray walk in and take what I have waited for.”I growled and straightened fully, my voice growing even colder. “Do not be delusional, Nancy.”Her smile faltered.“I have a mate, her name is Selene, and you might want to remember that. Whatever we had was over a long time ago,” I continued. “You should have a little bit of self respect.”She flinched, and tears filled her eyes, but I did not care about her feelings, not anymore.“And more importantly,” I said, taking a step forward, “I am your Alpha, which means that you will respect my mate. You will speak of her with the reverence she deserves. And if I hear you say one more word against her, I will not be so lenient next time.”Her mouth opened like she wanted to argue, but I cut her off with a growl of warning vibrating low in my chest.“You are lucky I’m tired,” I said, my eyes glowing faintly like I was on the verge of
TRISTAN I balled my fists so tightly my knuckles cracked, but the pain was nothing compared to the rage pulsing through me as I remembered the way Lucas was looking at Selene like she was still his…like she was some prized possession that had wandered off and just needed to be reclaimed.That smug, possessive gleam in his eyes had nearly sent me over the edge. He looked at her like he owned her. Like her pain, her scars, her body still belonged to him…that bastard.I could not get that look out of my head…the look on Selene's face as we left the hall that was a mixture of rage and fear and buried grief. She had been doing so well these past few days but seeing Lucas had cracked something open inside her…and I had no idea how to fix it.I should have killed him, I was on the verge of killing him right in front of everyone, but I knew that would have caused even bigger problems and Selene did not need that right now.I nearly shi
SELENE “What the hell happened in there?” Tibet’s voice cut through the heavy silence from where he was driving in front. I knew he was curious about why we decided to leave do early…I guess he got tired of wondering and decided to ask. I looked up at him, meeting his eyes that were filled with worry as he stared at me through the rearview mirror. “We might have officially declared war on Lucas and my former pack.” I said in reply. There was a beat of silence, and then Tibet snapped, “You saw him in there and let him walk out alive? After what he did to you?” He asked in outrage. I clenched my hands in my lap, trying to stay calm, trying not to scream. I had wanted to do so much more than just exchange words with Lucas. I had wanted to rip him apart with my bare hands. I had wanted him to bleed. “We cannot attack another Alpha, not even a rival one or our sworn enemy during the Trade, Tibet, you know the rules.” Tristan growled beside me with his arm still wrapped tightly aro
SELENE “We're coming for you, Lucas,” I said, my voice low and cold. “And there will be no single corner of the earth available for you to run to.” The words hung in the air, and Lucas's smug expression faded and for a short moment, I saw a flicker of fear in his eyes. Good…he should be scared of me, he should be scared of what I was forced to become because of him. Without giving him another second of my attention, Tristan and I turned our backs on both him and the woman clutching his arm like a badge of honor. The whispers from the crowd were loud behind us and I could feel the curious stares that followed us, but we did not look back, there was nothing left for us to say and we did not have to prove anything to these people. My work here has been done and there was no need for us to stay here any longer. I had faced the monster from my past, looked him in the eye, and stood tall…and I had not crumbled. But goddess, I felt like I could fall apart right now. The only thing ke
SELENE How the hell did I stay mated to this fool? I asked myself as I watched Lucas ignore the woman he came with to stare at me like he owned me. His stare made my skin crawl, and I made a mental note to scrub my body clean when we get back to the pack. He turned away from Tristan to stare at me, and I could see the confusion written all over his face, as he tried to figure out how I was alive. After all he had stabbed me and left me to bleed out in that forest without any care…just so that he could remaining the alpha of a pack that did not belong to him. “Surprised to see me alive after you tried to kill me?” I asked, keeping my voice as cold as I could. Meanwhile my heart was beating so loudly, I was surprised no one could hear it, and needing Tristan's support, my fingers blindly searched for him until I could his hand, and the moment our hands touched, he intertwined our fingers and squeezed softly, reminding me that I was not alone, not anymore, and that helped me to c
TRISTAN I found myself tapping my feet and unable to concentrate during the meeting, I was simply counting the seconds and waiting for it all to be over so that I could go back to Selene.I had forgotten about this part of the Trade, about the meeting that all Alpha's had to attend, and I felt bad for leaving her all by herself, but I knew Selene…my mate was strong, and I would not be surprised to go back to see her holding court with other Luna's surrounding her.She was not yet my Luna, but that was just a matter of time, I knew it.The meeting finally ends, but I was stuck making small talk with a few other alphas who were my allies, this trade was held every year for this very reason, and I could not let this opportunity go to waste…especially as it seemed we would have no choice but to fully go to war with Selene's former soon if she succeeds in getting her revenge against Lucas.Speaking of the devil…I had not seen Lucas anywhere since we got here, which was a good thing for hi
SELENE I stared at myself in the mirror, adjusting my dress and my hair and everything I could until I looked perfect. My hair fell in soft curls that framed my face perfectly, my makeup was done to perfection, my lips and cheeks a perfect shade of rose that brought my skin to life, and the dress was as perfect as it had been when I tried it on, paired with my silver heels and clutch. I looked perfect, and yet I could not ignore the feeling of dread that kept creeping up my spine at the thought of meeting Lucas again after all these months. What would he think when he sees me, the woman he thinks is dead, his former mate whom he killed with his own hands. “Selene? Are you ready?” Tristan asked as he walked into the room, straightening his tie, and the moment I saw him, all thoughts of Lucas left my mind. Our attraction to each other was amplified by the mate bond, but even without that, it was easy to see that Tristan was attractive, and with him all dressed up in his tux, it was
SELENE I tried to ignore Tristan as I focused on my meal, but the feeling of his knees pressing against mine, and his gaze on me as I ate, made it impossible for me to focus. “Tristan,” I gasped when I felt his hand on my thigh. Although I was wearing shorts and he was not touching my bare skin, I could feel the heat from his palm scalding my skin. “Don't you think we should leave now?” Tristan murmured next to my ear, and I shivered as his breath hit my skin. “Fine…” there was no way I could concentrate on my meal with all he was doing to me. We silently walked down to the car, but before I could even stretch my hand to open it, Tristan was there, opening it for me. “Thank you.” I murmured feeling shy for some reason. He walked round the car and got in, but instead of starting the car, he turned to look at me. “Now…I've been patient enough. You can't give me that little kiss and expect me to be satisfied now, do you? Before I could say anything, his fingers found their way