SELENE"Who saw this?" Tristan demanded.The guard hesitated, shifting in his feet, before speaking up. "Some of the pack members claim they've been seeing a dark misty creature roaming around every night for the past few nights. We can't be sure it's what killed those two, but with the timing of it's appearance, were certain it could be a creature hunting for something and it came across those two and attacked them.”“They're calling the creature… The Night Ripper.” He continued, his voice quieter now. “People are scared, Alpha. They don’t know what it is or where it came from, but whatever it is, it’s killing our people.”The name hung in the air like a curse.The Night Ripper… the words alone were enough to send an icy shiver through me, but Tristan reacted even worse than I expected.He froze, his eyes widened in shock. He was angry, furious, even, but there was something else in his eyes, something close to fear.“Alpha…what's wrong?” Someone asked as I narrowed my eyes at Trist
TRISTAN I crouched in front of the bodies, bodies belonging to members of my pack, of the people I swore to protect. My fingers clenched into fists as I struggled to control my anger.Whatever did this would pay with it's life, I would make sure of it.I forced myself to breathe, forced myself to think past the horror in front of me.“Spread out and look around. Anything you see, any sign of something being out of place should be reported to me immediately.” I nodded to the others, and they got to work.They moved out with a quiet efficiency, scouring the ground for any sign of evidence, whole I turned back to the bodies in front of me.I couldn't shake the feeling that we were missing something. That there was more to this monster than met the eye.“This wasn’t a clean kill,” I murmured to myself. “Whoever… whatever did this, it wasn’t just hunting.”“It almost looks like it was searching for something?” Selene's voice sounded beside me, and I turned to stare at her.My mind went ba
SELENE The warmth of Tristan’s body against mine was the first thing I felt when I woke up. His arm was draped lazily over my waist, his breath steady and deep against my neck. The scent of sweat and something unmistakably him lingered in the sheets, wrapping around me like a second skin.“Mmm…” I let out a soft hum, stretching slightly, but the movement only made me more aware of Tristan’s body, of the hard planes of his chest pressed against my back, of the heat radiating from his skin… of the unmistakable evidence of his arousal pressing into me.Well, well. A slow smirk tugged at my lips.Deciding to tease him, I arched back into him, rolling my hips just enough to make him feel it.Tristan’s breath hitched, his grip on my waist tightening. “You’re playing with fire, Selene,” he rumbled, his voice thick with sleep.A shiver ran through me. “Am I?” I whispered, tilting my head slightly to give him better access.His hand slid up from my stomach, fingers grazing my ribs before find
SELENE It wasn't adding up…I had been thinking and it just wasn't adding up.Tristan said I survived the hole, survived seven days of hell facing creatures that no human, no wolf, should have been able to defeat alone. Except I wasn't alone, I had Xercer, but even with him helping me, I still struggled.My mind kept circling back to the fifth day. I remembered it vividly, the exhaustion, the unbearable hunger, the wounds that bled sluggishly as I staggered through the endless forest. But then I had collapsed, I knew I had, that was the lady thing I could remember before waking up back here. There was no way I would have woken up, survived the last two days and defeated the monsters, and passed out again without remembering anything.I frowned as I paced around the room.Xercer had told me that he had no idea how I did it, but that made no sense. Xercer always knew, he was always watching, even when I was asleep…My thoughts screeched to a halt, my breath caught as pieces of the puz
37: UNFINISHED BUSINESS TRISTANI pinched the bridge of my nose as I stared down at the reports on my desk. The words blurred together the longer I stared at them, but the neatly typed lines offered no new answers, no hidden clues. My warriors had combed through every inch of the territory, we had been patrolling almost every night, yet there was no sign of the Night Ripper anywhere.A faceless, misty creature that only came out at night…I would have taken it as nothing more than stories told to scare children if I hadn't seen the victims for myself, if my pack was not currently living in fear because of this thing.It left nothing behind. No tracks. No scent. No signs of struggle beyond the brutal aftermath. The only thing it left us were the bodies of the victims. Torn apart, mutilated, their hearts carved from their chests with precision, like it was searching for something specific.But what? It didn't make sense. What was it looking for? Why was it carving out the hearts? What
TRISTANSelene stared at me, her eyes filled with hurt and another emotion I couldn't place. My stomach twisted at the sight.How much had she heard? I had no idea, but the look on her face told me it was enough, and I needed to do damage control now.My gaze flickered between her and Nancy, and I opened my mouth, scrambling for the right words, but for the first time in my life, I found none."Selene," I started, stepping toward her, desperate to close the distance.“Don’t.” She held up a hand, stopping me in my tracks.My wolf whined, hating the distance between us that was growing even farther even as we stood in the same room, hating the rejection in her tone.Nancy turned to her with a smug smirk, crossing her arms as she leaned against my desk. "Oh, so the mate finally shows up.”I growled low in my chest, a warning for Nancy to tread carefully, but Selene ignored her completely, her eyes were locked on me.“How long?” Selene asked."What?” I frowned, my chest tightening. I did
SELENEMy feet carried me down the hallway and away from Tristan's office, my heart was pounding so hard that I was half expecting the whole pack to be able to hear it.My chest twisted painfully, I had no right to be angry because I was hiding something far worse from him. But no matter how much I told myself that, the betrayal still burned.By the time I got to our…no Tristan's room, I was already on the verge of tears, and I slammed the door behind me and collapsed on the bed, my body curling into itself just as a choked sob ripped from my throat.How could Tristan do this to me? After everything we'd shared, after I had told him about what I went through? It felt like Lucas all over again, and I had no idea how to handle it.The fact that he had done the same thing to me…he had kept his relationship with Nancy a secret, just like Lucas had kept his affair a secret.I felt like I was reliving the same nightmare all over again.Nancy’s voice still echoed in my ears."Do you really t
SELENEMy hands stilled over the bag, my brows pulling together. That voice…I walked towards the door and opened it, shocked to find Tibet standing there, leaning against the frame with his arms crossed.I blinked, caught completely off guard. Of all people, I hadn't expected him to come talk to me.I had never trusted Tibet, and the feeling was mutual. After all, he had never liked the idea of me being Tristan’s mate and had been against it right from the start, and he had never been shy about voicing his opinions and expressing his distrust of me.So why was he here now?"What do you want?" I asked warily.He let out a breath before stepping inside. His eyes flickered to the half-packed bag on the bed before settling on me."I heard what happened," he said simply.I crossed my arms. "And let me guess. You came to gloat…to tell me to pack my things and leave, right? To remind me that I don’t belong here?”Tibet sighed, rubbing a hand down his face. "I’m not here to fight with you, S
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