Chapter 2

SELENE

Just as I ran outside the pack gate I saw the rogues running towards me.

“Selene tipped the rogues off!”

Lilith’s voice rang through the chaos, sharp and venomous. The accusation struck like a whip, and every head snapped toward me.

I stood frozen in the middle of the battlefield, surrounded by bloodied warriors and snarling rogues. My breath came in short gasps, my mind reeling.

“What?” I choked out, barely able to process her words.

“She led them here!” Lilith screamed again, pointing a trembling finger at me. Her golden dress was torn, dirt smeared across her cheek, but the gleam in her eyes was pure triumph. “I saw her with them! She ran off before the attack started—she was telling them it was time to attack!”

The pack members closest to me faltered, their gazes shifting from Lilith to me. Doubt crept into their eyes.

“No,” I gasped, shaking my head violently. “That’s not true! I ran because Ronan—”

“Enough.”

Ronan’s voice sliced through the air like a blade. He stood at the edge of the battlefield, blood streaked across his arms, his dark eyes locked onto mine. Beside him, Lilith clutched his sleeve, feigning fear.

“You ran when the guards came for you,” Ronan said, his tone like ice. “And now the rogues are here? Right after your betrayal?”

His words knocked the air from my lungs.

“No, Ronan, listen to me—”

“Kill her before she betrays us again!” Lilith shrieked.

The pack hesitated. They knew me. They had fought beside me. But the Alpha’s silence was louder than any protest I could make.

Then the rogues struck again.

Screams filled the air as warriors clashed with the invaders. Chaos erupted, bodies colliding, blood spraying across the dirt.

For a split second, I thought Ronan would look at me—really look at me—and see the truth.

But he turned away.

Not just turned away.

He grabbed Lilith and shielded her.

I watched, stunned, as he positioned himself between her and the fight, pushing her behind him like she was something precious.

And I?

I was nothing.

The realization nearly stole my breath.

Lilith met my gaze over Ronan’s shoulder, a slow, satisfied smirk curling her lips.

Then, like the coward she was, she ran.

Ronan ran with her.

And the moment they disappeared, I saw it—out of the corner of my eye, a rogue moving fast, its claws extended.

Not toward me.

Toward them.

I reacted before I could think.

I spun on my heel and lunged toward them. But just as I reached for Ronan’s arm—

Lilith turned.

And pushed me straight into the rogue’s path.

I stumbled forward, off balance. Time slowed.

The rogue’s claws slashed toward my chest.

I had no time to move. No time to shift. No time to do anything.

Pain.

White-hot, searing pain tore through my ribs as I crashed to the ground. My vision blurred, breath stolen from my lungs.

Above me, Lilith let out a breathy, satisfied laugh.

“Oh, dear Selene,” she sighed, feigning pity. “Always so brave.”

She stepped over me as I lay gasping in the dirt, her golden dress untouched, her hands perfectly clean.

Then she took Ronan’s hand.

And they ran.

Leaving me behind.

Leaving me to die.

The rogue loomed over me, teeth bared. My blood soaked into the earth and I was dragged away.

Few hours later, I woke up gasping.

Pain exploded through my body. My hands trembled as I pressed them against my stomach. Blood. Too much blood. My dress was soaked in it.

I was in the woods.The last thing I remembered was the rogue’s claws tearing into me, dragging me away. But I wasn’t dead. Somehow, I survived.

Barely.

I sucked in a shallow breath, my body weak, my vision hazy. A sharp pain tore through my abdomen, and instinctively, I wrapped my arms around my stomach. My pup.

Tears burned my eyes as I felt the emptiness inside me.

I had lost the baby.

A strangled sob escaped my throat, the weight of it crushing my chest.

“Easy, child,” a voice murmured.

I flinched, trying to push myself up, but my strength failed me. A pair of wrinkled hands pressed gently on my shoulders, urging me to stay still.

“Who…?” My voice was barely above a whisper.

The woman crouched beside me, her face illuminated by the flickering light of a small fire. She was old, her silver hair tangled in braids, her dark eyes filled with something that almost looked like sorrow.

“You’re safe now,” she said softly.

I stared at her, trying to make sense of everything. My body was too weak to fight, but my instincts screamed at me to be cautious. “Who are you?”

The woman smiled, though it didn’t quite reach her eyes. “You don’t recognize me, do you?”

I swallowed hard. “Should I?”

She let out a small sigh and reached into a satchel at her side. “You are carrying my great-grandchild.”

My breath hitched. “What?”

“You nearly lost it but your pup is too strong.” She said with a weak smile.

I let out a broken gasp.

Tears blurred my vision as I held the tiny life against my chest. “I thought—I thought I lost—”

“You almost did child,” the woman said, her voice kind. “But fate had other plans.”

I looked up at the woman, desperation clawing at me. “Who are you?”

Her eyes darkened with something unreadable. “I am Ronan’s grandmother.”

The words hit like a physical blow.

I recoiled, my hand tightening around my stomach “No,” I whispered, shaking my head. “No, that’s not possible.”

The old woman exhaled slowly. “It is.”

Ronan’s grandmother. The grandmother I had never met. The one he had never spoken about.

And she was here, in the middle of the woods, saving me.

Anger and pain twisted inside me. “Your grandson betrayed me,” I spat, my voice raw. “He threw me away. He left me to die. While I was carrying his pup.”

Her expression softened, regret flickering across her face. “I know, child. And I am sorry.”

I let out a bitter laugh, the sound hollow. “Sorry?” My voice cracked. “He turned his back on me. He protected his mistress instead of me. He let her lie, let her destroy everything I had, everything we—” My breath hitched. “He also abandoned you and now you are sorry on his behalf?”

The old woman studied me for a long moment. “I cannot change what he did,” she said finally. “But I can give you something.”

She reached into her cloak and pulled out a delicate silver necklace, the pendant shaped like a crescent moon.

“This is for the child,” she said, her voice carrying a strange weight. “It has been in our family for generations. It will protect them.”

I hesitated, staring at the necklace. “Why would I take anything from Ronan’s family?”

“Because it is not his,” she said. “It is yours now.”

The words sent a shiver down my spine.

Slowly, I reached out and took the necklace. The metal was warm against my palm.

“What do I do now?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.

The old woman’s gaze turned toward the darkness of the forest. “You cannot stay here,” she said. “There is another pack. They will take you in. Follow the path, and you will find them.”

I frowned. “What about you?”

She smiled, but there was something sad in it. “My time is up.”

A strange sense of dread curled in my stomach. “What do you mean?”

“I have waited long enough,” she murmured. “I was meant to die years ago, but I stayed… for this. For you.”

I shook my head. “No—”

But before I could say anything else, she closed her eyes.

And took her final breath.