The silence inside my room felt heavier than usual. Even though it was late outside, I hadn’t changed out of my clothes, yet the one I put on to attend the meeting with the elders and Elara.I was still pacing the wooden floor with restless steps.Killian hadn’t returned yet. He was told earlier that the crystals are missing. Hearing that made a knot tightened in my stomach.The Moonlight Ceremony is tomorrow, and without those crystals, the bond wouldn’t seal properly between us both. It wasn’t just symbolic—it was spiritual, binding. The Moon Goddess wouldn’t bless a union unless all elements were present. And right now, the most sacred pieces are gone.Stolen.I sat down at the edge of the bed and stared at my hands. They were trembling, though not from fear. Frustration surged beneath my skin like wildfire. After everything—after surviving exile, rejection, nearly losing my wolf, and Killian’s redemption arc—was this how it would all unravel?No. I wouldn’t let it. Not now that I
I smiled faintly at that—an empty gesture I’d learned to mimic over the years. The truth was, I had never truly been strong. I had just gotten good at pretending so I won't look like the freak I was known for. But the warmth didn’t reach my core tonight. Not even close.My fingers twitched with another question, but before I could raise them to sign, a memory surged—uninvited and sharp.The scent of ash.The cracking of bones.Sebastian’s voice, velvet-wrapped venom, whispering that it would only be a few more days before he came to take me away.Forcefully. As he always intended.My heart stumbled. I flinched and instinctively ducked my head, retreating into myself like a child hiding from the monster in the closet. But Sebastian wasn’t a nightmare I could wake from—he was the nightmare I’d lived.“Selene?” Luca’s voice was careful, but edged with worry as he stood up, his brows pulling tight. Maybe he noticed I had been lost in thought. I shook my head and stepped back, waving him
The mattress dipped beneath my weight as I curled into the thick bedding, but no warmth could settle my nerves. Not even the heavy, velvet blankets that once felt like a cocoon could still my racing heart. The palace was too quiet—ominously so.The crystal—the heart of the ceremony, the key to completing the bond—was still missing.My eyes traced the carved ceiling of the palace chamber as if answers might fetch themselves into the wood grain. The intricate patterns above looked like vines forever frozen mid-tangle, twisting in silence, much like the thoughts in my mind.Killian had insisted the ceremony could go on. That it would work regardless. But I could see the doubt in his eyes no matter how often he masked it behind steel. His voice had been firm, but his grip on my hand had trembled—just slightly, just enough for me to feel the truth.I rolled onto my side and clutched the pillow to my chest, my fingers digging into the soft fabric until my nails bit through the seams.He wan
The room crackled with silence, every breath held tight like a loaded weapon. The air was thick—too thick—as the weight of Elara’s betrayal settled like dust on sacred ground. Luca stood beside me, still clutching the silver locket that had hidden the final piece of the relic. The crystal shimmered faintly within its shell, mocking us all with its quiet glow.Killian looked like he would explode.His jaw was clenched so tightly that I thought I heard his teeth grind together. His chest heaved with the force of suppressed fury, and veins bulge along his neck like ropes drawn taut. For a moment, he didn’t even seem human—just pure wrath contained within flesh, barely holding itself together.“Elara,” he snarled, his voice trembling with the rage he no longer tried to mask. “You knew. You knew we searched the entire kingdom. You watched us suffer, watched her suffer—and you said nothing!”But Elara didn’t flinch. She didn’t cower or apologize.She stood her ground with a quiet dignity th
Elder Garrick stepped forward, placing a hand on each of our shoulders.“By the power of the Old Tongue, and the truth of your bond, I bless this union.”The relic surged.A wave of warm energy passed through us. My head tilted back as light pulsed from the crystal, encircling our joined hands. The bond solidified—sharp, pure, eternal.Killian’s eyes widened, then softened. “Do you feel that?”I nodded, tears stinging the corners of my eyes. I had never felt something so complete. So... real.The crowd erupted into cheers, wolves howling, hands clapping.Luca was the first to approach us. His grin was wide, real. “I’ve never seen him smile that much in one year, let alone one day.”Killian laughed, actually laughed, and pulled him into a hug. Luca patted his back roughly.“Thank you,” Killian said. “For believing in us.”“I always did.”Then Elara stepped forward.All eyes turned to her like drawn blades, hesitant and watching. But she didn’t falter. She held her head high, her every
The bond is done.The weight of those words pressed down on me like a heavy stone in my chest, too big and too suffocating to ignore. The bond that had been the heart of so much, the bond that had started with the fire of our connection, had been severed. And yet, even though it was over, I could still feel the traces of it wrapping around me, delicate and faint like the last ghost of a dream fading into the morning light. But it wasn’t gone completely.As I lay on the bed, my body still trembling from the aftermath of the ritual, the calmness in the room felt unnatural, too fragile. Like if I took a breath too deeply or moved too quickly, the silence would shatter. I kept my eyes closed, afraid of the reality that might creep back in—the one where the poison still lingered beneath my skin, clawing at my insides, reminding me of everything I wanted to forget.The soft pressure of Killian’s hand on mine was the only thing grounding me to the present. His fingers curled around mine, a q
The room was quiet—so quiet that if a pin had fallen, the sound could be easily heard. The soft hum of the air conditioning and the distant sounds of the city outside seemed to fade into nothing as I sat in the center of the bed, the sheets crumpled around me. I hadn’t realized how much tension I had been carrying until it all seemed to hit me at once, like a wave crashing down. Killian had left just moments ago, his footsteps fading as he disappeared down the hall, but the weight of the conversation lingered in the air. We were no closer to figuring out how to navigate this strange new reality, but for now, I felt a strange sense of relief. The room felt safe, and I let my mind sink into the stillness, hoping for a few moments of peace.But peace wasn’t something I could hold onto easily as I assumed—not with everything that had been happening recently, not with the ever-present shadow of Sebastian lurking in my thoughts like he had me in his capture already as before. The thought o
I could feel the warmth of the sunlight as it was filtering in through the half-open window, casting a soft golden glow across the room. The light touched everything—the dusty wooden floor, the walls, the scattered papers—and yet, despite the tranquility of the morning, a restlessness churned inside me. The nightmares from the previous night still clung to me like a shadow, but today, something else began to grow in me. It wasn’t fear or anxiety. It was something different—an urgency.The urgency to move forward. The urgency to claim the power that I knew I have never had before. I knew I had always been broken. Weak. And fragile but for how long would I continue to be so.Maybe I needed to start building myself so I can fight him myself.I was no longer the fragile, broken girl I had been, I wanted something totally different from it. I wasn’t the outcast or the lost wolf which never awaken. I had something within me—something I needed to rebuild as quick as possible, something that
The cold night air clawed at my skin as I stumbled through the heavy iron gates of the packhouse, each step an effort of will. My lungs burned with every breath, the metallic tang of fear coating my tongue. The woods behind me seemed to whisper my name, the memory of what I had seen — who I had seen — chasing me like a shadow I could never outrun. My body felt disconnected from my mind, like I was moving underwater, my senses dulled by shock and exhaustion. Yet somehow, my legs carried me forward, guided by the thrum of survival instinct pounding in my blood.I barely registered the guards standing at attention along the courtyard perimeter. Their faces blurred into faceless shapes in the darkness, their hands twitching toward their weapons as they spotted me. But they didn’t move — perhaps sensing that something heavier than a physical threat clung to me like a second skin. The fear, the betrayal, the inevitability of war — it was all there, written in the tremble of my hands and
The morning light spilled like liquid gold across the stone floors, soft and muted, seeping through the half-drawn curtains and casting long shadows on the ground. For a long moment, I just lay there, staring up at the ceiling as the warmth kissed my bare arms. Listening. Breathing. Feeling the slow, steady rhythm of life thudding gently in my chest. No nightmares twisted my mind into knots. No screaming silence clawed at my throat like it so often did. Just me — quiet, but not broken. The kind of peace so fragile, it almost hurt to hold onto it.I swung my legs over the side of the bed, my toes curling against the cool stone floor. In the mirror across the room, my reflection stared back — thinner than I remembered, paler too, but alive. Haunted eyes met mine, darkened by the battles I'd survived, rimmed with the bruises still blooming at my throat. Fading... but stubborn reminders of what had almost broken me. My hand trembled slightly as I lifted it, tracing the faint outline of
The silence was heavier than ever. It wasn’t just around me—it was inside me too, threading through my thoughts like a cold mist I couldn’t push away. Even though I had gotten used to signing and writing to communicate, there were days it felt like a wall between me and the rest of the world. Thick. Unbreakable. No matter how hard I tried, there were still moments when I missed the sound of laughter, the easy rhythm of people speaking without thinking. I missed the way voices could fill a room, lifting it, warming it. Even if it had never been mine to have, I still craved it.The silence around me wasn’t peaceful anymore. It was sharp. Cold. Isolating. It wrapped itself around me like chains, invisible but so heavy I could barely breathe some days. Even though everyone tried to include me, even though they were patient and kind, I still felt the difference between them and me like a blade pressed against my skin. It didn’t matter how much they loved me—it couldn’t erase the fact that
The days felt like they stretched on forever as I trained. I could feel my muscles ache with each passing moment, but the pain was nothing compared to the fire burning inside me. I was growing stronger, piece by piece, yet the gnawing fear never left me. Sebastian was still out there, somewhere in the shadows, and I could feel his presence lurking like a storm on the horizon, ready to break. The fear of his arrival was something that haunted my every step, following me like a constant whisper in my ear, warning me that I wasn’t ready for what he would bring. It was as if my entire world had shifted, and I could never escape the feeling that something terrible was coming. But despite the fear, I pressed on, determined to protect myself, to prove that I wasn’t the fragile, broken girl I had once been. The training was grueling, but with each hour, I felt a little closer to the person I wanted to become.Luca had been relentless in his efforts to teach me. He had a way of pushing me be
I could feel the warmth of the sunlight as it was filtering in through the half-open window, casting a soft golden glow across the room. The light touched everything—the dusty wooden floor, the walls, the scattered papers—and yet, despite the tranquility of the morning, a restlessness churned inside me. The nightmares from the previous night still clung to me like a shadow, but today, something else began to grow in me. It wasn’t fear or anxiety. It was something different—an urgency.The urgency to move forward. The urgency to claim the power that I knew I have never had before. I knew I had always been broken. Weak. And fragile but for how long would I continue to be so.Maybe I needed to start building myself so I can fight him myself.I was no longer the fragile, broken girl I had been, I wanted something totally different from it. I wasn’t the outcast or the lost wolf which never awaken. I had something within me—something I needed to rebuild as quick as possible, something that
The room was quiet—so quiet that if a pin had fallen, the sound could be easily heard. The soft hum of the air conditioning and the distant sounds of the city outside seemed to fade into nothing as I sat in the center of the bed, the sheets crumpled around me. I hadn’t realized how much tension I had been carrying until it all seemed to hit me at once, like a wave crashing down. Killian had left just moments ago, his footsteps fading as he disappeared down the hall, but the weight of the conversation lingered in the air. We were no closer to figuring out how to navigate this strange new reality, but for now, I felt a strange sense of relief. The room felt safe, and I let my mind sink into the stillness, hoping for a few moments of peace.But peace wasn’t something I could hold onto easily as I assumed—not with everything that had been happening recently, not with the ever-present shadow of Sebastian lurking in my thoughts like he had me in his capture already as before. The thought o
The bond is done.The weight of those words pressed down on me like a heavy stone in my chest, too big and too suffocating to ignore. The bond that had been the heart of so much, the bond that had started with the fire of our connection, had been severed. And yet, even though it was over, I could still feel the traces of it wrapping around me, delicate and faint like the last ghost of a dream fading into the morning light. But it wasn’t gone completely.As I lay on the bed, my body still trembling from the aftermath of the ritual, the calmness in the room felt unnatural, too fragile. Like if I took a breath too deeply or moved too quickly, the silence would shatter. I kept my eyes closed, afraid of the reality that might creep back in—the one where the poison still lingered beneath my skin, clawing at my insides, reminding me of everything I wanted to forget.The soft pressure of Killian’s hand on mine was the only thing grounding me to the present. His fingers curled around mine, a q
Elder Garrick stepped forward, placing a hand on each of our shoulders.“By the power of the Old Tongue, and the truth of your bond, I bless this union.”The relic surged.A wave of warm energy passed through us. My head tilted back as light pulsed from the crystal, encircling our joined hands. The bond solidified—sharp, pure, eternal.Killian’s eyes widened, then softened. “Do you feel that?”I nodded, tears stinging the corners of my eyes. I had never felt something so complete. So... real.The crowd erupted into cheers, wolves howling, hands clapping.Luca was the first to approach us. His grin was wide, real. “I’ve never seen him smile that much in one year, let alone one day.”Killian laughed, actually laughed, and pulled him into a hug. Luca patted his back roughly.“Thank you,” Killian said. “For believing in us.”“I always did.”Then Elara stepped forward.All eyes turned to her like drawn blades, hesitant and watching. But she didn’t falter. She held her head high, her every
The room crackled with silence, every breath held tight like a loaded weapon. The air was thick—too thick—as the weight of Elara’s betrayal settled like dust on sacred ground. Luca stood beside me, still clutching the silver locket that had hidden the final piece of the relic. The crystal shimmered faintly within its shell, mocking us all with its quiet glow.Killian looked like he would explode.His jaw was clenched so tightly that I thought I heard his teeth grind together. His chest heaved with the force of suppressed fury, and veins bulge along his neck like ropes drawn taut. For a moment, he didn’t even seem human—just pure wrath contained within flesh, barely holding itself together.“Elara,” he snarled, his voice trembling with the rage he no longer tried to mask. “You knew. You knew we searched the entire kingdom. You watched us suffer, watched her suffer—and you said nothing!”But Elara didn’t flinch. She didn’t cower or apologize.She stood her ground with a quiet dignity th