Selene’s POV “Mom, where’s Dad? You said he’d be here before my birthday started, but I can’t find him anywhere,” Ella whined, tugging on the hem of my dress. Her big, tear-filled eyes stared up at me, searching for answers I didn’t have. The weight of guilt pressed down on my chest. Crouching to her level, I prepared myself to tell another carefully crafted lie. “Baby, Dad called. He said he’s on his way,” I murmured, trying to sound convincing. Her little brows furrowed. This was the second time I’d spun this tale, and I could see the doubt creeping into her innocent gaze. Still, she clung to a fragile thread of hope. “You know your dad wouldn’t miss your birthday, right? You’re his little princess, his favorite girl in the whole world. He’ll be here.” I stroked her soft hair, pressing a kiss to her forehead. She nodded, but the sadness in her eyes remained. “Okay…” “Why don’t you go play with your friends?” I said, forcing cheer into my voice. “They’re waiting for you, and I
Selene’s POV "What did you just say?" I asked, disbelief making my voice tremble. I had to have misheard. He couldn’t have said those words. Not Alex, not the man I’d stood by through everything. But my wolf, silent and shrunk in disgust, confirmed it. He had said it. “Did I say something wrong? You are useless; a Luna with a disabled wolf isn’t worth the position, and you know it,” he continued. His words felt like a slap, but the sting didn’t stop there. Natasha, ever the opportunist, chimed in with a smirk. “Don’t make a fuss about it, Selene; he isn’t telling a lie; you are indeed a disabled wolf.” “Finally showing your true colors, huh? Natasha, you have no right to say anything here. And you, Alex, calling me a disabled wolf after everything I’ve done for you? After I stood by you when everyone thought you couldn’t lead? I defended you. I took on the hits, even got poisoned and stabbed by assassins, for you!” I cleaned my eyes once more, but the tears just kept on falling
Selene’s POV Alexander meant what he said. He had the guards lock Ella in her room, forbidding her from seeing her friends and taking away her toys. My sweet, spirited girl, confined like a criminal. I stayed with her that first night, listening to her cries and pleas until they gave way to exhausted whimpers. By the time dawn broke, she had developed a fever. It only got worse. On the second night, her tiny body was wracked with shivers, her cheeks flushed with an unnatural crimson. I held her close, whispering soft reassurances I wasn’t sure I believed anymore. My baby needed help! Panic rising in my chest, I ran to the guards stationed outside. “Please!” I begged, gripping the nearest one by the arm. “Get the pack healers. Tell them the Luna commands their presence immediately! My daughter is sick—she needs help!” The guard shifted uneasily. “I’m sorry, Luna. The Alpha’s orders stand. He said no interference—” “She’s a child!” My voice cracked. “She’s your princess! Are
Selene’s POV “What?! What do you mean, what’s wrong with my baby?” I burst into the room, panic clawing at my chest. The healers stood motionless, their heads bowed, refusing to meet my gaze. Their silence suffocated me. “My Luna… she’s in…” “Speak up!” I roared, the desperation in my voice echoing off the walls. “She’s in a coma,” one of them finally mumbled, barely audible. “It’s… severe.” My world tilted. I staggered, clutching the doorframe for support as my eyes darted to Ella’s still, fragile body on the bed. My baby girl, my heart, lay motionless, her tiny chest barely rising. “Her treatment was delayed... There was nothing we could do in time.” Delayed. The word struck like a whip, and I knew exactly who was to blame. “What’s going on here?” Natasha said in a whisper as she and Alexander walked into the room. That was it. The dam of my restraint shattered. I lunged at her, grabbing her by the collar before she could feign innocence. “You are the reason! It’s all bec
Selene’s POVTwo days.It had been two days since I last saw the break of dawn, two days since I heard the voice of my little princess calling me "mommy." I was weak and unwilling to let my faith die.My body sagged on the floor, unable to stand anyone. I had bruises on every inch of my body, an impact of hitting the metal gate so much that my head had bruises as patches of dried blood.I had cried, I had prayed, I had begged and fought for two days with no hope of coming out of here. Alexander meant it when he said he was going to punish me for a crime I didn’t commit.He meant it when he said he was going to make my life miserable.I refused to let the idea sink in, as I forced myself up again, my sore knees crawling on the floor while I dragged myself to the gates of the dungeon, my bloody hands wrapped around the rusty bars of the cell room.“Is anyone there! please… just get the Alpha for me. I need to know where my baby is." I couldn’t cry or yell, but I knew they could hear me
Lucian’s POV “Mate?” The word echoed in my head, clawing at my sanity. It couldn’t be true. She was mated to my brother! Alexander, he married her because she chose him over me. How could she possibly be my mate? “I felt it,” my wolf, Escarnor, growled, smug, and relentless. I stalked through the pack corridors, my chest tight with anger. The air was thick with the stench of betrayal, the walls steeped in memories I had spent years trying to forget. Her scent lingered here, winding through the halls. It was maddening. Intoxicating. Six years. I returned to this wretched pack, not with the aim to rescue Selene. I didn’t expect that. My only purpose was to take back what was stripped from me. Alexander might wear the title of Alpha, but we both knew who it rightfully belonged to. He had lied, manipulated, and cheated his way into power. I was going to make sure he went on his knees. The plan had been calculated. Infiltrate the palace in disguise, assess the state of
Selene's POV The dungeon was suffocatingly silent. It was late at night. And over six hours since I had last seen him. Part of me started to believe I’d imagined it, that maybe I’d conjured him out of desperation. But the greasy plate and half-empty can of water at the edge of the cell told me otherwise. He had been here. I saw Lucian. My arms wrapped around my knees as I tried to still the ache in my chest. Six years ago, the pack’s seer declared Lucian a threat, claiming the goddess herself had demanded his imprisonment. If he wasn’t contained, she warned, our pack would face unimaginable suffering. And like the fool I was, I didn’t listen. I was young and reckless, following my heart instead of reason. I trusted him when he said he cared for me, when he whispered promises of escape, freedom, and a life far from the suffocating grasp of the pack—and my parents. But when the moment came, he chose a life without me. I hugged my knees tighter. He made a fool of me, he ridicul
Selene’s POV His hard palm came crashing on my face, fast and hard, immediately sending me to the floor. I shuddered as the pain spiralled through my body, the room rotated around me, and I felt nauseous. I had tried maintaining my composure, but I vomited right there; half of it’s content was blood.I was pulled to my feet and pinned against the wall; my hands were held apart beside me; a guard brought out a dagger and shoved it into my palm; therefore, pinning my hands to the wall, a blaring scream escaped my lips.The same action was done to my other hand; I could not take it anymore, and I let myself cry. I could not move my hands, and the silver knife burnt my skin. Alex held my jaw up; he passed a menacing grin towards me, but in mere seconds my vision blurred with tears."Oh, Selene, you wouldn’t have gone through this pain if you had answered, but somehow you found a way to complicate things for yourself. Now I will ask you one more time, Where is your daughter, and who is you
Lucian’s POV Her back was pressed against mine, and I held a dagger to her neck close enough to leave a mark but not close enough to cut through unless she made a stupid move. She knew she had a low probability of walking out of here alive because she had committed way too many crimes.“What are you waiting for? Shoot him!” I held her neck tight, my eyes shot at the guards who dared to move forward.They wouldn’t pull that trigger, not because they liked me, but simply because their hate for her superseded her command. I noticed when the girls were commanded to clean my body and when the guard ran out of the pack room after I killed the beta.“You fools! Kill him!” She shouted again.I narrowed my eyes to them, they lowered their guns immediately, placing them beside them. I stood up from the bed, making sure to hold her in place. Her legs kicked my crotch in anger, the pain was mind-blowing, but rather than reacting to the pain, I held the dagger closer to her neck, making sure it p
Lucian’s POV Everything before me seemed to blur, it zoomed in and out, I held in it, I needed to stand my ground with all that was going on, it was only just the beginning and the queen had made it clear that she was going to exert her revenge,she obviously couldn’t take what she dished out.She had killed so many people who were undeserving of her cruelty but the death of a brother had turned her into a container for pain.Silly.I was dragged to her room, and was dumped on the floor, a wave of cold air blew over my face. It relaxed my nerves but the pain still lingered, causing me to rock back and forth, shriveled and tormented by the pain and the wolf’s bane.But something ticked in my mind I wasn’t confined to anything.“Escarno. Come out.” I said in hopes that I would gain some sort of fighting ability while I healed from the insides, but he didn’t respond.“I know you can hear me, we need to leave.” “Oh wow, so you no longer fear that I would kill someone, the last time I trie
Lucian’s POV “I want to have a nation with your offspring. You know that right?” The queen said as she washed my skin with a warm towel, I flinched, her finger ran through a healing wound and I felt my blood slipping down my body.“I remembered welcoming you to my bed, and you turned it down, well guess what, you don’t have much of a choice now, because you are at my mercy…” she purred as she shoved her finger deeper into my skin, I gritted my teeth and the pain seethed through me.“I knew there was something about you when you walked into the pack looking pale but who would have thought you poisoned yourself? Let me guess, for your child? A woman?” She shoved her fingers again, my insides swelled.“That savior spell kills and you did it, now look at you Lucian, the veins around your body is black, your body is poisoned and fighting against itself, and you still have the energy to fight and go on raids, how do you do it?” I clenched my hands into a hard fist as I attempted pulling
Selene’s POVIt's been two days since I saw that rumpled note in his room. I haven’t slept in the last two days and my patience was running thin. It sucked so much because somehow I found it exhausting to constantly worry about a strong wolf who would win me in a fight anytime, any day but somehow he had my mind in a haze because I could stop thinking about ways to ensure he wasn’t bruised or injured. Now the pack members had started asking questions, everyone looked up to me for some answers but how do I tell them that I am worried as well, he just left in the middle of the night without giving a formal information, the chief has never taken this long on a heist, not just that how do I tell them that Lucian had done something like this once. Running when he had responsibilities. Somehow I saw being in charge of the pack as a disadvantage rather than an advantage at this point, because no matter how I tried to avoid it, the pack needed to know the state of their safety.I had told
Lucian’s POV I watched her digest her reality in shock, she narrowed her eyes to Pike who was still stuck in the phase of the aftermath.“You just killed my brother.” She whispered bitterly as tears trickled down her eyes.“Replace him.” I responded, this was her reaction to a complaint I noticed the first time I came to see her. A message came through that a messenger she had left to starve had died, it was nice finally taking it out on her. I loved the look on her face as I said that.“How dare you !” “You have three minutes, bring out the land documents, give it to pike, I need it in three minutes. Or wait, two.” I smirked.She snorted, then commanded a wolf to check the cabinets in her chambers where she brought out a file, hurriedly wrote on it, and stamped it with her fingerprint, now no ruler was above a written agreement, it was a thing familiar with all packs.I assessed the document to make sure it was authentic, at least she was smart enough to understand I could tell a f
Lucian’s POVSeated in the chambers of the Fae queen, I watched how she regarded me with a fiery gaze. Pike doesn’t know everything about our enmity, he only heard she killed some of my pack members and I did the same with hers.But this day had dented the integrity of my pack, and she killed my healer and she tried to kill Selene too through her puppet, we were never going to be acquainted, and if I wasn’t a man of my words, I would stand up and leave.“So you brought a thief to my pack Pike, I knew you too be pathetic but I never took you to be a pussy.” The queen slurred as she twisted her braids around one of her fingers.The queen was dread haired, long dark bread fell down her body, at the sight of my flag I knew she changed, now she wore something more revealing. Her cleavages were out in the open, gold dropping down her neck and her scent intensified.Her feet were hurriedly manicured, and I could tell from the way she moved on her seat that she was extremely aroused by my pre
Lucian’s POV I held the necklace a little bit tighter. I thought about Ella. Alex truly lost everything when he left that little girl to die, but that has passed now.“Is she your daughter?”“I wish.” I responded. Ella was conceived the year I left the pack. If her mother hadn’t run back to the pack and wedded her father, she would be mine, but nothing changes, I would still care for her like she was mine, and so would the little child close to being born.“Oh I see. Then she must admire you then, with all the work you have done for rogues, you might be seen as a messiah.” She said,Ella was different, she said she loved me, my cheeks burnt a little bit more, most of my loyalty came from fear and expectation, Ella never had fear, she would pull my cheeks and tug my legs even when her mother wouldn’t. She was something else.“Well, I just wanted to say thanks for coming to the pack and bringing my father along. I miss home, it has been so long, I have been here, where I grew up and w
Lucian’s POV Tomorrow, we will be at the Fae Queens pack. Pike finally agreed and while he was away from the pack, on his way to the Eclipse pack to make a deal with Alex, Selene crossed my mind again, it had been a week, I should send a message.Her needs would have to be suspended for the meantime, simply because I can’t afford to enter the pack anymore, my people were in pain and it would be silly to take more from them than we already did.Besides, she started the drought out of anger, not like I blamed her for this act. She was angry, I understand, but I was indirectly the ruler of the pack. My people are my interest. She should understand, at least she ruled once.I sighed in disbelief as I weighed everything that was happening around me at the moment. I never planned to be here this sick and tired.My chest burnt with an unquenchable fire. In a month I might sleep and not wake up. If I don’t usurp Alex in that time, I might never do it again, I might not be awake to see Ella g
Selene’s POVIt’s been a week now I haven’t heard from Lucian, my mind hasn't been at rest ever since, I wasn’t entirely excited with this development because he promised to be here, he drove off that night in a fit of rage, maybe he was attacked.“Chief, is this amount of sand enough?” A farmer by my side said, I must have zoned out because he was standing way too close to me, and staring into my eyes curiously, I moved away from him.Narrowing my eyes to the sand pile in his shovel, I nodded in agreement, I just needed some space for the meantime, it wasn’t making any sense anymore, he was taking way too long.What if Alex saw him, what if he was trying to avoid Alex and didn't come back, I shouldn’t have given him that list, I should have told you I just didn't want him to keep doing things for me.I walked away from the farm land and the new project, then into the pack. We have been thriving without the products, he just had to come back, I just needed to know he was okay, he look