The forest smelled like old ghosts and wet pine.
Selene stood just beyond the boundary line of Silvercrest territory, her boots pressed into damp earth. The trees whispered around her low, murmuring things. Wind, memories. Maybe both.
She drew in a breath. Same trees. Same cold. Same ache just under the ribs.
But she wasn't the same girl.
Not anymore.
A twig snapped behind her.
"I figured you'd come back here eventually," came a voice smooth, low, and edged like a blade dulled by regret.
She didn't flinch. Of course, it was him.
Kael.
Selene turned slowly. He stood ten feet away, arms crossed, jaw tight, with a confused expression, except for that flicker of guilt or anger, or both.
Her lips parted. "And I figured you'd have the sense not to follow."
"You've been avoiding me."
"You've been watching," she replied, voice light but dry.
"I had to. You came back… different."
"Death tends to do that," she said flatly.
Kael's expression broke. Just slightly. His eyes dropped to the soil between them.
"I never wanted it to happen like that."
She gave a short, humorless laugh. "Funny. You made it happen exactly like that."
"I didn't know the full truth."
"You didn't ask," she snapped. "You didn't look me in the eye. You didn't question the lies you swallowed them, whole. Like they tasted better than my truth."
"I thought you were a danger to the pack."
"You thought I was something of inconvenient."
Kael took a step forward. She didn't move.
"Selene…"
"No." She held up a hand. "You don't get to say my name like that. Not anymore."
"I felt the bond shift," he said. "That night. When you rejected me. It… tore."
"Good." Her eyes gleamed. "Maybe now you know what it feels like."
"You're still my mate," he murmured.
"Was," she corrected. "And I don't want that bond anymore."
"You think you can just sever something sacred?"
"I already did." She turned her shoulder. "Three words. One truth. I reject you, Kael Blackthorne."
Silence wrapped the space between them, taut and heavy.
"Please," he said finally, his voice breaking. "Let me fix this."
"There's nothing left to fix," she replied, steady as steel. "You let them break me. And you watched."
Kael's throat worked. His eyes searched hers like he was looking for the version of her who used to love him. That girl was gone.
She turned, meaning to walk away.
That's when another voice cut through the air like silk drawn across a knife.
"Touching."
Selene froze.
Kael spun, body tense. "What the hell are you doing here?"
A man emerged from the trees, tall and sharp like he was carved from dark ice.
"Caden Blackwood," he said, flashing a grin at Selene. "We haven't met properly, but I've been… watching."
Kael snarled. "You don't belong here."
"I go where I please."
Caden stepped closer. He didn't look at Kael again. His gaze was fixed entirely on Selene.
"I came to speak with her."
Selene narrowed her eyes. "I'm not in the mood for flattery."
"Not flattery. Invitation." His smile tilted. "You're not safe in this pack. And we both know it."
"She's under my protection," Kael growled.
Caden raised a brow. "Was that before or after you had her executed?"
Selene's lips parted, surprise flashing in her eyes.
Kael took a step forward. "You have no idea what happened."
"I know enough." Caden's voice was calm, laced with razor-sharp amusement. "You let power scare you. You let politics blind you. And now, you're begging the woman you betrayed to forgive you."
"She was my mate," Kael ground out.
"And you proved unworthy of her."
Caden turned to Selene. His tone shifted lower, more intimate. "You don't owe him anything. But you owe yourself the chance to rise. And you can't do that in a pack that tried to bury you."
Selene stared at him.
"What are you offering?"
"A place," he said simply. "No leash. No pack rules choking you. Just… space to grow. And burn. If you want to."
"You think I need saving?"
"I think you've been caged long enough."
Kael stepped between them. "Don't listen to him."
"I'm not yours to command," she snapped.
Kael flinched.
"I'm not choosing either of you," she added. "Not now."
Caden bowed slightly. "My offer stands. When you're ready."
Then, just like smoke, he vanished into the trees.
Kael turned to her. "You can't trust him."
"I don't trust anyone," Selene said. "Least of all you."
He looked stricken. "I made a mistake."
She gave him a cold smile. "And now you get to live with it."
Then she walked away.
Selene didn't look back.
She moved deeper into the woods, her senses prickling. The air was colder now, and the silence heavier.
She stopped every hair on her neck lifting.
Something was off.
Her wolf stirred. Warning.
Then a shift. Barely a sound.
She turned.
A man stood behind her. Not Kael. Not Caden.
Stranger. Tall, lean, with a predator's stillness and a gleam in his eyes that was anything but human.
"Selene Blackwood," he said, his voice like dead leaves.
She didn't answer.
"I saw what they did to you," he continued. "The death. The shame."
Her claws slid out.
He smiled.
"I'm not here to fight," he said. "I'm here to offer… a different kind of alliance."
"I'm not interested."
"You should be." His smile widened. "Because the real war hasn't started yet."
She lunged.
Fast.
But he was faster, vanishing into
mist before her claws struck.
She spun her heart, thundering.
Gone.
Just the woods. The wind.
Her breath came heavy.
Not safe. Not yet.
But alive.
And that was enough.
For now.