Selene’s POV
The night clung to me, heavy and close, the air thick with pine and wet dirt. The den’s stone walls trapped the chill, pressing it into my skin as my bare feet scraped the rough floor. My jeans were stiff with dried mud, crusted from the fight two days back, and my mother’s letter sat like a stone in my pocket. Its words chewed at me—golden wolf, blood ties, betrayal, curse—over and over, relentless. Lucien’s growl still rang in my head from earlier, his ice-blue eyes burning when he’d sworn we’d face it together. Now, the main hall stretched out empty, torchlight flickering faint and yellow, throwing twisted shadows that clawed up the walls. I moved silent as a breath, green eyes sharp, chest tight, hunting for him, for something to quiet the chaos tearing me up inside.
A low growl rolled from the far end, near the hearth where the fire had collapsed into glowing embers, red and sullen. Vira’s voice sliced through the stillness, rough and deep, her mossy scent hittin
