CHAPTER SIX - THE MORNING AFTER THE END OF THE WORLD

Selene woke up to the worst hangover of her life, except she hadn’t drunk anything, and also her entire nervous system felt like it had been deep-fried and reassembled slightly wrong.

“Ugh,” she sighed.

The mark on her back throbbed not painfully, but insistently, like a second heartbeat she couldn’t ignore. And there was something else. A presence. A awareness hovering at the edge of her consciousness, just out of reach but definitely, absolutely there.

Dorian.

She could feel him. Not his thoughts, exactly, but his… essence? His emotional state? It was like standing in a room and knowing someone was behind you without having to look.

Currently, he felt… annoyed? No, that wasn’t quite right. More like deeply, profoundly irritated with something.

Good morning to you too, she thought sarcastically.

The presence in her mind flickered surprise, maybe? then retreated, like he’d slammed a mental door in her face.

“Rude,” Selene muttered, dragging herself out of bed.

Her reflection in the mirror was… actually not terrible? Like, she’d expected to look like a reanimated corpse, but instead her skin was glowing, her eyes were brighter, and her hair had apparently decided to be cooperative for once in its life.

The mark on her back, though. That was new.

She twisted, trying to get a good look. The original sigil between her shoulder blades had spread, intricate silver lines now curling over her shoulders and down her spine, forming patterns that looked almost like… wings? Or maybe branches? Something organic and alive and definitely not human.

A knock at the door made her jump.

“It’s me!” Kira’s voice, way too cheerful for whatever ungodly hour it was. “I brought breakfast and also gossip. Open up!”

Selene threw on a robe and opened the door.

Kira burst in carrying a tray loaded with food bread, fruit, and something that smelled suspiciously like pork. “Okay, so fun fact: the entire pack is losing their minds over what happened last night.”

“Define ‘losing their minds.’”

“Like, people are taking bets.” Kira set the tray down and flopped onto the bed. “Half the pack thinks you’re going to last six months, minimum. The other half thinks Dorian’s wolf is going to snap and kill you within a week. There’s a whole betting pool. I put fifty gold on you making it to a year.”

“That’s… deeply disturbing.”

“That’s pack politics, baby.” Kira grabbed a piece of bread . “But seriously, what you did last night? Standing up to an Alpha wolf mid-shift? That’s insane. Like, certifiably unhinged behavior. I respect it so much.”

Selene sat down at the small table, eyeing the food. She was actually starving. “I don’t know what I did. I just… didn’t run.”

“Yeah, that’s the crazy part. Everyone runs. It’s instinct. But you just stood there and basically called his wolf a coward.” Kira’s eyes gleamed with mischief. “Dorian’s been in his study all morning, and apparently he’s destroyed like three chairs and a desk.”

“What? Why?”

“Because his wolf is obsessed with you now, and he hates it.” Kira leaned forward conspiratorially. “See, when a wolf finds his mate, he’s supposed to immediately claim her, dominate her, make her submit. That’s how it’s always worked. But you didn’t submit. You challenged him. And now his wolf is like ‘ooh, interesting, a puzzle, I want to figure this out,’ except Dorian the human is like ‘no, bad wolf, we’re not supposed to care about the human sacrifice.’”

Selene’s stomach did a weird flip. “He doesn’t care about me.”

“Yet.” Kira grinned. “Give it time. You’ve already got him more twisted up than any woman in the last century.”

“I’m not trying to”

“I know. That’s what makes it so good.” Kira stood, brushing crumbs off her lap. “Anyway, get dressed. Dorian wants to see you in an hour. He’s going to explain the next phase of the curse, probably in the most dramatic and depressing way possible. It’s kind of his thing.”

Great. Something to look forward to.

After Kira left, Selene picked at the food, her mind racing. She could still feel Dorian in the back of her consciousness that thread of awareness connecting them. It was weird. Not bad, exactly, just… there. Like background music she couldn’t turn off.

She wondered if he felt the same way about her.

She wondered if it was driving him as crazy as it was driving her.

The study was exactly what Selene expected: dark wood, bookshelves, a massive desk covered in papers and maps, and an overall aesthetic of “brooding male who makes questionable life choices.”

Dorian stood by the window, his back to her, hands clasped behind him. He’d clearly showered and changed his hair was still damp, and he wore a simple black shirt and pants that somehow looked both casual and stupidly expensive.

“You wanted to see me,” Selene said, refusing to be intimidated by the whole dark and mysterious routine.

“Close the door.”