CHAPTER FIVE - THE CEREMONY OF BROKEN SOULS

The moon was too bright.

That was Selene’s first thought as they led her through the fortress, down stairs that seemed to descend forever, into the belly of the earth where the air grew cold and the walls pulsed with ancient power.

She was dressed in white. Of course she was. Because apparently, this whole thing needed to be as creepy and ritualistic as possible. The dress was simple…sleeveless, falling to her feet, made of something that felt like silk but shimmered like moonlight. They’d braided her hair back, woven it with silver thread that caught the torchlight.

She looked like a sacrifice.

Which, technically, she was.

Kira walked beside her, unusually quiet. Behind them, Thalia and three other wolves Selene didn’t recognize formed a silent procession. No one spoke. The only sound was their footsteps echoing off stone, and the distant howl of wolves somewhere above them..

Selene’s mark burned like a living thing, pulsing in rhythm with her heartbeat. Every step closer to wherever they were going made it worse hotter, sharper, more insistent.

Finally, they reached a door.

It was massive, carved from black stone, covered in symbols that hurt to look at directly. Two wolves in half-shift stood guard, their eyes glowing in the darkness.

“This is it,” Kira said softly. She squeezed Selene’s hand. “Remember…hold onto yourself. No matter what.”

The doors opened.

The chamber beyond was circular, carved entirely from stone that looked like it had been scorched black by fire. The ceiling was open to the sky, revealing the full moon hanging fat and silver above them. In the center of the room was a raised dais, and on it, symbols drawn in what looked like…

“Is that blood?” Selene asked.

“Old blood,” Thalia said. “From the first bonding ceremony, centuries ago. It’s part of the ritual.”

Cool. Super normal. Not disturbing at all.

Wolves lined the walls…dozens of them, maybe more, all in human form, all watching with those eerie glowing eyes. The air was thick with power, with anticipation, like the whole fortress was holding its breath.

And in the center of it all, standing on the dais, was Dorian.

He’d changed too. Gone were the casual clothes from earlier. Now he wore black leather pants and nothing else, his chest bare, those binding tattoos stark against his skin. His hair was loose, falling around his face, and his eyes…

His eyes were pure gold. No hint of human brown left.

His wolf was already close to the surface.

“Selene Duskbane,” he said, his voice echoing through the chamber. It didn’t sound entirely like him anymore…rougher, deeper, threaded with something inhuman. “Come forward.”

Selene’s feet moved before her brain caught up. The bond pulled, dragging her toward him like a fish on a line.

She climbed the steps to the dais, and suddenly they were face to face, close enough that she could feel the heat radiating off his skin. He smelled like something wild, something that made her want to either run screaming or lean closer.

She did neither.

“Kneel,” Dorian commanded.

Every instinct Selene had recoiled. “No.”

A ripple of shock went through the watching wolves. Apparently, no one had said no before.

Dorian’s eyes flashed. “This is part of the ritual.”

“Then change the ritual.”

His jaw clenched. “Selene-”

“I came here willingly,” she said, her voice steady even though her heart was trying to beat out of her chest. “I agreed to this bond. But I won’t kneel. Not for you, not for anyone. If your goddess has a problem with that, she can come down here and make me.”

Silence.

Then, from somewhere in the crowd, someone laughed. It sounded like Silas.

Dorian stared at her for a long, tense moment. Then something shifted in his expression surprise, maybe, or respect. Or something darker that Selene couldn’t name.

“Fine,” he said quietly. “Stand.”

He reached out, his hand hovering over the mark on her back. “This is going to hurt.”

“Everything hurts lately. I’m used to it.”

“Not like this.”

He pressed his palm flat against her mark.

Selene’s world exploded.

Pain white hot, all consuming ripped through her body like lightning. She felt herself scream, felt her knees buckle, but Dorian’s other hand shot out, catching her waist, holding her upright.

“Don’t let go,” he growled, and she realized he wasn’t just talking about physically.

The bond roared to life between them, no longer a whisper but a scream. She could feel it forcing its way into her mind, her body, her soul, trying to rewire everything that made her her.

And she could feel him.

Dorian’s anger. His grief. His bone-deep exhaustion. The weight of watching woman after woman die, knowing he was the reason, knowing he couldn’t stop it.

His wolf, prowling beneath his skin, hungry and violent and desperate to claim.

And underneath all of it, buried so deep she almost missed it…guilt. So much guilt it threatened to drown him.

You don’t want this, she realized with stunning clarity. You never wanted any of this.

The mark on her back spread, burning new lines across her shoulders, down her spine, wrapping around her ribs like chains. She could feel it changing her, feel her body trying to adapt to something it was never meant to hold.

Dorian’s wolf surged forward.

His eyes went completely black for a second, then snapped back to gold. His grip on her tightened, hard enough to bruise.

“Dorian,” she gasped.

“I’m-” His voice cracked. “I’m trying to hold him back.”

“Don’t.”

His head snapped up. “What?”

“Your wolf wants to meet me?” Selene forced herself to straighten, to meet those inhuman eyes. “Then let him. I’m not afraid.”

It was a lie. She was absolutely terrified.

But she’d be damned if she showed it.

Dorian’s expression twisted shock, fear, something that might’ve been awe.

“Selene, you don’t understand-”

“Then help me understand.” She grabbed his wrist, the one still pressed to her mark. “Let him out. Let’s get this over with.”

For a heartbeat, nothing happened.

Then Dorian threw his head back and roared.

The sound wasn’t human. It was pure animal rage and power and ancient magic given voice. The wolves lining the walls howled in response, a chorus that shook the foundations of the fortress.

Dorian’s body began to change.

His bones cracked, reforming. His skin rippled, dark fur spreading across his shoulders, down his arms. His face elongated, became something caught between man and beast beautiful and terrifying in equal measure.

But he didn’t complete the shift. He stayed suspended in that in-between place, half-human, half-wolf, all predator.

And his eyes … god, his eyes locked onto Selene like she was prey.

Like she was everything.

“Run,” someone shouted. Maybe Kira. Maybe Thalia. Selene couldn’t tell.

She didn’t run.

Dorian’s wolf circled her slowly, his movements liquid and predatory. She could hear him breathing, could see the barely contained violence in every line of his body.

He was going to attack.

Every instinct screamed at her to move, to fight, to do something.

But Selene stood perfectly still.

“Go ahead,” she said quietly. “If you’re going to break me, then do it. But I’m not going to make it easy for you.”

The wolf stopped.

He tilted his head, studying her with those impossible eyes. Then he moved faster than she could track, suddenly there, his hand clawed, dangerous wrapped around her throat.

Not squeezing. . Just there.

Selene lifted her chin, baring her throat further.

“I’m not afraid of you,” she lied.

The wolf’s eyes narrowed. He leaned in close, so close she could feel his breath against her skin. His claws pressed just slightly, not breaking skin but close.

Then he did something she didn’t expect.

He laughed.

It was rough, more growl than sound, but unmistakably amused.

“Liar,” he rumbled, his voice barely human. “I can hear your heart. It’s racing.”

“Fear and respect aren’t the same thing,” Selene managed.

“No,” the wolf agreed. “They’re not.”

He released her throat, his hand trailing down to rest over her heart. She could feel her pulse hammering against his palm.

“You’re strong,” he said, and now there was something else in his voice approval? Curiosity? “Stronger than the others. They all begged. Screamed. Broke.”

“I’m not them.”

“No.” His clawed thumb brushed her collarbone, almost gentle. “You’re not.”

The bond between them pulsed, and suddenly Selene could feel what he felt hunger, yes, but also… loneliness. A loneliness so profound it made her chest ache.

He’d been alone for so long. Trapped in this curse, watching mate after mate die, losing pieces of his humanity with each one.

“You’re tired,” she whispered.

The wolf’s eyes widened, just slightly. Like no one had ever seen that before.

“I’m always tired,” he admitted.

“Then stop fighting,” Selene said. “Not me. Not this. But… let me help you.”

“You can’t help me.” His voice turned bitter. “You’re human. Fragile. You’ll break, just like all the rest, and I’ll-” He stopped, something raw flickering across his face. “I’ll have to watch you die.”

“Maybe,” Selene said. “Or maybe I’ll surprise you.”

They stared at each other, the bond crackling between them like electricity.

Then, slowly, the wolf began to recede.

Dorian’s bones shifted back, his fur retreating, his face becoming human again. But his eyes stayed gold, and when he finally stood before her fully human, he looked… different. More vulnerable. More real.

“The bond is complete,” he said quietly, his voice hoarse.

Selene could feel it the connection between them, no longer fighting to establish itself but there, solid and unbreakable. She could sense him in the back of her mind, a presence that was both foreign and strangely familiar.

“How do you feel?” he asked.

Selene considered. The pain had faded to a dull ache. The mark on her back had stopped burning. And she felt… alive. More alive than she ever had.

“Like I just went ten rounds with a supernatural fighter,” she said. “But I’m standing.”

Something like a smile ghosted across Dorian’s face. “You are.”

The wolves around them began to disperse, the ceremony apparently over. But Selene and Dorian stayed frozen on the dais, staring at each other.

“What happens now?” Selene asked.

Dorian’s expression shuttered. “Now we wait. And hope you survive what comes next.”

He turned to leave, but Selene caught his hand.

“Dorian.”

He looked back.

“Your wolf,” she said. “He’s not a monster. He’s just… hurting.”

Dorian’s jaw clenched. For a moment, she thought he might actually respond. Might let her in.

Instead, he pulled his hand free and walked away, disappearing into the shadows.

Leaving Selene alone on the dais, bound to a man she barely knew, marked by a curse she didn’t understand.

But still fighting. Still alive.

Kira appeared at her side, eyes wide. “Holy shit,” she breathed. “You just did the impossible.”

“What?”

“You made Dorian’s wolf hesitate.” Kira grabbed her shoulders, shaking her slightly. “Do you understand what that means? No one’s ever..he always just claims and dominates and but you he actually listened to you.”

Selene’s legs finally gave out. She sat down hard on the dais, adrenaline crashing.

“I think I’m going to pass out,” she said.

“No no no, stay with me.” Kira knelt beside her. “You did it, Selene. You survived the bonding. That’s… that’s huge.”

“It doesn’t feel huge. It feels like I just barely scraped by.”

“That’s because you did.” Thalia appeared, her expression unreadable. “But ‘barely’ is better than everyone else managed. Come on. Let’s get you back to your room. You need rest.”

Selene let them help her up, let them guide her back through the corridors. But the whole way, she could feel Dorian in the back of her mind distant but present.

And she wondered if he could feel her too.