LOGINSELENEThe first sign was the silence.Not the peaceful kind. Not the quiet of sleeping children or a calm night.This silence was wrong.Heavy.Pressing.I woke with a sharp inhale, my heart racing before my mind could catch up. The room was dark, but the moonlight spilling through the curtains felt… distant.Muted.Beside me, the children slept.Too still.My stomach dropped.I sat up slowly, every instinct on edge. The air felt thick, like it was resisting me.Something’s here.My wolf stirred, not in fear.In warning.I slipped out of bed, careful not to wake them, and moved toward the door.The moment my hand touched the handle.Pain shot through my chest.I gasped, staggering back as something unseen tightened around me, like invisible chains locking into place.My breath came shallow.My pulse stuttered.A suppression field.But not like yesterday.This one was targeted.Focused.On me.⸻JAXI felt it from across the wing.A sharp drop in energy.Like something had clamped dow
SELENEBy evening, the pack no longer pretended.Wherever I walked, conversations dipped. Eyes followed. Guards doubled their routes. Even the wind felt like it was carrying whispers.Councilor Rhys had done that.Or maybe… I had.I found Anna in the small herb room near the kitchens, grinding leaves with more force than necessary.“You’re scaring the plants,” I said.She didn’t look up. “Good. Maybe they’ll learn to run.”I closed the door behind me. “What did you hear?”Anna finally met my gaze. “Enough. The observer isn’t just watching, he’s asking about you. About the children. About yesterday.”My chest tightened. “Of course he is.”“And Tamara?” Anna’s voice dropped. “She’s been in and out of the council wing all day.”That didn’t surprise me.“Jax?” she added.I hesitated. “Trying.”Anna snorted softly. “He’d better try harder.”I almost smiled.Almost.A knock sounded, firm and controlled.Anna stiffened.I didn’t.“Come in,” I said.The door opened.Councilor Rhys stepped ins
Morning did not come gently.It came with tension thick enough to taste.Selene felt it the moment she stepped outside her quarters. The way the air buzzed, the way wolves stood a little straighter, spoke a little softer. Even the guards at the Alpha wing entrance were in full formal uniform.The Council’s observer had arrived.Her wolf shifted uneasily beneath her skin.Careful, it warned.Selene didn’t need the reminder.Across the courtyard, Eli and Evan walked between two junior guards assigned to them “for safety.” The boys looked more curious than worried, their identical dark heads bent together in quiet conversation.Too exposed.Selene’s jaw tightened.She hated this.⸻Inside the Alpha conference hall, the entire senior leadership was already gathered.Jeff stood near the long oak table, posture rigid. Tamara sat elegantly at the far end, perfectly composed, her expression the picture of polite interest.And Jax…Jax was standing.Waiting.His silver eyes flicked toward the
The summons arrived at dawn.Selene knew what it was the moment she saw the black wax seal pressed into the thick parchment. The crescent and claw insignia of the High Council gleamed faintly in the early morning light, cold and unmistakable.Her stomach tightened.Across the small kitchen table, Eli was carefully buttering toast while Evan sat swinging his legs beneath his chair, humming softly to himself. For a moment, Selene simply watched them, memorizing the ordinary peace of the scene.Because peace never lasted long in this pack.She broke the seal.Her eyes moved quickly across the words.Then slowed.Then went completely still.“Mom?” Eli’s sharp little voice cut through the silence. “What is it?”Selene folded the letter carefully, too carefully. “Nothing you need to worry about.”That was the first lie of the day.⸻By mid-morning, the entire pack compound felt… different.Too quiet.Too watchful.Selene kept her head high as she walked the familiar path toward the administ
SELENEThe world narrowed to my daughter’s trembling body in Tamara’s arms.Everything else faded.The trees.The wolves.The cold bite of night air.All I could see was Luca’s tear streaked face, her small hands reaching for me like she was afraid I might disappear again.My heart felt like it was tearing itself apart.“Please,” I said, stepping forward despite Jax’s grip tightening around my fingers. “Tamara… give her back.”Tamara studied me with cool fascination.“You always beg,” she murmured. “Even now.”“I’m not begging,” I said quietly.Something inside me shifted.Heat rushed through my veins, sharp and electric, crawling up my spine. My wolf stirred, not in fear, not in rage but in recognition.Tamara noticed it too.Her eyes flicked briefly to the ground, then back to me.“You feel it, don’t you?” she said softly. “That thing waking up inside you.”Jax moved in front of me instinctively.“Touch her and you die.”Tamara laughed. “Still pretending you can control fate?”She l
SELENEI was already moving before my mind caught up.The scream tore through the corridor like shattered glass, sharp and unmistakable.My daughter.I ran.Bare feet slapped against cold marble as panic exploded in my chest. My wolf surged forward, desperate and wild, drowning out every other thought.“Selene!” Jax shouted behind me.I didn’t stop.Anna met me halfway down the hall, her face pale, eyes frantic.“They took Luca,” she cried. “They tried to grab Arin too but he fought and he bit one of them!”My vision tunneled.Luca.My baby girl.My knees nearly gave out.Jax was beside me in an instant, his hand gripping my shoulder hard enough to ground me.“Where?” he demanded.Anna pointed toward the west stairwell.He didn’t hesitate.He shifted mid-run.Bones cracked. Fur tore through skin. The Alpha wolf exploded into existence, massive and terrifying, his roar shaking the walls as he tore down the corridor.Guards flooded the halls.Alarms began to howl.I followed as far as m







