SELENE“You'll join in on the next meeting.”When Tristan had said those words three days ago, I thought he was joking, but as I followed him down the halls of the pack house, my stomach knotted in nerves.I had no idea why I was nervous. I'd been in meetings before, presided over them. But not as an outsider, and not with people who already hated my presence.My body was tense, my instincts whispering that I did not belong here, in the midst of the enemy.Lucas was my enemy now. I had to remind myself that I was not betraying my pack, I was simply trying to save them.Beside me, Tristan radiated authority, his presence impossible to ignore.“This way.” His hand on my back seared into my skin, and I had to hold myself back from reacting to it.What is wrong with me?I can't believe I was getting butterflies over something as simple as a touch. It had never been like this before, not even when I found out that Lucas was my mate.After a few more seconds of walking, we stopped in front
SELENE As soon as the conference room door shut behind the last person, Tristan turned away from me and started pacing, his steps heavy, his hands flexing into fists at his sides. The muscles in his back tensed beneath his black shirt, the fabric stretching as if it could barely contain the force of his anger. I frowned as I watched him, confusion etched on my face. What was going on? “What’s wrong with you?” I asked, leaning back in my chair. His sudden tension made no sense. He didn’t answer me, instead his strides became even more agitated as he moved back and forth across the room. Every few steps, his claws slipped out, his control fraying. Then, as suddenly as he had started pacing, he whirled toward me with a low, guttural snarl. “Did you sleep with Lucas?” he spat at me, his eyes blazing with accusation. The words hit me like a whip and I blinked, taken aback by the question even as my heart started beating faster. "What? Why would you think that?” “Did. You. Sleep.
SELENE“You want to know why I want Lucas dead?” My voice came out hoarse from hours of crying.“Yes.” Tristan's voice was as low as mine, as if he didn't want to disturb the quiet.I swallowed hard and turned away slightly, staring at the shattered chair he had thrown earlier. The jagged edges of the broken wood reminded me too much of my own past.I hesitated, the words sticking in my throat. But I knew I had to tell him. I had to make him understand."I'm the daughter of the former alpha of the Razorback pack," I said, the words tumbling out in a rush. I wanted to get this story over with as soon as possible instead of dwelling on it."Lucas was my mate, we were supposed to rule together, and my father approved of him, he loved him like the son he never had. When my father died, Lucas took over as alpha, and I was Luna.”Tristan's eyes widened in surprise. "You're the daughter of...?"I nodded, confirming his thoughts.“You never told me you were Luna of the Razorback pack.”“No on
SELENE“What are you doing?” A giggle left my lips as Tristan scooped me up into his arms, cradling me like a bride.He didn’t answer, didn’t even hesitate as he walked right out of the conference room as if carrying me around like a sack of flour was the most normal thing in the world.“Tristan—” I hissed, but my words were cut off by the shocked gasps of the pack members that stopped in their tracks to stare at us.Some of the warriors who were in the meeting did a double take as they saw us, and I caught a glimpse of their stunned faces, some wide-eyed, others exchanging knowing smirks. One warrior even let out a low whistle, and I knew my face was as red as a tomato.“Alpha…?” One of them started to ask, but Tristan didn't even acknowledge them, he just kept walking, completely unfazed.I wonder what they thought happened in there, or what they'll think when they see the broken chair.Oh, Goddess…Heat flooded my cheeks, and I buried my face in his shoulder, trying to avoid the eye
TRISTANThe amber liquid in my glass swirled lazily as I rolled my wrist, staring blankly into the dim light of my office. I brought the glass up to my lips, taking a sip, and the whiskey burned on its way down, but it did nothing to dull the ache in my chest.I can't believe she went through all that, and I treated her that way….My mind was still reeling with everything Selene had told me. The weight of it settled deep in my chest, suffocating. It wasn’t just guilt, although I was feeling a lot of that emotion at the moment, it was fury, regret, and something darker that churned in my gut.I let her enter the Hole mere hours after suffering betrayal, near death, and the unimaginable loss of her baby. And not just any betrayal—her mate had been the one to shatter her.Her former mate, I reminded myself, but the correction did nothing to ease the sickening feeling twisting inside me.I exhaled sharply, dragging a hand down my face. My fingers trembled, my grip tightening around the gl
SELENEAs I stepped into the training room, my eyes widened in awe. The room was massive, bigger than anyone I've ever seen, with a raised platform in the center where Tristan and another soldier were sparring.Around it, several other platforms were scattered, each occupied by fighters locked in combat. The sound of grunting and pounding footsteps filled the air, and I watched, mesmerized, as they clashed.But what caught my attention was the amount of gym equipment they had in here. Machines lined the walls, there were rows of treadmills, racks of weights stood in neat rows, exercise machines that seemed to stretch on forever, and punching bags hung from the ceiling like waiting prey.And this was just the main room.There were at least three doors leading to smaller rooms, probably for more specialized training, each one filled with their own equipments, everything about this space screamed discipline, efficiency, and power.My gaze moved back to Tristan, and I watched him spar. Hi
SELENE“Not bad.” The approval in Tristan's eyes was enough to distract me, and when my foot raised up into a sharp kick, he caught my ankle mid air, yanking me forward.I landed hard against his chest, his arm wrapping around my waist.“Careful,” he murmured against my ear. “I might think you want to be in my arms.”He was not taking me seriously, I growled in frustration, and twisted, breaking free.I dropped to the ground again, sweeping Tristan's legs out from under him. He hit the ground with a grunt, but he rolled immediately, using the momentum to throw me off balance.I barely had time to react before he was on top of her, pinning my wrists to the ground.“Yield,” he murmured, his face inches from mine.“Not yet.” I growled at him.I slammed her forehead into his, and he loosened his grip just enough for me to twist free, flipping them over so I straddled his waist.It wasn’t the most graceful move, but it worked.The crowd watching roared in shock at seeing their alpha on his
SELENE"Who saw this?" Tristan demanded.The guard hesitated, shifting in his feet, before speaking up. "Some of the pack members claim they've been seeing a dark misty creature roaming around every night for the past few nights. We can't be sure it's what killed those two, but with the timing of it's appearance, were certain it could be a creature hunting for something and it came across those two and attacked them.”“They're calling the creature… The Night Ripper.” He continued, his voice quieter now. “People are scared, Alpha. They don’t know what it is or where it came from, but whatever it is, it’s killing our people.”The name hung in the air like a curse.The Night Ripper… the words alone were enough to send an icy shiver through me, but Tristan reacted even worse than I expected.He froze, his eyes widened in shock. He was angry, furious, even, but there was something else in his eyes, something close to fear.“Alpha…what's wrong?” Someone asked as I narrowed my eyes at Trist
SELENE The blood drained from my face at Tristan's words. "I…" The words tangled on my tongue and my mouth opened and closed multiple times as I tried to figure out what to say, but nothing was coming. What happened last night? I could not remember anything…but Tristan must have seen something…something that told him I was behind the night ripper he had been after all these while. But what…? I could not say too much and risk giving out information that he did not know and digging an even deeper grave for myself. I felt like I was drowning, struggling to breathe through the sudden weight pressing down on my chest. "Where do I even start?" Tristan muttered after a few seconds of watching me flounder around for what to say, dragging a hand through his hair, making it even messier. "Start what?" I whispered as I stared at him, my heart hammering against my ribs. Goddess…why did my voice sound so small? Tristan exhaled sharply, then pushed himself up from the chair as he started t
SELENE "Ugh…my eyes…" I groaned, squinting as the sunlight stabbed at me like tiny, white-hot needles. I turned my head, burying my face into the pillow, but the damage was already done and now I was wide awake. I cracked one eye open, then the other, slowly adjusting to the golden light flooding the room. Wait…that was strange. I was pretty sure we had drawn the curtains shut last night. Tristan had been so insistent, muttering something about the cold draft sneaking in through the windows. I had watched him pull the heavy drapes closed, the muscles in his back shifting under his skin, and then he had turned back to me, those wickedly playful eyes filled with intent… Heat flooded my cheeks, and I yanked the blanket over my head, mortified at where my mind immediately went. Goddess…I could still feel the phantom traces of his hands on my skin, the way his mouth had worshipped every inch of my body. I pressed my palms against my burning cheeks, groaning again but this time from
TRISTAN My hands were trembling as I pulled Selene gently into my arms, trying to shield her body with mine. “Selene,” I whispered, pressing my forehead to hers, “Selene, what the hell just happened? What was that?” My brain was racing. None of this made sense. I had left her sleeping in our room not long ago. I had kissed her forehead, brushed her hair back and promised her that I would be back before she even noticed I was gone. So how the hell was she here now? Naked, unconscious, inside the remains of the night ripper? Was she…was she the one controlling it? Had it been her all along? No…that couldn’t be…right? Or had it tried to kill her but we got it before it could? But how had it gone up to my room, the pack was guarded and warded too…. Thoughts swirled around in my head, faster than I could keep up with, and I had no idea what to do. But how else could this make sense? The white smoke had formed her. I clutched her tighter, trying to shield her as the footsteps of my
TRISTAN The monster stared right at me, and I felt a shiver run down my spine, but I straightened and held its stare, refusing to flinch, a tight smirk curling my lips. “You are in my trap now,” I said under my breath, just loud enough for myself. “Your little reign of terror ends tonight.” It started moving again, slow and almost sluggish, like the runes were doing their job. Each step it took flickered more of the silver light around it, and I could smell the acrid burn of smoke where its misty form brushed the poison laced lines. Good…that meant our plan was working. Without a single hesitation, I ran towards it, my poison coated dagger already in my hand, cool and steady, coated in that rare venom we had spent a ridiculous amount of money to acquire. But now, as I closed the distance, I could feel its effect on the creature, and seeing how it flinched when I got close to it, its body coiling tighter in defense - made it all worth it. “You messed with the wrong pac
TRISTAN “You all know the plan,” I said, my voice steady, there was no room for doubt. “We may not have the full team, but the strategy holds. Do all you can to get it to the trap, and I will be at the end waiting.” Dorian exhaled hard through his nose, then lifted his chin. “We’ve got this.” “We do.” I met the gaze of every man there. “We finish this... tonight.” They nodded, one by one, every last one of them. There was no single hint of fear on their faces despite the fact that we were not prepared for this, they were all determined to see this through. That was why I knew that I could trust them with my life. “Do not let it double back,” I added. “Keep it moving. If you need to slow it down, do it, but do not get cocky. It’s faster than it looks.” “Yes, Alpha,” they echoed as one. I watched them melt into the trees, quiet as shadows, spreading out just like we’d trained. All our planning came down to this moment. I stood alone for a second longer, drawing in a slow brea
TRISTAN I walked ahead of my men, scanning the trees like I had a hundred times already, and there was nothing there, no footprints…no scent…no movement…just the same quiet tension pressing down on us. The Ripper was still out here, I was sure of it. But the bastard had gone quiet…too quiet. There had been no attacks in weeks, just silence, and while I should have been happy about that because it meant I did not lose any more pack members, something told me that whatever was coming was big….It did not sit right with me. It was almost like it had vanished into thin air, but I knew better, I knew that it was still in my pack and it would fall into my trap soon. All we could do now was wait and hope he was arrogant enough to fall into it. I rubbed the back of my neck and sighed. It was hard to focus today. My head kept drifting back to the pack house…back to Selene. She had still been asleep when I left, curled up under the blankets, one leg sticking out like she was fighting the
SELENE I got serious this time, with Tristan and I silently exchanging blows and none of us refusing to give in to each other. You’re not the only one who can play foul, I thought to myself as my heart pounded loudly. The moment I saw an opening, I moved quickly, stepping into his space and closing the distance between us until our noses were almost touching. I could feel the heat rolling off his body, the rise and fall of his chest. And then, in a tone I knew would undo him, I whispered in the most seductive voice I could, “I’ve missed you in bed.” Tristan's eyes went wide in shock as he stumbled a little and lost his footing, just like I hoped. That single second of hesitation was all I needed, I used the opportunity to grab his shoulder, twisting my weight, and taking him down hard onto the mat. He grunted as his back hit the floor, and before he could recover, I straddled him, my knees braced tightly on either side of his thighs and my hands pressed to his chest. “Got you,”
SELENE Tristan stepped into the ring without taking his eyes off me. “You may not see it…” he said, his voice smooth and calm as he began bouncing lightly on the balls of his feet, loosening his shoulders, “...but that boy looks at you like you hung the stars.” What!?? I didn't even know what I was expecting from Tristan, but that was the last thing I expected him to say. “I need him to not get any ideas about my mate,” he added, flashing that grin again…the one that showed a hint of fang, just enough to make my heart start beating faster. “Now, are we doing this or not?” “So…” I began as I raised my fists, “you’re really here just to spar? Or are you here to mark your territory?” “Maybe both,” he said, meeting my eyes with a glint that made my stomach flip. “What can I say? I don’t like sharing.” “Who says you have anything to worry about?” “I know I don’t,” he said as calm as ever. “But that does not mean I will not remind the entire pack that you are mine.” I raised a brow
SELENE “You seem pretty distracted. Is there something on your mind?” Eli grunted just before his fist came flying toward my face. I barely dodged his blow in time as I twisting to the side, but the movement threw off my balance. My foot slipped, and before I could recover or find my footing, I landed flat on my ass with a hard thud with the impact sending a jolt up my spine. I needed to focus or I would get hit. “Ugh…” I groaned, glaring up at him from the mat. “Remind me again why I agreed to spar first thing in the morning?” Eli laughed, already extending a hand toward me. “Because you said you would get rusty if you did not move. Your words, not mine.” I grabbed his fingers and let him haul me up, brushing dust off my training clothes as I caught my breath. The morning air was cool against my skin which was still sticky with sweat. My muscles ached in the best way…but my mind was all over the place and I could not get myself to focus. “I’m fine,” I muttered, turning away f