SELENE The dress was strapless and silky, and it hugged every part of my body like it had been made perfectly for me. The contrast of my snow blonde hair and pupils and my fair skin against the blackness of the dress made me look like a goddess, like the moon admist the black night sky. And the slit…goddess, the slit was criminal. It ran so high up my thigh, showing enough leg to cause a scandal, and one wrong movement would have exposed everything. I stared at my reflection in the mirror as my fingers tugged on the top of the dress, turning it to adjust it so that it would sit perfectly on my chest. I looked lethal, wild and powerful, like I would step on anything and anyone that dared to be in my path. “Selene…” Tristan growled, and I saw that he had gotten up from the couch and was stalking towards me. “Well?” I asked, feigning nonchalance as I turned in front of the mirror. His gaze dropped to my legs, then climbed back up to my collarbone. I knew that look, the heat on hi
SELENE I tried to ignore Tristan as I focused on my meal, but the feeling of his knees pressing against mine, and his gaze on me as I ate, made it impossible for me to focus. “Tristan,” I gasped when I felt his hand on my thigh. Although I was wearing shorts and he was not touching my bare skin, I could feel the heat from his palm scalding my skin. “Don't you think we should leave now?” Tristan murmured next to my ear, and I shivered as his breath hit my skin. “Fine…” there was no way I could concentrate on my meal with all he was doing to me. We silently walked down to the car, but before I could even stretch my hand to open it, Tristan was there, opening it for me. “Thank you.” I murmured feeling shy for some reason. He walked round the car and got in, but instead of starting the car, he turned to look at me. “Now…I've been patient enough. You can't give me that little kiss and expect me to be satisfied now, do you? Before I could say anything, his fingers found their way
SELENE I stared at myself in the mirror, adjusting my dress and my hair and everything I could until I looked perfect. My hair fell in soft curls that framed my face perfectly, my makeup was done to perfection, my lips and cheeks a perfect shade of rose that brought my skin to life, and the dress was as perfect as it had been when I tried it on, paired with my silver heels and clutch. I looked perfect, and yet I could not ignore the feeling of dread that kept creeping up my spine at the thought of meeting Lucas again after all these months. What would he think when he sees me, the woman he thinks is dead, his former mate whom he killed with his own hands. “Selene? Are you ready?” Tristan asked as he walked into the room, straightening his tie, and the moment I saw him, all thoughts of Lucas left my mind. Our attraction to each other was amplified by the mate bond, but even without that, it was easy to see that Tristan was attractive, and with him all dressed up in his tux, it was
TRISTAN I found myself tapping my feet and unable to concentrate during the meeting, I was simply counting the seconds and waiting for it all to be over so that I could go back to Selene.I had forgotten about this part of the Trade, about the meeting that all Alpha's had to attend, and I felt bad for leaving her all by herself, but I knew Selene…my mate was strong, and I would not be surprised to go back to see her holding court with other Luna's surrounding her.She was not yet my Luna, but that was just a matter of time, I knew it.The meeting finally ends, but I was stuck making small talk with a few other alphas who were my allies, this trade was held every year for this very reason, and I could not let this opportunity go to waste…especially as it seemed we would have no choice but to fully go to war with Selene's former soon if she succeeds in getting her revenge against Lucas.Speaking of the devil…I had not seen Lucas anywhere since we got here, which was a good thing for hi
SELENE How the hell did I stay mated to this fool? I asked myself as I watched Lucas ignore the woman he came with to stare at me like he owned me. His stare made my skin crawl, and I made a mental note to scrub my body clean when we get back to the pack. He turned away from Tristan to stare at me, and I could see the confusion written all over his face, as he tried to figure out how I was alive. After all he had stabbed me and left me to bleed out in that forest without any care…just so that he could remaining the alpha of a pack that did not belong to him. “Surprised to see me alive after you tried to kill me?” I asked, keeping my voice as cold as I could. Meanwhile my heart was beating so loudly, I was surprised no one could hear it, and needing Tristan's support, my fingers blindly searched for him until I could his hand, and the moment our hands touched, he intertwined our fingers and squeezed softly, reminding me that I was not alone, not anymore, and that helped me to c
SELENE “We're coming for you, Lucas,” I said, my voice low and cold. “And there will be no single corner of the earth available for you to run to.” The words hung in the air, and Lucas's smug expression faded and for a short moment, I saw a flicker of fear in his eyes. Good…he should be scared of me, he should be scared of what I was forced to become because of him. Without giving him another second of my attention, Tristan and I turned our backs on both him and the woman clutching his arm like a badge of honor. The whispers from the crowd were loud behind us and I could feel the curious stares that followed us, but we did not look back, there was nothing left for us to say and we did not have to prove anything to these people. My work here has been done and there was no need for us to stay here any longer. I had faced the monster from my past, looked him in the eye, and stood tall…and I had not crumbled. But goddess, I felt like I could fall apart right now. The only thing ke
SELENE “What the hell happened in there?” Tibet’s voice cut through the heavy silence from where he was driving in front. I knew he was curious about why we decided to leave do early…I guess he got tired of wondering and decided to ask. I looked up at him, meeting his eyes that were filled with worry as he stared at me through the rearview mirror. “We might have officially declared war on Lucas and my former pack.” I said in reply. There was a beat of silence, and then Tibet snapped, “You saw him in there and let him walk out alive? After what he did to you?” He asked in outrage. I clenched my hands in my lap, trying to stay calm, trying not to scream. I had wanted to do so much more than just exchange words with Lucas. I had wanted to rip him apart with my bare hands. I had wanted him to bleed. “We cannot attack another Alpha, not even a rival one or our sworn enemy during the Trade, Tibet, you know the rules.” Tristan growled beside me with his arm still wrapped tightly aro
TRISTAN I balled my fists so tightly my knuckles cracked, but the pain was nothing compared to the rage pulsing through me as I remembered the way Lucas was looking at Selene like she was still his…like she was some prized possession that had wandered off and just needed to be reclaimed.That smug, possessive gleam in his eyes had nearly sent me over the edge. He looked at her like he owned her. Like her pain, her scars, her body still belonged to him…that bastard.I could not get that look out of my head…the look on Selene's face as we left the hall that was a mixture of rage and fear and buried grief. She had been doing so well these past few days but seeing Lucas had cracked something open inside her…and I had no idea how to fix it.I should have killed him, I was on the verge of killing him right in front of everyone, but I knew that would have caused even bigger problems and Selene did not need that right now.I nearly shi
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