CHAPTER 2

Chapter 2: Poisoned Vow

(Selene’s POV)

The warmth of Kael’s hand around mine should have been enough to calm me, but my heart still raced. The air in the hall was heavy, too heavy, like it had been laced with smoke I could not see. Guests were still laughing, cups clinking, wolves shifting uneasily in their seats as though instinct whispered danger.

I had always trusted my instincts—yet tonight they were smothered under the crushing weight of duty, under the brilliant glow of the crown still warm upon my head.

“Drink, Selene,” Kael urged, lifting his goblet toward mine with a tender smile. His eyes—those storm-gray eyes that always reminded me of fierce skies before thunder—held me captive. How could I doubt when he looked at me that way?

Still, my hand trembled. My goblet tilted, the crimson liquid sloshing inside. I swear I smelled something foul beneath the sweet tang of wine—something earthy, bitter, wrong.

A soft laugh touched my ear. “Are you nervous, dear sister?”

Lyra’s voice.

My stomach twisted. She stood close enough that the golden veil over her shoulder brushed my arm, her emerald eyes sparkling as though she shared my joy. But I knew her better than anyone—those eyes sparkled only when she had already won.

“I’m fine,” I said tightly, forcing a smile. My fingers tightened around the goblet.

Her smile widened, feline, sharp. “Good. The pack waits for their Luna’s vow. Don’t keep them waiting.”

A cold shiver slipped down my spine.

Kael didn’t seem to notice. He leaned closer, his thumb brushing the back of my hand. “To forever,” he whispered, the bond mark between us pulsing faintly as though urging me to obey.

Forever. The word lodged in my throat.

I raised the goblet. The hall quieted, all eyes on me—the Luna, the bride, the one marked by fate itself. I could not falter. I could not show doubt.

The rim touched my lips.

The first sip burned. Not like wine. Not like warmth. Like fire disguised as sweetness. Like death disguised as love.

My chest tightened instantly. The world tilted, blurred, spun. My throat closed as if invisible fingers clawed at it.

The goblet slipped from my hand, shattering against the floor. Gasps filled the hall. I staggered, clutching my chest, my breath rasping in broken gasps.

“Selene!” Kael’s voice thundered, sharp with panic. His hands caught me before I collapsed fully, his arms strong, desperate. The crowd erupted into chaos, wolves shifting, chairs crashing.

I clawed weakly at Kael’s chest, my vision flickering in and out. “Poison…” I croaked, but my voice was no louder than a whisper.

“What?” He shook me, eyes wild. “No, stay with me. You can’t—Selene, don’t you dare leave me!”

Lyra pushed forward through the crowd, her face the perfect mask of horror. “What’s happening? Goddess, no!” She sank beside us, her hands fluttering uselessly over me. “She’s sick! Someone help her!”

Her acting was flawless. To everyone else, she looked like a worried sister. But to me—through the haze of dying breath—I saw the truth. I saw the satisfaction glimmering in her eyes.

I tried to raise my hand, to point, to scream her name. Nothing came. My body betrayed me.

Kael held me tighter, his voice breaking, his fear raw. “Stay awake! Look at me, Selene, don’t close your eyes!” His tears burned where they fell against my skin.

For one fragile heartbeat, I believed he truly loved me.

Then—through the haze—I heard him say the words that shattered me more than the poison ever could.

“You can’t leave me like this. Not after everything I’ve given up for you. Please… don’t make me regret it.”

Regret.

The word pierced deeper than claws, deeper than fangs. Regret—because he had chosen me, not her. Regret—because even in my final moments, I was not enough.

My last breath hitched in my chest. The bond mark seared, pulsing one final time before dimming like a dying star.

Darkness closed in.

The last thing I saw was Lyra’s smile, small and secret, as my world fell into silence.

I don’t know how much time passed.

There was no time. Only nothingness.

And then—

A breath tore into my lungs, sharp and painful, like surfacing from drowning. My eyes snapped open, blinded by unfamiliar light.

The air was different—crisp, clean, tinged with pine and damp earth. My fingers dug into soft moss, not the polished marble of the banquet hall. My ears caught the distant rush of water, the whisper of leaves.

I sat up too quickly, the world spinning. My chest still ached, as if poison lingered there. But I was alive.

Alive.

How?

I looked down at myself—and froze.

This was not my wedding gown. The silk and lace were gone, replaced by a simple tattered dress that hung loosely on a body too thin, too scarred. My hands—these were not my hands. Longer fingers, paler skin, faint burns trailing across the wrist.

I scrambled to the edge of a small pond nearby, peered into its surface—and nearly screamed.

The face staring back was not mine.

Brown eyes instead of silver. Dark curls instead of golden waves. A stranger’s face.

I stumbled back, heart slamming in my chest.

“Who… am I?” My voice cracked, hoarse, strange in my ears.

I turned—and froze.

On my shoulder, peeking from beneath the rough neckline of the dress, was a faint glowing mark. My mark.

The bond mark.

The proof that no matter whose body I wore, no matter what death had taken from me—something of me had survived.

A howl rose in the distance, low and haunting, making the trees shiver. My wolf stirred faintly within, though weaker than I remembered.

Fear curled in my stomach, tangled with rage, tangled with something darker.

I had died. My own sister had poisoned me. My mate had let regret stain his vow.

Now I lived again, in a body not mine, in a forest I did not know.

The goddess had given me another chance.

But for what—revenge, or redemption?

The howl grew closer. My pulse raced. My new body trembled. Whoever’s life I had stolen—or borrowed—came with dangers I did not yet understand.

I stepped back, the mark on my shoulder burning faintly, pulling—like a tether being pulled from far away.

And then I heard it.

A voice, deep and broken, carried faintly on the wind.

“Selene…”

My blood froze.

I knew that voice.

Kael.