Chapter 5: The Ghost Between Them

Selena's POV 

“Have we met before?”

Kael’s hand remained wrapped around my wrist as the question hung heavily between us.

My pulse became uneven, and I almost forgot how to breathe. Did he recognise who I was?

No! That can't be possible. Selena Vale was pushed down from the moon cliff under his watch, and no one can ever survive the fall.

Kael kept staring at me with growing intensity, his silver eyes darkening as if something deep inside him recognised me even when his mind refused to.

The room suddenly felt too small until Vanessa stepped forward furiously. “Kael.”

The irritation in her voice snapped him out of whatever trance that might seize him.

His grip on my wrist loosened slightly.

I forced myself to look confused instead of terrified. I bowed, my eyes fixed on the ancient floor. “I don’t think so, Alpha. How can a low wolf like me meet you?”

My voice sounded convincing.

His brows furrowed. Then his gaze dropped toward my wrist, where the silver markings had flickered moments ago.

Thankfully, they were gone now.

Vanessa’s eyes narrowed at me as she noticed the distraction.

“She’s just a servant, Kael.” She said coldly. “You’re frightening her.”

The irony of what she said nearly made me laugh.

Kael slowly released my wrist, though his expression remained disturbed. “I apologise,” he said.

Hearing an apology from him after everything almost broke something inside me.

It made me recall the man I once loved again. Not the monster corrupted by greed. But the man who used to tuck flowers into my hair when nobody was looking.

The man who once carried me through the rain because I complained my shoes hurt.

The man who whispered forever against my skin.

My chest began to hurt. The pain was excruciating, as if someone stabbed me directly in my chest.

Well, someone did that three months ago for extra power. Now I'm here to make them regret and die by my own hand.

Vanessa slid her arm through Kael’s immediately, like a possessive chick.

“I think the new assistant should return to work.” Her tone dripped with warning.

I lowered my gaze. “Of course, Luna.”

Saying that felt like poison to my tongue, but I remained cool.

Vanessa smiled faintly as though she enjoyed hearing it.

Kael said nothing as I walked away, but I felt his eyes following me the entire time.

It felt terrifyingly good to see that, because he won't expect when I'll hit him.

********

That night, I couldn’t sleep like always. The dreams I kept having made it hard for me to close my eyes.

The temporary servant quarters were quiet except for distant footsteps echoing through the estate halls. Moonlight spilt faintly through the small window beside my bed.

I stared at the ceiling, restless as Kael’s face haunted me. Not his face from the cliff this time, but from earlier.

The confusion in his eyes. The way his hand tightened around my wrist like he was afraid to let go.

My wolf stirred uneasily beneath my skin.

“You still love him.” The whisper came from the darkest part of myself.

“No,” I muttered aloud immediately and sat up. I ran my fingers through my hair.

Love wasn’t the problem here; the memories were, because no matter how much I hated Kael now, pieces of the man I loved still existed inside him.

And that made revenge harder than I expected.

A sudden crash echoed somewhere down the hall, followed by footsteps moving urgently.

I frowned and slipped quietly from bed. I reached the hallway, which buzzed with nervous servants.

“What happened?” someone whispered.

“The Alpha is at it again.”

“He broke another table?”

A maid nodded anxiously. “Screaming in his sleep like always.”

I froze on my track, looking as confused as ever. Kael?

Without thinking, I followed the commotion toward the upper floor. Different voices echoed behind closed doors.

“He needs the healer.”

“No one can touch him while he’s like this.”

“Should we alert Vanessa?”

“Don't try it if you're not ready for punishment.”

I shook my head, hearing what they were all saying. I stopped near the partially opened door and saw him.

Kael sat on the edge of the bed, breathing heavily while sweat soaked his black shirt. His hands trembled against his knees.

For that moment, he looked completely broken and different from the powerful, untouchable Alpha I know.

A healer stood nearby nervously. “Another nightmare?”

Kael’s jaw clenched tightly. “Yes.”

Cold chills ran through me on hearing that.

The healer hesitated before asking. “About her?”

Silence lingered for a while, then Kael spoke again, his voice rougher this time. “She keeps falling, she looked scared and helpless, yet no one could save her.”

My breath became faint, I cracked my head for an explanation, but it delivered confusion instead.

The healer looked uncomfortable. “Alpha…”

“I see it every night,” Kael interrupted quietly. “The moon cliff, the heavy storm that night, her screams…they keep haunting me.”

A strange feeling settled down in my chest. A feeling of triumph, if I'm not mistaken.

I grinned and folded my arms under my chest. He dreamed about my death, which is totally good. Let it torment him, let him drown in it forever.

I watched him rake his trembling fingers through his dark hair, exhaustion written all over his face 

Kael suddenly looked toward the door. I stepped back before he could sense me. I hurried down the hallway, my heart suddenly beating faster.

No, I can’t afford to let what I witnessed weaken me. Not now that I finally stood inside the enemy’s home.

I needed focus, evidence that I could get my hands on and a way to destroy him completely.

And I intended to find it all.

**************

Three days later, the opportunity I sought arrived.

“Take these to the restricted archives,” the records supervisor instructed, dropping several sealed documents onto my desk.

I hid my excitement carefully. Restricted archives are the perfect place to begin my research.

The archive chamber sat beneath the estate library, hidden behind reinforced iron doors. Only high-ranking officials could access the records stored there.

Luckily for me, I used to possess the access codes myself, and I still remember them.

The old wolf guard barely glanced at me after checking the supervisor’s authorisation seal. “Don’t touch anything unnecessary,” he warned.

I lowered my head obediently. “Yes, sir.”

The moment the doors shut behind me, I exhaled slowly.

Dust and parchment filled the cold underground chamber. Huge shelves towered endlessly around me.

This is where confidential trade records, military agreements, territory contracts, crimes and secrets are stored.

I moved quickly to the first shelf. If Kael had formed illegal alliances after my death, the proof would be here.

Hours passed as I searched document after document. Then finally, after exhausting my fingers and overworking my eyes, I found it.

A hidden treaty stamped with Kael’s personal seal.

My stomach dropped as I scanned the contents. Secret negotiations with Blood Fang rogues, illegal territory exchanges, weapons trafficking, and a lot more.

My hands trembled because Kael hated rogues, but now he was working with them?

Another document revealed hidden payments made through Vanessa’s private accounts.

And beneath that was a royal decree forged using falsified pack signatures.

The shock on my face turned into fury. 

They weren’t just corrupt; they were building power through betrayal and lies. Exactly like how they betrayed me.

Footsteps suddenly echoed outside the archive doors, and my body instantly stiffened.

Someone was coming!

Quickly, I shoved the documents beneath my cloak just as the iron doors creaked open.

My breath stopped the moment Kael stepped inside. Alone.

His silver eyes locked onto mine immediately. And then his gaze dropped slowly toward the papers hidden beneath my cloak.