Selene’s POVAs we got to the main pack entrance, at least some level of relief that I was home should have settled in my bones, but instead, my skin prickled like I was walking into another kind of danger. My wolf paced quietly inside me. She didn’t speak though, but her unease pressed against my ribs.Kieran’s hand didn’t leave mine as we climbed the last steps toward his chambers. I could bet that his stride was sure, protective, as though dragging me into the safety of his walls could erase the memory of rogue's attack.But just as we turned down the last corridor, we came in contact with Beta Lucian.He stood tall, his presence sharp as always, but my wolf stiffened the moment his eyes landed on us. Her growl wasn’t loud, but it was there, humming inside my head like a warning note. And just then, I felt that omething about him wasn’t right.I forced myself to keep my expression calm. The last thing I needed was to seem paranoid in front of Kieran, not when I still didn’t fully
Selene’s POV“Keep your head down,” I told her. “We go straight to the pack house. We tell no one more than we must. We’ll plan.”Alpha Kieran said but yet my heart hadn’t settled. My skin still buzzed from the shift, muscles aching in ways I didn’t know they could. Every step felt like my bones were still trying to remember what shape they were supposed to hold.“Now you have a wolf,” Alpha Kieran said after a few moments of walking, his voice carrying that rough warmth he often tried to hide. His eyes cut sideways at me, glimmering with something close to pride. “Can we race back to the pack? At least it will be faster. And it saves us from the stress of walking.”I froze for half a beat. My wolf stirred inside me, stretching, brushing me with her calm yet commanding voice: You are rare and he hasn't seen us properly yet. So, don’t show him everything yet. Not until we understand what this truly means.Rare. The word echoed like a riddle. What did rare mean to a creature like her? A
Alpha Kieran's POV I fought with everything in me and in seconds, the rogue that came out of nowhere to attack me on my way was dropped dead. And so in the first turn, I saw a wolf fighting against a rogue wolf and at a go, I knew that it was Raven’s wolf finishing the fight against the rogue wolf. Though, one of the rogues lay still there—already dead. In the process, the rogue that was fighting Raven’s wolf snarled, snapping hard against Raven’s throat, driving her back to the ground. She pushed up with her legs, and claws raking, but even with her wolf’s sudden strength, the brute weight of the rogue pressed her down. It was clear—he was stronger, faster, already seasoned in violence.Raven’s wolf didn’t yield though as she twisted, with her teeth cutting deep into the rogue’s shoulder, tearing fur and flesh. The sound made my wolf surge in pride, but the sight made my chest tighten—she was resisting, fighting like one born to it, yet she was being overpowered little by little.M
Alpha Kieran’s POVAs soon as I was done taking my bath, I had to go to my Luna's chamber to meet her as I was meant to, like I already envisaged.The tiles were still warm under my feet when I stepped into the corridor. Steam trailed from my hair as how hot the water I used was. For a moment I let the quiet of the pack house settle over me.As soon as I got to her chamber’s entrance, I knocked slightly at first, "Raven." but I got no response.The silence after that knock prickled at me. Not angry, more like an empty kind that ate at the edges of my patience. I waited, listening for her response but I no one answered. The hair at my nape tightened.When I didn't get any response for the first, "Raven, please get the door. It's me." Of course I didn't need to go into details in introducing myself because he must know my voice and as I still didn't get any response from the second knock. I abruptly pulled the knot down and to my surprise the door opened at once.The door didn't open so
Selene’s POVHow could I even believe all that he just said? I mean, what was Alpha Kieran thinking? That I would fall for those cheap lies from him?The words he had spoken earlier still clung to me like burrs, scratching at every corner of my mind. He really thought I would just swallow them whole—like some desperate fool waiting to be fed scraps of affection.Now I understand the drama he put up at the feast the other day. The way his eyes lingered too long, the way his tone softened as though he was baring his soul. Maybe that entire display had been nothing but all planned out, carefully staged to make me believe what he said was true. But I couldn’t—wouldn’t—dare to believe it.I rubbed at my temples as if pressing down hard enough might silence the war in my head. Every second spent in my chambers felt like I was losing my mind, like the walls themselves were pressing in on me.To think that I don’t even have anyone to talk to about this—no one to confide in, no one I can truly
Kieran’s POVI felt the taste of blood clung to my tongue long after the last rogue wolf had fallen dead. My claws still dripped red, streaks drying sticky on my skin, matting into the fur of my arms before I forced the shift back. Bones cracked, muscle rearranged, until I turned to my normal self again—bare, trembling, every nerve alight with the taste of violence.The woods also felt like a graveyard behind me. Five rogues, maybe six—I’d lost count when the frenzy took over. They’d come tearing at our borders before dawn, vicious, wild-eyed, snapping like they had nothing left to lose. I had no choice but to meet them head-on.I always met them head-on anyway.By the time the sun had gone half way, the ground was slick with their blood…and mine.And in no time, we were already sending the pack house. My ribs screamed every time I breathed. My shoulder was torn, hot with the burn of a fresh gash, but I ignored it as I stalked back toward the rogues. The only thought that gave me hope