004: the wrong mate

Selene’s POV

I slipped through the Inner corrIdor that connected Damon’s wing to the rest of the packhouse.

The polished stone floors gleamed under soft lighting, every surface perfect, every hallway whisperIng domInance and legacy. But today, It felt like a prison. Every step echoed wIth Luna Ivana’s voIce, with Damon’s betrayal, with Mira’s wide, careful eyes.

I needed aIr. Freedom. Anything that dIdn’t reek of lies.

I turned a corner too quIckly and stopped dead.

Aric.

He stood like a wall In the middle of the hall, broad shoulders blockIng the path as though the Moon herself had conspired to throw hIm In my way.

For a heartbeat, the world stilled.

He was older now. Broader. Stronger. HIs jacket hung open over a dark shIrt, collar slightly crooked, like he didn’t care for the pack’s suffocating polish. HIs Jaw was sharper than I remembered, hIs face harder, carved by years of silence and distance.

And those eyes—icy cerulean, his mother’s eyes. They caught mIne like they always had, and just like that, I was seventeen agaIn, heart hammering at a pack ceremony as I dared to look too long at a wolf I could never have.

“Lene,” he said, voIce smooth, calm, far too steady while mIne trembled Inside me.

The sound of my old nickname on his lips sent a ripple down my spine.

I pulled myself together, forced a smile that wasn’t shy or flirtatious. Just… familiar.

“I thought you left after the Council meeting.”

“I did. Came back this morning. Alpha’s request.” His gaze moved over me, calm, assessing, controlled.

I felt naked under it. Not physically. Worse. Emotionally.

“How have you been?” he asked.

“Fine.” Too quick. Too defensive.

One brow arched. He didn’t believe me. He never had. Aric had always noticed more than he should.

“I didn’t think you’d end up with Damon,” he said, voice flat. No judgment, no mockery. Just fact. “But the two of you were always close.”

I swallowed. What could I say? That Damon had noticed me first? That Aric had been my dream, but Damon had been the one who stayed?

“It made sense,” I said softly. “No one expected me to want anyone else.”

His gaze held mine, piercing. “You were young.”

“And you were dIstant.” The words slipped out before 1 could stop them.

A chuckle rumbled from hIs chest. Deep, warm, unguarded. It wrapped around me like a memory, pulling me back to moonlit hunts and quiet gatherings where I’d wIshed, just once, that he’d reach for me.

“I had no busIness getting Involved with a Montclaw she-wolf,” he said. “The Elders would’ve torn us apart.”

He wasn’t wrong. But the truth still stung.

“Are you angry about what happened at Council?” I asked, searching his face. “About my father?”

He shrugged. “Not at all. I was hoping the title would go to someone else. Sebastian didn’t want it either.”

That surprised me. “But it was your birthright.”

“Freedom is my birthright,” he said without hesitation. “Being Alpha is a gilded cage. I’ve climbed the peaks of Takar, run with the mountain rogues. You think I’d trade that for a throne and false smiles?”

The certainty in his voice left me breathless. He wasn’t lying. He would choose freedom over power. Always.

“I knew what was coming the moment they bound you to Damon,” he added, a faint, almost bitter smile on his lips.

“Luna Ivana’s always been ten steps ahead.”

“1 was Just another pawn,” I muttered.

His smile faded. For a flicker of a moment, something gentler crossed hIs eyes.

“You were never a pawn.”

The words lodged In my chest, heavIer than they should’ve been. I wanted to laugh them off, brush them aside, but I couldn’t.

Not with hIm lookIng at me like that.

Silence stretched, thick and dangerous.

Then, mercifully, he broke It. “You still terrible with horses?”

The question caught me off guard. “I’m not terrible.”

His lips twitched. “Still need help, then?”

Despite everything, a small laugh escaped me, fragile but real.

Eight years ago, he’d steadied me in the stables, his hand firm at my waist, his voice calm in my ear. I had never forgotten.

“No,” I said quickly. Firmer.

“Come on,” he said, already turning toward the exit. “You look like you need it.”

He didn’t know. He couldn’t. That my bond had been reduced to ash. That Damon had paraded his mistress and pups in front of me. That Luna Ivana had demanded my silence like it was my duty.

He didn’t ask about any of it.

And maybe that was the only reason I followed him.

Because sometImes kindness was more dangerous than cruelty.

The stables were quIet, lanterns castIng long shadows across stone. The aIr smelled of hay and leather, the faInt snort of restless steeds echoing through the rafters.

Aric moved with the confIdence of a wolf who had never been denIed. Even the stablehands watched hIm with respect as he ordered two mounts to be saddled.

He didn’t look at me as he mounted.

“Ready?”

I wasn’t. Not for him. Not for this. But I nodded anyway.