007: the only way out

Selene’s POV

The packhouse doors groaned open under my touch, a sound I’d heard a thousand times, but never as heavy as now.

My father stepped inside, his aura crackling like a brewing storm.

“What do you think you’re doing?” His voice was low, commanding, Alpha-deep the kind of voice that once made the whole pack obey.

I didn’t bow. “I’m leaving the Bloodmoon Pack.”

His jaw tightened, his wolf flashing in his eyes. “You can’t walk away from your mate from the Alpha. The bond doesn’t work that way.”

I shrugged, lips curving bitterly. “Then I’ll live unbound in spirit.”

His gaze darkened. “And where will you go? Because hear me well, Selene I can’t shelter you. I swore fealty to Queen Ivana of the Silverfang Court. If I defy her, I lose everything.”

I laughed a hollow, breaking sound. “So you sold your daughter for rank?”

His voice hardened like stone. “I did it for your future.”

“No,” I whispered, steel beneath my tone. “You did it for yours.”

He took a step closer, softening, trying to reach me.

“Please, Selene. Don’t burn everything over this. Be smart. Play the long game. When you’re Luna, then you can take your revenge.”

“I don’t want revenge,” I snapped, my voice splintering. “I want out. I want peace. I want to breathe without her claws in my back without bastard pups calling my mate their father.”

He looked at me, face unreadable, as if the daughter he once knew had vanished. “I can’t help you.”

“Then don’t,” I said coldly. “But don’t you dare stand in my way.”

Diana appeared, arms shaking under the weight of my bags. I took one from her, my boots echoing like war drums across the marble floor.

Damon followed, eyes frantic. “Selene, stop!”

I didn’t.

I walked straight past him, out into the moonlit courtyard, the packhouse looming behind me like a golden cage.

My father trailed. Damon shouted my name. The guards young wolves shifted uneasily, torn between loyalty and fear.

And then she came.

Ivana the Queen of Silverfang her presence like poison wrapped in silk. Fury radiated off her in waves.

Her claws unsheathed, glinting silver in the moonlight. “Ungrateful mutt,” she hissed, raising her hand to strike me.

But I caught it midair.

The courtyard froze. Gasps rippled through the wolves. Her eyes widened no one had ever dared.

“I am Queen,” she snarled, her voice trembling with rage.

“And I don’t care,” I said, dropping her wrist with disgust.

Her mask slipped; her tone snapped like a whip.

“Take her things inside,” she ordered the guards. “Lock her up until she learns her place. When she’s ready to apologize, she’ll tell the pack she was emotional, out of line.”

The guards hesitated until another voice cut through the air.

“Stand down.”

The command was deep, laced with dominance the kind that struck every wolf to their knees.

The courtyard stilled.

I turned, my heart tripping over itself.

Aric

He strode through the moonlight, power rolling off him in dark waves. His black coat swayed behind him, his silver eyes glinting like frost. His aura pure Alpha. Untamed. Dangerous.

“This isn’t your concern,” Damon growled, his voice cracking with desperation.

“You have no authority to interfere,” Ivana spat, her fury trembling beneath her words.

Aric chuckled, low and deadly. “Actually, I do.”

He stopped in the center of the courtyard, every eye drawn to him.

“I’m here under the King’s orders.”

The words hit like thunder.

Ivana paled. “King Alaric wouldn’t interfere in a mating dispute”

“On the contrary,” Aric cut her off, his tone like a blade. “This isn’t a mating issue. It’s a scandal a stain on the Bloodmoon name. And the King is furious.”

He turned to me, his gaze softening for the first time.

“His Majesty commanded me to ensure you leave unharmed. No one will stop you.”

For the first time in years, I felt my lungs fill.

Aric faced the others again, his voice sharp as ice.

“And to be clear those pups are not of royal blood until proven otherwise. Until then, they remain bastards born of betrayal.”

Damon’s face went pale. Lyra lips parted, speechless.

Aric didn’t waver. “My driver waits outside the gates. It’ll take you wherever you wish to go.”

Damon lunged toward me, grabbing my hand, his voice breaking.

“You can’t just walk away like this, Selene! Please I’ll change. I swear I’ll fix it.”

I met his eyes, empty now of everything I used to feel.

Then I pulled my hand free.

“Watch me.”

Diana climbed into the black SUV first. I followed, spine straight, heart steel.

Through the tinted glass, I saw Damon pounding the window, his voice cracking.

“Selene! Don’t do this! Please!”

I didn’t move. I didn’t cry.

Because the only thing worse than being betrayed was staying after it.

The engine roared to life, and the packhouse grew smaller behind me.

Freedom didn’t come quietly.

It burned.

Every mile between me and that house was a wound unsealing raw, real, and finally mine.

Diana reached across, her hand brushing mine. “You did it, my Luna.”

I nodded. My voice trembled. “Yes. I did.”

But inside, I knew this wasn’t the end.

Leaving was only the first step.

And survival?

That was the next war.

Behind us, chaos would reign.

Lyra furious. Damon broken. My father disgraced.

And Aric….

He had stood there, unshaken, command in every breath a man carrying the weight of a king even without a crown.

His words echoed in my mind.

You will leave unharmed.

I didn’t know his game. Whether I was a pawn or something more.

But when our eyes met in that moonlit courtyard I felt it.

The shift.

The danger.

The pull.

And it terrified me more than Lyra ever could.

Because if Aric was right…

If he ever touched me…

I’d never go back.