CHAPTER 4: FEAR, FABRIC, AND FRAGMENTS

CHAPTER 4: FEAR, FABRIC, AND FRAGMENTS

SELENE’S POV

I go down hard—emotionally, mentally—as if the floor has dropped out from under me and I’ve fallen straight to the bottom of my toes. My environment is pounding in my skull, every sound reverberating like a war drum. I can feel my veins throbbing in time with my racing heartbeat, each thud echoing painfully in my chest.

Oh, my good heavens…

My eyes are wide, still locked on the wickedly handsome man lying beside me. His presence is surreal—like he’s been carved out of my most dangerous daydreams—and that makes everything even worse. My brain is screaming for me to look away, to focus, but I can’t.

Lyra’s voice cuts through the call like a blade, jolting me back to my senses. “Selene! Are you still there?” she demands, her tone sharp and furious. She doesn’t give me a second to answer before continuing, “If you know what’s good for you, you’d better head back home right now. Dad is furious—furious—and Mom… oh, she’s beyond wild right now. They’re on the brink of unleashing full chaos.”

I don’t need her to explain what that means. When my parents reach that point, the storm that follows is unstoppable.

My hand shakes violently as I glance around the unfamiliar room, my thoughts tangled into a messy knot. Jesus… what the hell have I done? My chest tightens. My palms feel clammy. The air around me feels too thick to breathe.

And then, reality sinks in. I’m naked under this oversized shirt—no bra, no underwear. My skirt and panties are gone.

That’s when I see it—right there, between my legs. A stain.

“Oh, good heavens…” My breath catches, my eyes going wide as my lips tremble. My stomach drops, heat and dread colliding inside me. Have I…? No. No, no, no. This can’t be real.

Sweat beads along my hairline, sliding down the back of my neck as fear rushes through me like wildfire. This isn’t just trouble. This is the kind of trouble my father will kill me over—not figuratively, but murder-me-and-bury-the-body kind of kill.

I ignore my still-ringing phone, my ears only half-registering Lyra’s ongoing shouts. My eyes scan the room frantically, my breath coming fast. Okay, calm down, Selene. Calm down. Everything is going to be fine. It’s not like they’re going to crucify you anyway… right?

The lie feels hollow even in my own head.

I spot my skirt crumpled in the corner—ripped clean in half. My panties lie beside it, shredded. My stomach flips again. “Oh, crap… What the fuck?” My hand tangles in my hair, scratching at my scalp in restless panic. My whole body is trembling.

I glance back toward the bed. He’s still there, snoring softly, his chest rising and falling in slow rhythm. He hasn’t even woken up. For some reason, that irritates me—like how dare he be so calm when I’m losing my mind?

“Selene!” Lyra’s voice blasts through the speaker again, snapping me out of my spiraling thoughts. I grab the phone and press it to my ear.

“What’s the matter?” she demands. “Are you okay? Do you need help? Tell me what’s going on so I can figure out how to shield you from… whatever you’ve gotten yourself into.”

Her words hit me harder than I expect. My sister has always been my shield, my lifeline. She’s the one who covers my mistakes, smooths things over, keeps me from drowning in the fallout of my own recklessness. No matter how much of a mess I make, she’s always there to protect me. I couldn’t ask for a better sister.

But right now? I don’t even know how to explain this.

My mouth opens, but no words come out. I look around for something—anything—that might help me describe the situation without her thinking the absolute worst.

“Selene?” Her voice drops a little, but the concern sharpens. “Your voice doesn’t sound right. Are you in trouble?”

A nervous chuckle slips out before I can stop it, shaky and unsure. “I… I think I messed up,” I admit, my voice low.

I can almost feel the tension spike on her end of the line. “How messed up?” she asks carefully. “Like, scale of one to a hundred?”

Another breathless laugh escapes me, and it sounds just as nervous as I feel. “Beyond three hundred,” I reply.

She winces audibly. “Okay… What do you need?”

I take a shaky breath. “First of all, I’m going to need some new clothes.”

There’s a long pause on the other end. “Why do you need new clothes, Selene?”

“If you don’t want me to be executed,” I say quickly, “you’d better hurry up. There’s no time for explanations. I’ll explain everything when I get back to the mansion.”

She’s insistent, pressing for details, but after a heavy sigh, she relents. “Fine. I’ll send my personal driver—the one who keeps all your secrets.”

Relief floods me. “Thank you. Seriously. I owe you.”

“You owe me more than you realize,” she says pointedly. “And for heaven’s sake, Selene, you have to grow up. You’re twenty now—you’re in full adulthood. You can’t keep running around like you’re still a teenager. If this mess is beyond what I can fix, then this will be the last time I help you.”

Her words sting, but I don’t argue. My heart is pounding too fast. She ends the call after telling me to text her my location.

I lower the phone slowly, staring at it as if it might suddenly tell me where I am. But I have no clue. None.

I rake my fingers through my hair, biting down on my bottom lip hard enough to hurt. “What the fuck is your problem, Selene? Just what the fuck is your problem?” I mutter to myself, slapping my cheeks lightly in a pathetic attempt to snap out of it.

Lisa—my wolf—chuckles darkly in my mind.

*You didn’t feel this remorseful yesterday when you let several men put their hands all over you.*

“Shut the fuck up,” I snap under my breath. “Now is not a good time.”

Before long, my phone buzzes again. Lyra.

“Why haven’t you sent your location?” she demands the second I pick up.

I chuckle weakly. “Because… I don’t know where I am.”

There’s a short silence, then a sigh. “Turn on your location services. I’ll find you.”

I follow her instructions quickly, my fingers fumbling with the screen.

While I wait, I begin pacing the room, my steps fast and uneven, my nerves stretched tight. The walls feel too close, the air too heavy. My thoughts keep looping back to the same question—how the hell did I end up here?

And then I hear it—a deep, guttural sound.

My head snaps toward the bed.

The devastatingly gorgeous man is awake.

Oh, heavens.