Chapter 6-Buried memories

Selene pov

I trembled under him, my body still shaking from the orgasm he dragged out of me. My mind was foggy, torn between the bond and everything he’d done. I blinked, trying to clear my head, trying to breathe past the pressure in my chest.

And then I pushed him hard .

He didn’t move at first, just stared at me like he couldn’t believe I was rejecting him. Again.

“I’d rather die than fight for you, Kael.”

“You want to crown her Luna so badly? Then crown her. You two deserve each other, besides I never asked for this.”

His jaw twitched. I saw something flash in his eyes. But I was done reading into him. I pulled the blanket tighter around me and sat up, turning my face away.

“I’ll never be yours ,” I said, quieter now. “Don’t stand there and act like I should fight for the man who ruined me, you are not worth fighting for .”

I turned my back to him, ignoring his heavy breathing as he walked away from the room.

I closed my eyes, trying to still my own breathing. My sister, Elara, has been alive all these years. How did he find her? And even though I’m supposed to be happy that the title of being a murderer has finally been cleared from my name… it doesn’t seem to make anything better.

And I honestly don’t know how I’m supposed to face my sister after all this time.

She returned to me…

I still remembered what happened all those years ago.

I remember that day like it was yesterday. My mom left me in charge of Elara since it was hunting season.

We promised not to go outside. We swore we’d stay inside until she got back.

But Elara was always more energetic than me.

“Sister, please! Let’s just go for a walk,” she said, her cute curls bouncing around her face as she looked up at me with those eyes that mirrored mine…

Brown doe eyes.

“No, Elara,” I told her. “Mama said we should wait for her.”

“You never do anything fun,” she pouted.

“What do you mean by that?” I asked, crossing my arms, lips pulling into a frown as I bit down, offended by her words.

“If you were as fun as Laura,” she said with a shrug, “you wouldn’t care about going for a walk. Just a tiny walk.”

I sighed, staring at her…those big brown eyes, that pout, the way she rocked on her heels like she already knew she’d win.

“Okay, fine,” I muttered. “Just a little walk.” I said, determined to win over Laura, her friend's sister who is fast becoming her role model.

Her face lit up instantly. She grabbed my hand with both of hers, grinning like she’d just been given the world.

If only I’d said no again.

We hadn’t gone very far when we were cornered.

I was too young and foolish to recognize the danger signs around me…

The way the wind stilled. The sudden silence of the woods. Even the birds had stopped singing.

I should’ve known. I should’ve known.

But I was too caught up in keeping her happy, in trying to prove I wasn’t boring, in proving I could be fun too.

And then the Shadows came fast, and merciless. They moved between the trees like ghosts, surrounding us before I could even react.

“Elara, behind me!” I shouted, my voice shaking as I threw my arms wide. I extended my claws, though it was shaky and undeveloped. My wolf was barely at the surface. I wasn’t strong enough to protect us but I tried.

I fought as hard as I could . I clawed at them and screamed and begged.

But it wasn’t enough.

One of them grabbed her. I remember the way she cried my name as they pulled her away. The way her little hand reached for mine it was so close, but not close enough.

And then she was gone.

And I was left behind…bloody, broken, and alone.

I would never understand why they chose only her that day and decided to leave me.

They could’ve killed me. They should’ve.

But instead… they left me.

I lay there in the dirt, with blood on my hands, my face scratched and swollen, staring at the empty space where she had been. My chest was hollow. My ears rang with the echo of her scream.

I didn’t cry. Not at first.

I didn’t move.

I just lay there more silent and numb than I have ever felt in my life until I heard my mother’s voice in the distance.

“Selene! Selene!”

That was when I broke.

The sound of her calling my name shattered whatever was left holding me together.

I cried.

Not because I was in pain.

But because I had failed.

Because I lost Elara.

And I would never get her back.

“Selene!” my mother cried, running toward me.

She dropped to her knees and gathered me into her arms, her scent wrapping around me like a safety I no longer deserved. Her hands roamed my face, my arms, my clothes….searching for wounds.

“Who hurt you? What happened?” she asked, panic rising in her voice.

I blinked, tears slipping down my cheeks as I tried to speak. My mouth opened, but the words were all wrong.

Her arms tightened around me. “Selene… where is Elara?”

I froze.

Even now, I remember that silence how heavy it felt. How loud the absence of my sister was.

I couldn’t speak.

I couldn’t breathe.

All I could do was shake my head slowly, over and over, as my mother’s face crumbled before me.

“Selene,” she cried again, her voice breaking. “What happened to your sister? Where is she?”

She clutched my arm so tight I whimpered, the pain snapping me out of my daze.

“Mom… you’re hurting me…”

“Tell me what happened!”

“I…” My lips trembled. “We were attacked. I tried to fight them. I tried to protect her. But… I couldn’t. I’m sorry.”

Her hands dropped from my arm as if I’d burned her.

The look she gave me then…

It was the scariest thing I’ve ever seen.

It was so cold and empty . Like I wasn’t her daughter anymore.

“You mean…” Her voice was flat. “You killed your sister?”

“What? No! I would never! We were attacked and…”

“You were supposed to protect her!” she screamed, stepping back. “I left her with you! I trusted you!”

Tears blurred my vision as I reached for her. “Mama, please… I didn’t— I tried—”

But she didn’t hear me.

Or maybe… she just didn’t care.

“You killed her… you killer…” she kept mumbling, her voice hollow, her eyes empty as she stood up.

She walked like a ghost towards the pack house, her steps were unsteady, her lips wouldn’t stop moving.

“Selene killed my youngest daughter,” she kept repeating. “I birthed a monster…”

Her voice grew louder. Hysterical. She screamed it over and over again, her cries echoing through the trees, drawing attention from the others.

“I birthed a monster!”

Guards came. Pack members watched in stunned silence as she thrashed and sobbed, clawing at her own skin. They had to restrain her in the end dragging her away kicking and screaming.

I sat there, frozen. Every part of me broken.

And the next morning…

They found her dead in her cell.

Not long after, I was captured and cast away from the pack.

My name was stained forever.

They called me every vile name there was…traitor, murderer, cursed child. Some spat at me as I was dragged through the pack grounds. Others looked away like I was something shameful they didn’t want to be associated with.

The worst part?

No one defended me. Not one soul.

Not even those who used to smile at me. Not even the ones I once considered friends.

To them, Elara was innocent. And I was the monster that let her and my mother die.