LOGINSelene POV I clutched the handle of the bed, trying to mop the sweat off my face. Kael left for an important meeting earlier. If not, I had no doubt he would have been here by now. The heat came back worse today. Threatening to consume my whole being. I bit my lip hard, trying to stop my tears. Maybe I could ask for an ice bath. I forced myself to stand. Took one step toward the door. Everything turned blur, as I felt myself collapsing. —— When I opened my eyes, I was somewhere else.I was back in the place where those memories or dreams occurred. I’d been here before but something felt different this time. Everything was clearer and more solid. Sunlight filtered through trees I recognized now. The clearing. The one that kept appearing in flashes. I looked down at my hands.I was younger in this vision.This body wasn’t mine. But it was. “There you are.” I turned towards the sound of the voice. Kael walked toward me through the trees. Younger than I’d ever seen him. Mayb
Sylvester pov “I did what I had to do.” “No. You did what your obsession demanded.” I shoved her back. The chair scraped against the stone floor. She was wrong. She had to be wrong. I did love Selene. Everything I’d done was for her. To be with her. To finally have what should have been mine from the beginning. “You’re going to help me whether you want to or not,” I said. “And if I refuse?” “Then I’ll make you.” I pulled out a small vial from my pocket. The liquid inside was dark red. Almost black. “Do you know what this is?” Myra’s face paled. “Shadow essence.” “From those creatures that keep crawling up from the underworld. Turns out they’re very useful when properly contained.” “You’re using underworld magic?” Her voice shook. “Do you have any idea how dangerous—” “I don’t care about danger. I care about results.” I held the vial up to the light. “This essence can force your body to obey my commands. Even if your mind refuses. Your knowledge, your power… it will all be
Sylvester POV The old woman sat in the chair across from me, her hands bound with silver chains. Not that she could escape anyway. The cell was warded with symbols older than any pack. Symbols I’d spent lifetimes learning. Myra. The Memory Keeper. The priestess who’d bound Selene’s powers all those years ago. And now, finally, she was mine. “You knew I would find you eventually,” I said, leaning back in my own chair. We were in the underground chamber beneath Moonveil pack house. The same place I’d kept the three Alphas that went missing. Myra lifted her head. Her eyes were cloudy with age but sharp with awareness. “Yes. I’ve been waiting for you, actually. Took you longer than I expected.” That surprised me. “You wanted me to find you?” “Want is a strong word. But I knew it was inevitable.” She shifted in her seat, the chains clinking softly. “The cycle always brings you back to this point. Always brings you back to her.” “Then you remember.” Relief flooded through
Marcus pov “I saw you,” she said finally. “In my visions. You’re there in almost all of them. Standing beside me. Protecting me. And in the ones where I survive…” She swallowed hard. “In those, you’re the reason why.” My heart stuttered. “Then why are you fighting this?” “Because in the visions where we…” She looked away. “Where we become more than friends. Those are the ones where you die instead of me. And I can’t… I won’t let that happen.” “So you’re trying to protect me by pushing me away.” “Yes.” “That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard.” Her eyes snapped back to mine. “Excuse me?” “You heard me. It’s stupid. You can’t live your life based on visions that might not happen. You can’t push away everyone who cares about you just because you’re scared.” “I’m not scared.” “Yes, you are. You’re terrified. Not of dying. Of letting someone in and losing them.” She flinched like I’d struck her. “That’s not fair,” she whispered. “Neither is watching you kill yourself slowl
Marcus POV I leaned against the wall of the training room, watching Lydia move through her meditation exercises with grace. She’d been back at Blackthorn for three weeks now, and in all that time, I’d barely managed to have a real conversation with her that didn’t involve pack business or Selene’s training. She looked thinner than when she’d arrived. Dark circles shadowed her eyes despite the healing magic she possessed. Even though it didn’t make her any less beautiful. “You’re staring again,” Lydia said without opening her eyes. “Just making sure you don’t pass out mid-meditation.” “I’m fine.” “When’s the last time you slept?” I asked, pushing off the wall and walking closer. “And I mean actually slept, not just closed your eyes for an hour.” “I sleep enough.” “That’s not an answer.” She opened one eye to glare at me. “I don’t have time for this, Marcus.” “Make time.” I stopped in front of her. “You’ve been working yourself to exhaustion training Selene, researching thos
Selene POV I made it halfway back to my room before my legs started feeling strange. It was almost like every step made my skin more sensitive. I paused in the hallway and leaned against the wall. Took a deep breath. Pinching my nose to ease the tension forming there . It’s fine. I’m fine. But even as I thought it, warmth started spreading up from my legs. Through my thighs. Settling low in my belly. Oh no. Not again. Not now. I’d just managed to escape from Kael in the garden. I just told him I didn’t want him in my life. And now my body was about to betray me by demanding his presence. The bond was the cruelest thing I’d ever experienced. I pushed off the wall and walked faster. If I could just get to my room, I could ride this out alone. The warmth pulsed through me . Spreading everywhere in my body.. My dress suddenly felt too tight. The fabric rubbed against my skin in ways that made me bite my lip. Keep walking. I’m almost there, I muttered wiping sweat off my brow







