Chapter 9 -Old memories

Selene pov

“What do you mean?” I asked, trying to steady my breathing. My heart was racing. “Why did she have to be exchanged for you?”

Kael lifted a hand, his voice low but firm. “Calm down and listen.”

I clenched my fists under the table.

“Two days before I found you,” he continued, “Moonshade Pack reached out. They had Elara… but they weren’t willing to let her return for nothing. It’s called a life trade.”

I stared at him, stunned. “And you just agreed? Without telling me?”

“But why has she been there all this time and they didn’t tell us?” I asked, my voice rising.

“Why now? Why wait till now?”

He didn’t respond to that.

My voice cracked as I pushed further. “How did they even know about Keisha? Why her? Of all people… why her?”

Kael exhaled, slow and tense. “Because it turns out… Keisha is the mate of Moonshade’s Alpha.”

That statement made me feel weak all over.

I don’t know why I never considered Keisha having her own mate… but the irony wasn’t lost on me. We were both mated to Alphas.

What hurt more was the realization that I might never see her again.

And worse?

That for a moment… My friend mattered more to me than my sister ever did.

I turned to Kael, eyes stinging. “And you didn’t think to tell me before trading my friend?”

My voice trembled, but I didn’t back down.

“A mate is supposed to protect. To love. To be the other half of his partner.” I laughed bitterly. “Why am I so unlucky… to be saddled with you as mine?”

“I’m going out to the city today. With Maria,” I said, already rising from the table.

Kael’s voice followed me.“You can’t go out unsupervised. Take two guards with you.”

I didn’t argue, I didn't even bother to turn around.

I just nodded once and kept walking ... .too tired to deal with either of them.

I needed space.

“Luna, should we take the carriage?” Maria asked gently, walking beside me.

I paused, glancing up at the cloudy sky. The morning air still clung to the cold.

“No,” I said after a beat. “I want to walk.”

Maria nodded following me with two guards trailing behind us at a respectful distance.

As we walked down the long stone path, I paused.

The garden looked abandoned. The trees were dry. The flowers had withered. No one had taken care of it in a long time.

“Maria,” I asked, stopping to take in the withering plants, “who’s in charge of the grounds?”

“The old Luna was,” she said after a moment. “After she died, the Alpha complained whenever anyone tried to take care of it .He said nothing ever looked right. Eventually, we stopped trying and it was left to die.”

I swallowed. “His mother must’ve meant a lot to him.”

Maria nodded.

He’s always so quiet. So distant. As if he’s never really here. And maybe I should try to care. Maybe I should try to get to know my mate more and I was going to.

But not anymore.

Not after he stole the chance for me to say goodbye to my best friend.

Not after he made her the price for a sister I can’t even recognize anymore.

I looked away from the brittle leaves and walked past the garden without another word.

We walked for a distance before reaching the village square. It was more beautiful than I remembered.

My mother used to take us for runs around the town square when we were younger. She’d shift mid-stride, laughing, her long coat shimmering under the moonlight, and Elera would always trip over her paws trying to keep up.

Looking around now, I spotted a few young werewolf cubs wrestling in the dirt, yipping and rolling over each other with wild abandon. I smiled as one toppled a stall basket and scrambled away before the vendor could scold him.

The stalls were bright and full of fresh bread, leather goods, spiced meat, and trinkets carved from bone and wood. Life had gone on without me.

I was enjoying the walk… until I noticed people stopping to stare at me.

The way some people turned and stared just a second too long.

Not all of them knew who I was…but the ones who did didn’t bother hiding it. Their eyes told the story they believed: Selene, the cursed one. The girl who let her sister die. The Luna they never asked for.

I kept walking trying hard not to show my discomfort.

Then I turned to Maria.

“Maria,” I said quietly, “there’s somewhere I want to go.”

She looked up, alert. “Where?”

I exhaled slowly. “The home I grew up in.”

Her brows pulled together. “Are you sure, Luna?”

“No,” I whispered. “But I need to.”

It wasn’t hard locating the house.

It sat quietly at the end of a narrow path, tucked between the alley walls like a forgotten thought. The ivy had overtaken the fence, and wildflowers grew where my mother once planted herbs.

It looked smaller than it did in my memory. Maybe it’s because I am bigger now.

And it was abandoned.

It seems that after my exile, no one ever tried to purchase it. As though the shame tied to my name bled into the house, warding others away.

We walked up the stairs slowly. Each step creaked beneath my feet, like the house would collapse at any moment.

The porch light was gone. The windows were clouded with dust and cobwebs.

I placed a hand on the old door.

Then pushed it open.

The smell of mold and rust hit me first , covering my nose with a scarf I brought with me as I stepped inside.

The floor was littered with fallen leaves and broken glass. The curtains were shredded by age. And yet… It still looked the same.

That awful kind of home that keeps every memory exactly where you left it.

I took another step forward, brushing my hand along the hallway wall. My fingertips passed over a faint scratch etched into the paint.

E + S = forever.

Elera and I carved it the day she learned how to spell our names.

My throat tightened.

Maria stood quietly behind me, not daring to speak. The guards waited outside.

Walking into the room… we usually shared the same too with our mother. When she wasn’t working, she used to write a lot.

I noticed the box of books lying in the corner, untouched.

Walking over to it, I knelt down.

“Luna, be careful,” Maria said behind me, turning slightly.

I gave her a small smile.

I opened the box slowly. The books were still there. Still intact.

She really did write everything down.

I stared at them for a second. “I want to get into her head.”

Then I stood.

“We’re taking this back with us,” I said to the guard.

He nodded, picked the box up gently.

I was just about to continue my tour when I felt a sharp wave of heat burning through me from the inside out.

I staggered, biting back my scream.

“Luna, are you okay?” Maria asked, rushing to my side.

“I’m fine,” I lied, forcing a breath. “Just… tired. Let’s head back.”

We started walking outside.

Then it hit me again..only stronger this time.

The heat slammed into me like a wall. My knees buckled.

This time I couldn’t hold it in. I screamed, loud and sharp, as the pain tore through me. Tears slipped down my face before I could stop them.

My body was shaking. I felt like I was on fire from the inside out.