Chapter Three – Torn Threads

The air between us was sharp, tense, like the moment before lightning splits the sky. Dorian stood at the edge of the clearing, shoulders rigid, jaw tight, his dark hair falling over his brow. His eyes locked on me, the way they used to, but there was no warmth in them, only heat that burned without touching.

“Selene,” he said again, softer this time, but the sound of my name was enough to make my chest ache.

I swallowed hard. “Why are you here?”

His mouth tightened. “You ran.”

I let out a bitter laugh, my hands curling into fists. “You rejected me. What did you expect me to do, stay and kneel at your feet like some broken dog?”

His nostrils flared, and for a second I thought he might snap, but instead he moved closer, each step deliberate, slow. My wolf stirred uneasily, wanting to push forward, wanting to retreat all at once.

“I didn’t mean” He stopped himself, his voice harsh. “You don’t understand.”

“Then explain it,” I spat. My voice shook, but I didn’t care. The pain, the betrayal, it poured out of me like poison. “Explain why you looked me in the eye and told me you didn’t want me. Why you broke the bond like it was nothing. Explain why I’m standing here shattered while you…” My throat closed, words catching. “While you’re still whole.”

Dorian’s face twisted, and for a fleeting moment I saw something raw in him, something like regret. But it was gone as quickly as it came, buried beneath the Alpha mask he wore so well.

“There are things you don’t know,” he said. “Things I can’t tell you.”

My chest tightened. “Can’t, or won’t?”

His silence was the answer.

Anger surged hot through my veins, but under it was something else, something dangerous that strange new energy, humming in my blood, thrumming with my pulse. It rose at my fury, at the wound he had carved in me, and for the first time I didn’t try to smother it.

The earth trembled faintly under my feet.

Dorian’s eyes flicked downward, his brows furrowing. “What was that?”

I bit the inside of my cheek, panic flashing. “Nothing.”

“Don’t lie to me.” He stepped closer, the command in his voice making my wolf bow instinctively before I forced her back up.

I met his gaze, my chin lifting. “You lost the right to demand the truth from me.”

Something flickered in his expression frustration, pain, maybe both. “Selene, listen to me. It isn’t safe out here. Not for you. Not tonight.”

I almost laughed again. “Not safe? You think I’m safer with you? With a mate who throws me away like garbage?”

His jaw clenched. “I did it to protect you.”

The words hit me like a blow. My breath caught, anger colliding with confusion. “Protect me? From what?”

He didn’t answer. His silence was louder than any confession.

My heart pounded. The bond between us pulled weakly, frayed but not gone, and for a dangerous moment I wanted to step closer, to press my face into his chest and pretend none of this had happened. But then Ronan’s words echoed in my mind They will tear you apart.

And I knew Dorian wasn’t telling me everything.

“You’re lying,” I whispered, my voice breaking. “You always promised me honesty, and now you’re just”

A rustle in the trees cut me off. Both our heads snapped up.

Dorian’s posture changed instantly, his body shifting into that of a warrior, his eyes sharp. “Stay behind me.”

I wanted to argue, but the scent that drifted through the trees was unfamiliar, dark, bitter. Not wolf. Something else. My stomach turned cold.

Three figures stepped into the clearing. Rogues. Their eyes glowed faintly yellow, madness flickering in their movements.

“Fresh blood,” one of them sneered, his gaze sliding over me with hunger. “And powerful too. I can smell it.”

Dorian growled, low and deadly, his body tense to shift. “Leave. Now.”

The rogue laughed. “We were sent for her, Alpha. Step aside.”

Sent. My skin prickled. By who?

Before I could think, Dorian lunged, claws and teeth flashing as he tore into the first rogue. The clearing erupted in violence snarls, the crack of bones, the hiss of blood. My wolf howled inside me, urging me to shift, to fight, but fear and something wilder tangled in my chest.

One of the rogues broke past Dorian, rushing at me. I stumbled back, heart racing, but the power inside me surged, raw and unstoppable. My hand shot out without thought.

The earth exploded upward, roots snaking like living chains, wrapping around the rogue’s legs and dragging him down with a scream.

Silence fell. Even Dorian froze, blood dripping from his claws, his eyes wide.

I stared at my hands, trembling. The ground still pulsed faintly with energy, answering me like it belonged to me.

“What…” My voice shook. “What did I just do?”

The last rogue snarled, breaking free of Dorian’s grip, but his eyes weren’t on him. They were on me. Terrified. “The prophecy,” he hissed, before bolting into the night.

Dorian didn’t chase him. His gaze was locked on me, sharp and unreadable.

“Selene,” he said hoarsely. “What are you?”

I hugged my arms to my chest, shaking, my mind spinning. I didn’t have the answer. All I knew was that something had changed forever.

And Dorian Hale, the Alpha who had broken me, had just seen it with his own eyes.

To be continued…