CHAPTER 6: EMBERS IN THE NIGHT

Selene’s POV

The snow crunched beneath my boots as I moved silently through the forest, the moonlight cutting through the trees in shards of silver. My chest still burned from the pull of the bond, a relentless ache that refused to let me forget him. Arden. Even saying his name aloud in the quiet night felt like treachery. My wolf howled beneath my ribs, restless and furious, and yet… longing, too.

I shouldn’t have stayed. I shouldn’t have let him touch me, let that heat spread through my veins and ignite memories I had spent months burying. And yet, I had. Because despite everything—despite betrayal, despite the hollow nights—the bond had flared, alive and dangerous, reminding me of what we were.

The wind whipped through the trees, tugging at my hair and my resolve. I wrapped my coat tighter, trying to push the lingering warmth of his touch from my skin, but it clung stubbornly, like smoke that refuses to disperse. Every step away from the pack’s walls felt like punishment. I hated him for this—hated the way he could make me feel simultaneously safe and exposed, cherished and shattered.

I needed air. I needed space. I needed to remind myself that survival didn’t come from yielding to desire, no matter how insistent. My wolf snarled, frustrated at my restraint, and I answered it with a sharp shake of my head. I would not falter. Not here, not now.

Yet, as I reached the frozen edge of the river, the bond flared again, faint but insistent, like the echo of a heartbeat I could not ignore. My chest constricted. I pressed my palms to it, inhaling sharply. Arden wasn’t just a memory anymore. He was a live wire running through my veins, dangerous and insistent.

“Selene…”

The whisper came from nowhere, yet everywhere. I froze, my pulse stuttering, scanning the forest. Nothing moved. The snowflakes fell in silence, covering my tracks and my fears alike. My wolf growled low in my chest, sensing the unease before I fully did. This was no ordinary pull of the bond. This was… different.

I knelt at the riverbank, letting the icy water run over my gloved fingers, trying to calm my racing heart. Every nerve in my body was alert, every muscle taut, and yet… I could not stop thinking about Arden—the warmth of his hands, the softness behind his eyes when he had brushed my tears away, the way the bond had made me tremble under his gaze.

I hated that I remembered. I hated that I missed it. I hated that part of me wanted more.

And yet, somewhere deep beneath the anger and the ache, a tiny ember of hope flickered. Perhaps we weren’t done. Perhaps the Moon herself had not finished writing our story.

The wind shifted, carrying a scent that made me freeze. Pine, snow, and… blood. My wolf snarled, ears flattening, and my breath caught. Arden. Someone was hurt.

I leapt into motion, following the scent across the frostbitten ground. My dagger was out in an instant, fingers wrapped tightly around the hilt. I moved like a shadow, silent, fast, and deadly. My instincts screamed in unison with my wolf’s rage: he was in danger, and whatever had done this… it wouldn’t get away unchallenged.

The trees thinned, revealing the clearing near the pack’s outer borders. My stomach dropped. There, sprawled on the snow, was Arden. Blood stained his robes, deep crimson against the white, his golden eyes wide with pain and disbelief. My chest seized.

“Arden!” I cried, sprinting toward him.

He tried to rise, but weakness stole his strength. His gaze met mine, and for a moment, the world narrowed to nothing but us—bond pulsing violently, warning and calling all at once.

“You shouldn’t be here,” he rasped, voice low, rough with effort. “Go. It’s… dangerous.”

“I won’t leave you,” I said, kneeling beside him. My hands hovered over the wound on his side, burning to touch, to heal, to soothe. The bond flared again, answering my need with warmth and power. I pressed my palms to him, feeling the pulse of life, the tremor of pain, and the undeniable connection that refused to let go.

His breath hitched. “Selene… it hurts.”

“I know,” I murmured, whispering words my wolf could understand even as my heart raced. “I feel it too.”

The pain in him was mirrored in me, sharper than any blade, hotter than any fire. I could taste it on my tongue, feel it burning beneath my skin. My hands glowed faintly with the power of the Moon as I focused, drawing the pain into me, dispersing it, sending warmth coursing through his veins.

His golden eyes softened, then darkened again with something unspoken. Desire? Relief? Guilt? I couldn’t tell, and honestly, I didn’t care. All I knew was the pull, the bond, the heat, and the ache that refused to be ignored.

He caught my gaze, holding it. “Selene… I—”

“Not now,” I whispered, my lips brushing his forehead as the wind whipped around us. “You need to survive first. Then we’ll talk.”

And yet, my wolf ached to close the space between us, to claim, to fight, to burn with him once more. I pushed the thought down, forcing it into shadows. Focus. Survival. Arden first.

Suddenly, a movement at the edge of the clearing caught my attention. I froze. My senses screamed, my pulse spiking. Another wolf? No. Not natural. Dark. Heavy. Malicious. The air itself seemed to grow thick with intent.

I raised my dagger, stepping protectively in front of him. “Show yourself!” I demanded.

The snow stirred. A figure emerged—tall, cloaked in shadow, with eyes like molten gold. Not Arden’s. Something else. Powerful. Predatory. Watching us.

The bond flared violently, warning me, pulling at me, whispering danger I couldn’t yet name. My hands shook, my breath caught, but I didn’t falter. I would fight. I would protect him. I would survive.

Arden tried to rise again, but weakness stole him, and the stranger stepped closer. Heat radiated from it, an unnatural, suffocating presence that made the hair on my arms rise.

“Selene,” Arden murmured, voice hoarse. “Run… don’t—”

“I’m not leaving you,” I interrupted, voice low, hard, trembling. My wolf growled, answering the challenge, coiling, ready to strike.

The figure’s lips curved in a dangerous smile. “How brave,” it said. Its voice was silk over steel, hypnotic and cruel. “But brave won’t save you.”

My heart thumped violently against my ribs. Arden’s hand brushed mine, weak but grounding, sending sparks down my spine. The bond burned hotter, feeding on fear, desire, and the pull of something inevitable.

I tightened my grip on my dagger. “Then let’s see,” I whispered, teeth clenched, eyes aflame.

And as the first step of the stranger closed the distance, the wind carried the scent of blood, power, and destiny. The Moon above us shone brighter than ever, as if watching, judging, preparing.

Something told me this night would change everything.

And that the bond—our bond—was about to be tested in ways neither Arden nor I could survive unscathed.

The stranger lunged. The bond flared. My wolf howled. And then… everything went black.