The Woman

CHAPTER SIXTEEN: The Woman Who Died for Me

Ronan’s POV

The sound of Selene’s footsteps faded into the silence.

And I stood there—paralyzed—watching her disappear.

I should’ve gone after her.

My heart screamed it.

But my feet wouldn’t move.

Because Sasha was still here.

Alive.

Real.

And burning like a fire I’d thought was long extinguished.

She stood where Selene had just broken, her eyes locked on me like she hadn’t just shattered my world.

“You didn’t stop her,” Sasha said, a bitter smirk playing on her lips. “You let her walk away.”

I looked at her. I didn’t see the girl I once loved.

I saw the storm she brought.

The fire that now threatened to burn down everything I built.

“You had no right,” I said quietly, still shaken. “You had no right to kiss me.”

Her eyes flared. “No right?” Her voice cracked—like glass beneath pressure. “Ronan, I died for you.”

“I know,” I said, my voice rough. “But I moved on.”

“You moved on?” Her laugh was sharp. Ugly. “How do you move on from the girl who took an arrow meant for you? How do you move on from the mate the Moon Goddess gave you?”

Pain flickered through me. Old memories. War. Blood.

Her body collapsing in my arms.

I had mourned her.

I had cursed the stars for taking her.

And now, she stood before me like none of it had ever happened.

“I didn’t forget you,” I said. “But I learned to breathe again. I didn’t know how to survive the hole you left—until I met her.”

Sasha took a step closer. “You mean Selene?” she sneered. “The girl who looks like me? The girl who wouldn’t even exist if I hadn’t disappeared?”

“She’s more than you ever were,” I said without thinking. “She’s not a shadow of you. She’s light. She’s fire. She’s—”

“Enough!” she snapped, her voice raw and shaking. “Don’t talk to me about her. Not when I died for you. Not when I bled for you. Not when I came back and found you handing our life to a stranger with my face.”

“She’s not a stranger!” I shouted back. “She’s mine! And I love her.”

Silence fell between us.

Sasha looked at me like I’d stabbed her in the chest.

Her jaw trembled, but she held her chin high.

“Fine,” she said, her voice dropping into ice. “If you won’t give me your heart back, then give me what you both built with it.”

My brows furrowed. “What are you talking about?”

“The pack,” she said slowly. “Let me lead the pack.”

I stared at her like she’d grown another head. “What?”

“You heard me.” Her eyes narrowed. “You said Selene would do anything for you. So let her prove it. Let her give me what she’s holding. Let her give me the Alpha title.”

“That’s not yours to take,” I growled. “That pack belongs to Selene. It’s her birthright. Her blood. Not yours.”

“I don’t care about bloodlines,” she hissed. “I’ve earned more than any blood ever did. I led this pack before anyone knew her name. I died protecting them.”

“You don’t get to come back from the grave and rewrite everything,” I snapped.

“Oh, but I do,” she said with venom in her tone. “Because I’m Sasha. And you know me, Ronan. I get what I want.”

I took a step forward. “Not this time.”

She laughed, the sound wicked and wild. “Do you think Selene will still want the you after what she saw? After knowing you loved me first? After knowing she was just a substitute of me? Didn’t you get her because you couldn’t forget me? Isn’t that obvious? More obvious to her? And you think she would come back again to you? Or will even allow you go closer to her, I can help you explain and calm her down, if only I’ll be the next

My chest burned. “You’re not going near her.”

She tilted her head, walking a slow circle around me. “You don’t even know if she’s still here. She ran, Ronan. She ran because she realized what I’ve always known—she was temporary. And when someone knows they’re temporary, they don’t fight. They leave.”

“I’ll find her.”

Sasha smirked. “I doubt that. But go ahead. Run after your broken little Luna. I’ll be right here… preparing to take the crown.”

And with that, she turned on her heel and walked away, her voice echoing behind her:

“You can have your love, Ronan. But I will have the pack.”

And I knew…

The battle wasn’t over.

It was just beginning.