Chapter 42

Selena’s pov

The palace was quieter than usual.

Not silent

palaces were never truly silent

but quiet enough that I could hear my thoughts

Thoughts that I didn’t want to think as I folded freshly laundered clothes into the basket.

A pair of socks. A shirt that still smelled faintly of Sisi’s lavender shampoo. A towel with a faded moon embroidery on the corner. Familiar things. Simple things.

Things that should have grounded me.

But instead, my hands stilled when I heard the footsteps pause outside the open door.

“Did you hear?” a maid whispered to another, barely loud enough to catch.

“Hear what?”

“A letter came this morning. An invitation. The Alpha of the Silverrun Pack is getting married tonight. They say the celebration will be grand—fire lanterns, wine that never runs dry, a guest list full of nobility…”

My spine straightened.

“Tonight?” the second maid asked.

“By seven,” came the reply. “They say Lord Cassian’s expected.”

My heart… did something I didn’t have a word for. Not exactly a twist. Not a drop either. Just a hollow kind of stretch—like something inside me had just been pulled apart at the seams without warning.

The basket tipped in my hands.

I caught it before it hit the floor, but not before the socks slipped free and landed in a scattered heap across the marble.

I didn’t hear the rest of their conversation. I didn’t need to.

Cassian hadn’t told me.

Not a word.

Not even in passing.

Not even last night, when he stood just a few feet from me and looked like he wanted to say something but didn’t.

I found Sisi in the reading nook, curled around her favorite plush owl with a coloring book on her lap. The tips of her fingers were stained blue and purple from her markers. Her tongue poked out just a little as she focused on shading a crescent moon.

“Hey,” I said gently, brushing a strand of hair from her forehead. “Want to come with me to a party tonight?”

She looked up immediately, eyes wide. “A party?”

“There’s… a wedding. At the neighboring pack. It’s tonight. Would you like to tag along?”

Sisi hesitated. “Is Daddy going?”

I swallowed. “I think so.”

Her bottom lip tugged inward. “Then yes. I don’t want to stay with Aunt Julia.”

That name

it had started to leave a sour taste on her tongue too.

I nodded. “Alright then. Let’s go make sure we both look like royalty.”

Sisi beamed, and in that smile, something inside me hardened—not with cruelty, but with decision.

If I was going to be dragged into a political gathering I hadn’t been informed of,

Or invited to.

I might as well own the room when I walked in.

***

It was already two hours later

And somehow how…

I found Adeline by the courtyard steps, giving instructions to two younger housemaids. Her brows lifted the moment she saw me.

“Selena. Everything alright?”

“I need your help.”

Her gaze sharpened, quick to assess. “What kind of help?”

“Hair. Makeup. A dress.”

Her lips twitched. “Sounds serious.”

“I don’t want to just show up. I want to be remembered.”

Adeline’s smile was slow. “Say no more.”

We moved quickly

Too quick

I couldn’t even keep up with her steps

And somehow a part of me wondered if I was making a mistake

Maybe I was too ahead of myself

In less than thirty minutes she had found several dresses and a makeup artist

And she draggged me down the hall like a woman on a mission

She even managed to pull a fashion designer over to fix the red gown that clung too perfectly to ignore

It wasn’t the kind of red you wore to blend in.

It was the kind that made people stop. Look. Whisper.

The kind that turned heads…in a good way ofcourse

Sisi gasped when I stepped out of the changing room. “Mommy, you look like a real queen!”

The dress hugged my hips, the fabric screamed luxury

It was soft, comfortable and swept the floor

It had a. High split that stopped at he high oart of my thigh, and the neckline dipped modestly—but enough.

One sleeve draped off my shoulder showing just enough skin.

The curls on my hair were made more defined and my lips stained woth deep berry red and my eyes? Lined in gold and charcoal

I barely recognized myself.

Which, for once… was a good thing.

Maybe if I looked like someone else, I could stop feeling like a woman still haunted by the same wounds.

I crouched and smoothed Sisi’s curls. “What about you, hmm? Should I add sparkles to your hair too?”

She grinned and nodded. “Lots of them!”

**

I stood in front of the mirror alone, hands smoothing the front of my dress.

Everyone in the palace were busy

I could feel the shift in the air

Was it how it was when there was a party in attendance?

Not even when the party was being hosted here?

Preparations

And the maids were anticipating what their alpha would wear.

. Even the guards seemed more alert than usual.

Still… Cassian hadn’t said a word to me.

He hadn’t sought me out.

He hadn’t asked if I wanted to attend.

As if I wasn’t… anything at all.

And yet…

I felt him in every heartbeat.

I hated how I scanned every corridor I walked through, waiting to catch a glimpse of him.

I hated how the sting of being left out bloomed under my ribs like fire licking through frost.

But more than anything, I hated the whisper in my head that said: He didn’t want you there.

Not like her.

Not like Julia.

I turned to the makeup artist, voice calm. “Am I ready?”

She stared like I’d just stepped out of a dream. “You’re more than ready.”

Sisi on the other hand was excited, glittering in her own deep green dress, her hands full of sparkly hair clips and one lollipop Adeline slipped her when she thought I wasn’t looking.

The hall was full of movement.

Footsteps echoed.

A guard passed and bowed.

And then…

“Where’s Cassian?” I asked quietly.

Adeline, adjusting her silver shawl, looked over her shoulder and smiled.

“He’s right there.”