Chapter 49

Selena’s POV

I was still frozen.

And I meant in every sense of the word

My fingers remained on my dress as I clutched the hem tightly

My lips? They still tingled frkm where his mouth had claimed them.

It wasn’t gently

It wasn’t even possessively

I couldn’t even olace a finger on it

But it was as though he was staking his life on it.

Like he had been been waiting to kiss me for years.

.

And I—

Gods, I let him.

Worse… I kissed him back.

I had let my body take control and melted into him

In pubic

And now, he would feel I wanted him as much

Everything that happened after was barely registered in my head.

Everyone were clapping

And sisi? Well she was jumping up and down like she had seen a fairytale come true.

.

The crowd had parted just enough for me to catch my breath.

But I couldn’t look at Cassian again….not yet.

Not when my cheeks were still bright red and my thoughts were running everywhere in wild, dizzy circles.

“You!” a voice called out, and before I could brace myself, a group of elegantly dressed women gathered around me like bees to honey.

Their eyes were wide with excitement, and they had this bright smile paste red to their faces.

Reasons best known to them

And if I was honest? I didn’t want to have the slightest conversation with any of them.

“That kiss!” one gasped, her hand flying to her chest. “I swear, I felt it from the other side of the hall.”

“You’re so lucky,” another person added wistfully. “The way he looked at you, like the moon rose just to kiss your skin.”

I blinked. “It was… sudden.”

“Sudden?” the tallest one with long auburn hair scoffed. “Please. He looked like he was going to eat you alive. The alpha of Silvercrest doesn’t do ‘sudden.’”

“You’re not wrong,” another woman added, swirling her wine. “I used to think he didn’t have emotions. Always brooding. Always silent. Like a statue. But tonight? Tonight, he looked like a man completely undone.”

I smiled politely, though my chest was thudding.

One of them leaned in closer, fanning herself as she whispered, “And that dress—who made it? Don’t say you picked it from the palace wardrobe. It’s too perfect.”

“I…” I faltered. “It was Adeline’s idea. The tailor is new—just started working for the Luna Committee.”

“She deserves a raise,” someone muttered.

“She deserves an award,” another chimed in. “You look… devastating.”

I didn’t know what to say.

I wasn’t used to compliments like this one

I always felt like compliments from nobles were false

Just to massage your ego

But the way they said it

The way they looked at me…with something that looked like real admiration.

Like they weren’t just complimenting how I looked

It was like they were complimenting my soul as well

.

“How did you do it?” the brunette with pearl earrings asked, resting her elbow on the edge of the table. “The long-distance thing? The political mess? The ex?”

I stiffened just slightly at the last word but forced another smile. “It wasn’t easy. We… we had to fight for it.”

The silver-haired woman to my right nodded, eyes softening. “You can tell. You carry it on your face. Love that’s been fought for always lingers in the eyes.”

I swallowed.

Before I could respond, a sharp squeal caught our attention.

“Mommy!” Sisi ran up to me, her tiny hands tugging at the edge of my dress. “You kissed Daddy!”

My face heated instantly.

The women burst into delighted laughter.

“Oh my stars,” one giggled. “She saw the whole thing!”

Sisi nodded proudly. “He did it like in the storybooks. Right after the music. And Mommy didn’t push him away!”

I crouched down, brushing her cheek. “Alright, alright, little lady. Maybe not so loud, okay?”

“But everyone saw!” she argued with the brightest smile. “You looked like a princess.”

Behind her, one of the palace nannies appeared and gave me a soft nod. “Some of the other children are playing in the garden, Miss Selena. Would it be alright if Sisi joined?”

I hesitated, but Sisi was already bouncing. “Please, Mommy? I want to play! I promise I’ll be careful!”

“Okay,” I agreed softly. “But not too far, and stay with the nanny, alright?”

Sisi hugged me tightly before skipping off. I couldn’t take my eyes off her as she ran behind the nanny

Befire disappearing behind a curtain woth other kids.

“She’s precious,” one woman said.

“She’s your daughter?”

I looked at her, surprised. “Yes.”

“Well,” she said, lifting her glass, “you’ve got everything now.”

I didn’t know what to say to that.

Because I wasn’t sure if I believed it yet.

The warmth in my chest didn’t quite fade

Not even after the women had returned to their various sitting positions

I stood a while longer… watching as people danced and laughed.

But I wasn’t hearing the music anymore.

All I could think about was the kiss.

The weight of Cassian’s hand at my waist.

The way he had looked at me like I was the only thing keeping him rooted to the earth. And the strangest part?

I had leaned in.

I had wanted it.

I didn’t want to think about what that meant. I wasn’t ready to unpack it, not yet. Not when my heart was already bruised from everything we’d both buried between us.

“Mommy,” Sisi’s voice rang out again as she ran back into my arms, her cheeks flushed from play, and her eyes were shining.

“Guess what? They had cherry cookies in the garden!”

“Oh really?” I smiled, kneeling to dust off her dress. “How many did you eat?”

She grinned sheepishly, then held up five fingers. “I shared one with Belle.”

I laughed softly. “Five? You’ll be bouncing all over the walls tonight.”

Her grin didn’t fade, but her next yawn betrayed her sugar high. It was wide, dramatic, and caught lure mid sentence .

“I’m not sleepy,” she tried to protest, rubbing her eyes.

“Mmhmm,” I hummed, brushing her curls behind her ear. “Well, your eyes say otherwise.”

I stood up with her in my arms and turned, scanning the crowd. Cassian wasn’t hard to spot. Even in a ballroom full of royalty and alpha-blooded wolves,

he stood out. Still tall. Still composed. Still watching me.

Our eyes locked again.

I didn’t look away this time.

He moved through the crowd with quiet authority, parting nobles and guards like they weren’t even there.

“I think it’s time for us to head back,” I said as he neared. “She’s barely holding on.”

Cassian gave Sisi a small smile and ran a hand down her back. “Had fun, sweetheart?”

She yawned again. “Lots. But Mommy said we can’t bring cookies home.”

Cassian looked at me. “She’s a hard negotiator.”

“I try.”

He took her from my arms with that same natural ease that still caught me off guard sometimes. Sisi didn’t fight it. She simply tucked her head into his shoulder and sighed in contentment.

We said our goodbyes to the hosts, received warm smiles and knowing glances from the guests, and exited quietly through the main corridor.

The night air was cooler now, touched with the scent of rain that hadn’t yet fallen.

And from the air, you could tell a scent

A few guards opened the car doors for us. Cassian helped Sisi into the back seat, gently securing her beside me. I climbed in after her while he slid in opposite.

The doors closed, and the silence ?

Well it felt like a second skin

Clinging tightly to us like a second skin.

Sisi was asleep within minutes, her tiny frame curled against me, breath slow and deep.

But my eyes?

They drifted.

To him.

He was watching the window

but not really seeing it. His brow was furrowed in thought, his mouth set in a line that held too much.

He wasn’t facing me but I was watching his semi visible reflection om the window

A part of me wondered if he could see me too

He was silent

Well we were both silent…even though I had a thousand questions that sat on the edge of my tongue…but I bit them back.

Now wasn’t the time.

Maybe it never would be.

**

The palace was quiet when we returned home.

Maybe it was the way the night acted it was an artifact that was civerdyin velvet

I was being poetic now

Or maybe it was just me…maybe I was the one that was still dizzy

Still haunted by the way his lips had claimed mine in front of an entire ballroom.

I wasn’t even sure how I had kept my face straight during the drive back.

Cassian hadn’t spoken much. I hadn’t either. We were just… still.

Sisi had fallen asleep midway through the ride, amd curled beside me.

Now, back in the room I had come to claim as mine, I stood at my dresser in a silk robe, fingers moving slowly through the steps of my night routine. Cleanser. Toner. Moisturizer.

My reflection stared back at me

My cheeks were still rosy

Swollen lips and my eyes were still wide like they hadn’t caught up to my heartbeat.

I had removed the red dress and thrown it across the arm of a chair , my heels were still near the door but all I could circus om was that moment om the dance floor.

That kiss.

He hadn’t warned me.

He hadn’t asked.

And what terrified me the most wasn’t that he did it… it was that I didn’t pull away. I didn’t even hesitate.

My cheeks warmed again at the memory.

Gods, I’d melted. Like a fool. Like a woman who still loved him, no matter what she told herself.

A knock came.

Not Sisi.

How did I know?

It had rhythm in comparison to how sisi knocked

And to be honest, sisi just pushed the door open eighty percent of the time

I turned slightly, brushing the pad of my finger beneath one eye. “Come in.”

The door creaked open. A breeze followed.

Then him.

Cassian stepped inside like he belonged there. Like this

us

was something ordinary.

He didn’t say anything at first. Just closed the door behind him and crossed the room in slow, deliberate strides. His eyes didn’t leave mine, not once. Not even when he reached the edge of the bed and sat down, elbows resting on his knees,

His eyes were fixed on me like I was made of riddles and he was determined to solve every one.

I blinked, slowly lowering my hands from my face. My heart was thudding again. My throat tightened.

“Cassian…” I whispered…a part of me hoped he would stand u and walk away

But the other part? The treacherous part?

Wanted to know where this would lead

I felt heat rushed to my core

I watched him through the mirror

his jaw was tense, his brow furrowed just slightly, like he was waiting for me to say something else.

When he didn’t move, didn’t even look away, I turned on the stool. The fabric of my robe whispered against my legs as I shifted to face him fully.

“You could’ve at least given me a warning,” I managed.

His brows rose a fraction, like the comment startled him. “For what?”

I gave a soft, disbelieving laugh. “The kiss.”

Cassian exhaled slowly, leaning back just enough that the light shined on part of his face

For a moment, he looked impossibly tired. Not in the physical sense…but the way someone looks when they’ve been holding something heavy for too long.

He dragged a hand through his hair, eyes flickering downward. “I didn’t plan it.”

I nodded once. “I figured.”

A pause.

“I wasn’t thinking. Not clearly,” he said. “I just saw you in that dress, standing there like you’d walked out of a prophecy… and I forgot how to pretend I didn’t care.”

My breath caught. I wasn’t ready for that. Not tonight. Maybe not ever.

“And now?” I asked, my voice soft.

He looked up again, this time with something raw in his eyes.

“Now I can’t stop thinking about it.”

I was swallowed

I wasn’t expecting him to say that

And now every word I wanted to say to him got stuck in my throat

I turned back to the mirror—not because I didn’t want to look at him, but because I couldn’t trust myself if I kept staring.

I reached for the little jar of lip balm on the dresser just to keep my hands busy, then stopped halfway.

“I didn’t stop you,” I said. “I should’ve.”

Cassian stood.

Slow. Careful.

I didn’t turn again, but I heard every step he took. Felt every inch of space he crossed between us. He didn’t touch me. He didn’t need to. His presence alone was enough to burn.

“You didn’t stop me,” he echoed, voice low. “Because some part of you still feels what I feel.”

My pulse quickened.

“Don’t,” I whispered.

“Why not?”

“Because it’s easier to pretend I don’t.”

He moved then.

A hand

not on my skin, but on the back of the chair I sat on. Just that small gesture made the air feel charged again.

“Do you regret it?” he asked.

I didn’t answer.

Because I didn’t know.

Because maybe I didn’t want to.