CHAPTER 2

My eyes fluttered open, heavy and reluctant, like they had been glued shut by the weight of a nightmare. For a moment, I couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think, until the room sharpened into focus and I realized I was not alone. Damon was there, standing too close, his green eyes glittering in a way that made my pulse stutter. He was smiling… which only made me more suspicious.

 

And it wasn’t just him. Others were in the room too. Men. Several of them. All of them were still impossibly beautiful in that unfair, god-carved way, but something was different this time… they were clothed. Shirts, pants, and some even with boots. It should have comforted me, but instead, dread coiled tighter in my chest.

 

“W-Where am I?” My voice cracked like glass. I wanted strength in my words, but what came out was a whisper full of fear.

Damon didn’t answer immediately. He only inhaled slowly, his chest rising and falling, as though he was buying himself time. Or maybe buying me time… but for what?

 

I pushed myself up, my body trembling, and my eyes darted around, searching, searching. And then it hit me. “Wait… where is he?” My chest tightened, the memory slicing through me like a blade. That wolf. Those silver eyes. “Alaric…” I muttered, almost to myself.

Damon’s smile flickered, almost faded, but he took a step forward anyway.

 

“Please, relax,” he said softly, like it was the easiest thing in the world to do.

“Relax?!” My laugh burst out sharp and nervous, echoing in the air like broken glass. I jabbed my finger toward them, toward the group of men surrounding me. “How am I supposed to relax when all of you are… are… people with tails!” My voice cracked on the last word, half terror, half hysteria.

 

The room went still. One of the men behind Damon let out a chuckle, low and mocking, but Damon shot him a look, and the sound died instantly. His green eyes locked back on me, sharp and intent.

 

 

“Selene,” he said, voice low now, so calm it almost made my skin crawl. “Where did you get that jade bracelet?”

 

I blinked at him, confused, before my gaze fell to my wrist. The bracelet. The smooth, polished green stone circled my skin like it had always been there, glowing faintly in the dim light.

 

My throat tightened. Memories clawed their way back, dragging me to that night. A woman… old, wrinkled, with eyes that had felt like they could see through my soul. She had appeared out of nowhere, silent, strange, and before I could even speak, she had slipped this bracelet onto my wrist.

 

And then… she was gone. Disappeared, as though she had never been real at all.

I swallowed hard, staring at the faint glow now pulsing against my skin. The same glow that had flared that night, that had burned and lit the darkness, right before all of this insanity began.

 

“I…” My voice wavered, my heart slamming against my ribs. “I don’t know. A woman gave it to me… she… she vanished, just like that. It glowed, it burned, it…” My words tangled together, my hands shaking as I tried to explain something that felt utterly unexplainable.

Damon’s expression darkened, his smile gone now. His gaze flicked to the other men, silent words passing between them, and the tension in the room thickened until I could barely breathe.

 

“What does this mean?” I whispered, though part of me didn’t want to know the answer.

The jade stone pulsed again, as if in response, warm against my skin, mocking me with its secrets.

And in Damon’s eyes, I caught something that sent a shiver crawling down my spine… fear.

Damon bit his lip, his green eyes flicking toward the men behind him. His voice lowered, calm but commanding. “Leave us. I will speak to her alone.”

The men hesitated. They glanced at me before moving, their stares sharp, heavy, brimming with something I couldn’t place… anger, suspicion, maybe even hatred. Whatever it was, it made my skin crawl.

I pressed myself back against the headboard, clutching the blanket to my chest. My heart was a mess of thuds, and all I could think was… what in the world did I do wrong this time?

 

They looked at me like I was some kind of meal, some roasted pig waiting to be turned on a stick. My stomach flipped. I wanted to scream, I am not delicious! Do not try to eat me! The first bite would only be fat anyway, and fat tastes terrible even with sauce.

 

I swallowed hard. “W-What… what is in this bracelet? Why are you all acting like I’m a buffet?”

Damon turned back to me. His expression was unreadable, almost amused, but I caught the seriousness lurking beneath it.

 

“The bracelet…” His eyes flickered to the jade circling my wrist.

I held my breath, waiting, expecting something profound, maybe a prophecy that would explain why my life had suddenly turned into a bad fever dream.

He sighed. “I don’t know.”

My jaw dropped. My eyes widened so far they hurt. “What?”

 

“I don’t know,” he repeated, too calmly, as if those words weren’t about to shatter the fragile sanity I had left.

“You don’t know?” My voice shot up an octave. My eyebrows pulled together so tightly I thought they’d fuse. “Are you joking? You people dragged me here, scared me half to death, stared at me like I’m an appetizer, and now you’re telling me… You don’t know?”

His lips curved, the ghost of a smirk tugging at the corner. “What I do know is this… that bracelet is connected to the Alpha’s heart. And that means…” He paused, as though he enjoyed stretching the moment. “He is your groom.”

 

I blinked. Once. Twice. My mind scrambled to catch up with the absurdity of what I had just heard. My mouth fell open, words failing me at first.

 

“Eh? Wait a second!” I grabbed my head with both hands, rocking forward like I was trying to knock some sense back into my skull. “This… this can’t be real. I’m losing my mind. I’m inside a book, aren’t I? A werewolf novel. This is exactly how it starts. The poor, confused girl, the scary Alpha, the dramatic bond… Oh my God, I’m a main character. I’ve read this before!”

Damon’s brows knit together.

 

“Novel?”

“Yes! A story! A werewolf story! And guess what… There was no Damon in it, and definitely no Alaric. So what is this? A spinoff?” He pinched the bridge of his nose, muttering something under his breath. “Selene, you are not in a story. This is the real world.”

 

I stared at him, laughter bubbling up from the sheer absurdity of it all. “No, no, no… the real world does not have men turning into wolves. The real world does not have… this!” I waved my arms around like a deranged conductor. “The only half-thing I know is half-Japanese, half-Australian, or maybe half-cooked steak. What are you? Half-person, half-dog?”

 

His head snapped up, his green eyes blazing. “We are not dogs.”

 

“Then what are you?” My voice cracked, my chest heaving. I wanted answers, but all I had were riddles and wolves and men who glared at me like I was already halfway in the grave.

“I don’t… I don’t understand,” I whispered, my frustration crashing into fear. “Nothing makes sense anymore.”

 

“Selene.” Damon’s voice softened now, though it carried an edge sharp enough to slice me open. “Listen carefully. If you do not do what I say… You will die. You and your father both.”

The words hit me like a slap. I froze, breath stolen from my lungs. My gaze locked on him, disbelief and horror mingling in my chest.

 

My father. He had said my name.

 

I hadn’t spoken my name. I hadn’t told anyone. Yet Damon said it with such certainty that my veins turned to ice.

“H-How…” My throat went dry. My voice came out trembling, fragile as glass. “How do you know my name?”

 

Damon’s gaze didn’t waver. He didn’t flinch. He looked at me with the calm finality of someone delivering a death sentence.

 

“Because the Alpha is bound to kill you… and your father.”