CHAPTER 4

"Stop crying, child." The old woman's voice cut through my sobs, rough but steady, like a command I couldn't ignore. "One day you will understand why you were chosen. This is not chance... this is destiny."

Her words made my skin prickle. Destiny? The word tasted bitter on my tongue.

I lifted my tear-streaked face to her, anger and confusion twisting inside me. "Destiny? You put this bracelet on me! You forced this so-called fate on me!" My voice broke, sharp with accusation. "You made me part of this madness!"

Her single eye narrowed, but she didn't flinch. Instead, she shook her head slowly. "No, child. The woman you saw... she was not me."

I froze. My heart thudded against my ribs. "What are you talking about?"

"The one who placed the bracelet on your wrist was my ancestor," she said, her tone almost reverent. "She was the grandmother of my grandmother. She lived centuries ago... long before my time. She has been gone for many lifetimes."

My breath caught in my throat. My fingers clutched at the jade band as though I could rip the truth out of it. "No. No, I saw her. I touched her. She was real. She… she looked right at me."

"She should not have been able to appear," the woman murmured, her gaze drifting for a moment as though remembering something far beyond her reach. "But she did. For you. Only to you. That is how you know you were chosen."

A shiver crawled down my spine. My mind scrambled for logic, for anything to ground me, but nothing made sense anymore. My tears blurred my vision, anger hot in my chest. "Why me? Why would someone long dead choose me? I'm no one! I'm just... me."

Her gaze fixed on mine, sharp and unyielding. "That is where you are wrong. You are not just you. You are the bloodline's answer, the one the stone has waited for."

I shook my head until it hurt, my hands tugging at the bracelet, nails scraping against jade. "I don't want to be anyone's answer. I don't want your bloodline or your stone. I just want my life back. I just want my father safe."

At that, her expression flickered, softening for the briefest second before hardening again. "Your father's fate is tied to yours. That cannot be undone."

Her words slammed into me, heavy and merciless. I gasped, clutching the blanket around me, my chest tightening as if the air itself had turned to stone.

"I don't want this," I whispered, my voice shaking, my throat raw from crying. "I never wanted any of this."

The old woman leaned closer, her scarred face etched with something between pity and warning. Her whisper was like ice brushing against my ear.

"Want it or not, child... destiny never asks permission. "They are already preparing for your wedding," the old woman said quietly, as if she were telling me the weather and not dropping a bomb that could destroy my life.

I opened my mouth to protest, to scream, to demand an explanation, but before I could speak, she reached out and cupped my cheek with a surprisingly gentle hand. Her palm was warm, but it felt like fire against my skin.

"Do not be afraid," she whispered, her scarred eye softening for a fleeting moment. "Alaric will not abandon you. He will protect you."

Protect me. The words were a cruel joke. My pulse pounded so loudly in my ears I could barely hear her over the sound of my own rage.

That dog. That cursed, arrogant dog.

I didn't even realize my hands were trembling until she released me and walked out of the room. Her steps were slow, deliberate, and each one felt like the tolling of a bell that sealed my fate.

As soon as the door closed, my anger boiled over. My breath came fast, sharp, like I was running even though I hadn't moved.

"No," I muttered to the empty room, my voice trembling but rising with each word. "No. I am not marrying that dog. Never."

I pushed myself off the bed so fast I almost stumbled. My hands clenched at my sides as my eyes darted around, scanning the walls, the windows, anything that might tell me where I was.

Think, Selene. Think. If you run without a plan, you will die. You've seen their strength. They are not human.

I pressed a hand to my chest, trying to steady my heartbeat. My throat felt raw. "I need to get out of here," I whispered. "I need a plan. I need... I need to know where I am first."

I looked at the heavy wooden door, the barred window, the faint smell of pine and wet earth drifting in from outside. Forest. We were in a forest. Of course we were.

I swallowed hard. "I will not marry that dog," I said again, louder now, like I could speak it into existence. "I don't care if they call it destiny or curse or whatever twisted fairy tale this is. I am not his bride."

The bracelet on my wrist pulsed faintly, mocking me. I glared at it, my jaw tight. "You hear me? I don't care who made you. I don't care what magic you hold. I will find a way out. I will."

And as I stood there, fists trembling and tears drying on my cheeks, one thing burned in my chest clearer than fear.

I was not going to be their victim.

"If you want to escape, I'll help you."

My head snapped toward the door. It was open, and leaning casually against the frame was a woman with short, jet-black hair that barely brushed her chin. She wore a black tank top tucked into shorts, and heavy brown boots thudded lightly against the floor as she shifted her weight.

She was striking. Beautiful, even. But it wasn't her sharp features that held me… it was her eyes. Amber, like molten fire, gleaming with something dangerous.

"Who are you?" I straightened immediately, forcing strength into my stance. I wouldn't let her see me falter.

"Lyra," she said simply.

She stepped into the room, and I followed her with my eyes, wary of every movement. She was confident, too confident, and it unsettled me. Then, without warning, she reached out and grabbed my wrist, her fingers tightening around the jade bracelet. Her gaze lingered on it, unblinking.

"Uhm... should we just cut off your hand?"

I yanked my arm back, glaring. "Are you insane?"

A soft, mocking laugh slipped from her lips. "Relax, I was joking." She tilted her head, her smile sharp and almost cruel. "I can help you get out of here. But only on one condition."

My heart skipped. "What condition?"

Her amber eyes narrowed as her smile deepened. "Leave this place. Take your father with you. Go far away."

I froze, suspicion crawling under my skin. "Why would you help me?"

Her expression hardened, though her lips still curved in something that wasn't quite a smile. "Because Alaric belongs to me. And someone like you—" she looked me up and down slowly, dismissively "—a mere human? You're far too shallow for him."

Shallow. Because I was human.

Heat flared in my chest, anger clawing up my throat. Who did this woman think she was? Something in me knew instantly… I would never get along with her.

"Sorry," I said sharply, my voice dripping with venom. "But I don't speak the language of dogs."

Her brows snapped together, fury flashing in her eyes.

"You little—" She cut herself off, her body trembling as if something inside her was straining to break free. Her jaw tightened, her nails dug into her palms, and I realized with horror what was happening.

She was shifting.

My chest constricted, my heartbeat pounding wildly as I stumbled back, bracing myself for the inevitable. But before her body could twist into its other form, a low, powerful howl ripped through the night outside.

Lyra froze. Her breath hitched, her eyes darting toward the window. For a heartbeat, the tension in the air was suffocating. Then slowly, stiffly, she turned back to me.

Her gaze wasn't on me anymore.

Because standing just behind her, tall, unyielding, and radiating authority that made the air itself heavy, was the man I dreaded most.

The one they called my groom.

Alaric.