Chapter 4

Selina's POV

"No. Look, I didn't manage to see her face. Maybe it's nothing, but I figured you should know about it. Just in case." She sounded uncertain.

I looked up at the ceiling and let out a deep sigh, shaking my head.

Indeed, I cared too much about our mate bond. What Luka and I had built over the years, the pack, the business, and our little family, meant the world to me. Not to mention that I left my own pack for him, since my parents never approved of him. To them, only the fated mate was the right choice.

"This isn't right, Selina." Elise's voice from the other side of the phone cut my thoughts.

"Hey, I know you love him and Nora a lot. I get it." She paused, "But, you are you. Remember? Besides being Alpha Luka's mate and Nora's mom, you're still Selina Haley, Alpha's daughter. But you've sacrificed too much for them. You gave up your pack for Luka, and then you quit your job to take better care of Nora. You didn't have to do all that!"

"You think so? After what Luka did for me on my 18th birthday?"

"Don't tell me you forgot everything that happened on that day!"

It was my debut as the Alpha's daughter of the Red Moon Pack, the night I was meant to find my fated mate.

But the celebration was shattered when a horde of rogues launched a brutal ambush.

In the chaos, a massive, red-eyed rogue lunged from the shadows and targeted me.

I was paralyzed, since I had never shifted yet.

Then, a blur of grey fur intercepted the strike.

It was Luka. He threw himself between me and certain death. He took a hit that should have killed me, his blood staining the floor as he snarled, "I've got you, Selina. Run."

Even though he wasn't my "true mate," that moment of sacrifice defined everything.

I chose him over tradition, over my parents' approval, and eventually left my own pack to build a life by his side...

Elise cleared her throat.

"I will never forget that day. I was almost killed, too. I mean, if it weren't for Luka, a lot of us might get killed on that day. And I've been grateful to him."

Suddenly, she stopped, perhaps recalling the terrifying scenes from that day.

"Well. I'm just saying... You're much more than this, and you've put all their needs ahead of yours. And if Luka..." he suddenly stopped.

"If Luka what?" I urged.

"Nothing." She swallowed her words.

I was certain now that Elise was hiding something from me. What could that be?

Did she see who that woman was, but she chose not to tell me?

Or, worse, did she have a crush on him?

"Babe, dinner is ready." Luka poked his head through the crack in the bedroom door.

"Go now, don't keep your Alpha waiting. Enjoy dinner!"

"We'll talk later." I hung up and then moved to the doorway and followed Luka to the corridor.

"Who was that?" Luka asked as he turned his head over his shoulder.

"Elise. Why?" I looked up into his eyes.

"Elise? I haven't seen her for a while. How's she doing?" he asked. His expression remained calm, and his tone was relaxed, but my senses picked up a subtle fluctuation in his pheromones.

It was a faint, sharp spike of tension that he tried to bury.

A cold dread settled in my stomach. Were there really secrets between them? The two people I trusted most in this world?

"She's good," I replied with a faint, testing grin.

"Actually, she mentioned she was up in the Northern territory for work recently."

Luka didn't flinch. He maintained that same smooth, handsome look.

"Really? If I'd known she was there, we definitely should have met up. It would have been nice to see a familiar face while dealing with Alpha Blaze".

I stepped closer, narrowing my eyes. "Are you absolutely sure you didn't run into her, Luka?"

He froze for a fraction of a second, his brow arching in confusion.

"Babe, what is wrong with you today? You're acting so strange. If you're suspicious of something, just tell me. I have nothing to hide".

I let the silence hang between us for a heartbeat, my pulse thudding in my ears.

Then, I looked him dead in the eye and dropped the bomb.

"She said she saw you, Luka. And she said you weren't alone. You were with another woman".