The envelope was thin.
Unmarked. No scent. No signature. But Selene's blood ran cold the moment she saw it tucked beneath her pillow.
Only one person could've placed it there without being seen.
Her handler.
Her hands trembled as she slid her finger under the seal. The paper inside was creased and stained with something darker than ink; her orders written in cruel, familiar handwriting.
The window closes in five days.
Complete the mission.
Or don't bother returning.
Her throat tightened.
The message was short, brutal, and final. No room for doubt, no room for negotiation. They wanted Kael dead. And they didn't care what it cost her.
Selene burned the note to ash. Watched the smoke curl into the night as the message disintegrated, piece by piece, in her palm.
She told herself this didn't change anything. That the plan was always meant to end this way. But something inside her cracked.
Because he's not just a mission anymore.
Kael found her on the rooftop. He didn't announce himself, he never needed to. She always felt him coming; the pull of the bond, the weight of his presence.
"I thought you'd be asleep," he said, stepping beside her.
Selene didn't answer at first. Her gaze stayed fixed on the dark trees beyond the BloodMoon border.
"Couldn't sleep."
"Because of your shoulder?"
She gave a dry laugh. "Something like that."
Kael leaned against the stone ledge. The moonlight painted him silver, softening his usual intensity. She hated how beautiful he looked. How safe he made her feel.
He looked over at her, voice lower now. "You ever think about running?"
She turned slowly. "What?"
"If you didn't have a pack. No duty, no war, no past. Would you run? Just disappear?"
The question gutted her.
Because that's exactly what she wanted. Not to disappear. But to be someone else, someone who didn't have blood on her hands or secrets in her heart. Someone who could love him freely.
"I used to dream of it," she said. "Of disappearing into the woods. Starting over."
"Still can."
She looked up at him sharply.
"What are you saying?"
Kael's jaw tensed. "That if this world keeps tearing us apart, I'll tear it apart first. I don't care where you came from. I care who you are now."
"You don't know who I am," she whispered, voice raw.
"I know enough."
He moved closer, slowly, giving her time to run if she wanted… but she didn't move. Kael reached out, brushing her hair behind her ear. His fingers lingered, tracing the line of her jaw.
"I see the way you look at me, Selene. Like you hate that you care."
She turned her face away, chest aching. "You don't know what I've done."
"I don't need to."
He tilted her chin up until their eyes locked.
"Because if the world ends tomorrow, I still want you in it."
Her walls crumbled just a little more. She didn't kiss him, not yet. But when she leaned into his chest, letting him wrap his arms around her, it was the most dangerous thing she'd ever done.
Because now she knew; if she killed him, it would kill her too.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
That night, she lay awake, staring at the ceiling. Five days, she had five days to choose.
Kill him…
Or destroy herself.
And either way, something would die.