The fortress had never been so quiet.
Selene sat on the edge of her bed, staring at the faint silver glow pulsing beneath her skin. No matter how hard she scrubbed, the light always returned, a reminder of what she had unleashed on the battlefield. A reminder that she was no longer invisible, no longer the girl who could slip unnoticed through her pack's halls.
Now every eye in Shadowfang followed her. Some curious, some admiring. But most wary.
She had become a question they couldn't answer.
And she hated it.
A knock sounded at her door. Before she could respond, it opened.
Darius stepped inside, his shoulders filling the frame, his presence pulling the air tight. He shut the door behind him and crossed the room with deliberate steps.
"You haven't eaten," he said.
"I'm not hungry."
"You need strength."
She shook her head, turning away. "What difference does it make? Half of the pack thinks I'll burn them alive in their sleep."
Darius stopped just in front of her. "Half of the pack are alive because of you. Don't forget that."
His voice left no room for argument, but the words didn't ease the sting of whispers she'd overheard all day. Monster. Witch. Bloodmoon stray.
She drew her knees up, hugging them close. "Maybe they're right. Maybe I don't belong here."
The silence stretched until his shadow fell across her. He crouched in front of her, forcing her eyes to meet his.
"You belong where I say you belong," he said, low and sharp. "And you belong here."
The bond hummed between them, steady and fierce, as if his words carved it deeper into her bones. She opened her mouth, but before she could speak, a horn sounded outside.
They both stilled.
A moment later, another horn answered.
Not alarm. Not attack. A messenger's call.
Darius straightened. "Stay here."
Selene shot to her feet. "If it's from him—"
"It is," Darius said grimly, and then he was gone.
---
The courtyard was packed when Selene slipped into the shadows at its edge. Torches blazed, smoke curling into the night sky. Warriors lined the stone walls, tense and armed. At the center stood a single rider in crimson armor, Kael's crest burned into his cloak.
The Bloodmoon messenger sat tall, unflinching despite the hostility pressing in from every side. His gaze swept the fortress, then landed squarely on Darius.
"I carry Alpha Kael's words." His voice rang out, sharp and arrogant. "Return what belongs to him, and no more blood need be shed."
Whispers surged through the crowd. Selene's throat tightened.
Darius's reply was ice. "What belongs to him?"
"The girl," the messenger said. "Selene. His mate."
The name hit like a blade. Dozens of eyes turned toward her hiding place.
Selene's breath caught, but Darius spoke before she could move.
"She is mine." His voice cut through the night. "Marked by my hand. She does not belong to Kael."
The messenger sneered. "The bond says otherwise. He rejected her, yes. But bonds do not break so easily. She is tied to him still. And he will have her back."
"Tell Kael," Darius said, stepping closer, his silver eyes gleaming with threat, "that if he tries, I'll cut him down myself."
The messenger's lip curled. He raised a hand, tossing something into the dirt at Darius's feet. A strip of Bloodmoon cloth, slashed and soaked in blood.
"A warning," the rider said. "Kael does not ask twice."
Gasps rippled through the warriors. The rider wheeled his horse, galloping back through the gates before anyone could stop him.
Silence crushed the courtyard in his wake.
Selene's heart pounded. Every eye was on her again. Some wide with fear. Some sharp with blame. She forced herself to step forward, her legs trembling, until she stood beside Darius.
Her voice shook but carried. "I will not go back to him. Not now. Not ever."
The words seemed to shock even herself. But once spoken, they anchored her.
For the first time, she had chosen.
---
The fortress remained restless long after the messenger vanished. Some warriors trained harder, blades clashing in the yard. Others argued in corners, their voices low but bitter.
Selene retreated to the gardens, seeking air that wasn't thick with suspicion. She sat beneath a gnarled oak, the moonlight silvering its leaves.
"You shouldn't wander alone."
Darius's voice came from behind her. She didn't flinch this time.
"Are you going to lock me in a tower too?" she asked.
He came closer, sitting beside her without asking. "If I thought it would keep you safe, yes."
She looked at him then. His face was lined with exhaustion, cuts from the last battle not yet fully healed. But his eyes—those storm-bright silver eyes—never wavered.
"You meant what you said?" she whispered. "That I'm yours?"
"Yes."
Her chest tightened. "Even if I'm dangerous? Even if I don't understand what I am?"
He leaned closer, his voice rough. "Especially then."
Her breath caught.
The silence stretched between them, heavy with something she didn't dare name. The bond throbbed steady, almost alive, pulling her toward him.
But before she could speak, he shifted slightly, breaking the moment.
"I'll post guards outside your chamber," he said. "Kael will try again. I won't let him take you."
The certainty in his tone sent a shiver through her.
"Why?" The word slipped out. "Why risk your pack, your life, for me?"
His gaze locked on hers. "Because I promised."
She frowned. "Promised who?"
"The moon," he said simply. "The night I marked you, I swore that no one would touch what was mine. And I don't break promises."
Her throat went dry. She wanted to tell him she didn't need protecting, that she could stand on her own. But the truth lodged heavy in her chest.
She did need him. And that terrified her more than Kael ever could.
---
Days bled into nights, but the fortress never stilled. Scouts rode in with reports of Kael's forces moving closer. Supplies were rationed. Warriors sharpened blades until sparks lit the yard.
And Selene trained.
Each morning, Darius pushed her harder—swords, knives, hand-to-hand. But it was the moments when her strange silver power burst free that he pressed her most.
"Again," he ordered as she stood panting, her palms still faintly glowing.
"I can't," she gasped. "I'll hurt someone—"
"You'll hurt more if you don't learn to control it."
Frustration clawed at her. She slammed her hands down, sending a ripple of energy across the dirt. Stones cracked. Warriors watching from the edge flinched back.
Selene's knees buckled. She dropped, trembling. "I'm dangerous."
Darius crouched in front of her, gripping her chin, forcing her eyes to his. "No. You're powerful. There's a difference. Learn it."
Something in his tone—sharp, unwavering—cut through her fear. She swallowed hard and nodded.
---
That night, sleep refused her. She tossed beneath the blankets, Kael's name echoing in her head, the messenger's warning replaying over and over.
Finally, she rose, padding barefoot to the balcony. The valley stretched below, dark and endless, but her gaze found the faint glow of torches far in the distance. Bloodmoon's camp.
They were waiting.
"Don't stare too long."
She turned sharply. Darius leaned against her doorway, arms crossed.
"They'll think you're calling to them," he said.
Her chest tightened. "Maybe part of me is."
His gaze sharpened, but he didn't move.
"Sometimes," she admitted softly, "I wonder if I'll ever be free. He rejected me, but the bond won't let me forget. It's like he's still inside me, whispering, pulling. And I hate it."
She pressed a hand to her neck where Darius's mark burned faintly. "And then there's this. You. I don't know where one bond ends and the other begins."
For a long moment, Darius said nothing. Then he stepped onto the balcony, close enough that the heat of him brushed against her.
"The choice is yours," he said quietly. "Kael may have rejected you, but the bond still claws because it wants what it lost. What I gave you—it doesn't demand. It only offers. You decide if you accept it."
Her breath shook. "And if I don't?"
His jaw tightened. "Then I'll still protect you. Even if you never choose me."
The words hit harder than any blade. Not command. Not demand. A promise.
She stared at him, heart racing. For the first time in her life, she wasn't being told who to belong to. She was being asked.
And though she didn't say it aloud, she already knew her answer.
---
The next morning, the fortress buzzed with news.
Another Bloodmoon wolf had been captured at the border. This one carried no weapons, no bloodstained threats. Only a scroll.
Selene was in the hall when Darius broke the seal. His eyes scanned the parchment, then narrowed.
"What does it say?" she asked.
He hesitated, then read aloud. "Kael offers peace. If we return you."
The words hung in the air like poison.
Selene's hands trembled. Dozens of warriors stared at her, their faces torn between hope and anger.
"Give her back."
"It would end the war."
"She doesn't belong here anyway."
The voices grew louder, sharper, until they filled the hall.
Selene's heart pounded. For a moment, she thought she might faint under the weight of their stares.
But then she heard Darius.
"Silence." His voice thundered through the hall.
The pack obeyed.
He stepped forward, holding the scroll high. Then he tore it in half, the sound sharp as a blade.
"Shadowfang does not bargain. And Selene does not return."
Gasps rippled through the crowd. Some looked furious. Some looked relieved. But no one dared speak.
Darius turned, his gaze locking on her. And though he didn't speak, the promise in his eyes was clear.
No matter what Kael demanded, she would not be given up.
And for the first time since her world had shattered, Selene believed it.