Selene's sobs echoed softly in the night, carried away by the wind that swept through Blackthorn territory. She sat on the cold stone steps until the tears dried against her cheeks, leaving her skin stiff and raw. The ache in her chest had dulled into something heavier, colder—an emptiness that spread through her veins like ice.
When she finally rose to her feet, her legs trembled beneath her, but she forced herself back inside. She would not let them see her broken out here like some forgotten stray. She would face them, even if every eye in the hall burned with mockery.
The noise inside had not faded. The hall still throbbed with laughter, clinking glasses, and Seraphina's shrill voice. But Selene ignored it, her focus fixed on one figure: her father, Alpha Magnus Blackthorn.
He sat on the raised dais like a king, broad shoulders filling his chair, his dark hair streaked with silver but no less commanding. His presence radiated power, the kind that silenced lesser wolves. And yet, when Selene looked at him, she saw not strength but a wall of indifference.
She approached, her footsteps echoing against the polished stone. Conversations hushed as wolves noticed her return. A few chuckled under their breath, as though eager for another spectacle.
Selene stopped at the foot of the dais. She lifted her chin, though her body quivered inside. "Father," she said softly, her voice steady despite the storm inside her.
Alpha Magnus's gray eyes shifted lazily to her, cold and distant. "Selene."
Not daughter. Not child. Just her name, spoken like it was an obligation, not a connection.
Her throat tightened. "Why?"
A murmur rippled through the hall. Magnus raised a brow. "Why what?"
"Why did you let them laugh at me? Why did you let him—" her voice cracked, and she swallowed hard, forcing the words out, "—reject me before everyone, as though I were nothing?"
Magnus's gaze sharpened, his tone dropping to the low rumble that made lesser wolves bow instinctively. "You speak as though I could command fate. The bond of mates is the Moon's design, not mine."
"But you could have—" Selene's fists clenched at her sides. "You could have defended me. You could have silenced them. You could have reminded Lucian of what it means to spit on the Goddess's gift."
The Alpha rose to his full height, towering above her. His presence pressed down on the hall like a storm cloud. Wolves bowed their heads, some sneering at Selene for daring to provoke his wrath.
"You shame yourself further by clinging to pride," Magnus said, his voice cutting like a blade. "Lucian Hale is a strong Alpha. His choice is his to make. If he sees weakness in you, then perhaps it is because weakness exists."
The words sliced through Selene's chest, deeper than Lucian's rejection. Her father had always been distant, but never before had he so plainly discarded her.
"I am not weak," she whispered, though her voice trembled.
Magnus's lip curled in a cruel half-smile. "You are untested, unworthy, and far too soft. A true daughter of mine would not stand before me weeping like a child."
Heat flared in her cheeks. She had fought to keep her tears hidden, but he saw them anyway. He always saw her flaws, never her strength.
Seraphina's mocking laughter rang from the crowd. "The Alpha speaks truth! She's a girl playing at strength, nothing more."
Magnus did not silence her. He never silenced them.
Selene's breath hitched. "You raised me to obey. To respect our pack. To honor the Moon. And now—now when I needed you, you turned your back."
Magnus's eyes darkened, his voice like thunder. "You are no longer a child to be coddled. Do not expect me to shield you from the consequences of your own weakness. The pack respects strength, Selene. That is something you have never shown."
The words echoed in her mind, sharp as knives. Never shown. Never strong enough. Never enough.
For a moment, her resolve wavered. She wanted to shrink, to disappear, to vanish into the shadows where no one could laugh at her again. But then her wolf growled low within her, a sound that vibrated through her bones. The animal in her would not bow, would not accept this.
Her tears dried. Her trembling ceased. She lifted her chin, her silver eyes locking with her father's gray ones. "Perhaps I am not the daughter you wanted," she said softly. "But one day, I will be more than you ever believed I could be. And when that day comes, you will regret that you did not stand for me."
Gasps rippled through the hall. No one spoke to Alpha Magnus that way—not even the highest-ranking wolves.
Magnus's expression hardened, his gaze like steel. For a moment, Selene thought he might strike her down where she stood. But instead, he leaned closer, his voice a venomous whisper meant only for her.
"Careful, girl. Defiance can be dangerous. Many who thought themselves stronger than me now rot in the dirt."
Selene met his gaze without flinching. "Then perhaps one day, you will find yourself among them."
The crowd erupted in shocked murmurs, Seraphina's shriek of outrage cutting through the noise. But Selene no longer cared. She had said what needed to be said.
Her father's face twisted in fury, but beneath it, she thought she saw something else—unease. Just for a moment.
She turned and walked away, leaving the hall in stunned silence.
Outside, the night air wrapped around her again, cool and sharp. She drew in a deep breath, steadying herself. For the first time, she did not feel only broken. She felt the first spark of something dangerous. Something alive.
Her father's coldness had burned away the last of her illusions. She would never be his cherished daughter. She would never be Lucian's chosen mate. She would never belong in this hall of wolves who laughed at her pain.
But she would become something greater.
She looked up at the moon, glowing like a silver flame above the treetops. Her wolf stirred, stronger now, restless, aching to break free.
"Let them scorn me," she whispered to the night. "Let them mock me, reject me, cast me aside. I will rise. And when I do, they will see the truth of who I am."
The wind carried her words into the darkness. Somewhere, unseen, the Moon Goddess was listening.