The fire had burned low, its glow reduced to faint embers. Shadows stretched long and jagged across the stone walls, curling like phantoms. Selene tossed beneath the furs, her body slick with sweat despite the chill air of the cave.
Something was wrong.
Her heartbeat pounded too fast, too wild, each thud shaking her ribs. Her skin burned and froze all at once, fever and frost colliding beneath her flesh. She gasped, clutching at her chest, nails digging into her skin.
Her wolf stirred—no, not stirred. It surged.
Selene, the voice inside her growled, no longer faint but thunderous, desperate, primal. We are not broken. We are not gone.
Her back arched as pain ripped through her veins, white-hot and unrelenting. It felt like her bones were splintering, her blood boiling. A scream tore from her throat, raw and guttural, echoing off the cave walls.
Darius was at her side in an instant.
He had been dozing against the far wall, one hand resting on the hilt of his blade even in sleep. Her scream snapped him awake, and now he was kneeling beside her, golden eyes sharp with alarm.
"What's happening?" His voice was rough but urgent.
Selene clawed at the ground, her body convulsing. "It's—my wolf—" she gasped, her words shattering into sobs as another wave of agony crashed through her. "I—can't—control—"
Darius cursed under his breath. He pressed a steadying hand against her shoulder, holding her down as she writhed. The strength in his grip was unyielding, but not cruel.
"Breathe," he commanded. "Fight it."
"I am fighting!" she screamed, tears streaming down her face. Her nails raked across the furs, tearing them. The air vibrated with energy, a strange, shimmering aura spilling from her skin. Sparks of silver light danced over her arms, her chest, her throat.
Darius's eyes widened. This wasn't just a shift. He'd seen wolves shift thousands of times, seen their bones snap and reform, their fur sprout, their claws extend. But this—this was something else. Something older. Wilder.
"Selene," he growled, his voice cutting through her screams. "Listen to me. You are stronger than this. You will not let it destroy you."
Her vision blurred, the cave spinning. She saw flashes in her mind—Lucian's rejection, her father's cold eyes, Seraphina's cruel smile. Rage burned, sorrow cut deep, but beneath it all was something else. A voice, distant but clear, like the whisper of a goddess:
You are mine, child of the moon. Rise.
Selene's wolf roared inside her, and her body jolted violently. Silver light burst from her skin, illuminating the entire cave. Darius shielded his eyes, gritting his teeth against the force of it.
"Damn it," he muttered. He grabbed her wrists, pinning them to the ground to keep her from thrashing into the fire. "Hold on, Selene. Don't you dare give up."
Her scream broke into sobs, each one tearing through him like a blade. She convulsed, muscles straining, veins glowing faintly with that eerie silver radiance.
Then, for a heartbeat, her eyes opened—and they were not her own.
They gleamed silver, luminous, unearthly.
Darius inhaled sharply. He had seen many things in his life, horrors and wonders alike, but never this. Never a wolf spirit shining through flesh so brightly it could be seen by another.
Selene's wolf spoke, her voice layered with Selene's own: We are not weak. We are not broken. We are the heir of the moon.
Then Selene's body went limp.
Darius caught her before her head struck the stone, pulling her against his chest. Her skin burned against him, her breath shallow but steady. The light dimmed, fading until only the flicker of the fire remained.
For a long moment, he simply held her, his chest rising and falling with the force of his breaths. His hands, scarred and calloused, trembled slightly as they brushed damp hair from her face.
She looked fragile like this, too fragile for the storm that had just torn through her. But he had seen the truth in her eyes—she was no ordinary wolf. No broken outcast. She was something else entirely.
Something dangerous.
Something destined.
"You're a fool," he murmured, his voice low, almost gentle. "But you're not finished. Not yet."
Selene stirred faintly, her head turning against his chest. A whisper escaped her cracked lips, barely audible:
"Don't leave me."
The words hit harder than any blade. Darius closed his eyes, his jaw tightening. He had vowed long ago never to bind himself to another soul, never again to bleed for someone who might betray him.
And yet, here he was—holding her, guarding her, feeling something stir in the ashes of his own ruin.
"I won't," he said at last, the promise slipping past his defenses. "Not tonight."
The cave was quiet again, save for the soft crackle of the fire and the steady rhythm of their breaths. Outside, the moon hung heavy and watchful, its silver light seeping through the cracks in the stone.
And in the heart of that cave, beneath the weight of destiny neither could yet name, Selene Blackthorn slept in the arms of the scarred rogue who had saved her—not knowing she had already begun to change both their fates.