Chapter Thirteen
Kade’s POV:
I found her in the woods–barely conscious, skin slick with sweat and blood, her scent choked under wolfsbane and silver. But it still hit me like a punch to the gut.
Mate. My wolf snarled the word, clawing inside me, demanding I move faster. She was collapsed against a free, nails clawing at the poisoned soil. She’d fought. Survived. And even in that brutal state, gods help me she was beautiful
No. Not just beautiful. Ours. I dropped to my knees beside her. The world narrowed to her face–scratched, wild, defiant even in pain. Her eyes cracked open for a moment, met mine. Recognition flickered. Then her head lolled.
I cared her back to camp, every step heavier than the last. I could still smell the smoke of the roques she’d torched. She’d bumed for her freedom. She’d nearly died for it. All because of that alliance.
Callister. The name tasted like ash now
She didn’t know. Not yet. That I’d known about the deal from the start. That I’d been there when the whispers turned into binding words. That I’d stayed silent, pretending neutrality. Pretending I wasn’t involved while they handed her future over like she was nothing but a tool.
I was just another Alpha in her eyes. Another man with a title who saw her power and wanted to use it. And maybe that was the worst part Because I wasn’t supposed to be that to her
Not to my mate.I should’ve told her. Should’ve broken the alliance myself when I took her under my roof. But I didn’t. I waited, like a coward, hoping she’d never find out!!
And now, she had. Arlo stepped into our clearing like a curse summoned by guilt. I stood behind her, silent, but my woll prowled just beneath my skin, one word buming in his mind–mine.!!
Het her talk. Let her stand tall and handle it. The way she faced him–gods, it made my blood sing. She wasn’t a girl playing at rebellion anymore. She was something more. Something primal.
But when she said she’d think about it–about returning, marrying that bastard–I felt something crack inside me.
She didn’t look at me when we got back to the fire. Didn’t eat. Didn’t speak. I sat across from her, watching the flames until they blurred. My mind was screaming.
Tell her. But I didn’t. I just asked, “You’re going?”
Her silence was answer enough. She left soon after. Said nothing. I let her go, , even though my wolf howled inside me to follow. I needed space, too. I needed to drown the war in my chest
I found the stream and walked into it until it numbed me. Let the cold take the fire out of my blood, the tension out of my limbs. I tilted my head back, letting the water rush over me, trying to forget the look in her eyes when she saw Arlo,
Then I felt her. Before I turned, I knew she was there. Her scent curled around me–fresh pine and stormlight. She stood at the edge of the stream, watching me. She didn’t turn away
Neither did 1,Our eyes locked across moonlit water. There was no shame, no embarrassment–only heat. Raw and rising.
“You lost?” I asked, voice low.!!
She stepped closer. “I could ask you the same thing.”
I wanted to pull her in right then. Strip every doubt from her mouth. But Lplayed it cool. Barely.)
“Thought you’d be with the Beta. Planning your royal wedding.”
“That’s not funny.”
It wasn’t Nothing about this was funny. It was maddening. Torture. Seeing her and got being able to claim her. Not really. “Why are you here, Selene?“}
She didn’t answer. Instead, she st
stepped into the water. Deliberate. Bold. Wild R
Every nerve in me went taut.}
She reached me, eyes burning into mine. “I don’t want to marry him,” she said, voice breaking. “Not because I’m afraid….but because I’ve tasted what it’s like to be free. And I’m afraid of giving that up ”
Gods. That wrecked me I pushed the wet strands of hair from her face, touched her like I could ground her.”
“You’re not free yet,” I said.
“Then make me forget.“%
The moment her lips touched mine, it was over. All the restraint, all the lines I’d drawn–they shattered. We kissed like the world was ending and we were the fire to burn it down. I lifted hur, couldn’t stop touching her, needing her closer, deeper. Moss met her back. My name left her lips like a promise.)
And when I sank into her–gods–I knew I was lost Claimed. Unmade X
Her body, her soul, her fire–everything. She didn’t just take me. She destroyed me in the most beautiful way.
Later, when we lay tangled and breathless beneath the stars, her head on my chest, I didn’t say a word. I just held her, like she was the only thing keeping me whole.
And maybe she was But morning always comes.!!
She left before I woke, and when I found her again, she was standing at the ridge.
Arlo looked at her Smirked.
reak of him‘ ha esid
1101 AM
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“You rock of him,” he said.
I wanted to break his jaw
But Selene didn’t flinch. “I made my decision.
And just like that, the air shifted. A line had been drawn.He called her a fool. She didn’t argue.
I wanted to protect her from all of it. From the weight of the past, the cruelty of the court, even from me.
But I couldn’t. Because I hadn’t told her the truth yet. And I didn’t know if, when I did she’d still look at me the same way
