Chapter 2
Selena’s POV
Pain is the first thing I register. A dull, persistent ache radiating from the center of my chest outward, as if someone had reached inside and squeezed my heart until it nearly burst.
My eyelids feel impossibly heavy as I force them open. White ceiling. The antiseptic smell. Pack hospital. The memories crash back, Ronan with another woman, the searing pain, the world going black.
“You’re awake.”
The deep voice draws my attention to the corner of the room. Rylan. He sits in a chair that’s too small for his large frame, elbows resting on his knees, dark circles under his eyes. He stayed.
“How long?” My voice comes out as a rasp.
“Almost twenty-four hours.” He stands, approaching slowly. “How do you feel?”
I try to push myself up, but my arms shake with the effort. “Like I’ve been hit by a truck.”
Rylan’s hand shoots out to steady me, warm and strong against my shoulder. “The bond strain was severe. You shouldn’t move yet.”
“Ronan...“ The name catches in my throat. Every cell in my body screams to reject him, but the invisible threads of the bond pull me toward him like gravity. My parents’ faces flash in my mind, the way they’d looked at each other until their final breath, their hands intertwined even as they slipped away.
Something dark flashes in Rylan’s eyes. “Is not here.”
“He’s my mate.” The words come automatically, the way I’ve been taught since childhood. Sacred. Unbreakable. Destined.
Rylan’s jaw tightens. “A mate who was too busy with his hands down another woman’s dress to notice you collapsing.”
The memory stings fresh. I swallow hard. “I’ll demand an explanation from him myself.”
“An explanation?” Rylan’s voice remains controlled, but barely. “What possible explanation could justify what he did?”
I stare at my trembling hands. “The mate bond...“
“Is not a free pass to treat someone like garbage,” Rylan cuts in. “Mate bond or not, he’s the Alpha heir. He has responsibilities, especially to you.”
My fingers twist in the hospital sheet. “My parents died believing the bond was sacred,” I whisper. “Their final lesson was clear: never reject your mate, no matter what. I have to honor that.”
Rylan runs a hand through his dark hair. “The bond is sacred. But behavior still matters, Selena.”
“You don’t understand...“
“I understand perfectly.” His voice drops, something raw entering it. “I had a mate once too.”
The simple statement hangs heavy between us. Had. Past tense.
“I’m sorry for what happened.” I say softly.
Pain flickers across his face before he locks it away. “She died. Five years ago. Every day is painful. Every moment I breathe I yearn for her. Her presence. Her touch.”
“No one should have to experience the loss of their mate. I’m sorry.”
He shakes his head. “My point is, I know what a mate bond feels like. I know its power. But what Ronan is doing isn’t love or devotion or anything resembling how a mate should act.”
“But the pain when I saw him...“ I press a hand to my chest where the ache persists. “That proves the bond is real.”
“I’m not saying the bond isn’t real,” Rylan continues, his voice softening. “I’m saying it doesn’t excuse cruelty.”
The doctor releases me three hours later with strict instructions to rest. My legs wobble beneath me as I stand, the floor tilting like the deck of a ship in a storm.
“I’ve got you,” Rylan says, his arm sliding around my waist.
I should refuse his help. It isn’t proper... not when my mate is elsewhere. But my body betrays me, leaning into his solid warmth.
“Everyone will be watching,” I murmur as we approach the hospital exit.
Rylan’s jaw tightens. “Let them.”
The moment we step outside, I feel it... dozens of eyes tracking our movements. The courtyard between the hospital and packhouse is crowded with pack members who pretend to be engaged in daily activities while stealing glances our way.
“Heard she collapsed when she was caught,” someone whispers, their voice carrying on the breeze.
“Pathetic,” another responds.
My cheeks burn. Each step feels like walking through quicksand, my shame weighing me down as much as my physical weakness.
Rylan pulls me closer, his body angled slightly in front of mine. The gesture is subtle but unmistakable... a shield.
“Ignore them,” he murmurs, his breath warm against my ear.
A group of younger wolves block our path, their curious stares making my skin crawl. Rylan doesn’t break stride, his presence alone enough to make them scatter.
“The human can’t even be loyal. Look at her clinging to Rylan,” a female voice sneers from somewhere to my left. I flinch and take a step away from Rylan.
Rylan growls, low and threatening, and the whispers temporarily cease.
“Why are you helping me?” I ask, my voice barely audible.
His eyes remain fixed ahead, scanning constantly. “Because your parents were good people who died from the wounds they received while trying to protect my mate. You are our future Luna. And most of all… because no one else is.”
We reach the packhouse steps, the massive wooden doors looming before us. My stomach tightens with each step closer. Something feels wrong, the air too still, the usual sounds of pack life unnaturally hushed.
Rylan pauses at the threshold, his nostrils flaring. “Something’s not right.”
Before I can ask what he means, the doors swing open.
*****
Rylan's POV
The great hall falls silent as the doors open. Every Silver Moon Pack member forms a semicircle around Ronan, flanked by the Alpha Roland and Luna Vivienne. Ronan’s face softens at the sight of Selena and he sweeps her into a possessive embrace. My wolf snarls beneath my skin.
“My mate,” he breathes. “I’ve been so worried.”
Selena’s voice trembles: “What’s happening?”
“We need to talk about why you collapsed,” Ronan says.
My father, Alpha Roland, steps forward. “Selena, we’re relieved you’ve recovered. When Ronan told us...”
I cut him off. “What did he tell you?”
My father warns, “Rylan, this is between mates.”
Ronan’s arm tightens. “I explained how the stress of her… activities is taxing the bond. Border patrols found her scent near the boundary lines three times this month, always where rogue scents appeared.”
Selena protests, “I was just running!” No sympathetic faces meet her gaze.
I step forward. “I. Demand. The truth rite ceremony.”
Ronan laughs. “My mate doesn’t need to prove herself.”
“Then let her prove herself,” I challenge. “Unless you’re afraid of what might be revealed.”
My father’s eyes harden. “Careful, Rylan. Your brother said you would fabricate claims against him. Your history makes your judgment questionable.”
Ignoring him, I invoke my right as Enforcer for a formal investigation.
“Denied,” Ronan snaps. “She needs support, not interrogation.”
Behind him, Candice’s satisfied smile stabs at me.
I urge Selena, “Tell them what you saw.”
But Ronan cuts in, “There was nothing to see, my concern is for her well-being.”
“Liar,” I growl.
Alpha Roland thunders, “Enough! Stand down or face suspension.”
“Listen,” I plead. “He was with another woman when Selena collapsed. Ask anyone at the celebration.”
My mother, Luna Vivienne, has a cold voice. “Don’t try to frame your brother. Everyone saw Ronan on pack duties most of the evening.”
I stare at the Silver Moon Pack members, searching for an ally. They all avoid my gaze.
“My eyes don’t lie,” I growl. “Ronan had Candice in his bed.”
Alpha Roland’s power washes over me. “Your mate-bond trauma is clouding your judgment. We know what happened to Elise...”
“Don’t use her name,” I snarl. “This isn’t about Elise.”
Luna Vivienne steps forward. “Rylan, you’ve been unstable since the incident. Perhaps you should consider stepping down as Enforcer, my son. Maybe a vacation”
Murmurs ripple through the crowd. I’ve already lost them.
“One truth rite,” I demand. “If I’m wrong, I resign.”
Ronan’s face hardens. “I’m the Alpha heir. I refuse to submit to a truth rite on baseless accusations.”
Candice glides to his side. “Perhaps we should focus on the real issue at hand.”
Alpha Roland nods. “Selena, your scent mingled with rogues on three occasions this month. Items from our armory turned up at those sites. How do you explain that?”
Selena’s color drains. “No, that’s impossible. I’ve never...”
Ronan produces a small cloth bag and spills its contents: a carved wooden token bearing the Southern Rogue Pack’s mark.
“Found in your quarters,” he announces.
Selena lunges for it; he jerks it away. “Don’t touch me.”
“Ronan, please...” she whispers. “You know me.”
His voice rings out: “I thought I did. As heir to the Alpha, I must protect the Silver Moon Pack. Selena has betrayed us all.”
I step forward. “She’s being framed!”
Alpha Roland’s grip on my shoulder tightens painfully. “Stand. Down.”
Ronan turns to Selena, anguish in his tone. “I can’t have a traitor for Luna. I reject you, Selena, daughter of former Gamma Henry, as my mate.”
The words hang in the air, heavy and final. A collective gasp ripples through the crowd. Mate rejections are rare. Painful. Fatal. To do it publicly like this is beyond cruel.
I watch Selena’s face crumble, her hand rising to her chest where the mate bond resides. The color drains from her cheeks, her breathing shallow and quick. She’s in shock.
“Selena,” I call out, trying to reach her through the crowd. “You don’t deserve this. Request a truth trial.”
“Get him out of here,” Ronan roars. The Beta heir and Delta heir step forward.
I’m forcibly escorted out of the room. A sharp sting pierces my neck.
My limbs grow heavy, each heartbeat pumping weakness through my veins instead of strength.
My wolf growls weakly, poison… wolfsbane and…
silver. Then I hear on the other side of the door.
“I, Selena, daughter of former Gamma Henry, accept your rejection,” her voice somehow carrying through the silent hall.
Consciousness slips away like water through my fingers. When I finally surface from the drug-induced void, sunlight streams through unfamiliar curtains. My calendar shows two days have vanished. I’m back in my quarters, alone.
Something is wrong. Deeply, terribly wrong. My wolf howls inside me, sensing danger beyond the obvious betrayal playing out before us.
Then I remember… Selena. I rush to the packhouse and hear the pack say Selena is on trial for treason.
I reach the meadow where the trial is being held, with the moonlight high above us.
The Silver Moon Pack now bows to Ronan and Candice, her neck bearing fresh claiming marks that should have been Selena’s birthright.
In less than forty-eight hours, they’ve seized control completely, Alpha and Luna in title, ceremony, and power.
I push through the crowd, ignoring the Alpha’s warning growl.
The scent hits me suddenly, metallic, sharp. Blood. But not just any blood. There’s something else mingled with it, something acrid and foreign.
“Poison,” I whisper, realization dawning as I lunge forward.
Selena sways on her feet, her eyes rolling back. I reach her just as her knees buckle, catching her against my chest. Her body is already cooling, her heartbeat erratic beneath my palm.
“Selena!” I cradle her face. “Stay with me!”
When my skin touches hers, something impossible happens. A spark, literal, visible… arcs between us. Energy crackles along my arms, racing up to my chest where my own mate bond once resided. Heat floods through me, a connection forming where none should exist.
Her eyes flutter open briefly, meeting mine with shocked recognition. “Rylan?” she whispers, confusion in her fading voice.
Then her body goes limp, her last breath escaping in a soft sigh against my cheek.
“No!” The howl tears from my throat, primal and raw. “NO!”
Her lifeless body falls heavy against me, and something inside me shatters. My vision narrows to crimson as my wolf surges forward, bones already shifting beneath my skin.
My voice… no longer human. My beast takes over as I retreat into the darkness of my consciousness.