Chapter 67 Heart in Shadows

Chapter 67 Heart in Shadows
I didn’t tell anyone about the Goddess.not that I can't but I just couldn't!

I walked out of the tunnels before dawn and keep my mouth shut. The secret sits heavy in my chest, like a second heart beating out of time.

Every step back to the pack feels wrong. Like I’m pretending to be someone who still fits here.

By morning, the air feels tight. Wolves move too fast. Guards double at the gates. No one says why. They don’t need to.

The rogue army is close.
I feel it in my bones.

I’m in the training yard when Riven finds me. I’m throwing fire at stone targets, over and over, until my arms ache and my breath comes sharp.

I miss one. The flame skids wide and scorches the ground.

“Again,” I mutter.

“Selene.”

I didn’t turn. “I said again.”

His boots stop behind me. I sense him anyway. His heat. His tension. He’s been like this since the ambush. Closer. Watching me like I might disappear if he blinks.

“You didn’t sleep,” he says.

“I’m fine.”

“That’s a lie.”

I hurl another flame. It hits dead center this time. Stone cracks.

I laugh once. It sounds thin. “See? Fine.”

He grabs my wrist before I can throw again. His touch is firm but careful, like he’s afraid I’ll break. Or burn him.

“Stop,” he says. “You’re shaking.”

I look down. He’s right. My hand trembles in his grip.

I pull free. “Let go.”

“Talk to me.”

“I don’t have time.”

“You always say that.”

I spin on him. “Because it’s true.”

His jaw tightens. “You don’t get to shut me out like this.”

“Watch me.”

The words hit harder than I expect. He flinches. Just a little. Enough to hurt.

I step back. Guilt claws up my throat. “Riven. I didn’t mean—”

“Didn’t you?” His voice drops. Quiet. Dangerous.

“Because it feels like you’re already gone.”

I don’t answer. I can’t.

He studies my face. His eyes search like he’s looking for a door that used to be there.

“You chose him,” he says suddenly.

My stomach drops. “What?”

“Kael,” he says. “After the fire. After what you did. You went to him.”

That’s not what happened. But I don’t correct him.

His mouth twists. “Say it.”

“Riven—”

“Say I’m wrong.”

I open my mouth. Nothing comes out.

His laugh is sharp. “There it is.”

“That’s not fair.”

“Neither is this,” he snaps. “You pull me in. You let me bleed for you. And then you shut me out when it matters.”

I step closer. “I never asked you to—”

“You didn’t have to,” he says. “That’s the problem.”

Silence crashes between us. I feel it then. The ache. The truth I’ve been dodging.

“I care about you,” I say softly.

He looks away. “Care isn’t enough.”

I reach for him. He doesn’t pull back this time. My fingers brush his arm. Heat sparks.
Familiar. Dangerous.

“I don’t know how to do this,” I whisper.

He meets my eyes. “Then don’t do it alone.”
I almost say yes.

Then Kael’s voice cuts across the yard.
“Get away from her.”

Riven stiffens. Slowly, he turns.

Kael stands at the edge of the training ground. His face is hard. His aura presses down like a storm. He’s furious. Controlled. That’s worse.

“This doesn’t concern you,” Riven says.

Kael steps closer. “Everything about her concerns me.”

I step between them before it explodes. “Stop. Both of you.”

They don’t look at me.

“She’s not a prize,” Riven says.

“And you’re not her savior,” Kael shoots back.
“I never claimed to be.”

“You act like it.”

Their anger crackles. Wolves nearby start backing away. They feel it too. This isn’t just jealousy. It’s territorial. Ancient.

“Enough,” I say. Louder.

They finally look at me.

“I can’t do this today,” I say. “Not now.”

Kael’s eyes soften. Just for me. “You’re pushing yourself too far.”

“You don’t get to decide that.”

“I do when it puts the pack at risk.”

Riven scoffs. “There it is. Control.”

Kael snarls. “You think you’d do better?”

“Yes,” Riven says. “Because I’d trust her.”

The word hits deep.

I feel my chest split open.

“Trust doesn’t stop wars,” Kael says.

“No,” Riven agrees. “But it keeps you human.”

The ground trembles.

I feel it before the alarms sound. A ripple. A
wrongness in the air.

Then the horns blare.

“Rogue attack,” someone shouts.
Everything snaps into motion.

I turn toward the gates. Smoke rises beyond the trees. Too close. Too fast.

“They’re already inside the perimeter,” Kael says.

Riven draws his blades. “Then we cut them out.”

I look at both of them. Blood and fire. Heart and iron.

“Stay with me,” I say. “Both of you.”

Non argued.We run.

The fighting is chaos. Rogues pour through breaches like a flood. Their movements are tight. Trained. This isn’t a raid. It’s a strike.

I throw fire. Controlled bursts. I heal as I move. A wolf goes down screaming. I drop to my knees, hands glowing, skin burning as I pull him back from the edge.

“Selene,” Kael growls. “Up.”

A blade whistles past where my head was. Riven blocks it, snarling. Blood sprays.

“Stay focused,” he snaps.

“I am,” I shout back.

But I’m not.

Every scream feels personal. Every death feels like my fault. The Goddess’s words echo in my head. Responsibility.

A rogue lunges at Riven from behind. I see it too late.

“No,” I scream.

Fire explodes out of me. Raw. Wild. It
incinerates the rogue mid-air. The force knocks Riven off his feet.

He hits the ground hard.

I’m at his side in seconds. “Riven.”

He groans. Blood runs down his temple. His eyes flutter.

“I’m here,” I say. My hands glow. I don’t wait. I pour everything into him.

“Stop,” Kael shouts. “You’ll drain yourself.”
“I don’t care.”

Riven’s fingers curl weakly around my wrist. “Selene. Look at me.”

I meet his gaze. Fear slices through me.
“Don’t choose because you’re afraid,” he says softly. “Choose because it’s true.”

Tears spill. “You’re not allowed to say things like that right now.”

He smiles. Barely. “I’m good at bad timing.”
His breathing steadies. The wound closes. I slump back, dizzy.

Kael grabs my shoulders. “That was reckless.”
“So is breathing,” I snap.

He freezes. Then his grip loosens.

“I can’t lose you,” he says quietly.

The words hit harder than the shouting ever did.

I look at him. Really look. The fear he hides. The weight he carries. The way he’s been bracing for loss his whole life.

“I’m already lost,” I say. “I just haven’t figured out where yet.”

Another explosion rocks the yard. The rogues start retreating. This was a test. A warning.
When it’s over, the ground is scorched. Bodies everywhere. The pack is shaken.

Riven is taken to the healers. Kael gives orders, voice sharp, unbreaking. I stand alone in the center of it all, hands stained with ash.

Night falls heavy.

Later, I sit in my room, knees pulled to my chest. The walls feel too close. My skin hums with leftover power.

A knock sounds.

I didn’t answer.

The door opens anyway. Kael steps in. He closes it behind him.

“We need to talk,” he says.

I nod. “So does he.”

He exhales slowly. “You can’t keep doing this.”

“I know.”

“Then stop.”

I look up. “I can’t.”

He moves closer. Kneels in front of me. His hand cups my face. Gentle. Rare.

“Whatever you’re carrying,” he says, “you don’t have to carry it alone.”

My throat tightens. “You don’t know what you’re asking.”

“Try me.”

I lean into his touch before I can stop myself. Just for a second. It feels like safety. Like gravity.

Then I pull away.

“I need time,” I whisper.

His eyes darken. Hurt flashes. Controlled. Always controlled.

“You’re running out of it,” he says.
I nod. “I know.”

He stands. Hesitates. “If you walk away from me,” he says, “do it clean.”

The door closes behind him.

I’m alone again.

Outside, the moon climbs. Not full yet. Watching.

I press my hands to my chest and feel my heart fracture under the weight of two truths.

I love them both.

And loving them may be the thing that kills us all.