Chapter 20

I deserved that. I’m sorry Seliene. I don’t know what came over me. I swear to the gods, I don’t know what—”

I swallowed, stepping back instinctively when he moved.

“Seliene…” His voice cracked. “Gods, what did I just-?”

“You don’t own me Lucian. I belong to no one but myself!”

He took a step back. “No. No, that’s not what I meant to do. I wasn’t-” He looked down at his hands like they didn’t belong to him. “I lost control. I didn’t mean to scare you. Seliene, please.”

I shook my head, looking at him with nothing but disgust. “You keep saying you’re not Ronan, but he never made me feel that powerless.”

His eyes darkened slightly but the pain in his arm stopped him from making any further movement.

“I’m not trying to hurt you,” he said, breathless. “I just wanted to feel close to you. I didn’t realize-”

“You didn’t want to realize,” I snapped. “You wanted to take advantage of me, Lucian. So tell me what you didn’t realize.”

“I’m sorry,” he whispered, his voice breaking. “I love yo-.”

“Spare me! To hell with that make believe love of yours !” I cut him off. “I just need to get away from you.”

And with that, I turned and walked away, slamming the door behind me.

I managed to slip past the lines of Gamma guards in the Alpha quarters. Luckily, Lucian had taken off even before the sun set which worked in my favour. I wasn’t exactly a prisoner, but still… The idea of staying in the room felt suffocating.

I wandered to the only place where I actually felt comfort. The bar.

Just a week ago, I’d left everything in Ellie’s hands, it wasn’t a forever thing or at least that's what I’d told myself. But as I stepped through the doors now, it felt like a lifetime had passed.

From behind the kitchen doors, Ellie appeared, wiping her hands on a towel. The second her eyes landed on me, they lit up.

“Seliene…” she breathed, rushing forward, throwing her arms around me. “I didn’t think you’d be back so soon. I missed you so much.”

Her expression shifted almost immediately from joy to concern the moment she pulled away. “How are you?”

I let out a dry chuckle. “Well let’s see…In the last couple of days, my dad died, I killed my mate, and I got married. I’d say that's normal, right?”

Her smile faded instantly. Her brows furrowed, eyes narrowing with a wave of confusion and sympathy she didn’t even know how to process what I'd just dropped. She was still a little behind on all the recent events, but I wasn’t about to drown her in a sea of my own problems.

Before she could ask the question already forming on her lips, I forced a light tone into my voice and cut in.

“And how’s the bar holding up?”

She hesitated for a second, clearly debating whether or not to answer or persist further. Eventually, she sighed and played along.

“Manageable.”

She paused again, then tilted her head slightly. “Are you okay, though? Like, actually okay? What’s going on, Seliene?”

I gave her a soft, tired smile. “I’m fine, El. Honestly. You don’t need to worry about me.”

She narrowed her eyes. “That doesn’t sound even remotely like ‘fine’.”

“I just need you to trust me,” I said, gently squeezing her hand.

She didn’t look convinced, but to her credit, she didn’t press further. Just nodded slowly, biting back the questions I knew were burning on her tongue.

I was about to ask her something else, really anything to change the subject but the bar door slammed open and three figures stepped in.

A warlock entered, along with two wolf-breeds with a twitchy, aggressive energy written all over.

They didn’t wait to settle in. The first guy, in shabby pants and what looked like a seven hundred year old tank top, made his way to the counter, slamming his palm down hard. “Where’s the damn server?!”

Ellie tensed immediately, her eyes flicking toward them, and then back to me. She offered a tight smile and stepped away. “I’ll be right back.”

I watched as she made her way behind the bar disappearing into the back for only a few seconds before returning with a small wrapped paper bag clutched tightly in her hand.

She handed it to one of them and in that second I caught a slight Silverfang sigil on his wrist.

He sneered at her, eyes dragging down her figure in a way that made my blood boil but I kept silent.

“Always a pleasure, sweetheart,” he said mockingly, tossing a few crumpled bills onto the counter.

The wolves chuckled under their breath before exiting the bar.

I stared at the door for a long moment, then turned back to Ellie. “What the hell was that?”

She sighed. “They’ve been coming by every day since you left.”

I blinked. “Every day?”

She nodded. “Always the same. One of them walks in loud, makes a scene, calls for someone, and then they order the exact same thing.”

I raised a brow. “Which is…?”

“A cinnamon whiskey, half pour and a sealed packet of raw liver, double wrapped. I always have it set and ready to go.”

“That’s odd.”

“No kidding.” Ellie muttered. “But they pay. In cash. On time. No fights. As long as they get what they want, they don’t cause trouble. And honestly?” She exhaled slowly. “I don’t think I’d survive another round of bar-busting drama right now.”

Silverfang wolves coming so far from their pack just to order something that could be gotten anywhere else didn’t add up at all. And with a warlock in the crew? That wasn’t exactly what you’d see every day.

Was Lucian making them all get along because of me?

I pushed the thought aside for now and turned my attention back to Ellie. She was rubbing her temples again, a small crease forming between her brows.

“How have you been, really?” I asked, shifting the topic. “Handling this place all on your own must’ve been hell.”

Ellie gave a weak laugh, then leaned her hip against the counter. “It’s been… manageable. The regulars have mostly behaved. And I’ve thrown out two drunks and threatened to shatter a vampire’s jaw with a silver bottle opener, so all things considered, I’m practically thriving.”

I laughed, an actual laugh this time. “You’re a menace.”

“Damn right I am.” Her grin returned. “You look like you could use a drink.”

I hesitated. “Ellie, I really shouldn’t-“

“Just one,” she said, already reaching under the bar. “For old times’ sake. You sit your newly-married, emotionally wrecked, possibly cursed ass down, and let me pour you something that doesn’t taste like regret.”

She didn’t know about the pregnancy. Which was the main reason I rejected the drink but she didn’t look like she was about to take No for an answer.

I gave in, groaning then slid into the stool. “Fine. One.”

She poured two fingers of something warm and golden, sliding it across to me before pouring herself a glass. We clinked them together.

“To surviving,” she said.

I smirked. “Barely.”

The first sip burned just right, and for a little while, we just talked. It was peaceful, calming, it felt almost like a lifetime since the entire wreck. What I’d give to just have this life back. Like the world outside disappeared for a second. It felt almost normal until Ellie’s smile froze mid sentence.

She stared at me, her brows pulling together slowly.

“What?” I asked, wiping at the corner of my mouth in case I had spilled something.

She didn’t answer immediately. Instead, she reached forward, fingers brushing gently against the side of my neck.

“There’s a mark,”

It was Ronan’s.

I felt the breath hitch in my throat. The mark from our night together.

“That’s not possible,” I whispered, tracing it with my fingers as if it would disappear.

“He’s dead. It should have disappeared.”

Ellie said nothing. Just watched me with a silent kind of worry.

It shouldn’t have been there. Did a mark take this long to fade?