Chapter 21

I pushed the door open with more force than I intended. My fingers trembled slightly as I tugged off the jacket I’d borrowed from Ellie to cover the mark. The scent of whiskey and alcohol clung stubbornly to the fabric. My mind was still spinning.

Ronan’s mark was still on my skin.

It made no sense.

I didn’t have time to brace myself when I turned the corner and saw Lucian.

He was pacing back and forth in the room, looking distressed. His face was filled with worry and regret, jaw clenched.

He paused when he saw me.

“Seliene—” he walked toward me, reaching for my arm. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean for things to go the way they did last night.”

I took a step back, avoiding contact.

His hand dropped.

“I’m fine,” I said too quickly.

He inhaled sharply, then his eyes darkened as they lingered on me. “What’s that smell? You’ve been drinking.”

I looked away.

“Where did you go?” he demanded.

My shoulders tensed. “Out.”

“To where?”

“Does it matter?”

His expression shifted. Lips thinned. Jaw tightened. “Yes. It matters.”

I raised my voice. “I told you I needed space. Needed to not feel like I was being watched every damn second.”

“You left without guards. Without telling anyone. Do you know how reckless that is?”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” I snapped. “I didn’t realize I needed permission to breathe.”

“You can’t just do that. It’s not safe!”

“And why’s that?” I challenged. “Because I have a ring on my finger, the entire council now gives a damn about me?”

“Because you’re no longer some nobody bartender scraping by in the back of a bar. You’re the Luna of this pack now. Start acting like it.”

That hurt. More than I thought it would.

“Right. Luna. Perfect little title to put on a woman you forced into this.”

He didn’t back down. “I did what I had to.”

“And so will I,” I said, stepping away again.

“Which includes not being spoken to like I’m something you scraped off your boot.”

With that, I left for the room.

The next few weeks, I avoided him like a plague and slept on the sofa. The mark hadn’t faded, if anything, it had become more visible. I wore mostly high collars and scarves.

To make matters worse, the baby bump was growing at a rapid rate, along with my nerves. It was like heaven and hell tangled together, handling both my wolf and the baby all at once.

Then, one afternoon, he walked into the room while I was sitting by the window, wallowing in the cage I called a new life.

This was everything I hated.

My fingers drifted to my scarf out of habit, brushing over the skin beneath as Lucian stopped in front of me.

I didn’t look at him.

“I’ll be gone for a few days. Two at least,” he said.

“Gone?”

Why did that come out sounding more like relief than a curious question?

“To the eastern city. There’s something I need to handle.”

“The Blackwood territory? Why?”

“There’s something I need to take care of.”

“Which is?”

“Since Ronan’s gone, the pack has gone haywire. Just need to make sure it’s not interfering with our part of the forest.”

I wanted to ask more questions like what exactly he needed to handle in Ronan’s pack but I bit them back.

“Just stay as far away from danger as possible.”

Right. An indirect way of telling me I shouldn’t step outside. Like hell I was going to listen.

“I’ll leave Giles and two others behind,” he added. “Just in case.”

“In case what? I try to disappear?”

His voice was calm, but tight. “In case someone tries to take you.”

That made me turn. “You mean Ronan? Newsflash, he’s dead.”

His jaw clenched. “I mean anyone.”

Then he stepped forward, brushing a loose strand of hair from my face.

“I love you, Seliene.” He pressed a kiss on my forehead.

He waited for me to respond, but seconds later he got the message, retracted his hand, and stepped away.

I sighed in relief as soon as he left. Something about being in the same space with him made me tense. And the thought of him going to the Blackwood fang territory felt off. It made me wonder how they’d been holding up since the incident.

Later that evening, I was wandering the east wing. For some reason, I rarely visited this part of the quarter. Aimlessly, I moved, trying to keep my mind off the storm of emotions rattling inside me.

The corridors were quiet except for the distant chatter of staff and the clatter of dishes. I wasn’t even sure what I was looking for, but that didn’t stop me from walking.

I turned a corner and paused.

A girl about my age, dressed in a pale linen maid’s uniform, was struggling with a stack of fresh bed sheets. They slipped from her arms, scattering on the floor. She panicked almost immediately.

“Here,” I said, bending to help.

She startled at first, then bowed quickly.

“My apologies, Luna. I didn’t see you.”

“It’s fine.” I handed her the last sheet, but then something caught my eye. On the inside of her wrist, just beneath the cuff of her sleeve, was a faint tattoo, a wolf’s head surrounded by smoke.

The Blackwood fang crest? I wasn’t sure, but it definitely looked similar.

I paused, taking a better look. “Where did you get that?” I asked.

“Get what?”

She looked confused, then followed my eyes. I pointed to her wrist.

“That mark. You’re BlackFang?”

Her eyes widened. She tugged her sleeve down instinctively. “I-I used to be. Before the transfer.”

“Transfer?”

She looked around, making sure it was just me.

“When our Alpha died,” her voice dropped to almost a whisper, “some of us were… moved here. Assigned to new duties. Some were relocated to other packs. Some…” She hesitated, lowering her gaze not bothering to finish the sentence but I understood clearly.

My blood ran ice cold.

“Lucian brought you here?” I asked, clearly confused, yet my curiosity was highly piqued.

She nodded. “Not just me. A lot of us. They said it was to keep us safe after the fall, but—”

“But you’re servants now,” I said quietly.

She didn’t respond. Her silence was enough.

“Thank you,” I said. She bowed slightly before walking in the opposite direction.

This wasn’t right. Keeping them safe from what?

I nodded stiffly, watching her disappear into the corridor. Then I turned.

What else had Lucian taken from Ronan?

And worse, what else had he lied about? Going to the Blackwood fang territory already off as it was.

What the hell was Lucian doing?

He had always been powerful. Strategic. Ruthless, even. But this, this was something else. Was he enslaving the remnants of Ronan’s pack? Using them? Keeping them like trophies?

I didn’t know. But one thing was clear.

It didn’t make any sense.

Lucian had never liked Ronan, but wasn’t this taking things too far?

He’d swallowed Ronan’s whole world completely.

What the hell was even going on while I was cooped up in this place?

I shouldn’t have been affected by the news, but a part of me felt restless.

I needed to confront him and find out what the hell was really going on.