Chapter 262

Selene’s POV

When I woke up the next morning, I rolled over on the bed, but the bed was empty. The side where Violetta had been was cold. But if not for my nakedness, I would have thought everything that happened was a dream. I stood up, full of embarrassment and confusion, and then sighed. She must have gone to take a bath, as I knew Violetta loved to wake up early before anyone else.

However, something about the room was off. I just couldn’t place my hand on what it was. To the left of me, there was still that wooden bird that she had carved the night before. The face was still broken, reminding me of what we had done the night before. Heat filled my cheeks. I looked around me and noticed that the door of the closet was slightly open. Peering inside, there were barely any clothes there, and the rest that were there were scattered on the floor, as if she had packed her clothes hastily in a hurry. Quickly, I pulled on my dress, which was strewn across the floor, and walked out of the room into the corridor.

I walked down the corridor, checking around. There was no sign of her presence. So I went outside. Maybe she was where the SilverClaw warriors were having their training.

She was not. I went back into the packhouse, going straight to the guest room that Thorne had been given. The door had already been left open, so I pushed it further and walked in. There was a maid there who was currently stripping the sheets.

“Good day, my lady,” she said, furrowing her brows in confusion. She had never seen me before. However, I knew this girl. Her name was Astrid. The reason why she did not recognize me was because I was not in my disguise from when I was a maid here.

“Have you seen Thorne?”

She nodded. “He left by dawn this morning, very early. I heard he is going back to his land, him and his right hand.”

“His right hand, as in Violetta?”

“Yes, my lady.”

I nodded, stepping out of the room slowly, a pang of heartbreak ripping through my body.

How could she? How dare she leave after everything last night? She hadn’t even told me that she was going to go. She hadn’t even woken me up to tell me she had to leave. Hell, she could have even written a note for me. But no. She had just packed up her bags and gone. I felt so used right then and there, and I had to fight the tears from pouring out of my eyes.

Swallowing hard, I walked back through the hall, still burning with anger. I wanted to just throw everything around, rip everything apart, but no, I could not do that. I had to stay calm.

Fuck, even being in that room where we had made love just made it hurt even more. I walked out, deciding that I needed to see Lyra. I needed her to talk to me about something—anything to just distract my mind from what had just happened. I plastered the fakest smile on my face, hoping it seemed real and genuine enough as I walked up the stairs to Kade’s quarters. I knocked, and after a few moments the door opened, revealing Lyra’s distressed face.

“Hey,” she said tiredly.

“Hello, love,” I replied, still forcing the smile on my face. “How is he? Is there any improvement?”

“Nope.”

I glanced towards Kade on the bed. He looked almost the same as before, only slightly better.

“He is going to be all right,” I said to her, squeezing her shoulder gently. “You just have to keep praying and having faith in the Goddess.”

She let out a heavy sigh. “At this point, my faith is almost nonexistent. This makes it four days now. Four days without any sign from him.”

“I know, darling,” I said softly. “But you can’t lose hope yet.”

She nodded. “Thank you, Selene. You’ve been the best friend I could ever ask for.” Then she gave me a second look, assessing me from head to toe. “Are you all right?”

“Of course I am,” I chuckled lightly. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

Lyra stared at me deeply for a while, furrowing her eyebrows. “I don’t know, Selene. You just don’t look the same to me.”

“What?” I asked her. “I mean, I looked at myself in the mirror this morning: same old Selene.”

She shook her head. “No, no. You seem out of it. Sad, maybe?”

“Well, I am sad. This whole thing going on with Kade—”

“Please do not give me that bullshit, Selene,” Lyra interrupted me.

“What on earth? Bullshit?” I sighed. There was really no lying to Lyra that was going to be possible. She knew me too well to know when I was lying about something. I shrugged. “It doesn’t matter at all.”

“You don’t have to talk to me about this, but I want you to know that I am here for you. I can’t watch you be a ghost of yourself.”

“Really, Lyra, I am fine.”

“I do not believe you.”

I rolled my eyes and sighed, walking forward and finding somewhere to sit. “Did Thorne tell you he was leaving?”

“Yes, he did yesterday night. We had an extensive conversation.”

“Oh.” I was actually surprised. So if he told Lyra about it, that meant he told Violetta, and she knew she was going to leave, yet she didn’t tell me a single thing.

“Why are you asking?”

“Oh, nothing. I just didn’t see him this morning, and, you know…”

Lyra gave me a knowing look. “Violetta didn’t tell you she was leaving?”

“What? No, I never mentioned that.”

“It is clear in everything you just said. She didn’t say goodbye.”

“Unbelievable, right?” I huffed, unable to hide it any longer. “I thought we were, you know…”

“You were what?”

“Nothing. Never mind,” I quickly said, shutting it down. There was no way in hell I was telling my best friend that I had made love with a woman. We were close, but still, it was just going to make me feel exposed.

“Come on, Selene. It does matter because you look hurt.”

“Well, we just had a good time last night and then she left without saying anything, without even notifying me, and now that just makes me feel… I don’t even fucking know, but it’s not a good feeling.”

A brief look of shock flickered across her face. “That sounds terrible. I’m sorry, Selene. I wish this were not the case.”

“You don’t mind that it’s her and me?”

She shrugged. “Who am I to judge? You can’t control who you love or who your wolf wants. You know that, right? I mean, I’m kind of living proof of it,” she giggled softly.

“Right,” I muttered.

“Do you want me to talk to her?” she asked. “Maybe I could send a message, ask about her, and get the two of you to talk.”

“No, no,” I said hastily. “I’m not about to look like some desperate girl trying to win her attention. She left without saying goodbye, and that says a lot about how she feels about me. I am just going to drop it. I am just going to let it go. It doesn’t matter. It shouldn’t have even—”

“Selene…”

“I am serious, Lyra. I don’t give a shit about it anymore. Let her do as she pleases.”

My eye caught movement on the bed. Just as Lyra was about to say something, I gasped, pointing straight ahead.

“Oh my Goddess!”