Chapter 41 41
Selena’s POV
It was the morning news from one of my messengers and it had me shaking with hope. Lucien was off on some pressing territorial matter, which according to the plan I had been formulating for weeks now, presented me with a shining opportunity.
"When does he depart?" I questioned the young omega who brought him the message.
"Within the hour, Lady Selena. He said for you to keep track of Luna while he's gone."
Once the messenger was gone, I pulled out my messaging crystal and sent a prenegotiated signal to those people that were helping me. Three quivering waves of magic, so faint they would go unnoticed by anyone who didn't know what to listen for. The answer appeared in a few minutes—a corresponding pattern that served as confirmation they’d gotten my message and were going into place.
I found Vex and the witch in the derelict storage shed at the far reaches of pack land, where barrier spells were weakest and no one could overhear us.
He’s out,” I said by way of introduction. He’s not due back for about thirty-six hours.”
“The girl is still in the healer’s quarters?” Vex asked.
"Exactly where I left her. Frightened, isolated, convinced her baby is unsafe.” I couldn’t help but let the satisfaction creep into my voice.
"And the pack's defenses?" the witch pressed.
"Weakened with Lucien's departure. He left most of his prime warriors behind.” I made a map of the pack house and beyond. "The healers' bams have very little security — a good body casts our two guards at the front door; we just go on in through that tradesmen's entrance.”
I ran my finger along the path, explaining exactly how they could find their way to the heart of where I had once lived without making a whisper.
"Tomorrow afternoon," I continued. “I will propose a stroll out into the gardens, for the benefit of her health. Fresh air, moderate exercise — everything a worried healer would prescribe. We’ll go that way–" I pointed out a course on the map "—and hit them at their weakest spot in the defense line.”
"How long will we have?" Vex asked.
"Ten minutes, fifteen tops before anyone notices she's gone. There’s no time for YOU to get in place and prepared once I’ve given the signal.
"And you're sure she won't fight it?" the witch asked skeptically. “Even scared things fight when they are cornered.”
“She’s pregnant, she’s afraid for the well-being of her own baby and she's been largely cut off from contact with all people who care about her.” I met her gaze steadily. “She’ll be too afraid and paralyzed to do anything other than what he wants.”
For another hour we went over the details, discussing contingencies, making sure everyone knew their part in the extraction. When we said our goodbyes, I knew in my heart that tomorrow would be the last of Lena interrupting my life.
“And one other thing,” I shouted as they were leaving. "I want to be there when you take her. I want her to look at my face and I want her to know who took her down."
"And yes, both, even," Vex grinned nastily. "Personal vengeance. I can respect that."
Later that afternoon I found Lena in the healer's rooms, looking out of the window, one hand protectively placed on her belly. When I went in, she raised her eyes to me, and suspicion shone for an instant in her brown eyes before it was instantly veiled with polite neutrality.
"How are you feeling today?"
"Better," she replied carefully. "The cramping has stopped completely."
"That's wonderful news. Well, we'd better keep the bed rest measure in place for a few more days anyway, just to be sure." I hesitated a moment before resuming with as much earnestness as I could muster. "Lena, I owe you an apology."
Her surprise was obvious. "For what?"
“For smothering to the point of appearing controlling.” I kept my face appropriately contrite. “I was so caught up in the medical risks that I forgot you’re not merely a patient — you’re also a young woman trying to make your way through this complicated position. I should have been supportive, less critical.”
"I....thank you," was all she managed to reply with apparent hesitation.
“I mean, the truth is that when I saw you with Lucien, something came back and it’s not something I thought I still had to deal with.” I allowed a little past pain to tint my voice. “Those feelings weren’t fair for how I treated you. You deserve better than that."
I could see the war in her face, the one between wanting to believe me for the sake of goodness and holding me more than a little bit suspect after all those weeks of not-quite open hostility.
“I’m glad you said that,” she finally said. “It’s been hard, feeling like I’m forever judged and open to criticism.”
“You’re not wanting,” I consoled her warmly. "You're just young and learning. There's no shame in that." I leaned forward slightly. "Well, you won't be Luna for much longer and I was just thinking... Maybe we could hang a bit? I could tell you tales about the pack’s history, the customs you’ll be expected to uphold, the politics you’ll have to maneuver.”
Her eyes twinkled with cautious optimism. "You'd do that?"
"Of course. For all that, I do want this pack to work. And that includes making sure you’re well prepared for your position.” I smiled gently. “And besides, sitting in this room all day can’t be good for your spirits. Perhaps to-morrow, if you feel well enough, we may have a little turn in the gardens. Just a little exercise and fresh air. Nothing strenuous.
"The gardens?" She looked towards the window, and shuddered at the thought of being in her prison.
“And only internal gardens, no further away than the pack house. Plus I’ll be right there with you if something doesn’t feel right.” I softened my voice, motherly. “Babies like to be swaddled but the tugging that occurs during a walk is not going to hurt them. Living a largely sedentary life can be problematic in its own right.”
I could sense her wanting to say yes, craving even a temporary escape from the isolation I’d created. But there was still that twinge of suspicion, that gut feeling something wasn’t right.
“I don’t know,” she said tentatively.
"Lucien is no healer," I reminded her softly. “And he can be scared of the things that he loves, and he’ll protect them to such a degree. Yet medical science is clear: gentle movement is good for both mother and child, particularly after a period of enforced bed rest.”
"Maybe," she conceded. "Let me think about it."
"Of course. No pressure." I rose, giving her hand a squeeze of friendly encouragement. ''Just tell me in the morning if you want to take that walk. Either way, I’m here for you however you want to proceed.”
I had a smirk of self-approval as I walked out of the healer's chambers. She'd agree to the walk. Her own need to seem normal, to be human, would overpower her caution.
And that, she realized when her heart broke free of her chest and shattered into flames around the room, was the last mistake she would ever make.
"Tonight, is that all you want to know?" I made my way back to the derelict shed and supplies for tomorrow's adventure. The path from the healer's quarters to the extraction point had to be made clear—there could be no mistakes or spur of the moment solutions.
I was marking the trail step by slow step: every barrier, every possible line of sight that could betray our position. The garden section I had selected was private, hidden behind hedges that were high enough to obstruct any casual view from the pack house windows.
"This will do," I said, trying it out every few blocks on the way back.
The actual extraction point was convenient, too—a back gate in the garden wall that most pack members had ceased to remember was there. It had been used a long time ago to carry supplies, but neglect over the years had rendered it obscured behind vines and blooming bushes.
Another pulse through my communication crystal, the final coordinates for Vex and his crew. Their message expressed their readiness to be in place by mid-afternoon tomorrow, poised to act the instant I sounded the charge.
Standing there in the darkening garden, again I felt lost. Once that was done, there’d be no turning back. Lucien would be warned that I had been false to him. The pack I had a hand in creating would come hunting me as a traitor. All I had built for over hundreds of years would be lost.
But King Jubril had promised me something better. A seat of genuine influence in the new world order he intended to build. No longer a Luna who relied on her mate’s strength, but one that could lead herself. A person whose skills and wisdom were actually valued, not dismissed as meddling.
So what did I have to lose, really? Lucien had made his decision, and I wasn’t part of it. Better to wreck what I couldn’t have than see him construct a future with someone else in the ruins of what we had shared.
"Tomorrow," I chanted softly to the still night. "Tomorrow everything changes."
I returned to my room and spent the entire evening studying every aspect of it. The timing, the route, the signals, the measures to take if something went wrong. And now, as I made the last preparations for the morning, stretching myself when they were done, I knew in my inmost self that to-morrow must go exactly as foretold.
My final thought before I fell asleep was of Lena’s face when she saw I had betrayed her. The shock, the ache of disappointment, the crushing realization that she’d blindfolded herself and walked into a trap.
I would have given away everything I was giving away just to witness that moment.
Almost.