Chapter 28: Chain
SELENA
Cold.
That was the first thing I felt.
The air was thick, damp, and biting against my skin. I blinked into darkness, heart thudding, but saw nothing. A dull ache pulsed in the back of my skull. My wrists stung raw and bruised where iron chains dug into them.
Chains?
Panic rose like bile in my throat.
I tried to move, but the cold bite of metal clanged against the concrete floor, and a sharp pain tore through my ankle. I let out a strangled gasp, wincing. My breathing grew rapid, ragged, shallow.
Where… where am I?
Memories surged and collided Stephen’s furious eyes, the tightening grip of his arms as he lifted me, the way my limbs had gone limp right before darkness swallowed me whole.
Had I passed out?
I looked around or tried to. Shadows swallowed every corner of the room. There was no window, just a small slit of moonlight bleeding in through a crack in the ceiling, barely enough to outline the trembling shape of my body. My skin prickled.
Then came the sounds soft hoots, distant rustling, the chirp of crickets and wild birds. That’s when I knew. Forest. I wasn’t in a room in the pack house. I was far, far away. Somewhere no one would hear me scream.
But what startled me more was… I could smell everything.
The damp bark of trees. The musky scent of animals. The dew-soaked earth. My senses were sharp too sharp. I could feel the vibrations of creatures moving in the distance.
I had never been able to sense like this before.
Something was happening to me. Something I didn’t understand.
Maybe it’s in my head. Maybe I’m just scared.
But deep down, I knew it wasn’t fear. It was something else awakening.
I shifted, the chains rattling again, and stared at that thin beam of moonlight brushing across my legs. I was barefoot, dirty, and shaking. I hugged my knees to my chest.
If Stephen really meant to kill me… why didn’t he do it already?
Why bring me out here?
My chest ached. Not just from the chains or the cold or the unknown but from the truth. I didn’t break the urn. I would never disrespect the memory of someone’s mother. But what did that matter now? He didn’t believe me.
He would never believe me.
Tears slipped down my cheeks, hot and silent. If Alpha Kingsley knew… if Adam knew… would they come for me? Would they even believe me? Or was I completely alone?
I lowered my gaze to the rusted chain around my ankle. I didn’t even know what day it was. My stomach twisted with hunger and fear.
Is this how it ends?
Will he kill me here and leave my body for the wolves?
A bitter smile ghosted over my lips. If death meant I wouldn’t have to see Stephen’s eyes burn with hatred again, maybe it wasn’t so bad. Maybe it was better this way. In another life, I wouldn’t know him. I wouldn’t love him. I wouldn’t belong to this cursed pack.
But I didn’t scream.
Why scream when no one would come?
Why scream when you’re already dead inside?
Suddenly, the door creaked.
I flinched so hard the chain snapped tight, dragging my leg roughly and sending a jolt of pain up my side. I gasped, eyes wide, body trembling.
Stephen stepped into the room.
Not in wolf form.
Not anymore.
His broad chest heaved slightly as he stood in the doorway, silhouetted by moonlight. His shirt was ripped, stained. His claws hadn’t fully retracted. His eyes glowed amber feral, haunted, dangerous.
I wanted to hate him.
But my heart stuttered all the same.
He walked forward slowly, the wooden floor groaning beneath his boots. I curled tighter into myself, hating the fear I couldn't shake.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered, my voice barely audible. “Stephen… I swear, I didn’t break your mother’s urn. I was framed. Please, you have to believe me.”
He didn’t say anything.
He didn’t have to.
The look in his eyes said it all rage, betrayal, and something worse. Vengeance.
Without a word, he lifted his hand and smashed the wooden chair beside me. The pieces splintered against the wall. I flinched, crawling backward until I hit the cold brick.
His gaze dropped to me. Wild. Unforgiving.
Then he crouched.
His voice, when it came, was ice.
“Your father murdered my mother. And now, on her memorial, you desecrate her ashes?”
“I didn’t—”
“You’ll beg for death before I’m done with you,” he growled. “And I won’t grant it easily.”
My lips trembled. “Please…”
He stood without another word, turned his back, and slammed the door shut, the echo vibrating through my bones.
And just like that, I knew.
I wasn’t going to die tonight.
Not yet.
Stephen wanted me to suffer first.
And whatever game he was about to play…
I wasn’t ready.
JULIA
The club’s bass vibrated through the floor, but it wasn’t the music I was excited about.
It was him.
Stephen.
I sat in the velvet VIP lounge, legs crossed, dressed in the black silk mini-dress I knew he liked. The room was dim, lit only by low lamps and the soft glow of the chandeliers above. I sipped slowly from my glass, but my eyes were locked on the door.
He hadn’t replied to my texts. He never talked about Selena not anymore. But I knew. I felt it. She was out of the picture.
And soon… she’d be gone.
I smiled to myself.
That girl had no idea who she was messing with. She tried to steal my man. Tried to worm her way into his heart. But Stephen? Stephen belonged to me.
Still, I needed more. Something permanent. Something that would seal my place in his life.
His child.
I’d already done the research. I had the potion the Velentis Elixir. Just a few drops and Stephen wouldn’t want anyone else. His wolf would only crave me.
And once I had his baby?
Alpha Kingsley would make him marry me.
I heard his steps before I saw him. That powerful stride. That energy that made my blood buzz.
He was coming.
Quickly, I poured the potion into his wine and swirled it slowly, making sure it dissolved.
Tonight would be unforgettable.
Tonight, he’d be mine and only mine.