Chapter 47: Fractured Hearts
SELENA
She abandoned me.
The thought slammed into my chest, knocking the air out of my lungs.
How could she leave me to grow up alone, without love, without safety, without even knowing who I truly was?
No—
It wasn’t possible.
It couldn’t be true.
Tears burned the back of my eyes, but I blinked them away.
I wouldn't break. Not here. Not now.
My voice came out in a broken whisper. "Why didn’t you ever come for me? Why didn’t you save me?"
Angela opened her mouth, but no sound came out. Only a fresh flood of tears streamed down her cheeks.
For the first time in my life, I wasn't sure if I even wanted to hear her answer.
The pain clawed up my throat, sharp and raw. My heart screamed at her, how could she still be alive after everything my father told me and never once come for me?
I took a shaky step back, turning away, but her voice, strained and desperate, sliced through the air.
"I loved your father!" she cried, pushing herself to her feet. Her whole body shook as she spoke. "I loved him with everything I had. He was my husband, my mate. When I heard he was losing the war... I couldn't bear the thought of watching him die!"
I froze, my hands clenched into fists at my sides.
Tears spilled freely down Angela’s face as her voice cracked. "After I gave birth to you... I left you, thinking I'd come back. I swear I planned to come back!" She wiped at her face, but the tears kept falling. "But during the battle, my wolf she got wounded. Badly."
She pressed a trembling hand to her chest, as if trying to hold herself together.
"I never found your father. Not on the battlefield. I had to survive for you. For him. I ended up here, in the Nightshade Pack. They welcomed me. After two months, I recovered... but my wolf... she was too weak. I couldn’t shift anymore."
Her voice broke entirely, a pitiful whisper now. "How could I go back to Bloodfang Pack? What would they say? 'Beta Luca’s wife, too broken to even shift?' I wouldn't be able to stand beside your father again in battle. I was... ashamed. So I stayed. I hid. I became a fashion designer, trying to build a new life... because I didn't want to be a weak woman."
Her words crashed over me, each one cutting deeper than the last.
I stared at her, barely able to breathe. The woman I had dreamed about, the mother I had ached for this was her excuse?
"What about me?" I choked out, my voice rising with the storm inside me. "Didn't I need a mother too?"
Angela flinched as if I had slapped her.
"Do you know anything about me?" I demanded, tears blurring my vision. "Do you know I’ve been wolfless since I was born? That I lost my dad and had no one but Alpha Kingsley and his crazy son?"
My voice cracked into a sob. "You’re just selfish!"
Without waiting for her response, I spun around and ran.
Out of her office, down the long hallway, out into the open air.
Not today.
Not today.
She couldn't just waltz back into my life, dump this truth on me, and expect me to welcome her with open arms.
The cool breeze outside slapped my face, but it wasn’t enough to wipe away the heat of anger burning under my skin. I stumbled behind the building, away from the noise, the crowd, the suffocating lies.
I needed to breathe.
I leaned against the cold wall, dragging in deep breaths, willing myself to calm down.
I had a big show today.
I couldn’t let Angela ruin this for me.
Still, my thoughts whirled like a storm, refusing to settle.
The woman I had spent my whole life yearning for—crying over, mourning—had been here all along.
Living.
Breathing.
Building a new life... just a few miles away.
Without me.
The realization hit like a punch to the gut. I pressed a hand to my stomach, willing myself not to fall apart.
How?
How was that even possible?
I dragged in a shaky breath, but it felt like my chest was caving in. Lost in the chaos of it all, I barely noticed my phone vibrating violently in my hand.
I glanced down, expecting some random notification.
But the moment my eyes landed on the screen, everything inside me froze.
Come find Elizabeth or I’ll kill her.
The ground seemed to tilt beneath my feet.
I blinked once. Twice. Hoping the words would somehow change.
They didn’t.
A cold wave crashed over me, and my heart slammed against my ribs so hard it hurt.
No.
No, no, no.
Terror clawed up my throat, leaving a metallic taste in my mouth.
My fingers trembled as I gripped the phone tighter, reading the message again and again, as if trying to convince myself it wasn’t real.
Elizabeth.
The one person who had been my anchor. My safe place. My mother when I had none.
And Stephen—
Stephen had taken her.
The scream tore free before I could stop it, raw and jagged, echoing off the stone walls around me. I clutched my head, as if I could physically hold myself together, but the panic was already ripping me apart from the inside.
Today was supposed to be my day.
The day I finally stood tall.
The day I made my dreams real.
Instead, it felt like the universe had spit in my face.
Everything I loved was being ripped away again.
It felt like the universe had cursed it cursed me.
AUTHOR'S NOTE
Thank you so much for reading this far!
Selena’s journey is filled with twists, heartbreak, and tough choices and this chapter marks a huge turning point for her.
I know it’s a heavy moment, but trust me, everything happening now is setting the stage for something even bigger.
Hold on tight, because the next chapters are about to get even more intense!
As always, your support means the world to me. Feel free to share your thoughts I love hearing from you!