Chapter 155 My Heart Wavered

Chapter 155 My Heart Wavered
Selene’s POV

I could hardly believe Hannah had stolen my medicine, and even after I had tried to erase her memory of everything she had just witnessed, she still found enough hatred inside herself to pick up a knife and attack me again.

I had thought making her forget what happened in the restroom would be enough. She had already discovered something she was never supposed to know, and allowing her to walk away with the knowledge that I was an Alpha would only create unnecessary trouble. The medicine should have solved that problem, but Hannah’s hatred for me was apparently stronger than her common sense. Even after swallowing the wolfsbane mixture, she had seized another opportunity to attack the instant my attention shifted away from her.

What shocked me more was that Lucian had thrown himself between us without hesitation.

My gaze dropped to his arm, and my heart tightened when I saw blood spreading through the torn sleeve of his shirt.

“Lucian, are you okay?” I gasped.

The question came out with far more concern than I intended.

“I’m fine.”

Lucian frowned slightly, but instead of checking his own wound, his eyes immediately moved toward the thin cut on my neck. His gaze lingered there, filled with concern that made my chest tighten.

“As long as you’re okay, that’s all that matters.”

For a second, I forgot what I wanted to say.

Heat rushed into my face.

Seriously?

Even while blood was running down his arm, this man still knew exactly how to say something that made my heart race.

Only minutes earlier, I had been determined to keep my distance from him. I had rejected the plush kitten he bought for me and reminded myself that I would never accept a man whose heart belonged to another woman.

Now Lucian was standing in front of me with an injured arm because he had protected me again.

I quickly looked away before he could read anything from my expression.

“Your arm is bleeding. Let me bandage it for you.”

Before Lucian could answer, several hotel staff members rushed into the restroom. The commotion had finally attracted their attention, but the moment they entered and saw the destruction, they stopped in shock.

Broken mirrors covered part of the floor. The two black wolves remained down after their fight with Frieda, and blood stained parts of their fur. The damaged restroom door only made the scene look worse.

Then the staff noticed Lucian’s injured arm.

Their faces immediately changed.

“Mr. Frostbane, we sincerely apologize,” one of them said hurriedly. “This was a serious failure on our part. We are extremely sorry for the fright you and Ms. Nightbane experienced.”

More apologies followed.

I said nothing.

They were right to be worried. Two werewolves had somehow entered their hotel and attacked a guest during a major charity event. Worse, Lucian, the rightful heir of the Moonveil Pack, had been injured because of it.

The staff quickly dealt with the two black wolves and began removing them from the restroom.

In the middle of the confusion, Hannah escaped.

I noticed her slipping away, but I made no attempt to chase her.

There was no need.

She had already created enough trouble for herself.

Attacking me was one thing, but attacking Lucian was entirely different. Whether she had meant to injure him or not would hardly matter once word spread. She had attacked the rightful heir of the Moonveil Pack with a dagger.

That was practically an invitation to place herself on the Werewolf Continent’s most-wanted list.

I turned my attention back to Lucian.

His wound mattered more.

“Your arm is still bleeding. Let me stop it first.”

I asked one of the hotel staff members for a first aid kit. As soon as it was brought over, I led Lucian away from the damaged restroom and toward a nearby lounge where I could properly treat the wound.

Winnie’s POV

The scene I found when I arrived made fury burn through me.

This was not how tonight was supposed to end.

I had known Selene would attend the charity gala, and I had arranged everything carefully. Hannah already hated her enough to cooperate, so convincing her had not been difficult. I had even hired two werewolves to help with the ambush.

Two strong werewolves.

Against one low-ranking Omega.

How difficult could it possibly have been?

Apparently, too difficult for those useless fools.

Not only had they failed to deal with Selene, but Lucian had somehow become involved and ended up injured.

I wanted to scream.

How could two grown werewolves fail against one woman?

Worse, they had injured the very person I cared about.

Lucian.

My anger toward Selene immediately doubled when I saw her taking him toward the lounge.

Of course she would use this opportunity.

She always seemed to find a way to keep Lucian beside her, and now she could pretend to be concerned while treating his injury.

I hurried after them.

I had barely reached the lounge when Selene stepped in front of me and blocked my path.

“Winnie, Lucian is injured. This isn’t a good time for guests.”

Guests?

She was calling me a guest as though she had some special right to remain beside him.

I swallowed my resentment and looked past her.

Lucian was already sitting on a chair inside the lounge.

“Lucian, you’re hurt,” I said quickly. “Let me stay with you.”

Surely he would not send me away when I was only worried about him.

Lucian barely looked at me.

His voice was cold enough to destroy that hope immediately.

“Selene is here. That’s enough. You’re not needed.”

My expression stiffened.

Selene’s eyes flashed with satisfaction.

“Did you hear that? Now leave.”

Before I could argue, she slammed the door shut in my face.

I jerked my hand backward just in time to keep my fingers from being caught.

For several seconds, I stood outside the closed door, trembling with anger.

That woman!

Selene had been lucky tonight.

Nothing more.

The two werewolves had failed, Hannah had failed, and somehow Lucian had appeared at exactly the wrong moment.

But luck could not protect someone forever.

I stared at the door with hatred burning inside me.

Selene, you got lucky this time, but I refuse to believe your luck will last forever.

Next time, I would make sure there was no way out for her.

Selene’s POV

Once Winnie was gone, I closed the lounge door and finally had a little peace.

I turned around.

Then immediately froze.

Lucian was taking off his shirt.

My eyes widened before I could stop myself.

Lucian had always been in excellent shape, but knowing that and suddenly seeing him standing shirtless in front of me were two completely different things. His broad shoulders and well-defined chest showed the strength beneath his usually perfect suits, while the hard lines of his abdomen made it almost impossible not to notice how attractive he was.

I quickly dragged my gaze upward.

Heat rushed into my cheeks.

“Lucian! What are you doing taking off your shirt?”

Instead of looking embarrassed, he looked amused.

“How else are you going to bandage my wound?”

He gestured toward the gash on his arm.

Right.

The wound.

That was why we were here.

“Fine.”

I sighed and opened the first aid kit.

After all, Lucian had been injured because he saved me.

Again.

I deliberately focused on his arm and nowhere else. There was absolutely no reason for me to notice anything beyond the injury I needed to treat.

At least, that was what I kept telling myself.

I took the iodine and carefully cleaned the wound. Lucian remained unusually still while I worked, allowing me to examine the cut properly.

Thankfully, it was not as serious as I had feared when I first saw the blood.

Still, seeing the wound made an uncomfortable feeling rise inside me.

That blade had been intended for me.

Lucian had known that.

Yet he had stepped between Hannah and me without pausing to consider what might happen to him.

I concentrated on wrapping the bandage around his arm.

Neither of us spoke for a while.

After everything that had happened between us since last night, the quiet felt strange. I could still remember slapping him. I could still remember rejecting his thirty-million-dollar gift in front of everyone.

Yet here I was, carefully treating his wound.

When I finally secured the bandage, I leaned back and inspected my work.

“All done. Now put your shirt back on.”

I began packing the medical supplies into the first aid kit, refusing to admit how relieved I was that the injury was manageable.

Lucian dressed without complaint.

I expected that to be the end of it.

Instead, when I looked up again, something small appeared in front of me.

The plush cat.

My expression changed.

Lucian was holding it out to me again.

The same kitten I had rejected in the auction hall.

Before I could refuse, he gently placed it in my hands.

“Selene, this is for you,” he said. “Don’t reject it again, okay?”

His tone was firm.

It sounded less like a question and more like he had already decided that the kitten belonged with me.

My fingers curled around the soft toy.

My heart skipped a beat.

I should have handed it back immediately.

That was what I had done before.

But this time, my hands would not move.

Instead, the image of Lucian throwing himself between Hannah’s dagger and me flashed through my mind.

He had not hesitated.

Not even for a second.

And this was not the first time.

My thoughts returned to the warehouse explosion.

The instant everything went wrong, Lucian had thrown himself over me and used his own body to protect mine. At the time, I had believed he was critically injured because of it, and the fear I felt while waiting outside that hospital room had nearly broken through every wall I had built around my heart.

Then another memory returned.

Linda.

When she tried to stab me, Lucian had stepped in and taken the blow.

Just like tonight.

Once could be dismissed as instinct.

Twice might be coincidence.

But Lucian had protected me again and again.

Each time danger appeared, he seemed willing to put himself between it and me before either of us had time to think.

My gaze slowly moved from the kitten to his bandaged arm.

The question that had been tormenting me since last night suddenly felt less certain.

Was I really only a replacement for Teressa in Lucian’s eyes?

If I meant so little to him, why did he keep risking himself for me?

Why had he spent thirty million dollars on something I wanted, then stood before an entire room and called me the woman he loved most?

Why did he keep choosing me when it mattered?

For the first time, my heart wavered.