57

Kieran didn’t move.

Didn’t blink.

Didn’t breathe.

He just stood there, golden eyes burning into hers, a silent storm waiting to break.

Selene had prepared for this moment.

Had spent hours crafting the right words, the right approach, the perfect balance between logic and emotion.

And yet—**standing before him now, the weight of their past pressing against her ribs like a vice—**her mind was dangerously close to unraveling.

But she couldn’t let that happen.

Not now.

Not when everything depended on this moment.

So she took a slow, deliberate breath, steadying herself before she spoke.

SELENE:

"We don’t have to do this, Kieran."

His jaw tightened.

KIERAN:

"We don’t have a choice."

Selene shook her head, stepping forward. "There is always a choice."

Kieran’s golden eyes flashed, but he didn’t step back. Didn’t flinch.

She had expected him to be cold.

Expected him to throw her out, to treat her as an enemy.

But instead?

Instead, he just stood there—watching her.

Like he was waiting.

Like he was still undecided.

Selene swallowed hard. "You don’t want this war any more than I do."

Kieran exhaled sharply. "That doesn’t mean I can stop it."

Selene’s fists clenched.

Because that?

That was a lie.

And they both knew it.

SELENE:

"You’re the Alpha. You have power. You could end this right now."

Kieran’s breath hitched.

His hands curled into fists.

But he didn’t deny it.

Selene stepped closer, lowering her voice. "What are you so afraid of, Kieran?"

His gaze darkened.

KIERAN:

"I’m not afraid of anything."

Selene tilted her head. "Then prove it."

A dangerous silence stretched between them.

She could feel his conflict.

The battle raging behind his eyes.

And she knew—knew—she was right.

He wasn’t fully committed to this war.

He wasn’t sure he wanted to fight her.

And that?

That was her opening.

Selene inhaled slowly.

Then, deliberately, she lifted a hand—just enough to brush against his wrist.

His breath hitched.

And for the briefest moment—he didn’t pull away.

Selene’s heart pounded.

Because this?

This was dangerous.

This was the line between strategy and something far more treacherous.

But she wasn’t stopping.

Not until she knew for sure.

So she whispered, her voice barely above a breath—but enough to shake him.

SELENE:

"If you wanted to kill me, Kieran, you would have done it already."

And as she watched the war in his eyes deepen, his resolve crack just enough—

She knew.

She had him.

And now?

Now, she just had to make him choose.