Chapter 62 Sea

Chapter 62 Sea
The car was parked right in front of the Alpha’s house. Ryzen stood beside it with his hands in his pockets while Ophelia stood in front of him, arms crossed, head tilted slightly, her golden hair moving gently with the wind.

She was smiling and Ryzen was not.

“Well?” Ophelia asked lightly but Ryzen did not answer. She stepped closer to him and leaned in slightly. “You are nervous.”

“I am not,” Ryzen replied flatly.

Ophelia laughed softly. “Your ears are red.”

Ryzen immediately turned his head away. “It’s the sun.”

“It is cloudy,” Ophelia pointed out.

Ryzen stayed silent.

Ophelia’s laughter grew a little louder. “My dear little brother,” she teased, “you look like you are about to face battle, not take a girl to the sea.”

Ryzen did not respond. He simply stared ahead, jaw tight, eyes serious but Ophelia could see the tension,  waiting, and the way his eyes would flick toward the entrance of the house every few seconds.

She smiled again, amused.

Just then, Selene appeared from the doorway.

She walked slowly down the stone steps, wearing something simple and light. A soft cream dress that moved gently with each step. Her hair was half tied, loose strands framing her face.

She looked nervous but she also looked curious.

Ryzen saw her first. His breath caught for a second then he straightened slightly. Ophelia noticed immediately.

“Oh,” she whispered teasingly. “There she is.”

Selene noticed them both as she walked closer and she also noticed how Ophelia was smiling at Ryzen while he was refusing to look at her and Ophelia was clearly enjoying it.

Selene slowed her steps slightly, watching the interaction from afar.

“What are they talking about?” she wondered.

Ophelia leaned toward Ryzen again, saying something Selene couldn’t hear.

Ryzen shook his head.

Ophelia laughed.

Ryzen sighed.

Selene blinked and reached them and stopped politely.

“Good morning,” she greeted softly.

Ophelia immediately turned toward her and smiled warmly. “Good morning, Selene.”

Ryzen nodded slightly. “Morning.”

Selene looked at him briefly and her cheeks warmed a little.

Ryzen looked away first this time but Ophelia saw everything. She stepped closer to Selene without warning and linked her arm through Selene’s.

Selene blinked. “Oh—”

“You’re sitting in front of me,” Ophelia declared.

Ryzen opened his mouth slightly. “Sister—”

Ophelia ignored him.

She gently guided Selene toward the passenger seat of the car.

“Come,” Ophelia said cheerfully. “We don’t have all day.”

Selene glanced back at Ryzen, confused but amused.

Ryzen sighed and walked around to the driver’s side.

Ophelia helped Selene into the front seat and closed the door gently before walking around to sit at the back.

Selene fastened her seatbelt slowly then Ryzen started the engine.

The car moved smoothly down the road, leaving the Alpha’s house behind.

For a while, no one spoke. The sound of the engine and wind filled the quiet.

Selene looked out the window.

The scenery changed slowly from stone buildings to open roads. Trees lined both sides, sunlight flickering between branches.

Ophelia leaned forward slightly between the seats.

“So,” she said lightly, “Selene.”

Selene turned her head.

“Yes?”

“Are you excited?” Ophelia asked.

Selene hesitated.

“I don’t know what to expect,” she admitted honestly.

Ophelia smiled. “That is the fun part.”

Ryzen remained silent, eyes focused on the road.

Selene glanced at him.

He looked serious but she noticed his grip on the steering wheel was tighter than usual.

“You can relax,” Ophelia told him teasingly. “We are not kidnapping her.”

Ryzen gave her a sharp look through the mirror.

Selene blinked. “Kidnapping?”

Ophelia waved her hand casually. “I am joking.”

Ryzen exhaled quietly.

The road stretched ahead, and soon the air began to change.

Selene noticed it first.

The scent.

Salt.

Wind.

Water.

Her eyes widened slightly.

The car slowed and then she saw it.

The sea.

Endless blue stretching beyond the horizon.

Sunlight danced on the surface like scattered silver.

The waves moved gently, rising and falling in calm rhythm.

Selene’s breath caught.

“It’s beautiful…” she whispered.

Ryzen parked the car near the shore.

Selene stepped out slowly.

The wind immediately brushed against her skin.

The sound of waves filled her ears.

She walked forward without thinking, drawn to the sight. The sea felt different from the river.

Selene stood near the edge, her hair moving in the breeze. She closed her eyes for a second and let the sound wash over her.

Ryzen watched her from a few steps behind and he did not speak. Ophelia crossed her arms and looked between them.

“She needed this,” Ophelia said softly.

Ryzen nodded.

After a while, Ophelia clapped her hands lightly.

“Picnic,” she declared.

Selene turned, slightly surprised.

“You planned a picnic?” she asked.

Ophelia smiled. “Of course.”

Ryzen walked back to the car and opened the trunk, taking out a basket and a blanket.

They spread the blanket on the sand a little farther from the water.

Selene sat carefully.

Ophelia handed her a drink.

Ryzen sat across from her.

For a while, they simply ate and listened to the waves.

Selene felt her shoulders slowly relax.

The tension in her chest loosened.

She didn’t feel watched.

She didn’t feel judged.

She didn’t feel trapped.

She felt… safe.

Ophelia watched her quietly.

After some time, Ophelia suddenly stood up.

“I forgot something,” she said.

Ryzen looked up. “What?”

“Dessert,” Ophelia replied casually. “There’s a small shop nearby.”

Ryzen frowned slightly. “I’ll go.”

Ophelia waved her hand. “Yes, you go.”

Ryzen blinked.

Ophelia gave him a look that clearly meant something else.

Ryzen understood.

He stood up slowly.

“Don’t go near the water,” he told Selene automatically.

Selene smiled slightly. “I won’t.”

Ryzen hesitated for a second longer then he walked away toward the small path that led to nearby stalls.

Selene watched him go. Then she looked down at her hands.

The wind grew quieter for a moment.

Ophelia sat back down beside her.

For a while, neither spoke.

Only the waves filled the silence.

Then Ophelia spoke gently.

“Selene.”

Selene looked at her.

“Yes?”

Ophelia’s voice was not teasing now.

It was softer.

“What happened?” she asked.

Selene’s body stiffened slightly.

She knew what Ophelia meant. Selene looked at the sea again.

Her fingers tightened slightly in her lap.

“It’s not important,” she said softly.

Ophelia did not push.

She simply waited.

The silence stretched.

Selene’s thoughts grew heavy.

“I almost died,” she whispered.

Ophelia’s expression changed.

Selene hesitated.

She didn’t know why, but she felt comfortable beside Ophelia.

Ophelia did not look at her like a threat.

She looked at her like… someone protecting something.

Selene took a deep breath.

“It wasn’t an accident,” she said quietly.

Ophelia remained silent.

Selene continued slowly.

“She was angry,” Selene said. “And maybe she lost control. There was pressure. Expectations. And I… I wasn’t careful.”

Her voice trembled slightly.

“The moment I felt the hands at my back,” she whispered, “it was too late.”

Ophelia’s jaw tightened.

“The river swallowed me.”

The wind blew harder for a second.

Selene’s eyes grew distant.

“I thought that was it,” she said softly. “I thought I was going to die.”

Ophelia’s hands slowly closed into fists.

“But I didn’t,” Selene continued. “I survived.”

She looked down.

“But surviving doesn’t mean it didn’t break something.”

Ophelia turned her head toward her fully now.

“Who?” Ophelia asked quietly.

Selene hesitated.

She didn’t say the name.

She didn’t need to.

“It was someone I trusted,” Selene said instead.

Ophelia nodded slowly.

“That is worse,” she said calmly.

Selene’s eyes burned slightly.

“I don’t want to bring trouble here,” she whispered. “I don’t want to make things harder for him.”

Ophelia studied her carefully.

“You think you are a burden,” Ophelia said softly.

Selene blinked.

She did not answer.

Ophelia exhaled slowly.

“You are not,” she said firmly.

Selene looked at her.

Ophelia’s eyes were steady.

“My brother is not protecting you out of pity,” Ophelia continued quietly. “He does not pity.”

Selene’s heart skipped.

“He is angry,” Ophelia said. “And worried.”

Selene’s fingers tightened.

“Angry?” she asked.

Ophelia nodded. “He would burn a city if he believed it hurt you.”

Selene’s breath caught.

Ophelia looked back at the sea.

“He does not fall easily,” she added.

Selene stayed silent.

The waves moved gently in front of them.

After a moment, Selene whispered, “I didn’t mean to bring danger here.”

Ophelia turned back to her.

“You did not bring danger,” she said calmly. “The danger already existed.”

Selene stared at her.

Ophelia’s voice softened slightly.

“You are safe here,” she said.

Selene swallowed.

“For now,” Ophelia added quietly.

Selene felt both comforted and confused.

She looked down at her hands again.

Then she nodded slowly.

“I understand.”

Footsteps approached on the sand.

Ryzen returned, carrying a small box.

He looked between them immediately.

He sensed the shift.

“Everything alright?” he asked.

Ophelia stood up smoothly.

“Of course,” she replied lightly, her teasing tone returning. “We were just talking about you.”

Ryzen frowned slightly and Selene’s cheeks warmed.

Ryzen then handed the box to Selene.

“Dessert,” he said quietly.

Selene took it gently.

“Thank you.”

For a moment, the three of them stood there in the wind.

The sea behind them.

The sky is wide and open above.

Selene felt something settle inside her.

The past still hurts.

The future was still uncertain.

But for now, she was not alone.

And somehow that was enough.