Chapter 11

The Dreaming Pool (Alice’s POV)

Kael's territory felt different at night. Softer, quieter. Like the land itself was holding its breath. He sat beside me on a flat rock just outside his den, shoulders tense, eyes scanning the darkness.

"You can't go far," he said, voice low. "Not past the northern ridge. My warriors are stretched thin and... if they find you, it won't end well."

I nodded, though something in me bristled at the warning. I hated being told where I could and couldn't go—even if it came from someone trying to protect me.

For a moment I wanted to ask what warriors he spoke of but then I remembered he was the alpha of my pack.

I really need to get used to that idea."You're not a prisoner," he added, reading my face. "But others won't see it that way. Not with Darius still out there."That name dropped between us like a stone in still water. Kael didn’t flinch, but I felt something shift. Jealousy? Fear? I couldn’t tell.

"Rest," he said. "I'll take the first watch."

But he didn’t. Minutes later, his head dropped against the bark of a tree, his breathing slowing. I watched him sleep, the moonlight brushing his sharp cheekbones, the faint frown on his face softening. He looked... almost human.

I waited until his breaths were even, deep. Then I stood, brushing dust off my pants.

I wasn't planning to run. I just needed air. Space. I needed to think without Kael's gaze on me, without Darius’ voice haunting the back of my mind. I wandered northeast, past thick oaks and wild roots. My feet moved without thought, drawn to something I couldn't name.

That’s when I saw it.

A pool. Hidden between two boulders, glowing like the moon had spilled itself into water. Silver, soft, rippling with a quiet pulse that hummed in my chest.

I stepped closer.

The air was colder here. Thinner. Like I’d crossed into another realm. A strange pull gripped my spine, like the water was calling me by name.

I knelt. Reached out.The moment my fingers touched the surface, everything around me fell away.

Heat.

Waves of it crashed over me. The ground cracked beneath my bare feet. I stood in a forest turned to ash, trees burned to black soot. Fire high up almost reaching the sky.And they were bowing.

Wolves.

Hundreds of them. Some in human form, eyes glowing in the dark. They surrounded me, heads lowered, tails still. I stood at the center of a stone circle, wearing a white robe stained with blood at the hem. My hands glowed silver.They chanted one word:"Selene."Then everything shattered.

Another vision.

Me, but not me.

My hair was longer, ruffling in the air. My skin, paler. Eyes black as coal. A silver crown rested on my brow.She smiled.

And then someone slit her throat.

I gasped, stumbling back from the water.The pool rippled once, then stilled.

"Alice!"

Kael's voice cut through the trees. He crashed into the clearing, eyes wild."What the hell are you doing?"

I was still shaking, heart slamming. My hands trembled as I stood.

"I... I saw something," I whispered. "Visions. Wolves bowing. Fire. Me. But not me."Kael grabbed my arms. "Did you touch the water?"I nodded.

He cursed under his breath. His grip tightened. "That wasn't just water. It's sacred. An ancestral pool."I stared at him. "Why didn’t you tell me?"He looked away. The moonlight revealed a flicker of something on his face—irritation.

"What did you see exactly?"

I pulled back. "Tell me the truth, Kael. What the hell is happening to me? What hold does she have over you and I ? The other version of me?"He was silent. The trees around us were still. Even the crickets had stopped as if anticipating Kale's words.

"Tell me!"

His jaw clenched. "It's not that simple."

"Stop lying to me."

I took a step closer, fists tight. "You said I wasn’t a prisoner. But you keep secrets like I am. You warn me not to go places, don’t explain why. I saw someone slit my throat, Kael. That wasn’t just a dream. That was me."His eyes softened. A beat passed.

Then another.

He stepped forward and pressed his forehead to mine.His voice was barely a breath. "You were supposed to remember all this on your own."My stomach dropped.

"Remember what?"

He looked at me then, like he was seeing something ancient behind my eyes."The fact you are Selene, my goddess mate. You said have no idea who Selene is," he said slowly.I nodded.

He exhaled, the sound tight. "Selene isn’t just a name. It’s who you were. Before.""Before what?""Before you died."My breath caught."That's not possible."

He didn’t answer. Just stepped back."The pool doesn’t show the future. It shows echoes of your past. What you've been. What you've done."I shook my head. "No. I wasn’t some goddess or whatever that thing was."

"You were."He said it with such certainty, my skin prickled."So what now? I just accept that I was some wolf-worshipped nightmare queen and move on?"Kael looked like he was wrestling with something. He opened his mouth, closed it. Then finally said:

You saw fire, betrayal, and blood. You saw who you used to be. But you haven't seen what's coming yet."I stepped back. "You're not answering me.""Because some truths you have to feel, not hear."I narrowed my eyes. "You're hiding something. Again."

"Alice."

No," I snapped. "You brought me here, told me you were trying to protect me, but all you’ve done is treat me like a weapon you’re afraid someone else will get to me.”

His face twisted. He reached for me, then dropped his hand.

I pressed on. "You owe me the truth. All of it."

Another beat of silence.Then he looked straight into my eyes, like he was opening a door no one else had ever walked through.

His voice was barely a whisper."Rebirth."

That one word slammed into my chest like thunder.

Before I could ask what it meant, he turned away and strolled off back to where the cabin was, obviously done with the conversation.

Leaving me more confused and terrified.