Chapter 61: 20

Selene had always felt the moon’s presence, even when she didn’t acknowledge it.

It had been there when she shifted for the first time, the silver glow wrapping around her like an embrace. It had been there when she led the Forgotten Pack into battle, its quiet strength coursing through her veins.

It had been there when she defied the gods.

But now—

Now, it was gone.

She had expected fury. A storm of divine rage. A curse worse than death.

Instead, she was met with silence.

A silence that stretched into her very bones.

Selene sat in the center of the war room, her hands braced against the cold stone table. The maps and battle plans spread before her felt useless, her mind unable to focus on anything but the void that had settled within her.

Her power was fading.

Not suddenly. Not in one swift, brutal cut like the severing of a bond.

But slowly.

Like a candle flickering lower and lower until nothing remained but darkness.

And she had no idea how to stop it.

The door creaked open, but she didn’t look up.

She knew it was Lucian.

He had been watching her since she had spoken the Forsaken Oath, studying her in that quiet way of his, waiting for her to crack.

He stepped inside, his presence steady, his movements precise.

He didn’t speak right away.

Then—

“You’re losing it.”

Selene closed her eyes. “I know.”

Lucian pulled out the chair across from her and sat, folding his hands on the table. His emerald gaze was unreadable, but she could feel the weight behind it.

“How bad?” he asked.

Selene exhaled. “I don’t know yet.”

Lucian’s fingers tapped against the stone. “And when you do?”

She finally looked up. “Then I deal with it.”

Lucian’s jaw tightened. “That’s not an answer.”

Selene arched a brow. “It’s the only one I have.”

Lucian studied her for a long moment. Then— “Try to shift.”

Selene hesitated.

Lucian’s gaze sharpened. “Selene.”

She swallowed hard, pushing back her chair and rising to her feet.

The shift had always been effortless. As easy as breathing.

She had never needed to force it.

She closed her eyes, reaching for the wolf inside her.

Reaching for nothing.

A cold pit settled in her stomach.

Lucian exhaled, his voice barely above a whisper. “Shit.”

Selene clenched her jaw, trying again.

Come on.

The wolf inside her stirred, sluggish, unresponsive.

Come on.

The magic that had once wrapped around her like a second skin now felt distant, like trying to hold onto mist.

Her nails elongated, but it was slow.

Painfully slow.

Lucian stood. “Stop.”

Selene’s silver eyes snapped open.

Lucian’s expression was carefully blank, but she could see the tension in his shoulders, the way his hands curled into fists at his sides.

She straightened, inhaling sharply. “It’s fine.”

Lucian’s gaze darkened. “It’s not.”

Selene forced a smirk. “You worried about me, Lucian?”

Lucian didn’t blink. “Yes.”

Selene’s breath caught.

Lucian never admitted things so easily. Never showed things so easily.

She swallowed. “I’ll figure it out.”

Lucian studied her for a long moment, his emerald gaze searching hers.

Then, quietly, he said, “You shouldn’t have to.”

Selene forced herself to look away.

Because if she didn’t—if she let herself feel what was behind those words—

She wasn’t sure she’d recover.

The war was still raging.

The gods were still watching.

And her power was slipping away like sand through her fingers.

She couldn’t afford to break.

Not now.

Not ever.

So she turned back to the maps, forcing her voice to be steady.

“We need to prepare for what comes next.”

Lucian exhaled, but he didn’t argue.

Because he knew her well enough to understand—

This conversation wasn’t over.

It was just delayed.

For now.