32

The world had moved on.

The gods were dead, their reign shattered like glass beneath Selene’s hands. The war was over, the battlefield long abandoned, the ruins of their once-mighty temples left to crumble.

But Selene?

She was still fighting.

Not against an army. Not against fate.

But against loss.

The others had begun rebuilding. The Forgotten Pack had returned, stronger than before. The shattered wolves who had survived the war were finding their way forward, reclaiming their lands, their future.

But Selene couldn’t move forward.

Not without him.

She stood alone at the edge of the sacred lake, the water still and endless beneath the silver light of the moon. Her reflection stared back at her, but it wasn’t her anymore.

Not the Selene who had once been chosen by the gods.

Not the Selene who had fought with Alec at her side.

That Selene had died with him.

And she refused to accept it.

She would not accept it.

Footsteps approached behind her, slow and measured.

Lucian.

She knew his presence before he spoke, before the warmth of him settled beside her. He had been watching her closely, ever since that day. Ever since she had ripped the heavens apart with her grief, ever since she had become something else.

Lucian didn’t speak right away.

Then, quietly— “He’s gone, Selene.”

Selene’s throat tightened. “No.”

Lucian exhaled sharply, running a hand through his dark hair. “You think I don’t want to believe that too?” His voice was low, edged with something raw. “You think I don’t wake up every day expecting to see him, to hear some stupid joke, to—”

His breath hitched, just slightly.

Then, steadier— “But that’s not how this works.”

Selene’s silver eyes burned.

He was wrong.

That wasn’t how Alec worked.

She turned to him, her voice sharp as a blade. “You don’t know that.”

Lucian’s emerald gaze held hers. “Neither do you.”

Selene’s chest ached, but she refused to let it break her.

“He gave up everything for me,” she whispered. “And I won’t let that be the end of his story.”

Lucian studied her, something unreadable flickering behind his gaze.

Then, softer— “And what happens if you can’t bring him back?”

Selene’s breath hitched.

Because that was the question she hadn’t allowed herself to ask.

But she couldn’t—wouldn’t—consider a world without him.

So she lifted her chin, steel settling into her voice.

“Then I’ll tear through every realm until I find him.”

Lucian exhaled, shaking his head. “Of course you will.”

Selene turned back to the lake, the wind curling around her like a whisper.

Alec was out there.

Somewhere.

And no force in existence—not the gods, not fate, not even death itself—would stop her from bringing him home.