38

The night was heavy with silence.

Selene stood at the edge of the forest, the silver glow of the moon casting long shadows against the ruins of what had once been a battlefield. The scent of pine and earth filled the air, but beneath it, something unspoken lingered—an ache, a longing, a weight none of them knew how to put into words.

She had fought wars. She had killed gods. She had walked the line between divinity and mortality, and in the end, she had chosen to stay.

But nothing—not even victory—could prepare her for what came next.

Because the war had changed them.

And so had love.

Alec stood beside her, his golden eyes steady but different. There was something behind them now, something older, something not quite human anymore. He had come back from death, but the man who had returned was not the same one who had held her in his arms before the world had burned.

Lucian leaned against a fallen tree a few feet away, his emerald gaze flickering with unreadable thoughts. He had spent centuries hiding from his past, from the truths buried beneath the gods’ lies. But now, with the old world shattered and the divine order undone, there was nothing left to run from.

And Kael—

Kael was gone.

Selene’s chest tightened. He should have been here.

He should have been teasing Alec, smirking at Lucian, watching her with that reckless, unwavering confidence that had always made her feel like the world wasn’t so impossible after all.

But Kael had given himself up.

He had made the choice for them all.

And Selene—Selene wasn’t sure how to forgive him for that.

Alec exhaled softly. “You’re thinking about him.”

Selene closed her eyes. “I always am.”

Lucian pushed off the tree, stepping closer, his voice quieter now. “You blame yourself.”

She didn’t deny it.

Because how could she?

She had led them into war. She had fought to reshape the world, and in the end, it had cost them more than any of them had ever expected.

But wasn’t that always the way love worked?

It demanded sacrifice. It asked for pieces of you you never thought you could give. And sometimes, it left you with nothing but memories and ghosts.

Alec turned to face her fully, his golden eyes flickering in the moonlight. “You’re not the only one who lost him.”

Selene inhaled sharply. “I know.”

Lucian’s jaw tightened. “Then stop acting like it’s only your burden to carry.”

Selene turned toward them, her silver eyes burning. “Then tell me how I’m supposed to move forward.”

Alec held her gaze, steady and unyielding. “By choosing us.”

The words hit her like a blow.

Because she had spent so long fighting for the world, fighting for balance, fighting for things that had always felt too big to hold in her hands.

But love—love was different.

Love wasn’t a war to win.

It was a choice.

And she had already made it.

Selene stepped forward, closing the space between them, her breath uneven. “I don’t know if I remember how to be yours.”

Alec’s fingers brushed against her jaw, tilting her chin up slightly. “Then let’s figure it out together.”

Lucian was there, too, his warmth behind her, solid and grounding. “We’re not the same wolves we were before.”

Selene swallowed. “I know.”

Alec exhaled. “But we can be something new.”

And wasn’t that the point of love?

Not to stay the same.

Not to be untouched by war and loss and time.

But to survive together.

Selene closed her eyes, letting herself breathe, letting herself feel. The warmth of them, the steady hum of their presence. The way the bond between them had changed—not broken, not lost, just… different.

She opened her eyes.

And chose them again.

Because love was never about what had been.

It was about what came next.