Chapter 22 22

Chapter 22 22
Selene 

My whole body ached as I weakly laid on the ground. My mind was hazy and I was all covered in blood. I had lost count of how long I had been on the ground, but everyone had gone. Gracia and the guards she ordered to beat me up. 

Fuck, I was going to kill her once I was done with her brother. I seriously did nothing to Gracia. But she had ordered the guards to whip me. For what reason exactly? I could not remember ever doing anything bad to her. About the tea, Cassius apologized on my behalf and she said that it was nothing. Why would she call me back after three days? 

Cassius’s voice drifted toward me before I even lifted my head. I lay there on the cold ground, every breath dragging heat and agony along my torn back. My fingers shook as I grabbed the ripped edges of my dress and pulled them across my chest. The fabric stuck to my skin—blood, sweat, and humiliation making it cling like a second skin.

“She is just a maid. Do not overreact to her.”

Gracia.

Of course, it was her.

I kept my eyes half-closed, pretending they hadn’t seen me stir. If I moved too suddenly, the lashes across my back would split open again. My whole body pulsed with a hot, throbbing ache.

“She ruined my morning,” Gracia continued. “And she thinks she can just walk away with an apology? No. Actions have consequences.”

I bit down on my tongue so hard I tasted blood. I wanted to speak, to defend myself, but my throat felt thick and swollen. Besides, it wouldn’t matter. Nothing I said ever mattered.

Cassius’s steps were quicker now, coming toward me. “Gracia, stop. I told you it was my fault she spilled the tea.”

“Cassius, don’t defend her.” Gracia hissed the words like venom.

I finally opened my eyes fully. Cassius stood only a few feet away, his brows drawn together, his jaw ticking. His gaze softened when he saw me trying to sit up. Gracia, on the other hand, looked at me as if I were filth that dared breathe in her presence.

The wind tugged at my hair, and the sting on my scalp reminded me that the guards had dragged me earlier, like an animal. My back throbbed with each pulse of my heart. I stayed on my knees, trying not to cry out.

I wouldn’t give Gracia that satisfaction.

Cassius crouched down immediately. “Selene—”

“Don’t touch her!” Gracia snapped, stepping between us. “She’s bleeding. Do not get close to her.”

Cassius didn’t move back. If anything, his expression hardened. “She needs help.”

“No, she needs discipline,” Gracia spat.

“I think ten lashes were enough,” Cassius said through clenched teeth. “She can barely breathe.”

Gracia scoffed and crossed her arms. “If she can breathe enough to lie, she can breathe enough to stand.”

I lowered my gaze to the dirt, shame burning hotter than the pain. I hadn’t lied. Cassius bumped the tray, an accident he admitted immediately. But Gracia saw a perfect opportunity to humiliate me, and no one ever dared contradict her. Even Dain, the Alpha, let his sister have her way.

But Cassius… he was the only one who ever looked at me with something close to kindness.

Gracia’s voice sharpened. “Get up, maid.”

I tried. I really did.

My arms trembled violently, and when I pushed up, my back screamed. My vision blurred at the edges, darkening as a wave of dizziness washed over me. I collapsed back down, unable to choke down the small gasp that escaped.

Gracia rolled her eyes dramatically. “Pathetic.”

Cassius shot her a glare. “She can’t even stand. Stop this.”

“I said do NOT defend her!” Gracia practically shrieked now, her face flushing red—not with concern for me, but because Cassius wasn’t bending to her will. “She has no right to get your attention. She is a slave. Nothing more. And she ruined my dress!”

“She was punished for it,” Cassius snapped. “More than enough.”

“She wasn’t punished nearly enough,” Gracia fired back. “Maybe next time she’ll learn to watch where she’s going.”

“It was my fault,” Cassius repeated, his voice rising for the first time.

Gracia froze. The look she gave him was pure disbelief—like she couldn’t understand why her brother’s beta would dare challenge her.

Silence stretched. I stared at the dirt, afraid to move, afraid to breathe too loudly.

Then Gracia’s voice dropped, cold and vicious.

“So that’s it? You’re defending her because she’s… what? Pretty in a pathetic sort of way? Is that it, Cassius? You feel sorry for the little broken thing?”

I winced.

He didn’t answer. His silence told her everything she needed to hear.

Gracia let out a sound between a scoff and a wounded gasp. “Unbelievable. Absolutely unbelievable.”

She turned sharply, her cloak whipping behind her. “Fine. Do whatever you want with your little stray. But don’t come running to me later, Cassius. I won’t forget this.”

She stormed away, her steps loud and dramatic. The moment she disappeared around the corner, the tension in the air snapped.

Cassius exhaled heavily. He turned toward me again, his eyes softer now. “Selene… gods.”

He moved carefully, as if afraid his touch alone might hurt me. “I’m going to help you stand, all right? We need to get you to the healer.”

I swallowed hard, nodding faintly. “I can walk.”

“No, you can’t,” he murmured. “Don’t lie to me.”

He slid an arm around me gently, so gently and he helped me sit up. Pain shot through my back and I clenched my jaw, breathing through it. Cassius’s hand hovered near the worst of the torn skin, not touching, but protecting.

“Why didn’t you call for me?” he asked quietly.

“Because calling wouldn’t have stopped them,” I whispered.

His jaw tightened again. “It should have.”

He lifted me slowly to my feet. My legs buckled and he caught me instantly, one arm around my waist, the other steadying my shoulder.

I hated how good it felt to lean on someone. A Lycan. I hated how weak I was. I hated how my knees shook uncontrollably.

Cassius seemed to notice. “Just lean on me. I’ve got you.”

I pressed my lips together and nodded once, barely.

We started walking. Each step sent another jolt up my spine, but his warmth grounded me. We moved slowly across the courtyard, the stones beneath us warm under the sun. The wind carried the scent of pine and smoke, and somewhere in the distance, I heard the howl of wolves.

Cassius kept his voice low. “I’m reporting the guards.”

My heart stopped. “No—please don’t—”

“They whipped you until you bled,” he said, anger threading through his words. “There must be consequences.”

“For me,” I whispered. “Not for them.”

He stopped walking. Turned to face me fully.

“Selene,” he breathed, “this shouldn’t have happened to you.”

My eyes stung. Not from pain this time. He studied my face like he was trying to understand how someone could survive this kind of cruelty and still be standing.

Then his voice softened further. “I swear… I won’t let it happen again.”

I didn’t know if it was a promise he could keep. But as he lifted me into his arms and carried me the rest of the way to the healer’s house, I let myself believe him, if only for a moment.