Chapter 18: The weight of secrets
Chapter 18: The weight of secrets
Selene’s POV
The den swallowed sound, its stone walls cold and unyielding, pressing against my ribs like a fist. Torchlight danced weakly, orange and frail, throwing shadows that clawed across the floor, long and sharp. My bare feet scuffed the gritty stone, silent as a ghost, my jeans crusted with mud that flaked off in dry, crumbling patches. The sweater clung to me, frayed at the shoulder where Lucien’s fingers had dug in last night, tearing the fabric when he’d shoved me in here. I’d been pacing this cell for hours, my green eyes glinting in the dim, restless, caged—mind spinning, feral, alive. His words from last night chewed at me, relentless: his parents betrayed by Dax’s father, my mother’s howl ripping through the war to end it. It twisted everything—every memory, every hate, every certainty I’d clung to.
A flash caught my eye, small but sharp, winking from the corner where stone met dirt. I froze, my green eyes narrowing, feet stilling, breath held tight in my chest. Stepping closer, I crouched, my fingers brushing the rough edge of a loose slab, pulse kicking hard under my skin. I pried it up, dust spilling free, and there—a hollow, a secret carved into the rock. Inside sat a folded parchment, yellowed and brittle, its edges curling like it’d been waiting for me. My breath snagged, green eyes widening, then sharpening, fierce and hungry as I unfolded it. The handwriting stabbed at me—jagged, familiar, my mother’s.
Selene, it read, if you’re reading this, I’m gone. The howl took its price. The war we ended wasn’t ours alone—blood ties knot us to the enemy. Beware the golden wolf; his blood runs in you, and his betrayal cuts deeper than bone. The howl wasn’t just strength; it’s a curse, and it’ll claim you unless you break it.
My chest locked tight, green eyes blazing, the words sinking into me like teeth—cold, brutal, alive. Golden wolf—Dax. His blood, my blood, ties, betrayal, a curse. My mother’s howl, her power, her death—it was mine now, clawing at me, damn her, mine. My pulse thundered, the parchment shaking in my hands, green eyes fierce, defiant, wild. What the hell did this mean? Ties to Dax? A curse in my veins? A betrayal I couldn’t see?
The door groaned, a harsh, grating sound that split the silence, torchlight flaring wider as Lucien’s shadow stretched into the cell—tall, broad, unyielding. My breath hitched, green eyes snapping up, hands moving fast, folding the letter, jamming it into my jeans, my heart slamming against my ribs. He stepped inside, boots striking the stone, his shirt hanging open, scars flexing across his chest, pale and jagged in the flickering light. His scent slammed into me—musk, leather, the faint tang of blood—stirring something low and hot, damn it, stirring me. Ice-blue eyes locked on me, glinting, fierce, narrowing as they flicked to my hands, my jeans. “What’s that?” His voice was rough, a growl scraped over stone, thick with suspicion.
I rose, slow and deliberate, green eyes fierce, chin lifting, every muscle coiled tight. “Nothing,” I said, my voice low, steady, locking my gaze with his, daring him to push. His growl rumbled deeper, boots thudding as he closed the distance, his chest brushing mine, heat rolling off him in waves—thick, steamy, alive. “Liar,” he rasped, his hand snapping out, seizing my wrist, fingers rough and warm, scars flexing as he yanked me closer. My pulse spiked, green eyes flashing, his chest pressing into mine, firm and unyielding, heat sinking into me, pulling at me, damn it, pulling me.
“Show me,” he snarled, ice-blue eyes boring into mine, his breath brushing my face, hot and quick, stirring the air between us. My chest heaved, green eyes defiant, wild, his grip burning where it held me, scars alive under my skin. “No,” I bit out, voice sharp, slicing through the tension, green eyes holding his, unbreaking, fierce. His growl deepened, lips hovering near mine, so close I could taste his breath—steamy, wild, pulling me in. “You’re hiding something,” he said, voice low and gravelly, his chest pressing harder, heat coiling tight in my gut, alive, relentless.
My breath caught, green eyes wide for a split second, then narrowing, fierce and alive, his words clawing at me, his heat wrapping around me, damn it, wrapping me. “And you’re not?” I shot back, voice cracking, green eyes burning, his parents’ betrayal, my mother’s howl, the letter’s warning twisting inside me like a blade. His grip tightened, ice-blue eyes flashing, his breath teasing my lips, hot and ragged. “What did you find?” His hand slid lower, brushing my jeans where the letter hid, the edge crinkling faintly, alive, wild, taunting.
I twisted hard, wrenching my wrist free, stepping back, chest heaving, green eyes blazing, defiant. “It’s mine,” I hissed, voice dripping venom, locking my gaze with his, the letter’s words searing my mind—golden wolf, blood ties, curse. He stepped forward, boots heavy, ice-blue eyes narrowing, growl rumbling low in his throat. “Not here,” he snarled, closing in again, towering over me, his heat flooding the space, steamy and wild, pulling at me, damn it, pulling me. “Everything’s mine—your secrets, your lies, you.”
My pulse roared, green eyes fierce, stepping into him, my chest grazing his—soft against hard, electric, alive. “Then take it,” I spat, voice low and cutting, green eyes locked on his, daring him, wild and unyielding. His hand shot to my waist, fingers digging in, rough and warm, yanking me flush against him, heat surging between us, steamy, alive, relentless. “I will,” he growled, lips so close to mine I felt the vibration, his breath hot, quick, stirring me deep, damn it, stirring me. My breath snagged, green eyes wide, fierce, his heat sinking into my bones, pulling me under.
The letter crinkled again, sharp and faint, green eyes flicking down, then back to his, ice-blue glinting with suspicion, unyielding. “What’s in it?” he rasped, hand sliding to my hip, brushing the parchment’s edge, his touch burning through me, wild and alive. My chest tightened, green eyes fierce, defiant, the words spilling out before I could stop them. “My mother’s words,” I whispered, voice breaking, green eyes burning, his parents’ betrayal, her howl, the curse crashing through me, twisting me raw.
His growl softened, ice-blue eyes locking with mine, his hand pausing, scars flexing, our breaths tangling—hot, quick, steamy air crackling between us. “Your mother?” he rasped, lips too close, heat coiling low, alive, relentless. My chest heaved, green eyes fierce, nodding faintly, wild and defiant. “She knew,” I said, voice steadying, green eyes unbreaking, “about the war, the howl, the ties—your family, mine, Dax’s.” His breath hitched, ice-blue eyes widening, then sharpening, fierce and alive, his grip loosening, boots scuffing as he stepped back, scars flexing, raw and real.
“What ties?” he snarled, voice rough, ice-blue piercing me, unyielding. My pulse hammered, green eyes fierce, the letter’s warning blazing in my skull—golden wolf, blood ties, betrayal, curse. “She said Dax’s blood is mine,” I hissed, voice sharp, cutting deep, green eyes locked on his, “and his betrayal runs deep.” His chest seized, ice-blue eyes flaring, growl rumbling low, alive, wild. “Betrayal?” he rasped, stepping closer again, heat rolling off him, thick and steamy, stirring me, damn it, stirring me. “What did she mean?”
My breath shuddered, green eyes fierce, confusion clawing at me, hot and jagged, twisting me raw. “I don’t know,” I whispered, voice breaking, green eyes burning, his heat sinking deeper, pulling me, damn it, pulling me. “But she warned me—about the howl, the curse, and you.” His growl caught, ice-blue eyes flicking, chest tightening, scars alive under the torchlight. “Me?” he rasped, stepping closer, his hand brushing my arm, warm and rough, electric, alive. My pulse spiked, green eyes wide, fierce, his touch searing me, pulling me under. “She said to beware the golden wolf,” I hissed, voice low, cutting, green eyes locked on his, “but your family’s tied in—did they betray mine?”
His breath hitched, ice-blue eyes blazing, growl rumbling deep, alive, wild. “Betray?” he snarled, stepping back, boots thudding, scars flexing raw. “My parents died for peace, gutted by Dax’s father—your mother’s howl ended it, but left us shattered, bleeding, alive.” My chest ached, green eyes fierce, defiant, his pain slamming into mine, his parents’ blood, my mother’s howl, the curse cutting me, twisting me raw. “Then what ties us?” I hissed, voice sharp, green eyes locked on his, the letter’s words burning—golden wolf, blood ties, betrayal, curse, damn it all.
He stopped, ice-blue narrowing, chest heaving, scars alive and jagged. “I don’t know,” he rasped, voice low, stepping closer, his heat flooding me, steamy, wild, pulling me under. “But we’ll find out—together.” My breath caught, green eyes wide, fierce, his words sinking in, sharp and cold, pulling me, damn it, pulling me. Together—him and me, his heat, his scars, his ice-blue eyes, pulling me raw. My pulse roared, green eyes fierce, confusion surging, hot and wild—did his
family betray mine, or was it all Dax’s blood?