Chapter 159 I Choose You

Chapter 159 I Choose You
Selene’s POV

“No, we won’t.”

Lucian’s answer came without the slightest hesitation, and as his arms tightened protectively around me beneath the parachute, the terrifying thought of dying suddenly felt a little farther away. We were still suspended thousands of feet above an endless world of clouds, with no idea where we would land or whether anyone would find us, but the certainty in his voice made me feel as though I were the most precious thing in his world, something he would protect no matter what happened.

“Really?” I whispered.

I moved closer and rested against his chest, wrapping my arms securely around his neck. The panic that had been tearing through me since the plane lost control did not disappear at once, but with Lucian holding me, it slowly became easier to breathe. His body was warm against mine, and his presence gave me something solid to focus on while everything around us felt uncertain.

Lucian lowered his gaze.

His dark eyes held mine with a seriousness that made my heart tighten.

“Trust me.”

Two simple words.

Yet after everything we had survived together, they carried more weight than any long promise could have.

I nodded firmly.

“Alright.”

We continued descending beneath the parachute, drifting through the enormous sky with nothing but clouds surrounding us. I pressed myself against Lucian’s chest and listened to the strong, steady rhythm of his heartbeat.

That sound brought memories rushing into my mind.

Lucian protecting me.

Lucian standing between me and danger.

Lucian risking himself again and again when he could have chosen to protect only himself.

From the warehouse explosion to Hannah’s dagger, he had acted before thinking about his own safety. Every time danger appeared, his first instinct seemed to be reaching for me.

His words returned to me as clearly as though he were saying them again.

“Selene, don’t be afraid. I will protect you.”

Then I remembered another promise.

“Selene, I’m pursuing you. Right now, the woman I want to spend my life with is you.”

I had questioned those words for so long.

I had doubted him because of Teressa.

I had been afraid that no matter how much Lucian pursued me, there would always be another woman hidden somewhere inside his heart. When he accidentally called Teressa’s name while kissing me, that fear had seemed confirmed.

I had convinced myself I was merely a replacement.

Yet when I looked back at everything Lucian had done, doubt no longer felt strong enough to erase what was right in front of me.

I slowly lifted my head.

Lucian was watching our surroundings, still keeping me firmly secured against him.

My gaze settled on his face.

He was undeniably handsome, with flawless skin, sharp features and deep black eyes that usually made him appear distant and difficult to approach. Even now, while we were suspended in the sky after escaping a crashing plane, he carried the same natural confidence and authority that made him seem like a king born to rule.

But that was not what made my heart pound.

It was the way he held me.

The way he had told me not to be afraid.

The way I trusted him enough to believe it.

Something powerful moved through my chest.

This feeling was no longer unfamiliar enough for me to deny.

My heart began beating faster.

For weeks, I had demanded time.

Two months.

I had insisted Lucian wait for my answer because I wanted to be certain. I had been afraid of making the wrong decision and giving my heart to a man who might still belong to someone else.

But now, while hanging between life and death, everything suddenly seemed simple.

I closed my eyes briefly.

When I opened them again, the hesitation was gone.

“Lucian.”

He immediately looked at me.

“I’m ready to give you my answer.”

His expression changed.

The arm around me tightened almost instinctively, and for the first time, I saw something close to nervousness beneath his usual composure.

“What’s your answer?”

I leaned closer until my lips were near his ear.

“My answer is…” I paused for only a heartbeat. “I accept.”

My voice was barely more than a whisper, but there was nothing uncertain about the decision behind it.

“For the rest of my life, I want to be with you.”

Lucian became completely still.

I pulled back enough to meet his eyes.

“No matter life or death.”

Emotion darkened his gaze.

A faint smile slowly touched his lips.

“Selene…” His voice was low and filled with something I had rarely heard from him. “I’ve been waiting for this answer for so long.”

Then he kissed me.

This time, I did not push him away.

“Sele…” he whispered softly against my lips before kissing me again.

My arms tightened around him.

There was no anger between us now, no argument and no question I was desperately trying to avoid. We simply held each other beneath the parachute while the world around us seemed to disappear.

My heart raced.

I had thought fear was the strongest emotion I could experience today.

I was wrong.

Not the falling plane.

Not jumping into the open sky.

Not even the terrifying uncertainty of what waited below us had made my heart beat the way Lucian did.

“Alpha, you’re in love. I can feel it,” Frieda said inside my mind, excitement filling her voice.

For once, I did not argue with her.

“Yes,” I admitted silently. “Whether or not he’s my destined mate, I don’t care anymore.”

That truth felt strangely freeing.

The Moon Goddess’ Red Thread had bothered me before. I had wondered why Lucian and I had not been bound by it if fate truly intended us for each other.

Now I no longer wanted some invisible thread to decide what my heart was allowed to feel.

I had chosen Lucian myself.

Even if a part of his heart still belonged to Teressa, I would not allow fear to make me run anymore.

If Teressa ever returned, I would not back down.

I would fight for Lucian’s heart until it belonged completely to me.

“Alpha, I’m so happy for you,” Frieda said warmly.

Her happiness only strengthened the warmth spreading through me.

High above the endless ocean, Lucian and I continued kissing while everything else faded into the background. For those precious moments, I forgot my fear of heights. I forgot that our plane had nearly carried us to our deaths. I even forgot the uncertainty of whether we would survive after landing.

I let go of the fear and doubt that had weighed on me for so long.

For that brief moment, there was only us.

The feeling was breathtaking.

Time seemed to disappear while we remained wrapped around each other, until we finally pulled apart to breathe.

“Sele, you’ve made me the happiest man alive.”

Lucian rested his forehead gently against mine.

A soft smile curved his lips, and seeing such open happiness on his usually composed face sent warmth rushing to my ears.

I leaned against him.

My body felt strangely weak, but this time it had nothing to do with fear.

Why had I waited so long?

I should have told him sooner.

I had allowed the shadow of Teressa to frighten me away from something I clearly wanted. Instead of trusting what Lucian had shown me, I had worried about a woman who was not even here.

Why had I not been brave enough to face my feelings?

Why had it taken a life-or-death situation for me to finally admit that I wanted to take a chance with Lucian?

The thought of death brought reality rushing back.

We were still falling toward an unknown place.

Our confession had changed nothing about the danger waiting beneath us.

I wrapped my arms more firmly around Lucian before forcing myself to look down.

The sight immediately tightened my stomach.

An endless horizon stretched below.

At first, I could not distinguish land from sea because of the distance and light, but the longer I stared, the more certain I became.

The way the sunlight reflected from the surface told me what was waiting beneath us.

Water.

A lot of it.

“Lucian, what do we do now?”

The happiness in my chest was joined by fresh worry.

Lucian held me closer.

His expression remained calm, and when he looked at me, his gaze was gentle.

“Don’t be afraid. We’ll find a way.”

I nodded.

For once in my life, I wanted to allow myself to rely on someone else.

I was an Alpha. I had grown accustomed to being strong enough to protect myself and others, but perhaps loving someone also meant accepting that I did not always have to carry everything alone.

Lucian was here.

And as long as I was with him, I did not want to be afraid.

Our parachute continued its steady descent.

The clouds gradually thinned, and what waited below became clearer.

My earlier suspicion was correct.

It was the ocean.

There was no visible land, only an enormous stretch of water spreading toward the horizon in every direction.

My eyelid twitched.

Werewolves were stronger than humans, but even our strength meant little against the vast power of nature.

If we landed in the middle of the ocean, surviving the fall would only be the beginning of our problem.

“Lucian, it’s the ocean.”

I frowned as I looked down again.

“If we land in the water, we won’t have food or fresh water. We can survive a day or two at most. What do we do?”

Lucian’s brows pulled together slightly.

“I packed some food and water in my bag. And if we’re lucky, a passing ship might find us.”

I looked at him.

So even during the chaos before jumping, he had thought ahead.

While I had been terrified by the thought of leaving the aircraft, Lucian had done everything he could to prepare us for whatever came afterward.

At least we would have some supplies.

Still, luck was not something I wanted to depend on in the middle of an endless ocean.

Lucian reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone.

I watched him check the screen, hoping there might be enough signal to contact someone and tell them where we were.

“Everything okay?” I asked.

His expression hardened.

Then he shook his head.

“No signal.”