Silence. Complete, utter silence.
Not the peaceful kind, but the suffocating, oppressive kind. The kind that wraps around you like
a noose, tightening with every second that passes.
Cassian is staring at me, his golden eyes flickering between fury and devastation. I don't know
which is worse.
Kieran?
He's still close—too close. I can feel the heat of his body, the pull of the bond I've spent too long
pretending doesn't exist. But I made my choice.
Didn't I?
The words still hang in the air like a death sentence.
"I am Luna. His Luna."
A claim. A declaration. A lie.
My duty. Obligation. Debt.
Because the moment I said it, something inside me cracked.
Cassian takes a step back. Just one. But it's enough. Enough for the weight of my choice to
settle like a boulder in my chest.
"You don't mean that," Kieran says, his voice softer than I expect. His gray eyes search mine,
and I know he sees it—the war inside me, the truth I'm too much of a coward to admit.
But I lift my chin. "Yes, I do."
A beat. A flicker of something dangerous in Kieran's gaze. Then, his expression smooths into
something unreadable, something detached. It should feel like a victory
It doesn't.
Cassian exhales sharply, his hands curling into fists. He turns away from me, jaw tight,
shoulders rigid. The pack is watching, waiting for his next move.
Waiting for their Alpha.
"You heard her," he says finally, his voice void of emotion. "This conversation is over."
It should be over.
Then why does it feel like the beginning of something worse?
Kieran doesn't move. Doesn't blink.
"Fine," he says, voice lazy, indifferent. "You belong to him, right?"
He steps closer, and even though I don't move, my body tenses.
"Then prove it."
My brows knit together. "What?"
He smirks, slow and deliberate. "Kiss him."
My breath catches.
The room goes still.
Cassian turns back, his gaze snapping to Kieran, fire flashing in his eyes. "You're joking."
Kieran doesn't blink. "Not even a little."
"This is ridiculous—"
"Is it?" he tilts his head. "You just declared you're his Luna. So prove it. Kiss him, right here,
right now."
I could end this right now.
I don't.
And that's all the confirmation Kieran needs.
Cassian sees it too. His jaw clenches, his chest rising and falling with controlled breaths. He's
losing me.
He already lost me.
"I don't have to prove anything to you," I whisper.
Kieran steps forward, closing the space between us. His voice is low, steady. "You already did."
For a second—for the briefest moment—my mask cracks.
And Kieran sees everything.
Cassian exhales sharply, turns on his heel, and strides out of the throne room, wolves parting in
his wake.
No one speaks.
Because we all know—
This isn't over.
Not even close.
I kiss him.
Because I have to. Because if I don't, everything I just said—everything I just chose—means
nothing.
Cassian is still close, his golden eyes shadowed with something dark, something unreadable.
He's waiting. Watching. Maybe hoping.
I wish I didn't see the flicker of hesitation in them. I wish I didn't feel the weight of Kieran's
presence behind me, like a second heartbeat pressing against my back.
But I do.
So, I take a breath. Grip Cassian's collar. Pull him down to me.
And I kiss him.
It's soft at first—hesitant, unsure. Cassian doesn't move right away, like he's giving me time to
pull back, to rethink. Maybe he already knows this is wrong. Maybe he's waiting for me to realize
it.
But I can't stop.
I press harder, deepening it, trying to convince myself that this is real, that this is right. That
Cassian is my choice, my Alpha, my future.
For a moment, I think I've done it.
Until I feel it.
The pull.
Not to him.
To Kieran.
I don't have to turn around to know he's still there, still watching. I can feel his gaze burning into
me, feel the sharp inhale he takes as my lips press against Cassian's.
I should be drowning in this moment. In Cassian's touch, in his warmth, in the safety of what I
know.
Instead, I feel like I'm suffocating.
Because the bond doesn't break.
It flares.
And Kieran's low, bitter chuckle shatters whatever illusion I was trying to build.
"That's cute, kitten," he murmurs, voice laced with something dark, something dangerous.
My stomach twists.
Cassian hears it too. His hands tighten on my waist, his body stiffening, but he doesn't pull
away. If anything, he kisses me harder, like he's trying to claim me all over again.
I let him.
I let him own this moment.
Because it's all he has left.
Because when I finally do pull back, breathless, shaken, wrecked—
It's Kieran's gaze I search for.
And that's the moment Cassian knows.
Knows that even though I kissed him, I was thinking of someone else.
And that's the moment everything really falls apart.
SELENE
I should let this go.
Let Kieran have his victory, let him bask in the wreckage of my choices, let him think he's won.
But I can't.
Because I see the way his silver eyes gleam, the way his smirk curves just enough to feel like a
blade against my skin. Because I know he's waiting—waiting for me to break, to admit what we
both already know.
And fuck, I hate him for it.
"That was sweet, kitten," he murmurs, tilting his head, voice deceptively soft. There's something
sharp beneath it, something that sinks its claws into my chest.
I stiffen.
Cassian's golden eyes flick toward Kieran, dark and simmering with barely restrained fury. He's
waiting for my reaction, waiting for me to fight back.
I should.
But Kieran isn't finished.
"But I gotta say…" His gaze drags over me, slow and deliberate, like he's savoring every second
of this. His smirk deepens. "You were a lot more convincing last night."
The air is sucked from my lungs.
No.
Cassian stills beside me. His fingers twitch on my waist, his grip faltering for the briefest moment
before it tightens. I don't have to look at him to know what's running through his head. The
suspicion. The calculation.
He already knows.
His voice is quiet, measured, lethal. "What does he mean, last night?"
I swallow hard.
My hands clench into fists, nails biting into my palms. If I press hard enough, maybe I can
ground myself, maybe I can hold onto the decision I made.
But it's already unraveling.
Kieran knows it.
The triumph in his eyes is unbearable. He revels in it, in the chaos he just ignited, in the way
Cassian's entire body hums with restrained fury.
I should fight back. I should say something.
But I don't.
Because I can't.
And that's enough of an answer.
The silence stretches, thick and suffocating. I can feel Cassian processing it, feel the moment
the truth settles deep in his bones.
Then, he lets go.
His hands fall away from me. The absence of his touch is cold, a bitter contrast to the warmth
I've spent years chasing.
I don't move.
Cassian's golden eyes dull, his expression unreadable. His jaw tightens, his throat bobs as he
swallows whatever words might have been there. Then, without another glance, he turns and
walks away.
He doesn't look back.
He's wrong.
And I have no idea what to do about it.