Chapter 12 Selena’s Shadow

The Silver Moon Hall was silent, heavy with the scent of rain and ash. Storm clouds pressed low against the peaks, echoing the weight inside Selena’s chest.

She stood by the high window, fingers tracing the frost that crept along the glass. Her reflection stared back—eyes of molten silver, framed by beauty and emptiness both.

Below, the pack trained, sparring in the cold dawn light. Among them, Aiden moved with quiet endurance, bruised but unbroken. Even from this distance, she could feel his gaze searching for her.

She turned away.

It was easier to be cruel than to feel.

“Luna,” Beta Kael said, stepping into the hall. “The boy is healing faster than expected. The mark… it flared again during rest.”

Selena’s voice was cold. “Then make the training harder.”

Kael hesitated. “Luna, if we push more, we risk—”

“Did I stutter?” she snapped.

Kael bowed. “As you command.”

When he left, she pressed her hand to her chest, to the ache that never faded. Every night, she still saw him—the man she once loved. The one she lost.

Damian.

Her first Alpha. Her first weakness.

He had promised her eternity, sworn by the moon itself. And then he’d walked away—taking with him the part of her that still believed in fate.

Now all she had left were ghosts.

And a boy with eyes too soft, too loyal, too much like the love she swore to bury.

That evening, she descended to the training yard.

The air was thick with tension. Aiden was kneeling, mud-streaked and breathless, while Kael’s whip coiled in the dirt beside him.

“Enough,” she said quietly.

The warriors froze.

Aiden looked up, eyes bright with exhaustion—and relief. “Luna.”

Selena’s gaze swept over him, calculating, unreadable. She dismissed the others with a flick of her hand. “Leave us.”

When they were alone, silence filled the space between them.

“You should rest,” she said finally.

He hesitated. “You told them to push harder.”

Her lips tightened. “You need to learn obedience.”

“I have.” He looked at her, voice raw. “You said to endure—I did. You said to stay—I did. What else do you want from me?”

She turned sharply away, the question cutting too close. “Don’t confuse endurance with devotion. You do what I command, because you are mine.”

He rose unsteadily, blood dripping down his arm. “And if I am yours… what are you to me?”

Her breath hitched. “Nothing.”

But her voice trembled, just enough for him to notice.

He took a step closer. “Then why do you look at me like you’re afraid I’ll leave?”

Her composure cracked. “Because everyone leaves, Aiden. Even those who swear they never will.”

The pain in her voice was sharper than her cruelty ever was.

Aiden lowered his head. “I won’t.”

“Don’t promise things you can’t keep,” she whispered.

He reached out, hesitant, his hand brushing hers—just a touch. “You don’t have to be alone in this.”

For a moment, her guard faltered. The Luna, feared and flawless, looked almost human again.

Then she pulled away. “You think kindness will heal me? You’re wrong. It only makes me weak.”

“Then let me be your weakness,” he said softly.

Her breath caught. No one had ever dared speak to her like that—not even Damian.

“You don’t know what you’re asking,” she said, stepping back.

He held her gaze. “Maybe I do.”

Something broke inside her then—a tremor of emotion she couldn’t afford. Anger, grief, longing, all tangled together.

She turned away before he could see the tears gathering at the corners of her eyes.

“Go,” she ordered, her voice shaking.

He hesitated. “Luna—”

“Go!”

The word cracked like a whip.

He bowed his head and left, the echo of his footsteps fading down the hall.

Selena pressed her palm against her lips, swallowing a sob. The silver moon hung heavy outside the window, bright against the darkness.

“You fool,” she whispered to herself. “You’re falling again.”

Far from the hall, deep within the shadows of the forest, Damian watched the Silver Luna through the trees.

He had returned.

Her grief, her guilt, her fragile cracks—all exactly as he remembered.

But the boy… the boy was new.

Damian’s lips curved into a slow, cruel smile.

“So, Selena,” he murmured. “You replaced me with a loyal pet?”

His crimson eyes gleamed as the wind stirred the leaves. “Let’s see how long your puppy stays pure once the hunt begins.”

Cliffhanger: Damian returns from the shadows, intent on reclaiming what was once his… even if it means destroying them both.