The wind moved at a slow piece whispering like it was seeking for attention, tugging at Selene's long brown coat as she stood at the edge of the sacred river looking at the river like she owed her a lot of explanations, just beyond the reach of Taylor Pack territory. Night had arrived hours ago but she didn't feel like returning home to where the rest of her pack was. Her wolf stirred restlessly under her skin, unsettled ever since that moment in the woods. Since him.
Mingi Hart. The name had literally become engraved in her blood. It was like everywhere she went since she first saw him; the only thing that comes out from her mouth to herself is Mingi Hart.
The name was like an alarm in her mind which was programmed to remind her every few minutes . No matter how hard she tried to bury it, to deny the strange ache in her chest, the bond refused to weaken. It only kept pushing her, she felt her inner wolf struggle to riot. It pulsed beneath her skin, a dull feeling that made her clench her fists as she realized there was nothing she could do to solve it.
She wasn't supposed to feel anything. He was human. But why couldn't she shake off that particular feeling?
Selene closed her eyes and took a deep breath, letting the smell of pine , of the leaves and of the earth feed her. Her life was not her own anymore. Since she became the alpha of her pack, she lived for her brother and for the rest of her kind. Her life was going to be used to settle the dispute between the two parks. She saw the marriage to Lucian as giving up her life.
But fate had other plans.
"What are you doing here all alone."
The voice was soft, male, and far too familiar. Selene turned around, her hand already gripping the dagger hidden beneath her cloak of which of course she had no intentions of using on the man who had made her wolf almost riot against her.
Mingi stepped from the shadows, hands raised as a sign of peace. He wore casual clothes this time : dark slacks, a gray sweater that clung to his lean frame, and his eyes—those human eyes that burned with something more than curiosity now.
"How did you find me?" she asked, her voice low and hard.
"I didn't," he said, his gaze unwavering. "I felt a pull and decided to follow it. I'm not in your territory so I guess you felt something you followed too."
Selene swallowed. Her throat felt tight.
"How do you always manage to piss me off every time?"
"You were bleeding the last time I saw you," he said, stepping closer. "What's so wrong about being your fated mate? Why does it displease you so much it's me?"
She stepped back, but not far enough. The bond snapped taut between them. He felt it too—she saw it in the way his breath hitched. His jaw clenched.
"You don't belong in my world."
He chuckled, low and bitter. "Then why does your world keep dragging me back in?"
Selene's heart pounded. Her wolf was awake now, growling under skin, persuading her to give in, trying to reach him.
"You need to forget me."
"I can't."
Those two words struck harder than any blow. She closed the distance between them in a second , her hand gripping the front of his sweater. Their faces were only a few inches apart.
"I rejected you before my kind. You heard it with your own ears."
"My mind heard it. But everything else?" His voice dropped, and Selene felt his breath on her lips. "My soul didn't."
She pushed him back hard but he didn't stumble or fall, he just went back and stood.
She looked at him and raised a brow.
"You're just a man," she hissed.
"Am I?" he asked, voice steady.
She saw it again—the flicker in his eyes. The power that wasn't just human. The scent that was nearly masked, but not enough.
"You shouldn't have come," she whispered.
"Then why did you wait for me?"
There was a silence between them, but anyone else who was present could feel it was louder than lightning and thunder. She turned in anguish because she couldn't deny the fact that she wasn't waiting for him.
"Go home, Mingi. Before I do something I regret."
He didn't move.
Selene felt her control wavering. Her wolf wanted to reach for him. To touch. To claim. But she held fast to the shreds of duty.
"There are things about me you can't understand."
"Then tell me."
She stared into the darkness, the river glinting silver in the moonlight.
"The full moon is rising," she said instead. "You shouldn't be anywhere near these woods in three days."
"What happens in three days?"
She looked over her shoulder. Her eyes gleamed gold.
"The ritual."
He frowned. "Tell me what ceremony it is?"
Selene nodded once. A muscle ticked in Mingi's jaw.
"Did you reject me because you were marrying someone else or something?"
She didn't answer.
That was all the answer he needed.
Selene turned to leave, but Mingi caught her wrist. The touch seared. Her entire body went rigid.
"I don't care about your world, Selene. If it's dangerous, if it's forbidden—hell, even if you hate me—I need to know what this is."
She slowly turned. Her voice trembled. "This... this is fate playing a cruel joke. And you're the punchline."
His lips parted, hurt flashing in his eyes.
Before either could say more, a howl split the night. Long. Low. And close.
Selene froze. "They followed me."
"Who?"
She pulled her hand from his. "Go. Now. Run!"
But it was too late.
Aeron emerged from the trees, his dark armor gleaming in the moonlight, eyes blazing with fury. Behind him, two more wolves circled in human form.
"Is this your fated mate?" Aeron snarled.
"Let him go, I rejected him, didn't I? " Selene said quickly.
Aeron drew a curved blade. "No human leaves sacred land alive."
Mingi stepped forward. "I didn't come to fight."
"Then you shouldn't have come at all."
Selene stood between them, arms raised. "Touch him and you answer to me!"
Aeron's eyes narrowed. "You're protecting him?"
"He saved my life."
Aeron hesitated. Just a second. But it was enough.
"We take him to Elara," Selene said.
"He's not pack."
"He's mine."
The words slipped before she could stop them. Silence followed.
Aeron lowered his blade. The others shifted uncomfortably.
Mingi stared at her, stunned. "Selene..."
She couldn't take it back. Wouldn't. Not anymore.
"Come," she said to Mingi. "Stay close. Don't say a word."
They began the long walk through the woods, shadows closing in, the night heavy with unspoken truths.
Behind them, Aeron walked in silence. Watching. Waiting.
But Selene knew this was only the beginning.
Because at that very moment, deep in the Greek pack stronghold, Lucian sa
t in his war chamber, a letter clutched in his hand.
A single sentence written in crimson ink:
"Your bride walks with another under the blood moon."