Selene didn't like patrol duty, but she liked the silence it gave her.
It was just her and Beta Rael moving through the edges of BloodMoon territory. The forest whispered with wind. Shadows danced between tree trunks. And every so often, Rael would glance over his shoulder, as if unsure if she'd vanish into the trees.
She wouldn't. Not anymore.
Alpha Kael had trusted her with this. A test, maybe. Or a sign that she was no longer just the outsider with secrets stitched into her smile. But even in the quiet, her instincts screamed.
She halted. "Stop."
Rael raised a brow. "What now?"
She inhaled deeply.
The air wasn't right.
Too warm. Too thick. Too…familiar.
Then a voice echoed from the trees.
"Still got that nose, huh, Selene?"
Her heart dropped to her stomach. She spun around, and there he was. Green eyes. Hood half-down. Hair longer. A scar now cutting across his jaw. But she knew him.
Luca.
Her once-best friend. Her training partner. The man she thought had died, or worse.
"You shouldn't be here," she breathed.
"I missed you too," he said, stepping out of the shadows.
Rael growled. His claws shifted halfway. "Friend of yours?"
Selene stepped between them. "He won't hurt anyone."
"You sure about that?" Rael asked, not convinced.
"I am."
Within minutes, the warriors surrounded Luca, and Kael himself arrived, shirtless from training, chest rising with heavy breaths. The moment his eyes landed on Luca, his shoulders tensed.
Kael didn't speak to Luca first. He looked at Selene.
"You know him?"
She nodded. "Luca. From my old pack."
"And he's here, why?"
"I came to warn you," Luca said, calmly. "Before it's too late."
Kael's voice was cold steel. "You have sixty seconds. Start talking."
Luca met his gaze. "Cassian knows Selene's gone dark. No intel, no kills, no updates. He thinks she's betrayed him."
Selene's spine straightened. "I haven't spoken to anyone from the Shadow Fang Pack in over a month."
Luca nodded. "That's why I came. He sent hunters, killers. Their orders are to eliminate threats within BloodMoon. And yes, Selene's at the top of the list."
Kael clenched his fists. "He sent people here? Now?"
"Already inside your borders," Luca confirmed. "One of your own is a traitor. Someone's feeding him updates from the inside."
The room tensed.
Riven's eyes narrowed. "Do you know who?"
Luca shrugged. "I didn't get a name. But I know what to look for. They carry a double scar on the underside of their wrist. The mark of Cassian's shadow unit."
Kael turned to Rael. "Scan every patrol leader. Quietly."
Rael nodded and left without a word.
Kael's voice dropped lower. "Why would you warn me? You're one of them."
"Was," Luca corrected. "Cassian's not just a tyrant anymore, he's unhinged. He doesn't want Selene back, he wants her dead. Her death, public and painful, will be his message to everyone who dares to question him."
Selene's stomach twisted. She'd always known this was possible. Betrayal wasn't a job title, it was a death sentence.
Kael said nothing for a long time. Then: "And you? What do you want?"
Luca looked at Selene.
"To keep her alive."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Later that night, Selene sat alone in the courtyard behind the main house. The moonlight filtered through the branches, soft and silver, casting shadows on her skin.
Kael found her there, hands wrapped around her knees.
"You didn't tell me about him," he said, sitting beside her.
"I didn't think I'd ever see him again," she replied. "He disappeared a year ago. I thought he'd been executed."
"Were you close?"
She nodded. "We trained together. He knew me before I became… this."
Kael glanced at her. "A spy?"
"No." She smiled faintly. "Lost."
Kael looked away. "You're not lost anymore."
Selene didn't answer. Because she wasn't sure it was true.
After a while, Kael spoke again. "If he's telling the truth… we're in more danger than I thought."
"We always were," she murmured. "You just didn't know it yet."
He turned to her, gaze intense.
"Selene…"
"Yes?"
"You're not going anywhere. Not on my watch."
She looked at him, really looked.
And for the first time, she believed him.
Not because she was useful.
Not because of the mate bond.
But because he wanted her here.
Wanted her alive.
Wanted her.
And that, terrified her.