Chapter Four
The moon had dipped low by the time Selene left the library, the cold halls whispering with ghosted wind and secrets she wasn't meant to remember. The pendant beneath her gown weighed heavily against her chest as if it knew too—her blood wasn't ordinary. And it never had been.
When she returned to her chambers, she half-expected someone to be waiting.
And someone was.
"Sleep well, my lady?"
Ronan stood by the window, arms folded, watching the forest beyond the stone balcony. His voice was unreadable, but not cold.
Selene didn't answer right away. Instead, she moved to the fireplace, trailing her fingers along the carved mantle. "You assigned a guard outside my door."
"You disappeared from the hall without a word," he said, turning toward her. "In my court, that's not a minor offense."
"I didn't realize I was under house arrest."
"You're not." He stepped closer. "You're under scrutiny."
Selene met his eyes. "Because I'm cursed?"
He didn't flinch.
"Because no one knows what you are," he said softly. "And what I don't know could destroy this pack."
The fire crackled between them. Selene crossed her arms, pulse steady despite the way her chest tightened.
"You think I'm a danger."
"I think you're a mystery," Ronan admitted. "And mysteries either protect empires—or burn them to ash."
Silence fell between them. Only the fire and the distant cry of a wolf in the mountains broke the stillness.
Then his tone changed. Lower. Intentional.
"I found something tonight," he said. "A record… of a bloodline long thought extinct. Carriers of a forbidden bond. Descendants of something older than the Goddess."
Her breath caught.
Ronan stepped into her space slowly, his gaze heavy.
"The pendant you wear," he said. "It belonged to the last cursed Luna."
Selene's hand flew to the onyx charm at her collar.
"How do you know that?"
"Because my father hunted her," Ronan said. "And failed."
That revelation struck like thunder.
Ronan's father—the infamous Alpha Kael—had waged wars across three territories. His name was etched in blood across half the continent.
And yet… he'd failed to kill Selene's mother.
"Why?" she whispered. "Why bring me here? Why choose me, if you knew?"
His answer was a truth she wasn't prepared for.
"Because the curse chose you," he said. "And the curse… chose me too."
Selene froze.
"What are you talking about?"
Ronan reached into his tunic and pulled something out—a carved wolf tooth pendant, identical in design to her onyx charm.
But his glowed silver.
"Two parts of the same relic," he said. "Two halves of the first cursed bond."
"No—" Selene shook her head. "That's not possible."
"It is. And it's already binding us."
She stared at him in disbelief.
"I didn't ask for this," she said. "I didn't want a mate. I didn't want a bond. I wanted to survive."
"And now you'll have to do all three," he said. "But not alone."
Her walls cracked, just for a second.
But then came the knock.
Urgent. Three hard raps at the door.
Ronan moved first, yanking it open. Caelan stepped inside, blood on his collar and fury in his eyes.
"We've been breached," the Beta said. "One of the Crimson Hollow sentries crossed into our southern border."
Selene stiffened.
Ronan's voice turned sharp. "Alive?"
"Dead," Caelan replied. "And left with a message carved into his chest."
He tossed a blood-stained cloth across the floor.
Selene bent slowly to pick it up.
One curse breeds another. One death will birth war.
And beneath it—etched into flesh:
The Hybrid Must Fall.
Selene's fingers curled around the blood-stained cloth, her pulse quickening with every beat. The message carved into the body echoed in her skull—words meant not just to threaten the pack, but to expose her.
The Hybrid Must Fall.
How the hell did they know?
She swallowed hard and looked up to find both Ronan and Caelan staring at her. Caelan's expression was hard as stone, sharp enough to cut.
Ronan's wasn't easier to bear.
"What aren't you telling me?" he asked quietly.
Selene stood straighter. "I should be asking you the same thing. You knew I was different before you brought me here. You said it yourself—something chose me."
"That doesn't mean I know what the hell this message is about," he snapped, pacing. "There are whispers, old legends, but nothing real. Not until tonight."
Caelan cut in, arms folded tightly across his chest. "If someone crossed the border, sent that message, and carved it into flesh… they know who she is. Or what she is. Which means we have a leak."
Selene's stomach dropped.
Ronan turned sharply. "Double the guards on every access point. No one leaves the stronghold without my mark. And get Maera in here—now."
Caelan nodded once and disappeared like smoke.
Selene turned back to the message in her hand.
The edges of the cloth were torn, burned—charred with ash and something darker. Magic. Old and angry. The kind that stained the air with rot and memory. She could feel it crawling under her skin, whispering in her blood.
"Why now?" she asked. "Why would Crimson Hollow risk open war just to make a threat?"
Ronan stared into the fire. His jaw clenched. "Because you're not the only threat walking these lands, Selene."
She turned to him slowly.
"What does that mean?"
"It means this curse—whatever lives in your blood—wasn't born in isolation. There are others."
She stared at him, chest tightening. "You said you wore the other half of this pendant. You said it bound us. So what aren't you telling me?"
Ronan hesitated.
For the first time since she arrived, he looked afraid.
"Because I've seen what happens when the curse wakes up," he said. "And I've seen what it leaves behind."
Before Selene could ask, the door burst open again.
Maera swept in like a black storm.
Her raven-dark braid swung across one shoulder, and her bone-chiseled face twisted in fury. She was tall—taller than most women in the pack—and beautiful in a sharp, dangerous way. Midnight eyes that missed nothing. Black leathers. Alpha's daughter, was born and bred.
"You summoned me," she said to Ronan, but her eyes landed coldly on Selene. "Or was the pet just lonely?"
Selene didn't flinch. Not anymore.
"We've been breached," Ronan said. "Crimson Hollow made their move."
Maera arched a brow. "Finally."
He tossed her the bloody message. She caught it and read fast. Her expression shifted—from amusement to something darker. "The Hybrid Must Fall."
She turned slowly toward Selene.
"So. It's true."
Selene stepped forward, spine straight. "You want to say it out loud?"
"I don't have to." Maera dropped the cloth. "Your presence has already cursed this house. We all feel it."
"Or maybe you're just scared," Selene said coolly. "Because for once, your bloodline isn't the most powerful in the room."
A flicker of rage passed through Maera's eyes.
Ronan stepped between them. "Enough. We can't afford infighting. Not now."
"But we can afford her?" Maera snarled. "If Crimson Hollow knows what she is, they'll come for her with fire and teeth—and burn us all to get to her."
"Then let them come," Ronan said. "Because if they do—she won't be the only one burning."
Selene's heart thundered.
Not just from the heat of his words.
But from the echo behind them.
He'll protect you. But what happens when he learns the full truth?
Selene didn't know who to fear more—Crimson Hollow.
Or the man fate had cursed to love her.