Kaidan's POV
Panic rooted itself deep in my chest.
I stood there, unmoving. The bed was cold now. Sheets tangled, her scent everywhere. The imprint of her body still pressed into the mattress like a ghost. A mark.
A curse.
I saw her again, crimson staining her skin, her body limp in my arms. Dead. Because of me.
My wolf paced, restless and growling.
She's not dead, I told him.
But I wasn't sure if I believed it.
My hands flexed at my sides.
You're Kaiden Veyr.
Burn Moon. Duskfang.
She's just a girl.
But that wasn't true, was it?
She wasn't just anything.
She had burned through me like wildfire, and now—she was down there. In chains. In the dark. Because I put her there.
I clenched my jaw, turning away from the bed like it was her body lying there.
Don't think about it. Don't go soft.
The door opened behind me.
Thorne didn't knock.
"Alpha."
I didn't turn.
"Say what you came to say and leave."
There was a pause, then footsteps approached. Calm. Controlled. That alone was irritating, Thorne never walked cautiously.
"You sent her to the dungeons."
My lips thinned. "You were there."
"I was," he said. "Doesn't mean I understand."
"She's dangerous."
"She's your mate."
I turned then, eyes flashing gold. "She's a weapon. A manipulated one. You heard her, she was trained, warned, conditioned."
Thorne didn't flinch. "And still you slept with her."
"That wasn't planned."
His brows rose. "Didn't look like resistance to me."
I growled, dragging my hands through my hair. "She triggered the bond. My wolf reacted."
"And what about you?" he asked. "Don't give me that bond crap… you wanted her. You still do."
I didn't respond.
Silence stretched between us like a blade.
Then, softly, Thorne added, "You looked terrified when she mentioned her foster mother."
My body stilled.
"She said Witchborn, Kaiden. Should we be really messing with her?"
I didn't answer.
Thorne exhaled and sat on the armrest of a chair. "You know, locking her away doesn't solve anything. She's still your mate. She still carries your mark. Whatever fate you're trying to avoid, it's too late."
"She'll destroy everything," I muttered.
"Maybe," he said. "Or maybe she's the only one who can survive standing next to you."
I looked at him, sharp and cold. "That's poetic bullshit."
He shrugged. "Maybe. Or maybe it's prophecy."
I moved toward the window, the moon high above the trees, glowing like it was laughing at me.
"I don't want to see her," I said, more to myself than to him. "Not until I'm sure I won't kill her the next time I touch her."
Thorne was quiet for a beat, then stood.
"I'll make sure she doesn't die down there. But Kaiden…" He hesitated at the door. "She won't stay caged for long. Wolves like her never do."
Then he was gone.
And I was alone again.
Selene's POV
"Get your hands off me. I'm not going to bite," I snapped, jerking my arm as the iron grip tightened around my wrist.
The guard didn't speak. None of them had, not since Kaiden gave the order to lock me up. Cold and professional. Like I wasn't a person anymore. Just a thing to be moved.
The corridor stretched before us, wet stone walls pressing in, lit by flickering torches that hissed against the damp. The smell hit next—mold, iron, filth, and something else… something sweet and rotting.
I swallowed hard.
"You're all cowards," I muttered, glaring at the back of the nearest guard's neck. "Sending me to rot while he hides behind orders."
Again, no response.
My boots splashed through stagnant puddles as we turned deeper into the dungeon. The air grew thicker. Heavier. The shadows clung like a second skin.
A door groaned open.
Then another.
Finally, they shoved me forward. "In."
I stumbled slightly, catching myself on the cold stone wall. Just as I turned to hurl another insult over my shoulder, my eyes snagged on something.
Someone.
The cell across the corridor was barely lit, nothing but a shaft of torchlight leaking through rusted bars. At first, I thought it was a trick of the shadows. But then she moved.
My breath hitched.
She was curled on the floor, knees to chest, her hair matted and tangled like a nest of thorns. Her skin was pale, too pale. And when she raised her head…
"oh goddess," I whispered, backing up until my spine hit stone. "What the hell…"
Her face.
It was mine.
No… almost. The shape, the eyes, the mouth… But something was off. Subtle things. Like looking into a mirror warped just enough to feel wrong. Her eyes lacked something. That faint pulse similar to mine beneath the skin… it was muted, flickering instead of burning.
She blinked slowly, like waking from a dream.
Or falling into one.
"Are you…" I didn't finish the question. Didn't know how to.
She tilted her head, mimicking my confusion with eerie precision.
A smirk touched her lips.
And then the door slammed shut behind me, chains rattling into place as the guards turned to leave.
I spun around. "Wait! Who the hell is that? Who is she?"
The footsteps retreated without a word.
Just as I took a step closer, one of the guards barked, "Change of orders. She's not staying here."
"What?" I turned sharply, heart still thudding from the sight of the girl. "Wait… who is she? Why does she look like…"
"Move," the second guard cut in, grabbing my arm.
"No… no, I need to see her!" I struggled, trying to pull free, eyes locked on the figure still watching me from her corner, her expression unreadable.
"Alpha's command," the first said, voice flat. "She's not for you."
Not for me?
I gritted my teeth, but I wasn't strong enough to fight off three guards without silver burning me again. And the chains… they weren't even necessary anymore. The bond had already done its damage.
My path was shifted, turned down a corridor I hadn't seen before, one that pulsed with something darker. It was colder here, the air thicker. Even the torches struggled to burn, flickering like they didn't want to stay lit.
"Where the hell are we?" I asked, voice low.
The guards didn't answer.
Figures.
But I noticed the way they glanced at the walls. The way their steps quickened. The way none of them looked at the heavy iron door ahead, the one covered in old claw marks and dried… something.
They opened the cell without a word, pushed me inside, and slammed it shut.
No chains.
No light.
Just me and the silence.
I pressed my back to t
he cold wall, breath catching in my throat as the shadows swallowed everything. Even my thoughts started to echo.
That girl.
That face.
Who was she?
And why did she look so much like me?