The mark still burned like living fire on her wrist.
No matter how tightly Selena pressed her fingers against it, the light refused to fade. It pulsed beneath her skin like a heartbeat that didn't belong to her… his heartbeat.
Outside, the temple had fallen into chaos…. growls, whispers, the shuffle of feet. But in the silent chamber where they had dragged her, time stood still.
She didn't need to turn when she heard the door open.
"Leave us," came that deep, rough command.
Footsteps retreated at once. The door closed with a low thud, sealing her fate.
Alpha Lucienne stood at the threshold, still in his ceremonial coat, the shadows hugging his figure like they knew who owned them. His eyes found hers instantly… gray steel, sharp, unreadable.
"Do you know what you've done?" he asked.
Selena forced herself to meet his gaze. "It wasn't me."
"That's what the cursed always say."
She flinched at the word but held her ground. "You think I wanted this?" She lifted her wrist, the mark glowing faintly in the dim light. "You think I asked the Moon to bind me to someone who already belongs to my sister?"
Lucienne's lips curved slightly, not quite a smile. "You think the Moon asks permission?"
He stepped closer, slow, deliberate. The air grew tighter. "When she marks, she commands."
Selena swallowed hard. "Then she commanded wrong."
His gaze dropped to her wrist, then lifted again, colder now. "The Moon doesn't make mistakes."
He said it like an oath, and a warning.
For a moment, silence stretched between them. Only their breaths filled the space.
"You shouldn't be here," she whispered. "They'll think you came to…."
"Claim you?" His voice cut through hers. "They already think that."
Selena's pulse faltered. "And do you?"
Something dark flickered in his eyes. He moved until his shadow swallowed hers, his voice dropping low. "I don't have a choice."
"Neither do I," she whispered back.
For the first time, his expression shifted, a flicker of conflict. But it vanished just as quickly. "The bond is dangerous," he said quietly. "If I accept it, your life changes. If I reject it…" He trailed off.
Selena drew in a shaky breath. "You'll die."
Lucienne's jaw tightened. "So they say."
The mark flared again, brighter, answering the tension between them. He exhaled sharply, taking a step back, as if space could tame whatever was thrumming beneath his skin.
"You should fear me, Selena."
"I already do."
"Then why are you looking at me like that?"
She blinked. "Like what?"
"Like you're not supposed to want to."
Selena's throat tightened. "Because I don't."
He gave a low, humorless laugh. "Then your pulse is lying."
Her chest rose and fell fast, uneven. "You're cruel."
"I'm cursed." His gaze softened for a heartbeat. "There's a difference."
Before she could speak, the door burst open.
"Alpha!"
Luna Alara stormed in, her silver gown dragging fury behind her. "What is the meaning of this?" Her eyes darted between them, blazing with disbelief. "You're alone with her?"
Lucienne didn't move. "The Moon chose her. I wanted answers."
"You should have demanded her head, not her answers!"
Selena's stomach dropped. "Mother…"
"Do not speak." Alara's hand trembled as she pointed toward her. "You've doomed us all! The Goddess's curse is alive because of you!"
Lucienne's voice cut in, steady but dark. "Enough."
"Enough?" Alara's laugh cracked like glass. "You think you can silence the Goddess's will? You saw it with your own eyes, that mark is corruption! She's a vessel of misfortune!"
"She's my Luna," Lucienne said quietly.
The words hung heavy in the air. The flames shivered.
Alara froze. "What did you say?"
Lucienne turned fully toward her. "The Moon chose. Whether you or I like it doesn't matter. Selena Alara bears my mark. From this night forward, she is the Luna of Nightbane."
Selena's breath caught.
The declaration echoed through her bones, too heavy to hold, too wild to believe. Her knees weakened beneath her, the world spinning as the truth struck…. he'd claimed her, before gods and mortals.
Alara's face twisted in horror. "You defy the prophecy?"
Lucienne's jaw set. "I follow it."
"You'll destroy us!"
"Then the Goddess willed it so."
He turned to leave, but Alara stepped in front of him, eyes glinting with madness. "I will not let you take her from this temple!"
Lucienne's tone dropped, dangerously calm. "You would challenge your Alpha?"
"I would protect my pack!" Her voice cracked with desperation. "She was born with a curse! Do you not remember the warning, one daughter to bless, one to curse! If you bind yourself to her, she will end you!"
Lucienne's expression didn't change. "Then I die fulfilling fate."
Selena's breath shook. "Don't…."
He looked back at her, and something soft flickered in his eyes for the first time. "You didn't ask for this," he said, voice low. "But it's done."
"Alpha..!" Alara stepped closer, fury shaking her voice. "If you take her, the pack will never accept it! She carries darkness! She should be cleansed, purged before the Goddess sees what you've done!"
Lucienne turned his head slowly toward her, and for a moment, the room itself seemed to recoil. "You dare speak of purging my mate?"
"She is not your mate!" Alara screamed. "She's a curse that took human form!"
Selena flinched as her mother's words sliced through her.
Lucienne's wolf stirred beneath his skin, she could feel it, the power trembling through the air. His eyes darkened, silver bleeding into shadow. "One more word," he said softly, "and I'll make the Goddess herself kneel before I let you touch her."
The room went utterly still.
Even Alara froze, fear flickering beneath her fury.
For a moment, the Alpha of Nightbane didn't look mortal at all. He looked ancient…. divine wrath wrapped in flesh.
Then he exhaled slowly, turning toward Selena again. "Pack your things. At dawn, you leave with me."
Selena's lips parted. "What?"
"You belong to my pack now."
Her mother's voice came sharp, trembling. "Over my dead body."
Lucienne didn't even look at her. "If that's what it takes."
He left the chamber without another word, his footsteps echoing like thunder down the corridor.
Alara stood frozen, trembling with fury and grief. Her eyes cut toward Selena, wild with disbelief. "You've bewitched him."
Selena shook her head, tears spilling freely now. "I didn't do anything. The Moon…"
"The Moon tests me!" Alara hissed. "And I will not fail her again."
Selena took a step back. "Mother, please listen to me…."
"Don't call me that." The Luna's voice broke. "You are not my child. You are my punishment."
She turned and stormed out, the door slamming hard enough to shake the walls.
Selena sank to the floor, shaking. The mark on her wrist pulsed again, faintly, like it knew she was crying.
---
The temple grew quieter as the night deepened. The fires outside had been extinguished, the whispers replaced with uneasy silence.
Selena sat alone, hugging her knees, replaying everything, her sister's scream, her mother's fury, Lucienne's voice declaring her his Luna.
It felt unreal. Like she was trapped inside someone else's fate.
A soft knock broke her thoughts.
The door opened slightly, and a familiar face peeked in…. Rheya Draxon, Kael's younger sister. Barely sixteen, delicate, pale as moonlight, with eyes that always seemed to see too much.
"They're saying Mother Alara wants you executed before sunrise," Rheya whispered.
Selena's blood went cold. "What?"
"She's petitioned the Priestess. Says you corrupted the ceremony. Says the Alpha was bewitched."
Selena stood, heart hammering. "And Lucienne?"
"He's furious." Rheya stepped inside, clutching something…. a cloak. "He ordered the guards to stand down, but Luna Alara's wolves don't listen to him here. They're hunting for you."
Selena took the cloak numbly. "Why are you helping me?"
Rheya smiled faintly, her voice trembling. "Because I saw you in my dream. You were standing under the Blood Moon, holding light in your hands."
Selena froze. "Light?"
"It wasn't fire," Rheya said softly. "It was… you."
Footsteps echoed down the corridor. Angry voices. Luna's voice.
"Go," Rheya urged, shoving her toward the back exit. "There's a passage through the west hall. The Alpha will find you before dawn."
Selena hesitated. "What if he doesn't?"
Rheya's eyes softened. "Then pray the Moon still remembers you."
The door burst open immediately, guards flooding in, their eyes gleaming under torchlight. "There she is!"
Selena ran.
Bare feet slapped against cold stone. The cloak whipped behind her as she darted through the narrow corridor, heart pounding like thunder.
"Stop her!" someone shouted.
She turned to another corner ,straight into the open courtyard. The Blood Moon still blazed overhead, fierce and red.
For a moment, she stopped….. panting, trembling, staring at the sky that had cursed her life and claimed her heart.
The mark on her wrist burned again…. hotter, brighter, alive.
"Selena!"
She spun. Lucienne stood across the courtyard, eyes blazing, cloak thrown over one shoulder. He moved like a storm, his voice sharp. "Come here."
"I…. they…Mother—"
"I know," he said. "Get behind me."
Wolves emerged from the shadows,
….Alara's guards, fangs bared, circling them.
"Alpha," one of them growled, "our Luna's orders"
Lucienne's power exploded outward like a shockwave. "Your Luna's orders end where mine begin."
The wolves hesitated, growling low.
Selena stood frozen behind him, watching as the man everyone feared bared his power not in rage, but in protection.
The mark on her wrist pulsed once, bright and steady, as if recognizing its owner.
Lucienne glanced back at her, his voice low and dangerous. "From now on," he said, "no one touches you without my command."
Then he faced the wolves again, a dark promise in his gaze.
"Tell Luna Alara," he said, "that the curse she fears has already begun."
The night howled.
And the Blood Moon watched.