Selena’s POV
That night, I couldn’t sleep. I just lay in bed, staring at the darkness.
Cole lay beside me for a while, but I noticed when he slipped out of bed at midnight, thinking I was asleep.
I kept my eyes shut, breathing calmly till the door clicked shut behind him.
For a long time, I lay there in silence. I could hear Cole’s voice and Lydia’s giggles through my enhanced hearing.
I pressed my hands to my belly. I had life growing inside me, but Cole didn’t know yet, and I would make sure he never did.
The next morning, Cole walked in with a smile on his face, like he hadn’t just spent the night in another room with my best friend. I had heard every single thing.
“Selena,” he said carefully, “we need to talk.”
The way he said it made my stomach twist.
“What now?” I asked, scowling instantly.
He hesitated, then he cleared his throat. “Lydia… Lydia shouldn’t be cramped in the guest room. She’s pregnant. She needs space and comfort.”
I blinked at him. My mind tried to process his words. “Comfort?”
He nodded. “Yes. The master bedroom is bigger and more comfortable. It makes sense for her to have it.”
For a moment, I thought I had heard him wrong. I released a laugh of disbelief. “You want me to give up my bedroom… to Lydia?”
His jaw tightened. “It’s not forever. Just until the pup is born.”
I stared at him, resisting the urge to strangle him. My wolf snarled viciously inside me.
I wanted to shout that I was pregnant too. That my pup deserved space and comfort, not Lydia’s bastard.
But I said nothing. He was a murderer. He didn’t deserve to know.
He continued. “Selena, you’ve been enjoying the comfortable room for years. Lydia is pregnant. Shouldn’t she be the one most comfortable now? Don’t you think it’s time you made a little sacrifice for your pack sister?”
I kept my lips pressed together, forcing myself not to react. What was the point? Very soon, I would be gone and forever erased.
So I swallowed the scream. My nails dug into my palms. “Okay,” I whispered shakily.
Besides, it was convenient for me because I was already packing my things.
His shoulders relaxed and he sighed in relief. He leaned forward and kissed my forehead gently. I felt so repulsed that I almost shuddered.
“Cole?” Lydia called from down the hallway.
Immediately, he turned to leave without any delay.
“Hold on, Cole,” I said calmly.
I forced my hands to stay steady as I picked up the folder I had placed on the table. “Before you go,” I said calmly, “I need your signature on something.”
He frowned impatiently. “Selena, not now—”
“It’s just some minor paperwork for the healers,” I interrupted softly. “It won’t take time.”
He hesitated, narrowing his eyes, then Lydia called him again. “Cole!”
“Fine. Give it here,” he snapped.
I handed him the document with a blank expression on my face. He didn’t even glance at the words as he signed.
I kept my face neutral, but inside, my heart pounded. He had no idea what he had just done.
“Is that all?” he grunted.
“Yes,” I whispered.
He didn’t wait for more. He was already out the door before I could even finish replying.
The moment he left, I called my advisor.
“End my bond with Alpha Hale. Withdraw all my secret support from the Blue Moon pack and all its businesses.”
Cole never knew I had been backing him from the shadows. I had been funding his warriors, sharing my resources, and sponsoring his businesses. But that ends tonight.
“You will pay, Alpha Cole Hale.” I said aloud to myself.
Then a humourless laughter escaped my lips.
Some minutes later, Lydia appeared in the doorway, her voice filled with fake sweetness. “Selena, let me help.”
Her smile didn’t reach her eyes. I knew that smile. I had seen it when she comforted me after Nora’s death.
I wanted to scream at her to get out, to shift and yank her hair out. Instead, I forced a smile. “Don’t worry, I’ve got it.”
She walked in anyway, glancing around at the empty shelves. “Don’t worry, I’m good at organizing. I’ll take care of everything.”
She walked straight to my dresser where I kept Nora’s things. I hadn’t been able to empty them yet.
“Careful, don’t go there,” I snapped.
Lydia’s eyes landed on the small music box sitting on my dresser. She picked it up and turned the tiny brass key at the side. The soft lullaby that began to play twisted my stomach.
It was Nora’s. I used to wind it for her every night before bed. Tears welled up in my eyes at that tune.
“This tune is sweet,” Lydia said, tilting her head as the melody played. “She used to fall asleep to this, right?”
“Put it down,” I said quietly.
She smiled. “Of course.”
Then she dropped it.
The music stopped as the box slammed to the ground. The tiny dancer inside snapped in half.
“Oh, my,” she breathed, covering her mouth in mock horror. “I didn’t mean to. These old things are so fragile.”
Her eyes danced with glee as she watched me, waiting for my reaction.
For a heartbeat, I couldn’t move. That music box wasn’t just a toy. It was the one thing that carried me through the nights.
Now it lay in pieces, destroyed by Lydia’s deliberate “accident.”
I dropped to my knees, gathering the pieces with shaking hands, not caring as they sliced my skin. Tears blurred my vision as I held the broken box in my palm.
“It was her favorite,” I whispered.
Lydia crouched beside me with a small and satisfied smile on her face. “Don’t worry, Selena. You’ll have more pups. You’ll move on.”
My chest burned as I lifted my gaze to her.
At that moment, everything pressed down upon me, and I snapped.
