As dusk approached, rain began to fall over the pack territory.
It began as a thin silver mist beyond the tall hall windows, drifting softly across the courtyard stones. Gradually, the mist thickened into steady rain, until the stone paths gleamed dark beneath the downpour and the torches along the walls hissed faintly in the damp air.
Just as I was sorting the last of the ledgers on my desk, the moonstone at my wrist warmed, glowing faintly with Lucian’s summons.
I paused for a moment before answering.
The moment I opened the connection, his voice came through, low and impatient.
“You’re finished at the hall, aren’t you? Come to the healer’s den and bring us home.”
He spoke as though it were the most natural thing in the world.
As though the future Luna should go out into the rain to fetch him and Rosalie.
As though I were some omega servant to be summoned whenever he pleased.
As though the humiliation of yesterday had never happened at all.
I almost laughed.
“There is a feast tonight for the stewards,” I said evenly. “I do not know when it will end.”
There was a brief pause, as though he had not expected refusal.
“You can bring us back first and return afterward.”
My fingers tightened slightly around the moonstone.
“You can ask for a carriage.”
Then I cut the connection.
I did not care whether he was angry.
That evening, I remained at the hall and shared supper with several stewards I was on good terms with. The long table glowed warmly with firelight, and cups of spiced wine passed easily from hand to hand. Someone told a story about a patrol captain slipping into the river during drills, and laughter rippled down the table.
For the first time in days, I smiled without effort.
The warmth of the hall, the quiet camaraderie, and the absence of tension felt strangely unfamiliar—yet comforting.
By the time I returned home, the rain had softened to a gentle drizzle. Water still clung to the eaves, dripping steadily into the courtyard below.
It was already late.
When I stepped inside, Lucian was sitting on the sofa in the front room, one arm resting along the back, his posture stiff.
He turned the moment he heard the door.
“Why are you back so late?”
I did not answer. I set aside my cloak, changed my damp shoes, and washed my hands at the basin near the entrance. My limbs ached with weariness, and the faint scent of rain clung to my clothes.
All I wanted was to return to my room, bathe, and sleep.
But as I turned toward the corridor, Lucian rose and stepped in front of me, blocking my way.
“Selene,” he said, his voice hardening. “What is the meaning of this?”
I lifted my eyes to look at him.
There was a time when his face alone stirred warmth in me. A single glance from him used to be enough to brighten my entire day.
Now, I felt nothing.
“What do you mean?” I asked calmly.
His expression darkened. “You refused to come for us, and now you return home at this hour. What exactly are you trying to do?”
Before I could answer, a soft voice drifted from the guest room.
“Selene… have you been drinking? The scent is making me uncomfortable.”
I turned sharply.
Rosalie stood in the doorway, pale beneath the lamplight, one hand resting lightly against the frame as though she needed support.
For a heartbeat, I simply stared.
I had thought Lucian had settled her elsewhere after bringing her back from the healer’s den.
I had not expected him to bring her into the Alpha house.
Into my home.
Absurd did not begin to cover it.
I looked at Lucian calmly.
“Would you like me to stay at an inn tonight?” I asked. “Or would you prefer to take Rosalie there yourselves?”
“Selene!” Lucian’s voice rose immediately. “How can you think so filthily?”
I almost laughed.
“Do not raise your voice to cover your guilty conscience,” I said coldly. “Am I the filthy-minded one?”
Then I turned to Rosalie.
“You fainted yesterday because I sealed my mindlink? Do not pretend to be so fragile. I sealed him out as well. And if the scent of wine bothers you, then close your door and sleep.”
Rosalie’s eyes reddened instantly.
Tears gathered with practiced ease.
But instead of replying to me, she turned to Lucian, her voice trembling.
“Perhaps I should leave… I do not want to upset Selene or make the two of you quarrel because of me.”
“It’s late,” Lucian said immediately, his tone softening. “Where would you go in weather like this? It isn’t safe outside. Go rest.”
So he did know that.
He did know a woman might be unsafe outside at night.
A bitter smile tugged faintly at my lips.
Once, when I lived far from the hall, I had walked home alone many nights. Rain or moonlight, it made little difference. One evening, I asked him to come for me.
He had laughed lightly.
There are people everywhere in the territory. What is there to fear?
He had been right.
Even deep into the night, the territory was never truly empty.
What was there to fear?
Rosalie lingered another moment, watching him as though waiting for more reassurance. When none came, she lowered her head and slipped quietly back into the guest room.
I had no strength left to continue.
I brushed past Lucian, entered my room, and shut the door behind me.
A moment later, he knocked.
“Selene.”
Then again, sharper.
“Selene, open the door.”
I ignored him.
After a while, the knocking stopped. Through the door, I could hear the faint murmur of his voice, followed by Rosalie’s softer replies from the other room. Eventually, even those sounds faded.
The house had two bedchambers.
I took the master chamber.
Rosalie remained in the guest room.
And the Alpha of the pack, left between the two, spent the night on the sofa.
