Selena stopped taking the pills.
Not completely.
Just enough to test herself.
One capsule hidden beneath her tongue.
Another flushed down the sink.
Then she waited.
At first, nothing happened.
By afternoon, everything changed.
The world became louder.
She could hear servants whispering outside closed doors. Hear the crackling fireplace two rooms away. Hear Ethan laughing in the garden from the second floor.
And beneath all of it—
Heartbeats.
Dozens of them.
Selena nearly dropped the teacup in her hands.
“What’s wrong, my lady?” the maid asked nervously.
Selena forced herself to smile. “Nothing.”
But it wasn’t nothing.
By evening, scents overwhelmed her too.
Rain.
Smoke.
Wine.
Fear.
The guard near the west hallway smelled afraid every time she walked past him.
Why?
Selena entered the bedroom quietly just before dinner.
Damien was already there changing clothes after returning from council meetings.
His sleeves were rolled halfway up his forearms.
And Selena froze.
Scars.
Long claw marks crossed Damien’s skin.
Old scars.
Battle scars.
But one of them looked familiar.
Too familiar.
A sharp image flashed through her mind—
A burning hallway.
Someone slashing Damien across the arm while screaming:
“Monster!”
Selena staggered slightly.
Damien looked up immediately.
“Selena?”
She blinked.
The memory vanished.
“You’re home early,” she said carefully.
Damien studied her face for a moment too long. “You look pale.”
“I’m tired.”
“You haven’t been sleeping.”
Neither had he.
She could smell exhaustion on him now.
And stress.
Heavy stress.
Damien walked toward her slowly. “Did you take your medication today?”
There it was again.
Always the pills.
“Yes.”
The lie came easier now.
But Damien kept staring at her.
As if he knew.
Then suddenly he reached up and brushed his thumb beneath her eye.
“You can smell me now, can’t you?”
Selena’s pulse stopped.
“What?”
His expression darkened slightly.
“You reacted the second you walked in.”
Fear crept down her spine.
Had she made it obvious?
Damien lowered his hand slowly.
“You need a stronger dosage.”
“No.”
The answer escaped before she could stop it.
Both of them froze.
Selena saw surprise flicker across his face.
Because she almost never argued with him.
Damien’s voice softened dangerously.
“Selena.”
“I said no.”
Silence.
Heavy silence.
Then Damien smiled faintly.
“Fine,” he said calmly. “We’ll discuss it later.”
But Selena smelled anger beneath his calmness.
Sharp.
Controlled.
Waiting.
—
That night, Selena couldn’t breathe inside the manor anymore.
Every wall felt too close.
Every hallway felt watched.
So after Damien fell asleep beside her, she slipped quietly from bed and left the estate.
Cold forest air hit her instantly.
And relief flooded her chest so hard it almost hurt.
The deeper she walked into the woods, the calmer she became.
Her senses sharpened beautifully here.
She could hear rivers beneath frozen ground.
Could smell pine trees miles away.
Could feel something alive inside herself slowly waking up.
A wolf.
The realization terrified her.
And thrilled her.
Selena stopped near a frozen lake, breathing hard.
Moonlight reflected silver across the ice.
For one strange moment, the scene felt familiar.
Like she had stood here before.
Then pain exploded through her body.
Selena gasped violently and dropped to her knees in the snow.
Heat burned beneath her skin.
Her spine arched painfully.
Something inside her clawed upward desperately.
“No—”
A growl tore from her throat.
Not human.
Her eyes widened in horror.
The pain worsened instantly.
Bones burned.
Muscles twisted.
The wolf inside her fought against invisible chains wrapped tightly around it.
And suddenly—
A scent flooded the forest.
Cold.
Wild.
Dangerous.
Not Damien.
Something stronger.
Selena looked up sharply.
A man stood between the trees watching her.
Tall.
Dark coat dusted with snow.
Silver eyes glowing faintly in the moonlight.
Every instinct inside her screamed predator.
Yet strangely—
Her wolf quieted the moment she saw him.
The stranger approached slowly.
Carefully.
Like he understood exactly how dangerous she was becoming.
“Easy,” he said quietly.
Selena tried to back away.
Pain ripped through her immediately.
The man’s expression darkened.
“How much suppressant did they give you?”
Suppressant.
Again that word.
Selena’s breathing shook. “Who are you?”
Instead of answering, the stranger crouched in front of her.
His scent surrounded her instantly.
Smoke.
Winter.
Blood.
And beneath it—
Power.
Ancient power.
The kind that made every creature in the forest go silent.
“You’re fighting the drugs,” he said calmly. “That’s why it hurts.”
“How do you know that?”
His jaw tightened slightly.
“Because I’ve seen this before.”
Selena stared at him.
Moonlight reflected sharply across his silver eyes.
Not wolf eyes.
Something worse.
Something older.
Then suddenly distant howls echoed through the forest.
Search parties.
Damien’s wolves.
The stranger heard them too.
His expression became colder instantly.
“They’re looking for you.”
Selena forced herself upright shakily. “I have to go.”
“You shouldn’t.”
“I’m married.”
The stranger’s eyes narrowed slightly.
“To Damien Cross.”
Not a question.
Selena’s stomach tightened. “You know him.”
“Yes.”
The single word carried hatred.
Real hatred.
The stranger stood slowly.
“You shouldn’t trust him.”
Fear flashed through Selena immediately.
Not because of the warning.
Because part of her already believed it.
The man noticed.
Of course he did.
His gaze softened slightly.
“What’s your name?” he asked quietly.
“Selena.”
A strange expression crossed his face.
Like disappointment.
“No,” he murmured. “That’s the name he gave you.”
The world seemed to stop.
“What?”
The stranger took one slow step closer.
And very carefully asked:
“What was your name before the massacre?”
