Selene's POV
I stared at Caelan as he crossed the room and grabbed my wrist.His face was twisted with anger.
"How dare you hurt her when you know she is sick!"he snarled."Do you want to kill her?"
"If I could,I wouldn't hesitate,"I shot back.
My voice shook but I did not pull away.He went still.He was not used to that.In all the years we had been together,I had always been the one to cower and beg for peace.Not anymore.
His grip tightened."When did you become this wicked,Selene?Your jealousy has made you ugly."
"Please don't fight because of me."Verra's soft voice floated across the room."Selene didn't do anything.I just lost my balance."
Caelan walked to her at once.He picked her up like she was made of glass and held her against his chest.
"You're too kind,Verra.I'm sorry she keeps doing this to you."
A hollow laugh left my throat."Kind?You call this kind?I heard everything,Caelan.The soul transfer.What you all did to my pup.I know."
Guilt crossed his face for just a moment.Then it was gone.
"If I had told you,you would not have agreed,"he said flatly.
The walls of the washroom felt like they were closing in.
"So you admit it,"I whispered."You got her pregnant and then used my pup's soul to save yours."
"He was my son too,"Caelan snapped."I had the right to decide.Verra is dying.You can have another pup.She cannot."
Something went cold inside me.
"Everyone dies,"I said."Her death will not be special."
Verra whimpered softly against his chest."Please...I never wanted any of this."
Caelan looked at me like I was something he had found rotting in the forest.
"You disgust me,Selene.Your own sister is fading and all you think about is yourself."His voice dropped low."I am sure your dead pup is grateful he will never have to call you mother."
The words hit me like a stone.
My knees buckled.I went down hard onto the cold floor and for a moment I could not hear anything.Just a high ringing in my ears and the sound of my own breathing.
Then slow,unhurried footsteps echoed from the corridor.
My father's voice followed."Well said,Caelan."
I turned.My parents were standing at the end of the hallway,watching.
My mother rushed past me like I was not even there and wrapped her arms around Verra."Oh my poor child.Did she hurt you again?"
My father's eyes settled on me,cold and flat."Selene.What is wrong with you?"
I stared up at them from the floor."You knew,"I whispered."You knew they were taking my pup's soul.You all knew the truth and let me believe lies for months."
My mother did not even flinch."Lower your voice.This is a sacred den."
My father let out a slow,heavy sigh."You should be ashamed.Verra is dying.Instead of standing by her,you are attacking her."
"She lied about having spirit rot!"I cried.
A passing healer slowed in the doorway and looked at me like I had lost my mind.
Caelan's expression went hard.
"That's enough,"he said."Your not the same woman I once knew."He turned to my parents."I think she needs to be seen by the den's mind healers.She is unstable.She is making wild claims about Verra's condition."
My mother nodded without pause."Yes.Her jealousy has finally broken her."
Something cracked inside me.
"You're going to call me mad?"I asked,my voice barely above a sound.
"If that is what it takes to keep Verra safe from you,"Caelan said coldly,"I will not hesitate."
More healers and pack members had gathered near the doorway.I could feel their eyes.Every look was full of pity and judgment.
From the safety of Caelan's chest,Verra looked at me.And smiled.
That was when my tears stopped.
It was strange how fast grief could sharpen into something clear.They had taken my child.They thought I was too broken and too alone to ever stand back up.
They were wrong.
I pushed myself off the floor slowly.I stood straight and looked at all of them with cold eyes.
"You all deserve each other,"I said quietly."And I will make you regret this."
Then I turned and walked away.
I limped back to my chamber and closed the door behind me.
For a long moment I just stood there staring at my reflection in the looking glass.The woman staring back at me was pale and hollow-eyed.She looked like someone who had been buried alive.
But she was still standing.
I picked up my Communication moonstone and pressed my thumb to a pulse I had not sent in six months.
The connection opened almost instantly.
"Uncle Aldric,"I said softly."I am ready to come home."
Six months ago,I had pulled a wounded wolf out of a rogue ambush near the pack's southern border.He turned out to be my uncle,Aldric.
When he recovered,he told me everything.My true parents had died when I was barely three years old.My grandparents had searched for me for years but found nothing.Aldric had never stopped looking.
He told me my grandparents were still alive and had never given up hope.He had been overseeing everything my parents left behind,waiting for the day I came home to claim it.
There was one condition.Before my parents died,they had bound me by betrothal to the son of their most trusted ally.To receive my inheritance,I had to honor that promise and take him as my mate.
I should have gone with Uncle Aldric that same day.
But I was still in love with Caelan then.So I had smiled,thanked my uncle,and told him I could not leave.I told him I already had a mate and I was where I was meant to be.
How wrong I had been.
"Are you sure,Selene?"Aldric's voice was careful and warm."Last time we spoke,you said you were mated.You turned everything down."
"I was wrong,"I said."I will come home and claim what my parents left me.And I will honor their wishes.I will take Damian Ashveil as my mate."
A long pause.Then I heard him exhale in relief.
"Selene...your grandparents will weep with joy when I tell them.When shall I come for you?"
"Give me a few days to settle things here,"I said."But I want the bonding ceremony arranged quickly."
"What bonding ceremony,Selene?"
I looked up.
Caelan stood in the doorway,his eyes sharp and suspicious,his jaw tight.
