CHAPTER FIVE-DEFIANCE
1003 Words
The moon was too bright.
That was Selene’s first thought as they led her through the fortress, downstairs that seemed to descend forever, into the belly of the earth where the air grew cold, and the walls pulsed with ancient power.
She was dressed in white. Of course, she was. Because apparently, this whole thing needed to be as creepy and ritualistic as possible. The dress was simple…sleeveless, falling to her feet, made of something that felt like silk but shimmered like moonlight. They’d braided her hair back, woven it with silver thread that caught the torchlight.
She looked like a sacrifice.
Which, technically, she was.
Kira walked beside her, unusually quiet. Behind them, Thalia and three other wolves Selene didn’t recognize formed a silent procession. No one spoke. The only sound was their footsteps echoing off stone, and the distant howl of wolves somewhere above them.
Selene’s mark burned like a living thing, pulsing in rhythm with her heartbeat. Every step closer to wherever they were going made it worse, hotter, sharper, more insistent.
Finally, they reached the door.
It was massive, carved from black stone, covered in symbols that hurt to look at directly. Two wolves in half-shift stood guard, their eyes glowing in the darkness.
“This is it,” Kira said softly. She squeezed Selene’s hand. “Remember…hold onto yourself. No matter what.”
The doors opened.
The chamber beyond was circular, carved entirely from stone that looked like it had been scorched black by fire. The ceiling was open to the sky, revealing the full moon hanging fat and silver above them. In the center of the room was a raised dais, and on it, symbols drawn in what looked like…
“Is that blood?” Selene asked.
“Old blood,” Thalia said. “From the first bonding ceremony, centuries ago. It’s part of the ritual.”
Cool. Super normal. Not disturbing at all.
Wolves lined the walls…dozens of them, maybe more, all in human form, all watching with those eerie glowing eyes. The air was thick with power, with anticipation, like the whole fortress was holding its breath.
And in the center of it all, standing on the dais, was Dorian.
He’d changed too. Gone were the casual clothes from earlier. Now he wore black leather pants and nothing else, his chest bare, those binding tattoos stark against his skin. His hair was loose, falling around his face, and his eyes…
His eyes were pure gold. No hint of human brown left.
His wolf was already close to the surface.
“Selene Duskbane,” he said, his voice echoing through the chamber. It didn’t sound entirely like him anymore…rougher, deeper, threaded with something inhuman. “Come forward.”
Selene’s feet moved before her brain caught up. The bond pulled, dragging her toward him like a fish on a line.
She climbed the steps to the dais, and suddenly they were face to face, close enough that she could feel the heat radiating off his skin. He smelled like something wild, something that made her want to either run screaming or lean closer.
She did neither.
“Kneel,” Dorian commanded.
Every instinct Selene had recoiled. “No.”
A ripple of shock went through the watching wolves. Apparently, no one had said no before.
Dorian’s eyes flashed. “This is part of the ritual.”
“Then change the ritual.”
His jaw clenched. “Selene-”
“I came here willingly,” she said, her voice steady even though her heart was trying to beat out of her chest. “I agreed to this bond. But I won’t kneel. Not for you, not for anyone. If your goddess has a problem with that, she can come down here and make me.”
Silence.
Then, from somewhere in the crowd, someone laughed. It sounded like Silas.
Dorian stared at her for a long, tense moment. Then something shifted in his expression: surprise, maybe, or respect. Or something darker that Selene couldn’t name.
“Fine,” he said quietly. “Stand.”
He reached out, his hand hovering over the mark on her back. “This is going to hurt.”
“Everything hurts lately. I’m used to it.”
“Not like this.”
He pressed his palm flat against her mark.
Selene’s world exploded.
Pain white-hot, all-consuming, ripped through her body like lightning. She felt herself scream, felt her knees buckle, but Dorian’s other hand shot out, catching her waist, holding her upright.
“Don’t let go,” he growled, and she realized he wasn’t just talking about it physically.
The bond roared to life between them, no longer a whisper but a scream. She could feel it forcing its way into her mind, her body, her soul, trying to rewire everything that made her.
And she could feel him.
Dorian’s anger. His grief. His bone-deep exhaustion. The weight of watching woman after woman die, knowing he was the reason, knowing he couldn’t stop it.
His wolf, prowling beneath his skin, hungry and violent and desperate to claim.
And underneath all of it, buried so deep she almost missed it…guilt. So much guilt it threatened to drown him.
You don’t want this, she realized with stunning clarity. You never wanted any of this.
The mark on her back spread, burning new lines across her shoulders, down her spine, wrapping around her ribs like chains. She could feel it changing her, feel her body trying to adapt to something it was never meant to hold.
Dorian’s wolf surged forward.
His eyes went completely black for a second, then snapped back to gold. His grip on her tightened, hard enough to bruise.
“Dorian,” she gasped.
“I’m-” His voice cracked. “I’m trying to hold him back.”
“Don’t.”
His head snapped up. “What?”
“Your wolf wants to meet me?” Selene forced herself to straighten, to meet those inhuman eyes. “Then let him. I’m not afraid.”
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