The cell reeked of rust and old blood.
Selene sat hunched against the wall, chains dragging at her wrists and ankles. They weren’t ordinary restraints — no wolf could be held by steel alone. These links were etched with ancient runes, carved so deep into the iron that they seemed to bleed faint light. Every time her wolf stirred, testing the limits of her cage, the symbols pulsed, burning against her skin until she bit her lip hard enough to taste copper.
The Council hadn’t just bound her. They had caged her soul.
Her wolf paced restlessly inside her, slamming against invisible bars, claws raking the edges of her being. She wanted to shift, to fight, to tear. But the more she resisted, the harsher the runes lashed back. Her flesh was raw where the cuffs had rubbed it raw, a permanent st
