Chapter 14: The last lie she told herself
889 Words
(Selena’s POV)
The pack would not meet her eyes anymore.
Selena noticed it the moment she stepped into the eastern hall. Conversations faltered not silenced, just… redirected. Wolves who once leaned toward her now found reasons to be elsewhere. Respect had curdled into watchfulness.
And watchfulness was the first step toward judgment.
She kept her chin lifted, her steps measured, tension folded neatly beneath composure. Panic was a luxury she could not afford not when the omega had done the unthinkable.
Not when the pack had felt her.
That tremor in the ground still echoed in Selena’s bones, a whisper she could not outrun.
She had underestimated her.
No—worse.
She had misunderstood what she was.
Back in her chamber, Selena locked the door and leaned against it, breathing shallowly until her pulse slowed. Mirrors lined the wall, reflecting a woman calm and controlled, eyes sharp, lips neutral.
A leader.
A survivor.
Think, she told herself. You’ve survived worse.
But this was different.
This was exposure without accusation. Power without violence. The kind that rewrote instincts rather than challenged rules.
The omega hadn’t needed permission.
That terrified Selena more than teeth or claws ever could.
By nightfall, whispers reached her ears despite closed doors.
Lara’s name.
Mara’s survival.
The Alpha’s silence.
Worst of all, the council had been called.
Not publicly announced.
Quiet.
Deliberate.
Selena’s fingers tightened around the edge of her vanity.
Liam.
He was waiting.
Watching.
Gathering.
That meant she was running out of time.
She paced.
If this went to the council cleanly, she would lose. Not immediately not condemned. But power is rarely taken in one motion. It is eroded.
Stripped.
Suffocated.
Unless she forced a choice.
Unless she gave the pack something so undeniable, so disruptive, that instinct would override doubt.
Her gaze lifted to her reflection slowly.
Frame the omega again, a voice whispered.
Too late.
The pack had already felt her authority.
No.
If Selena wanted to survive, she needed to break something.
And suddenly, the answer was painfully obvious.
The bond.
Not claimed.
Not rejected cleanly.
Fractured.
Unresolved.
Dangerous.
Selena’s lips curved.
She waited until the hour just before midnight, when the pack slept but wards relaxed. When emotion ruled more easily than logic.
She wrapped herself in a cloak infused with calming herbs, dulling scent and intention, then slipped from her chambers like a ghost.
The Alpha’s quarters loomed quiet.
Unwatched.
Of course.
No one suspected betrayal from within.
She knocked once.
Then again.
The door opened.
Liam frowned faintly. “Selena? This isn’t—”
She stepped inside before he could finish.
“I need your help,” she said softly, eyes shining just enough to suggest desperation rather than guilt. “Something is very wrong.”
He hesitated.
Good.
“I think she’s using you,” Selena continued gently. “The omega. She’s manipulating instinct. Mine… yours… the pack’s.”
“That’s a serious claim,” Liam said.
“I wouldn’t make it lightly,” she replied. “But I felt it today. The pull. The distortion.”
She stepped closer, lowering her voice. “I think she’s forcing a false bond.”
That did it.
Fury flashed across his face not explosive, but dangerous.
Selena pressed on, sensing the opening. “If she pushes further, she’ll fracture this pack. You felt it too, didn’t you? That pressure?”
Silence stretched.
“Yes,” Liam admitted quietly. “But—”
“But she won’t stop,” Selena whispered. “And if she snaps, she’ll take everything with her.”
For a heartbeat, Selena believed she had won.
Then Liam stepped back.
Slowly.
Deliberately.
“No,” he said.
Her smile faltered.
“She didn’t force anything,” he continued. “She restrained herself.”
Selena’s breath caught.
“And you know what that feels like?” Liam added. “Control without cruelty. Power without hunger.”
He looked at her fully then.
Truly.
Understanding flared in his eyes.
“You’re afraid,” he said.
Selena’s composure cracked.
Just barely.
She reacted on instinct.
A vial shattered against the floor.
The scent erupted instantly rage. Fear. Heightened aggression.
An ancient trigger.
Selena lunged not at Liam, but past him, toward the bedroom entrance.
If she couldn’t convince him—
She’d bind him.
The room exploded with power.
Liam slammed the door shut with a snarl, dominance crashing outward as the alarm wards ignited.
Too late.
Too loud.
Too desperate.
Guards stormed the corridor.
And then—
She was there.
The omega appeared at the threshold, eyes glowing faintly silver, expression calm as winter.
“I told you,” she said softly, “failing twice is a choice.”
Selena backed away, heart pounding. “You’re tearing this pack apart!”
“No,” the omega replied evenly. “I’m showing it the rot.”
Liam stood beside her now—not between them, not in front.
Beside.
That was the moment Selena knew.
She had lost.
Not because she was weaker
But because she had struck openly when subtlety was her only shield.
Guards seized her.
The vial remnants smoked on the stone floor.
The pack would see it in the morning.
And the last lie Selena told herself as she was dragged away was this:
That power stolen lasts longer than power revealed.
She was wrong.
- Writer
