The Confrontation
903 Words
"You have no right to be here, Lucien."
Selene's voice rang across the manor's entrance hall, sharp and steady despite the tremors racing through her body. She stood beside Kael, her chin lifted, her fingers wrapped around the moonstone pendant at her throat.
Lucien's cold blue eyes swept over her with barely concealed disgust. "You're wearing that dress. That's not yours."
"The Alpha provided it." Selene's smile was razor-thin. "He's been remarkably generous to me."
"Generous?" Lucien's face contorted. "You're w*****g yourself out to my father because I rejected you. Is that it?"
Kael moved before Selene could respond. One moment he was standing beside her, calm and controlled. The next, he had Lucien pinned against the stone wall, one massive hand wrapped around his son's throat.
"Watch your tongue," Kael growled. "Or I'll remove it."
Lucien's eyes bulged. "Father—"
"You're not my son right now. You're a fool who destroyed the best thing that ever happened to this pack." Kael's golden eyes blazed. "You humiliated a woman who saved your life. You betrayed her with her own sister. And now you dare come to my home and insult her?"
Selene's heart pounded. She'd never seen Kael like this—truly furious, his wolf shimmering beneath his skin, his massive frame trembling with barely contained violence.
"Let him go," she said softly.
Kael's eyes snapped at her. "Selene—"
"Let him go." She stepped forward, placing her hand on Kael's arm. "He's not worth your anger."
For a moment, Kael didn't move. Then, slowly, he released Lucien's throat and stepped back. Lucien crumpled against the wall, gasping for breath.
Selene walked toward her former mate. Her heels clicked against the stone floor. Her silver-blonde hair caught the morning light spinning in the moonlight.
"You came here to humiliate me again," she said. "To remind me of my place. To drag me back to the castle, so everyone can watch me suffer."
Lucien straightened, rubbing his throat. "You have no place here. Father is using you to hurt me."
"Using me?" Selene laughed—a cold, bitter sound. "I'm the one using him. Or haven't you figured that out yet?"
Lucien's eyes widened. "What are you talking about?"
"Your father is the most powerful alpha in the northern territories." Selene circled him slowly, her violet eyes gleaming. "He's respected. Feared. Desired by countless women. And I—the healer you discarded— am living in his manor, wearing his gifts, sleeping in his guest chambers."
"You're not sleeping with him—"
"Not yet." Selene's smile turned dangerous. "But I will. And when I do, the entire pack will know. Mia will know. Your mother will know. And you—" She stopped in front of him, close enough to see the panic flickering in his eyes. "You'll watch the woman you threw away rise higher than you could ever imagine."
Lucien's face drained of color. "You're insane."
"I'm motivated." She tilted her head. "Tell me, Lucien. How does it feel? Knowing you destroyed the one woman who truly loved you for a sister who's using you to settle an old grudge?"
"Mia loves me—"
"Mia loves power." Selene's voice hardened. "She always has. She envied everything I had, and you were the easiest thing to steal. But once she's Luna, once she has everything she wants, what then? Will she still love you when you're no longer useful?"
Lucien opened his mouth to respond, but no words came.
Kael moved to stand behind Selene, his presence a solid wall of protection at her back. "I think you've heard enough, son. Leave my manor. And if you ever speak to Selene again without her permission, I'll have you exiled from the Silver Crescent Pack."
"You can't—"
"I'm the Alpha. I can do whatever I want." Kael's golden eyes bore into Lucien's. "Consider this your only warning."
Lucien looked between them—his father, the legendary ruler, and Selene, the woman he'd thrown away. Something flickered across his face. Regret? Jealousy? Rage?
It didn't matter.
Selene had already won.
Lucien turned and stormed out of the manor, slamming the heavy oak door behind him. The echo reverberated through the halls like a death knell.
Selene exhaled slowly. Her knees buckled.
Kael caught her before she hit the ground, his strong arms wrapping around her waist. "You did well."
"I almost broke." She pressed her forehead against his chest. "I almost screamed at him. Begged him to explain why he chose her over me."
"But you didn't."
"No." She looked up at him. "Because you were there. You made me strong."
Kael's golden eyes softened. He brushed a strand of silver-blonde hair from her face with aching tenderness. "You were always strong, Selene. You just forgot."
For a long moment, they stood in the empty hall—the Alpha and the healer, two wounded souls clinging to each other in the aftermath of battle.
Then Selene stepped back. Her violet eyes hardened with resolve.
"Teach me," she said.
Kael blinked. "Teach you what?"
"How to become a Luna." She lifted her chin. "How to command respect. How to rule. I don't just want revenge anymore. I want to become someone who can never be discarded again."
Kael studied her for a long time. Then he smiled—a slow, approving curve that made her heart race.
"Then let's begin.
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