Chapter 10: The Weight of the Moon
1073 Words
Selene woke to the sound of voices.
They were low and sharp, almost growls, and they seemed to come from all around her.
When she blinked her eyes open, the first thing she saw was firelight flickering on the high stone ceiling of the council room. The second was Kael — sitting beside her bed, elbows on his knees, hands clasped so tightly the veins stood out.
“Kael?” Her voice was hoarse.
His head snapped up. For a heartbeat, relief washed over his face, softening his hard features, but it vanished just as quickly, replaced with the calm, stoic mask he always wore.
“You fainted,” he said simply. “You’ve been out for hours.”
Selene struggled to sit up, but Kael’s hand was suddenly there, steadying her shoulder. “Easy,” he murmured, his voice low, almost gentle.
She looked around and saw them — Darius pacing like a caged beast, Lucian leaning against the far wall with arms crossed, both of them staring at her like she’d just turned the moon blood-red with her bare hands.
“What happened?” she asked, though she already knew. She could still feel the power thrumming under her skin, restless, alive.
“You happened,” Darius said, his amber eyes blazing. “You commanded a courtyard full of rogues to retreat — with a single word.”
Lucian’s voice was quiet but sharper than steel. “You revealed exactly what you are, Selene.”
She swallowed, her throat dry. “I didn’t mean to—”
“You saved lives.” Kael’s voice cut across the room, steady but edged with something fierce. He was watching her closely, as though memorizing the fact that she was alive, breathing.
Darius growled. “You could have gotten yourself killed. Running into a rogue attack like that—what were you thinking?”
Selene’s temper flared. “I was thinking that while the three of you stood here fighting over me, people were dying outside!”
That shut him up.
Lucian’s expression softened, but only slightly. “She’s right,” he said quietly. “But now every wolf who saw what happened tonight knows what she is. The prophecy isn’t just a whisper anymore — it’s real.”
The words landed like a stone in her stomach.
Prophecy. Fated mate. Moon’s chosen. All the titles she’d never asked for, never wanted.
Kael rose slowly to his feet. “The elders will call a council at dawn,” he said. “They’ll want to decide which Alpha you belong to.”
Selene stared at him, cold anger flooding her veins. “Belong to?” she echoed.
Kael’s jaw tightened. “That’s how they’ll see it.”
“I am not some breeding token,” she hissed, her silver eyes flashing.
Darius stepped closer, his presence filling the room. “Like it or not, Selene, tonight you changed everything. Packs will come for you. Rogues will come for you. Witches will try to claim you. If you think you can stand against that alone—”
“Then teach me,” she snapped.
The room went silent.
Even Lucian’s unreadable expression flickered with surprise.
Selene stood, her legs shaky but her resolve solid. “I’m done being a pawn in your games,” she said, her voice steady now. “If fate put me here, fine. But I decide what I do with it. I won’t be passed around like a prize.”
Her words hung in the air like a thrown dagger.
Lucian was the first to nod, slow and measured. “Then we train you. We teach you control. But you need to understand — the more you use that power, the louder the world will hear you.”
Darius muttered something under his breath but didn’t argue.
Kael was quiet the longest. Then, finally, he stepped closer to her, his gray eyes unreadable. “You’ll need someone to guard you tonight. I’ll stay.”
Selene almost refused — but the memory of the rogues, of their claws glinting under the moonlight, made her hesitate.
“Fine,” she said stiffly.
---
Later that night, the council room was quiet, the others gone. Kael sat near the door like a shadow, silent, watchful.
Selene couldn’t sleep. She sat by the window, staring out at the courtyard, at the bloodstains still dark against the stones.
“You almost died tonight,” Kael said suddenly, his voice rough.
She glanced back at him. “You almost did too.”
He didn’t answer.
For a long moment, the only sound was the crackle of the fire. Then Kael stood and crossed the room, stopping just a step away from her.
“Selene.” His voice was softer now, almost a whisper. “When I rejected you… it wasn’t because I didn’t want you.”
Her heart twisted painfully.
“Then why?” she asked, her voice breaking.
Kael’s jaw clenched. “Because I thought pushing you away would keep you safe. I thought if I stayed away, the prophecy would never find you.”
Selene blinked back tears, her chest tight. “You hurt me,” she whispered.
“I know.” His hand twitched at his side, as if he wanted to touch her but didn’t dare. “And I don’t know if I can fix it. But I’ll try.”
The air between them was charged, heavy with words unsaid.
Before she could answer, a whisper of voices echoed through the hall — faint, coming from beyond the council chamber.
Selene tensed. Kael caught the sound too and motioned for silence. They crept to the door, listening.
“…she’ll be marked by dawn,” one voice said — a man, low and urgent.
“And if she refuses?” another asked.
“Then we make her. The packs need an heir, not a queen who thinks she’s free.”
Selene’s blood ran cold.
Kael’s eyes darkened to storm clouds. “Stay here,” he said, but Selene grabbed his arm.
“No. If they’re planning to force me into a bond, I need to know who they are. I won’t hide anymore.”
Kael hesitated — then nodded once.
Together, they slipped into the shadows, following the voices down the corridor.
And for the first time since the night of her birth, Selene wasn’t running from her fate. She was running straight toward it.
- Writer
