Fated to Fall

Chapter 4

Selina’s POV

Kalen received the call just after dawn.

I was still curled beneath the covers when his ringtone shattered the silence. He answered it without checking the ID, but I already knew who it was—his assistant, Griffin.

I sat up slowly, watching his face tighten with each passing second.

“What is it?” I asked, even before he hung up.

Kalen's jaw clenched.

“It’s my father. He... he wants to see me.”

That alone was enough to make my stomach drop.

Lord Dominic Draven was old now—frail and fading, having retired from his Alpha duties and handed the reins to Kalen nearly two years ago. He rarely summoned anyone anymore. And when he did, it was never without cause.

“He doesn’t ask for me unless it’s urgent,” Kalen muttered, already pulling on a shirt. Then he looked at me, uncertain. “Will you come?”

I hesitated.

Part of me wanted to stay buried in the warmth of bed, away from all the chaos still lingering between us. But something in his voice tugged at me—an edge of fear, like he knew something was off.

“I’ll come,” I whispered.

We drove in silence. The road twisted toward Havencrest Estate, nestled deep in Duskmire Valley, where the shadows of old oaks reached like claws toward the sky.

As we passed through the gates, I felt Myra stir restlessly in my mind.

Something wasn’t right.

Inside the estate, everything was too quiet. We climbed the staircase to Lord Draven’s room, and that’s when I saw them.

Six men—large, broad-shouldered, and dressed in dark, formal attire—stood like statues around the bed.

These men were warriors. Not guards or even family.

Obviously, they were Alphas. Their power pulsed thick in the air, enough to make my wolf flatten her ears.

Kalen stopped short. “What’s going on?”

Lord Draven looked older than ever, his thin body propped up with pillows, eyes sunken but alert. He nodded toward the men surrounding him.

“I warned you,” he rasped.

“Your choices have sown chaos. And now the fire is coming.”

Kalen’s face paled.

“What fire?”

He stepped forward, but before he could ask more, the door opened, and in walked Sierra Whitlock.

I felt the world tilt.

My chest clenched, and I instinctively stepped back.

Kalen turned, stunned, but the next moment made everything worse.

One of the Alphas—a towering man with silver-streaked hair and a deep, gravelly voice—stepped forward.

“I speak on behalf of my friend,” he said, gesturing to another Alpha standing near the window. “Alpha Caelum of Frosthollow Pack.”

I recognized him immediately. His resemblance to Sierra was unmistakable.

“You defiled his daughter, Kalen,” the silver-haired Alpha continued coldly. “And now, you will marry her. Or prepare for war.”

Kalen’s mouth opened, but no sound came.

Alpha Caelum stepped forward himself then, his eyes blazing with fury.

“You think you can touch my daughter—claim her lips, her body, and walk away like it meant nothing? You think a Luna's title will protect you from consequences?”

“She wasn’t defiled,” Kalen said sharply, his voice tight with tension. “It was just a fling, nothing more.”

“You can't defile my daughter, and call it a fling!” Caelum snapped.

I stood frozen, my stomach twisting.

Myra howled within me, torn between rage and heartbreak. I could feel every eye in the room land on me, as if I were the problem now. As if my presence was the obstacle to Kalen’s fate.

Alpha Caelum sneered at me.

“If your Luna had any dignity, she’d step aside. But since she won’t, everyone of us here will make sure she does.”

I clenched my fists.

“Don’t talk about me like I’m not standing right here.”

He ignored me.

“You have two days, Alpha Kalen. Marry Sierra. If you refuse... well, we’re prepared.”

The threat hung like smoke in the air.

I looked at Kalen, waiting and praying for him to defend me. But he just stood there, caught between duty and damage, between truth and consequences.

Humiliation flooded me.

I was surrounded by men who saw me as nothing more than a delay. An obstacle to be removed.

I turned and walked out of the room, refusing to let them see me fall apart. But my heart had already shattered.

---

I didn’t speak a word the entire ride home. Every attempt Kalen made to talk fell into the void of my silence. By the time we pulled into the driveway, I was already out of the car and heading inside.

The house felt foreign now.

It had five bedrooms, chosen for a future we once dreamed of—filled with children, laughter, and stability. Now, it felt like a ticking clock. I wondered how soon before I’d be asked to move out of the room I and Kalen shared.

Kalen followed me to the bedroom.

“Selina, please... talk to me.”

I turned to face him, my voice low and sharp. “You let them humiliate me. You let them treat me like I didn’t matter. Like I was in the way.”

“I didn’t—”

“You did. You stood there, and you said nothing. I’m your Luna, Kalen. Not her. Not yet. And maybe not ever. But you didn’t fight for me.”

He looked broken. “I didn’t want you to get hurt.”

“You failed.”

I shut the door on him.

In the shower, I crumpled to the floor, letting the water wash away the scent of power and defeat. Myra whispered, We can’t win this fight, Selina. They’re too many, and fate isn’t on our side.

“But I’m not going down quietly,” I murmured back.

Two days passed. Sierra moved in as decreed by the council. I pointed to an abandoned room when she arrived.

I avoided her until she finally spoke.

“I’m sorry for interrupting,” she said, voice soft. “But the bond can’t be ignored. I won’t take Kalen from you... unless he chooses me.”

I gave her a tight smile.

“Don’t flatter yourself.”

Two weeks passed. The pressure didn’t ease. Sierra’s presence grew bolder, and one night, I felt it.

Pain. Searing and crippling pain. Then almost immediately, it disappeared.

I sat up in bed, alone.

I needed no one to tell me that he had marked her.

My late mother’s warning echoed in my head: When your mate marks another, the bond goes numb. The pain ends, but so does the clarity. You’ll never feel him the same way again.

The next morning, I walked in on them cuddling in the laundry room.

The moment they saw me, they quickly pulled apart.

“Good morning, Luna Selina,” Sierra chirped.

Almost immediately, I noticed the fresh mark on her neck.

I laughed. “Congratulations,” I said flatly, and walked away.

“Selina, wait!” Kalen called.

For what?

My waiting didn't change anything.

I turned. “Kalen, what do you need me for? After all, I’m not your only Luna anymore.”

And that’s when I decided. It was time to leave.