Chapter 17 — Unbecoming
704 Words
Selene had always known her power.
It was constant.
Predictable.
Cold.
A weapon she had mastered over centuries.
It obeyed her.
Always.
Until now.
She stood alone in the center of the room, her breathing slow, measured—controlled in appearance only.
Because beneath that control—
Everything was shifting.
Another pulse.
Stronger.
Her hand moved instinctively to her stomach, fingers pressing lightly as the now-familiar heat spread through her again.
But this time—
It didn’t stop there.
It moved outward.
Selene stilled.
Her power reacted.
Shadows rose along the walls—but not as they used to.
Not sharp.
Not precise.
Unstable.
They flickered.
Twisted.
As if something else was moving through them.
“What are you doing…” she whispered.
Another pulse.
Her breath caught—
And the shadows snapped.
They lashed outward violently, striking the far wall hard enough to crack the stone.
Selene flinched.
That had not been intentional.
The door opened behind her.
Kael stepped in—
And froze.
He saw it instantly.
The room—
Distorted.
Shadows bending unnaturally.
Air thick with something heavy.
Unfamiliar.
Selene turned toward him slowly.
“This isn’t mine anymore,” she said.
Another pulse.
The air trembled.
Kael stepped forward cautiously.
“It is,” he said.
Selene shook her head.
“No,” she whispered. “This is something else.”
Another pulse—
Her body tensed sharply—
And suddenly—
Everything went still.
Too still.
Kael felt it instantly.
A shift.
Then—
Selene gasped.
Her eyes flashed—
Not silver.
Something darker.
Deeper.
For a split second—
They weren’t hers.
Kael moved instantly.
“Selene—”
Her power exploded.
Not outward.
Upward.
A shockwave slammed into the ceiling, cracks spreading across the structure as the force tore through the space around her.
Selene staggered.
“What is happening to me—”
Another pulse.
Stronger.
Her knees nearly gave out.
Kael caught her.
This time—
She clung to him.
Not resisting.
Not pushing away.
Her fingers gripped his shirt tightly, her breath uneven as the power continued to surge unpredictably through her.
“It’s changing you,” he said.
Selene shook her head weakly.
“No… it’s rewriting me.”
Another pulse.
Her body pressed closer to his—
Instinct.
Need.
Stability.
Kael tightened his hold around her.
“Then let it,” he said.
Her head snapped up.
“You don’t understand—”
“I understand enough,” he cut in.
His hand moved to her stomach again.
The moment he touched her—
The chaos slowed.
The shadows steadied.
Selene froze.
Her breath catching.
“It responds to you,” she said.
Kael didn’t look away.
“It responds to us.”
Another pulse.
This time—
Controlled.
Selene’s body relaxed slightly in his hold.
But something else had changed.
She could feel it.
Her power—
Was no longer just cold.
There was something else beneath it now.
Heat.
Alive.
Unstable.
“I can feel it mixing,” she whispered.
Kael’s brow furrowed.
“What do you mean.”
Selene swallowed.
“My power… it’s not just mine anymore.”
Another pulse.
Stronger.
Her breath hitched—
Then steadied.
“It’s blending,” she said.
Kael’s expression darkened.
“With what.”
Selene met his gaze.
“With something that shouldn’t exist.”
Silence.
Because they both knew—
That wasn’t entirely true anymore.
Another pulse.
Her fingers tightened in his shirt.
“I can’t control it,” she admitted.
The words were quiet.
But they carried weight.
Because Selene Vale had never said that before.
Not once.
Kael’s grip tightened around her.
“Then I’ll help you.”
Her gaze flickered.
“You can’t control this.”
“No,” he said.
A beat.
“But I can steady you.”
Another pulse.
Her body leaned into him again.
Not weakness.
Instinct.
Trust.
Unspoken.
Selene exhaled slowly.
“This is only the beginning,” she said.
Kael’s gaze didn’t waver.
“I know.”
Another pulse.
Stronger.
But this time—
She didn’t fight it.
She let it move through her.
And for the first time—
It didn’t feel like losing control.
It felt like becoming something else.
- Writer
