Chapter 7
1731 Words
Lila left the bulletin board behind, but the image of that photograph followed her all the way across the pack territory. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw the stranger's hand around her waist and the accusation beneath it, and every time she remembered Kael asking her to prove her innocence, the humiliation burned all over again.
She could have gone home.
Instead, she turned toward the eastern side of the pack.
There was only one person she wanted to see.
Selene.
If anyone could understand what she was going through, it should have been the girl who had known her since childhood. Selene had been beside her when Lila first shifted, had held her hand during her first fever, and had listened to every embarrassing secret Lila had never trusted anyone else with.
Even after Selene became one of the most admired Betas in the pack, their friendship had remained.
At least, Lila had believed it had.
When she reached Selene's house, the sky was already darkening. Warm light spilled through the windows, and the familiar scent of cinnamon drifted through the open kitchen vent.
Lila hesitated before knocking.
The door opened almost immediately.
Selene's smile disappeared when she saw her.
“Lila?”
She looked Lila over from head to toe, then quickly stepped aside. “Come in.”
Lila entered without answering.
Selene closed the door and turned toward her. “I heard what happened at the board.”
“Of course you did.”
There was no accusation in Lila's voice, but Selene's expression tightened anyway.
“Everyone heard.”
“I know.”
Selene reached for her arm. “Are you hurt?”
“Not physically.”
Selene pulled her toward the sofa. “Sit down. I'll make you something warm.”
“I don't need anything.”
“You haven't eaten properly.”
Lila looked at her.
Selene paused.
Then she gave a small smile. “You always forget to eat when you're upset.”
That familiar tone loosened something inside Lila.
For the first time since leaving the bulletin board, she felt like she could breathe.
She sat down.
Selene went into the kitchen and returned a few minutes later with tea and a plate of bread. She placed them on the table before sitting beside Lila, close enough that their shoulders almost touched.
Neither spoke for several seconds.
Then Selene sighed.
“I wish I could take this away from you.”
Lila stared at the untouched tea.
“So do I.”
Selene reached over and squeezed her hand. “Don't let them destroy you.”
Lila swallowed hard.
“They already did.”
“No.”
Selene's voice was firm. “They embarrassed you. That's not the same thing as destroying you.”
Lila looked at her.
For a moment, Selene looked exactly like the friend Lila remembered.
Then Selene said, “You just need to accept that Kael made his choice.”
Lila's fingers slowly loosened.
“I know he rejected me.”
“Then let him go.”
“It's not that simple.”
“It can be.”
Lila looked down at her hands. “Why does everyone keep saying that?”
“Because you're hurting yourself by holding on.”
“I don't understand why he rejected me.”
Selene was quiet.
Lila noticed.
“You know something.”
Selene immediately shook her head. “No.”
“You hesitated.”
“I was thinking.”
“About what?”
Selene picked up her cup.
“About how to tell you this without making things worse.”
Lila waited.
Selene finally said, “Kael has always had expectations placed on him. He isn't free to make every decision based on what he wants.”
Lila frowned. “Neither am I.”
“I know.”
“Then why am I the only one expected to accept his decision?”
Selene looked at her.
“Because he's the Alpha.”
The answer came too quickly.
Lila's expression changed.
Selene seemed to realize it too and softened her voice. “I didn't mean it that way.”
“You did.”
“No, Lila.”
“You think because he's the Alpha, what he wants matters more.”
Selene sighed. “I'm trying to make you understand the situation.”
“No. You're trying to make me stop asking questions.”
Selene went silent.
Lila leaned back against the sofa, suddenly exhausted.
“I just want to know what happened.”
“You know what happened.”
“He rejected me.”
“Yes.”
“Then why does everyone act like I'm guilty of something?”
Selene's gaze flickered toward the window.
Lila caught it.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“You looked outside.”
“I was distracted.”
“By what?”
Selene smiled faintly. “You always notice everything.”
Lila didn't smile back.
Something was wrong.
She couldn't explain it, and she couldn't point to one thing Selene had said that proved anything, but the feeling wouldn't leave.
Selene knew too much.
She knew that Kael had refused to see Lila at the residence.
She knew exactly what had been written on the bulletin board.
She knew how the pack was interpreting the photograph.
And now she was telling Lila to stop asking questions.
Lila slowly picked up her tea.
“Did Kael ever talk to you about me?”
Selene's fingers stopped around her cup.
“Why would he?”
“You're a Beta. You spend a lot of time around the Alpha.”
“That doesn't mean we talk about you.”
Lila studied her face.
Selene smiled.
“You're overthinking everything because you're hurt.”
Maybe she was.
Lila wanted to believe that.
She wanted to believe her oldest friend was simply trying to protect her from more pain.
After all, what reason would Selene have to lie?
Lila looked away.
“Maybe.”
Selene relaxed slightly.
Then she reached over and brushed a strand of hair away from Lila's face.
“You need to stop blaming yourself.”
“I don't blame myself.”
“You do.”
Lila gave a bitter laugh. “Everyone else is doing enough of that for me.”
Selene smiled.
“That's why I'm here.”
The words should have comforted her.
Instead, Lila felt a strange chill.
She ignored it.
“I saw you with Kael yesterday.”
Selene's hand stopped.
“You did?”
“At the Alpha's residence.”
Selene's expression remained calm. “I was there.”
“You were laughing.”
Selene smiled. “Kael said something funny.”
“He doesn't laugh like that with me anymore.”
The words slipped out before Lila could stop them.
Selene studied her for a moment.
Then she said softly, “Maybe that's because things between you were never what you thought they were.”
Lila's chest tightened.
“What does that mean?”
Selene looked down at her tea.
“Nothing.”
“You keep saying that.”
“Because there is nothing to explain.”
“Then why say it?”
Selene didn't answer.
Lila stood.
The movement was sudden enough that Selene looked up.
“I should go.”
“Already?”
“Yes.”
Selene rose too. “Lila, wait.”
Lila turned.
Selene crossed the room and took both of her hands.
“Whatever happens, don't do anything reckless.”
“I'm not.”
“Don't confront Kael again.”
Lila frowned.
“Why?”
“Because he already made his decision.”
“I need answers.”
“You won't get them.”
“How do you know?”
Selene's lips parted.
For a second, she looked almost frightened.
Then she recovered.
“Because I know Kael.”
Lila stared at her.
“You don't know him better than I do.”
Selene's expression changed.
It was tiny.
Barely there.
But Lila saw it.
Something sharp passed through Selene's eyes before the gentle expression returned.
“You're right,” Selene said quietly. “You knew him first.”
Lila felt the words settle between them.
She didn't know why they sounded like a challenge.
Selene released her hands.
“Go home and rest.”
Lila nodded.
She reached the door, then stopped.
“Selene.”
“Yes?”
“If you hear anything else about me, tell me.”
Selene smiled.
“Of course.”
Lila opened the door.
“And if you know why Kael rejected me, tell me that too.”
Selene didn't answer immediately.
Lila turned her head.
Selene was still standing beside the sofa, one hand resting against the back of the chair.
“I'll tell you if I learn anything.”
Lila held her gaze for another second.
Then she left.
The door closed behind her.
Selene remained still until Lila's footsteps disappeared.
Only then did her smile vanish.
She walked to the window and watched Lila disappear down the road.
“You always were too curious,” she murmured.
Her fingers tightened around the curtain.
Across the room, a small wooden box sat on the table.
Selene walked toward it, opened the lid, and removed a folded piece of paper.
She unfolded it carefully.
There was no photograph this time.
Only a few handwritten words.
She knows something is wrong.
Selene stared at the message.
Then she tore it into pieces.
Outside, Lila was already halfway home.
She kept thinking about Selene's words.
You knew him first.
The sentence shouldn't have bothered her.
But it did.
Lila stopped beneath a streetlamp and looked back toward Selene's house.
The windows were dark now.
Her wolf stirred uneasily.
Something is wrong.
Lila pressed a hand against her chest.
“I know.”
Selene.
Lila's eyes narrowed.
“I don't have proof.”
The wolf went quiet.
Lila turned back toward home, but she couldn't shake the feeling that she had just walked away from the one person who might know exactly what was happening.
She didn't know what Selene was hiding.
She didn't know who had created the photograph.
And she didn't know why Kael had rejected her.
But for the first time, Lila stopped wondering whether she had done something wrong.
Someone was hiding the truth from her.
She just had no idea how close that person was.
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