Chapter Two
1194 Words
“Selene?”
The voice was raw, human, breaking.
When I looked down, storm-gray eyes stared back at me—Dorian’s, not Fenrir’s. His claws had retracted, his breath was ragged, his entire body trembling as if he’d been dragged from a nightmare.
“What… what did I do?” His gaze flicked from my face to my throat, to the glowing mark still seared into my skin. His lips parted in horror. “Goddess… no.”
I staggered back, hand flying to cover the wound. My voice stuck in my throat.
Because in my skull, Fenrir’s whisper slithered, soft and cruel.
**“Tell him, and you lose him. Stay silent, and he remains yours.”**
My chest heaved. My soul screamed to speak. To tell Dorian everything, warn him of the monster inside.
But Maren’s voice rang out, closer than ever. “Selene!”
Branches cracked. She was seconds away.
Dorian surged forward, gripping my arms. His hands shook, but his eyes were desperate. “Tell me I didn’t hurt you. Tell me—Selene, what happened?!”
Words crowded my lips, fighting to escape.
*You weren’t yourself. Fenrir took over. He’s real, Dorian. He marked me, not you.*
But Fenrir’s echo thundered louder.
**“He will not believe you. He will hate you. He will leave you.”**
“Selene—please.” His voice broke. “What did I do to you?”
“Selene!”
Maren burst through the trees, hair wild, eyes wide. She froze at the sight of us—me trembling, Dorian crouched before me, his mouth stained with blood. My blood.
Her voice was a blade. “What the hell did you do to her?”
---
I jerked back, but Dorian straightened, raising his hands as if surrendering. His voice was low, rough. “It’s not what it looks like.”
Maren barked a bitter laugh. “Not what it looks like? Your teeth are in her neck, Dorian!” She pushed past him, dropping to my side. “Selene, are you alright? Did he—”
“I’m fine,” I cut in too quickly, too sharply.
Maren’s eyes narrowed. “You don’t look fine. You look—”
“I said I’m fine.” My voice cracked. My hands shook where they pressed against my throat.
Her gaze darted between me and Dorian, suspicion sharpening. “What happened out here?”
Dorian’s jaw clenched. “I don’t… I don’t know.” His voice cracked on the last word. He dragged his hands through his hair, pacing. “One second I was marking her, the next… everything went black. When I woke—” He broke off, fists clenching. “When I woke, she was on the ground. And you—” He turned to me, eyes burning. “You were crying.”
“I…” My lips parted, the truth balanced on the edge.
Fenrir hissed in my skull.
**“Speak it, and you doom him.”**
I snapped my mouth shut.
“Selene?” Dorian pressed.
Maren’s hand gripped mine, squeezing tight. “Tell me the truth. Did he force you?”
“No!” The word ripped out before I could stop it. Both of them froze, startled by my vehemence. I swallowed hard, forcing my voice steady. “No. He… he didn’t. It was just… the marking. It hurt more than I expected.”
Maren’s brow furrowed. “That’s not how it works. The bite burns, yes, but then it soothes. You shouldn’t look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
I flinched. Because I had.
Dorian’s eyes searched mine, haunted. “I don’t remember. I should remember. But all I see is blood. Your blood.”
He staggered back, horror twisting his face. “Goddess, Selene, what did I do?”
I wanted to scream the truth at him. *You didn’t do it. Fenrir did. There’s something inside you, something monstrous.*
But if I did—what then?
The pack would hear. They would know. And they would destroy him.
Fenrir’s whisper coiled, triumphant.
**“Protect me, and you protect him. Betray me, and you betray him too.”**
---
The bushes rustled. More footsteps. Warriors. Elders. The scent of the pack closing in.
Maren straightened, shoving me behind her protectively. “If you hurt her, Dorian, I swear I’ll—”
“I didn’t!” His voice cracked with desperation. “I don’t know what happened—”
The first guard appeared, bow drawn. “Alpha?” His eyes darted from Dorian’s bloodstained mouth to my shaking form. “What’s going on here?”
“Nothing,” Dorian snapped, too quickly.
“Nothing?” The guard’s tone was edged with disbelief. “The Luna is bleeding.”
“She’s fine,” Dorian said, voice tight, controlled.
I forced a shaky nod, clutching Maren’s arm. “I’m fine.”
“You’re not fine,” Maren hissed under her breath.
The guard lowered his bow reluctantly but didn’t look convinced. “The council will want an explanation.”
“They’ll have one,” Dorian said, steel creeping back into his tone. He straightened, Alpha authority cloaking him like armor. “For now, stand down. That’s an order.”
The guard hesitated, then bowed his head and melted back into the trees.
But the tension lingered, heavy as storm clouds.
---
When we were alone again, Maren whirled on him. “If you think I’m going to keep quiet about this—”
“You will,” Dorian growled, his voice slipping toward a dangerous edge.
Maren bared her teeth. “Don’t you dare order me.”
I stepped between them, trembling. “Stop! Both of you!”
They froze, glaring at each other, but my voice carried enough desperation to make them pause.
“I don’t care what either of you think you know,” I said, breathless, “but if the council hears even a whisper of this, they’ll use it against him. Against us.”
Maren’s eyes widened. “Us? Selene, he nearly killed you!”
Dorian flinched.
“I don’t know what happened,” I lied, voice trembling. “But I know one thing: if you speak of this, we’re both finished.”
“Selene—”
“Promise me, Maren!”
She stared at me, torn between fury and fear. At last, she cursed under her breath. “Fine. But don’t think this is over.”
She stalked a few paces away, leaving me and Dorian in heavy silence.
He turned back to me, voice breaking. “Why are you protecting me?”
Because if I didn’t, Fenrir would destroy you.
But I couldn’t say that. Not yet.
Instead, I whispered, “Because someone has to.”
---
His eyes darkened, storm brewing behind them. “Selene… whatever happened tonight, whatever I did—I’ll find out. I swear it.”
My throat tightened. Fenrir’s laugh echoed in my skull.
**“Let him try. The deeper he digs, the closer he comes to me. And when he finds me, little Luna… he will never forgive you.”**
- Writer
