CHAPTER13:The Mate's Dilemma
1058 Words
Selene sat on the edge of the stone balcony, the night air wrapping around her like a ghostly whisper. The moon hung low, casting silver streaks over the darkened trees beyond Xander’s fortress. Her heart ached in a way she couldn’t explain, torn between what was and what could never be.
Fate had probably chosen Killian for her, but the question is, had fate made a mistake?
She squeezed her hands into fists, staring at the faint scars on her wrists—marks of the mate bond that had been severed, yet still pulsed like a phantom wound beneath her skin.
No matter how much she tried to push it away, a part of her still felt him.
Killian.
Even after his betrayal, after he had cast her aside as if she meant nothing, some invisible thread still tied them together, a cruel joke played by the universe.
But why?
Why would fate bind her to someone who had shattered her?
Her thoughts spiraled as she leaned against the cold stone railing, eyes searching the sky as if the stars held the answers.
“You’re thinking about him again.”
The voice was low, smooth—familiar.
Selene tensed before turning to find Xander standing in the doorway. His shirt was undone at the top, revealing a sliver of muscle beneath. The flickering torchlight cast shadows across his sharp features, making his silver eyes gleam like molten steel.
She swallowed hard. “How do you know?”
Xander stepped onto the balcony, his presence a force of its own. “Because every time you do, you get this look—like you’re lost in a place you can’t possibly escape from.”
She let out a humorless laugh, “Maybe I am.”
She said as she chuckled weakly because of the sadness she felt at the moment.
Xander didn’t respond right away. Instead, he leaned against the stone railing beside her, close enough that she could feel the heat radiating from his body.
“You don’t have to keep punishing yourself,” he murmured.
“Killian made his choice. You don’t owe him anything.”
Selene’s fingers tightened around the railing. “Then why does it still feel like a part of me belongs to him?”
Xander turned his head, studying her with an intensity that made her stomach twist.
“Because mate bonds don’t just disappear overnight. They’re written into our bones, our souls. But that doesn’t mean they define us.”
She exhaled shakily, her pulse thrumming in her ears. “Then why does it still hurt?”
Xander reached out, hesitating for just a fraction of a second before brushing his knuckles against her wrist. It was a light touch, barely there, but it sent a shiver down her spine.
“Because you haven’t let yourself heal.” His voice was softer now, a quiet promise beneath the words. “And because part of you is afraid to.”
Selene’s breath caught.
Afraid.
Was that what this was?
Was she afraid of letting go? Afraid of what it meant if she did?
Her gaze flickered to Xander’s lips before she tore it away, guilt curling in her stomach.
“I don’t know how to stop feeling this way,” she admitted, her voice barely above a whisper.
Xander’s fingers trailed higher, tracing a path along her forearm, slow and deliberate.
“Maybe you don’t have to stop, maybe you just have to replace it with something else.”
Her heartbeat pounded in her chest.
She wasn’t sure what he meant.
Or maybe she did.
And that terrified her even more.
A breeze swept through the balcony, carrying the scent of pine and the lingering embers from the torches below. Selene shivered, but she wasn’t sure if it was from the cold or the weight of Xander’s presence beside her.
He watched her with an intensity that made her insides twist. He had always been this way—so certain, so unshaken.
Even now, with war looming on the horizon, with Killian breathing down his neck, he stood unwavering, as if no force in the world could break him.
Selene envied that strength. She wanted to bottle it, to drink it down until she no longer felt fragile and uncertain.
“I know you’re scared, Selene,” Xander said after a long moment.
“But fear is just another chain you don't want to hold you down. It only has power if you let it.”
She bit her lip. “And what if I don’t know how to let it go?”
His gaze softened, the sharp edges of his expression smoothing just slightly. “Then I’ll show you,” he said as he took a step closer to her with a flirty stare and slight grin.
The words sent a ripple of something deep and dangerous through her. A warmth that settled in her chest and spread lower, twisting through her stomach like an unspoken promise.
But before she could respond, a knock echoed from the doorway.
"I'll get the door" he forced out of his mouth, as he wasn't feeling so pleased that this moment had to be disrupted.
Tobias stood there, arms crossed, his expression unreadable. “Alpha,” he addressed Xander before flicking his gaze toward Selene. “We’ve had scouts return. They spotted movement near the western border.”
Selene’s heart clenched. “Killian?”
Tobias nodded grimly. “They’re not attacking yet, but they’re watching, waiting.”
Xander’s jaw tightened, his posture shifting subtly, shoulders squaring as he fell into the role of a leader once more.
“Double the patrols. I want reports every hour.”
Tobias gave a sharp nod before disappearing back into the corridor.
Selene exhaled, the moment between her and Xander shattered like fragile glass. Reality had returned with sharp teeth, reminding her that whatever turmoil raged inside her, the war outside was just beginning.
She turned back to the sky, watching as the stars flickered above.
Xander lingered for a moment longer before speaking. “Get some rest, Selene.”
She nodded, though she knew sleep would not come easily tonight.
As Xander stepped back into the shadows, she couldn’t help but wonder—was she standing on the edge of something new?
Or was she merely walking toward another storm?
- Writer
