Chapter Three: Ashes and Fire
577 Words
Selene woke to the scent of smoke and herbs.
Her body ached—every limb stiff, every breath heavy—but she was alive.
She blinked, slowly adjusting to the dim light around her. Stone walls. A wooden ceiling. Flickering firelight danced across the floor. She wasn’t in the forest anymore.
> Where… am I?
Then the memories slammed into her like a wave.
Kael’s rejection.
The laughter.
The rogues.
The woman.
Nyra.
Selene tried to sit up, wincing. Her shoulder was bandaged. A blanket covered her. Her torn ceremonial dress had been replaced with dark, simple clothes—loose pants and a tunic. She felt exposed, stripped of her old self. But maybe… that was the point.
The door creaked.
Nyra stepped in, carrying a small wooden tray.
> “You’re awake,” she said, setting it down beside the bed. “Took you long enough. Thought I’d have to bury you under the oak tree.”
Selene tried to sit up straighter. “How long…?”
> “Two days,” Nyra replied. “You had a fever. Infection in your shoulder. You were half dead.”
She handed her a metal cup. “Drink. It’s bitter, but it’ll keep you upright.”
Selene sipped it, grimacing at the taste.
> “Thanks,” she murmured, unsure of what else to say.
Nyra leaned against the wall, arms crossed.
> “So,” she said. “Daughter of an Alpha. Rejected by your mate. You run into rogue territory with no plan, no power, and almost get torn apart. Tell me, princess—what exactly was your endgame?”
Selene looked down at her hands, ashamed. “I wasn’t thinking. I just… ran.”
> “Good,” Nyra said. “Running means instinct. Means you’re not entirely helpless.”
Selene’s head snapped up. “You think I’m helpless?”
> “I think you were,” Nyra said, blunt as ever. “You’re not now. Not unless you choose to stay that way.”
Selene clenched her jaw. “I didn’t choose this.”
> “None of us did,” Nyra said darkly. “The Moon Goddess doesn’t ask before she rips your soul out.”
She sat beside the fire and stared into the flames.
> “I was mated once,” she said suddenly. “He died. Before we ever completed the bond. I lost everything—my title, my place, my pack. So I made a new one.”
She glanced at Selene.
> “This place—this pack of rogues? We’re not monsters. We’re survivors. Rejected, abandoned, exiled… we take in those the world throws away. And we make them dangerous.”
Selene’s throat tightened.
> “You think I could be one of you?”
> “I think you’ve got two choices,” Nyra said. “You either keep crying over what you lost—or you learn how to make sure no one ever breaks you again.”
Selene looked at her hands—soft, trembling, scarred.
> I don’t want to cry anymore.
I want to fight.
I want to be dangerous too.
She looked up, meeting Nyra’s gaze.
> “Teach me.”
A slow smirk curled Nyra’s lips.
> “Good. Training starts tomorrow. At dawn.”
Selene nodded, a quiet fire sparking in her chest.
The girl Kael rejected died in that forest.
Whatever rose next…
Would be forged in flame.
- Writer
