Episode Two: The Wolf in Chains
1265 Words
The dungeons beneath Silverfang’s fortress reeked of damp stone, rusted iron, and blood.
Selene had never been allowed down here as a child. The guards always said it wasn’t a place for a future Luna. But now, under the weight of secrets and a bond she didn’t understand, she descended into the shadows like someone shedding a skin she no longer recognized.
Her footsteps echoed along the narrow corridor, torchlight flickering on the moss-stained walls. The air was thick, heavy with silence.
Two guards flanked a cell at the very end. She could feel him before she saw him. Her wolf stirred instantly, rising in recognition, in longing.
“Open it,” she said softly.
The older guard hesitated. “Your father said—”
“I don’t care what he said.” Selene met his eyes, voice steel. “He’s not the Moon Goddess.”
The younger one fumbled for keys, clearly nervous.
The gate creaked open.
Selene stepped inside.
Killian Voss was chained to the wall, wrists bound in silver cuffs that burned through his skin. His shirt was torn, revealing lean muscle, bruises, and a jagged scar across his ribs. His eyes opened at the sound of her steps, and the golden light in them sharpened.
He didn’t speak. He didn’t bow.
He just watched her.
Selene’s heart thudded unevenly.
“You shouldn’t be here,” he rasped.
“Neither should you,” she said, folding her arms.
A faint smirk touched his mouth. “Fair.”
She stepped closer, careful. “Who are you, really?”
“Killian Voss. Rogue. Outcast. Supposed murderer.” He looked away. “You’ve probably heard it all.”
“I have.” She tilted her head. “But I want to hear it from you.”
He gave a dry laugh. “And if I tell you I didn’t do it, would you believe me? Or are you just here to satisfy your curiosity before you reject me like they all want you to?”
Selene flinched.
“I haven’t rejected you.”
“Yet.”
Silence stretched between them.
Killian’s voice softened. “I don’t expect you to choose me, Selene. I wouldn’t blame you if you didn’t. But if you’re here to hear the truth… I’ll give you that.”
She took a breath and nodded. “I am.”
Killian’s gaze dropped to the floor, jaw clenched. “Five years ago, I was part of Darius’s inner circle. We trained together, fought together. He was the heir, but I was stronger. Smarter. He hated that.”
Selene blinked. “You were close to Darius?”
“Once. Until I found out he was selling classified pack secrets to the Nightshade rogues across the border. He was trying to weaken Silverfang from the inside—make himself look like the savior during the chaos.”
She swallowed. “That… that can’t be true.”
“He was planning a coup. I confronted him. He denied it. The next day, the Alpha’s best scout was found dead, and I was blamed. They forged letters, twisted my wolf’s signature, and framed me. Your father believed him. Everyone did.”
Killian’s voice grew bitter. “I was dragged before the council. My pleas meant nothing. No trial. No defense. Just exile.”
Selene’s knees nearly buckled.
She remembered that story—the traitor who killed a loyal scout and fled into the wilds. She’d been twelve. Everyone talked about how dangerous Killian had become. How he had once been a promising warrior.
But if what he said was true… Darius had betrayed the pack. Not Killian.
“Why didn’t you come back sooner? To clear your name?”
“I tried.” He looked at her then, and the pain in his eyes was raw. “They hunted me like a rabid dog. Every time I got close, someone tried to kill me. I gave up. Stayed in the shadows. Until the bond pulled me back.”
Selene took another step forward, close enough now to smell the wild earth on his skin. “You didn’t know I was your mate until the ceremony?”
He shook his head. “No. But the second I saw you… I knew.”
Their eyes locked.
The bond flared between them again, softer now, like a pulse under the skin. Warm. Real.
“Why didn’t you reject me?” she whispered.
“Because I never could.”
Her breath hitched.
Outside the cell, footsteps echoed down the corridor.
Selene turned sharply.
Darius.
He stood with his arms crossed, flanked by two guards, his eyes like ice.
“Get out, Selene,” he said coldly.
She straightened. “You don’t command me.”
“You’re speaking to a criminal. One you’re emotionally compromised with.”
She stepped out of the cell but didn’t back down. “He deserves to be heard.”
“You really believe him?” Darius stepped closer. “You think I’d betray my own pack?”
“I think you’ve been hiding something. And I want the truth.”
Darius laughed, but there was no humor in it. “You’re confused. The bond—it’s clouding your judgment. He’s manipulating you.”
“I’m not that easy to manipulate,” she snapped.
Darius’s expression darkened. “You’ve got seven days. After that, you’ll reject him, and we’ll execute him. That’s the only way to restore order.”
Selene’s stomach dropped. “You’d kill your own packmate?”
“He stopped being one the day he turned rogue.”
Darius stepped closer, lowering his voice. “I’ve been patient, Selene. I’ve waited for you. Trained for you. Loved you.”
Her heart stung.
“You don’t love me. You love the idea of owning me.”
His eyes narrowed.
“You’re making a mistake,” he whispered.
Selene didn’t respond. She turned and walked away.
But the unease in her chest only grew.
That evening, Selene met Elder Morrigan by the sacred grove. The trees whispered in the wind, and the moonlight filtered through the leaves in slivers of silver.
“You saw him?” the seer asked.
Selene nodded. “He told me everything.”
“And do you believe him?”
“I don’t know what I believe.” She sank onto a stone bench. “But my wolf… she trusts him. And I feel like I’m going mad.”
Morrigan offered her a dried herb, placing it in her palm. “Brew this tonight. It will help still your mind. And maybe, if the Moon allows, you’ll dream of the truth.”
Selene looked up. “You believe in him, don’t you?”
“I believe the Moon Goddess never makes mistakes.”
“Then why make me his mate? Why not someone simpler?”
“Because change never comes from comfort.
That night, Selene dreamed again.
She stood in the middle of a burning forest, ash falling like snow. Wolves circled her—snarling, bleeding, broken.
At the center stood Killian.
He was chained again, but this time his eyes burned gold like fire. His voice echoed in her head.
You must choose me or doom us both.
Behind him, Darius emerged from the flames, a crown of bone on his head and eyes like blood.
He will burn the world to rule it, the dream whispered.
Selene woke gasping.
The moon outside her window was pale and full.
And in her heart, a seed of certainty took root.
She had to know the truth.
Even if it destroyed everything she’d ever known.
- Writer
