Chapter 3 3

The storm raged on, but Tristan and Selene remained in place, their words long spent. The rain fell harder now, soaking them to the bone, but neither of them seemed to care. Tristan could feel the weight of the moment, the unspoken tension between them. The world around them blurred as the downpour intensified, yet in his heart, everything was clear.

The bond. The ache. The undeniable pull.

Selene had returned, and despite everything that had happened, despite the years apart, it was as though nothing had changed. Her scent still wrapped around him, the soft warmth of her presence a comfort he hadn't realized he needed until now.

"I shouldn't have left," Selene said, breaking the silence that had lingered between them. Her voice was strained, raw with emotion. "I see that now. But I was so afraid."

Her words hit him like a rush of cold wind, sweeping through him with a force he wasn't prepared for. He turned to face her fully, his heart heavy with the weight of everything unsaid.

"You didn't trust me," Tristan said softly, though the words felt like shards of glass. "You didn't trust me enough to believe we could face it together."

The pain in his voice was unmistakable, a jagged edge that cut through the stillness of the storm. It had always been there, beneath the anger and the frustration, that deep, aching desire to understand why she had left. Why she had chosen to walk away without a word.

Selene closed her eyes for a moment, a single tear slipping down her cheek despite the rain. "I trusted you with my heart, Tristan. But I didn't trust myself. Not then. And certainly not when it came to that curse."

A bitter laugh escaped his lips, one that he couldn't stop. "And now? Do you trust yourself now?"

The question hung in the air, unanswered, as both of them stood there, drenched to the skin. His wolf raged inside him, demanding he claim her, end the uncertainty, and make her his again. But his human side-wounded, guarded, still reeling from the pain of her rejection-held him back.

"I didn't know how to fix it. I didn't know if I could." Selene's voice trembled with the weight of her confession. "But I've had time. Time to understand it, to learn how to control the curse. And it's still here, Tristan. It's not gone. The threat, the danger-it's still alive in me."

He stepped closer to her, his breath shallow in the cold night air. The rain dripped from his hair, down his face, and yet his gaze never left her. The fire between them-undying and relentless-burned just as brightly as it had when they had first met, when their bond had first formed.

"We'll figure it out," Tristan said, his voice steady, though the uncertainty was still there, creeping beneath his words. "Together. We always did before."

Selene's gaze softened, and for the briefest moment, he saw a flicker of the woman she used to be-the woman who had been his everything. The pain in her eyes softened as she stepped closer to him, the distance between them closing once more.

"I'm scared, Tristan," she whispered, her voice barely audible over the rain. "I don't know what's going to happen. I don't know if I can control this anymore."

"I'm not asking you to do it alone," he replied, his hand reaching out to gently touch her arm, grounding her. "You don't have to control it. Not anymore. We'll find a way to make it right."

The words felt hollow, but he didn't know what else to say. The truth was, neither of them knew what the future held. But the bond-their bond-was something that could not be ignored. And if they were to survive what was coming, they had to face it together.

**~

The following days passed in a blur of uncertainty.**

Tristan had called a meeting of the pack the moment they returned to the pack house, but even as he tried to rally his warriors, part of his mind remained with Selene. He had to focus. He had to keep his pack safe. The rogues, the curse-none of it was trivial. But something about Selene's return kept pulling him back to her, to the bond that still tethered them in ways he couldn't explain.

The pack's response had been mixed. Some accepted her presence with tentative hope, seeing her return as a sign of strength, of unity. Others, especially the older members, were more skeptical. They remembered her departure and the damage it had caused. Trust was not easily earned, and Selene had left them all in the dark.

Tristan could feel the tension in the air during their meeting, the whispered conversations that swirled around him. The alpha could handle it, he could manage the politics and the concerns, but it wasn't the pack's loyalty that concerned him right now. It was Selene.

Her presence lingered in the house, her absence from the meeting room palpable. She had been spending time alone, working on controlling her wolf, meditating, doing whatever she could to prepare herself for the fight ahead. She refused to share many details of the curse with him-still hesitant, still keeping parts of herself hidden.

Later that night, Tristan found himself outside, standing at the same cliff where he had seen her earlier, staring into the darkness. The stars above him were clouded by the storm, the moon barely visible through the haze. But there was something comforting about the night. The world was still, and for a brief moment, he could just let everything wash over him.

The sound of approaching footsteps alerted him to her presence before she spoke.

"I need to tell you more about the curse," Selene said softly, her voice cutting through the silence. "But it's dangerous, Tristan. The longer I hold it in, the stronger it becomes."

He turned to face her, his eyes narrowing as he studied her. "What do you mean?"

"It's not just a curse. It's a power-one that feeds on darkness. The more I fight it, the more it pulls me under. It's already tried to claim me a few times." She paused, swallowing hard, as though trying to fight the fear in her chest. "When I left, I thought it was the only way to stop it. I thought if I cut myself off from you, from the pack, I could control it."

"And now?" Tristan asked, his voice low but firm, the weight of their history sitting heavily between them. "What's changed?"

"I've learned more about the curse. I've had time to study it. To understand its origin," Selene continued. "But the power-it's not something I can control forever. And the rogues-they're part of it. They've been drawn to me for a reason. They want the power inside me. And they'll stop at nothing to take it."

The words left Tristan cold, a sharp chill creeping down his spine. "So they're after you, not just the pack. They're after the power."

"Yes," Selene confirmed. "And if they get it, they'll use it to destroy everything. Not just our pack, but every pack in our territory. The curse is linked to the old magic, the ancient power that created our kind. If they unlock it, they'll be unstoppable."

Tristan ran a hand through his damp hair, his mind racing as the gravity of the situation settled over him. He had known the rogues were dangerous, but this-this was a different kind of threat. One that could destroy everything.

"We'll stop them," he said, his voice low but resolute. "We'll stop them before they can get to you."

"I won't be the reason the pack falls, Tristan," Selene said, her voice steady despite the fear in her eyes. "I can't let that happen."

Tristan took a step toward her, closing the distance between them. "You won't be alone. You never were."

He reached out, his fingers brushing hers, sending a jolt of electricity through both of them. The bond, though strained, flared once more, a reminder of everything they had shared. She was his. Always had been. And he wouldn't let anything-least of all her fear-tear them apart again.

The storm raged on around them, but in that moment, with their hands intertwined, there was peace. It was fleeting, but for the first time since her return, Tristan felt that maybe, just maybe, they had a chance to defeat the darkness that threatened them.