Chapter 3 The park of rogue

Selene walked deeper into the forest, her steps quick, but her mind racing. The scent of damp earth and pine filled the air, sharp and biting, but it was a relief. The quiet of the woods, the rustling of the leaves, the chirping of distant animals-it was the only sound that could drown out the voices in her head. The chaos inside her.

Her heart felt heavy, like a stone lodged in her chest, sinking deeper with every breath. She had been marked. And not by the man she had dreamed of. Not by the Alpha who had sworn to love her. No. She had been discarded-a pawn in a game she hadn't even known she was playing.

Her steps faltered for just a moment as the memory of the ceremony washed over her. The Alpha's face, cold and distant, as he had pressed his mark onto her skin. It should have been a moment of joy, a moment of triumph, when he would declare her his. But his touch had been empty. His kiss, lifeless. He had marked her, yes, but his heart had already been given to someone else. And she had known it.

How could she have been so blind?

Her fingers pressed against her neck, where the mark still burned, a constant reminder of the betrayal. But it wasn't just the mark that haunted her. It was him. His face, his words, his absence. It had all been a lie, and now, it was too much.

Her body trembled as she stopped, her feet sinking into the soft earth. She wanted to scream. To tear everything apart. Her wolf howled inside her, the pain and betrayal radiating from her soul, its raw power begging for release.

But revenge was all she had left.

"You need to calm down." The rogue's voice broke through the storm of her thoughts. It wasn't a command, but a gentle reminder-one that didn't sit right with her.

She turned to face him, her eyes blazing. "Calm down?" The words left her lips in a bitter laugh. Calm down? Her entire world had been ripped from her, and he wanted her to calm down?

"You don't understand," she said through gritted teeth, her voice shaking with emotion. "I've lost everything. The one man I gave my heart to. The one man I trusted. And now, I'm supposed to sit here and breathe?"

The rogue's eyes softened, but his expression remained guarded. "I understand more than you think. But this... this anger will consume you."

Selene felt the sting of his words like a slap to the face, but she didn't back down. "Let it consume me," she whispered, her voice shaking with a sudden intensity. "Let it burn me alive. Because that's what he did to me. He burned me. He shattered me." She took a step closer to him, her body tense with suppressed rage. "And now, I'm going to make him pay."

The rogue didn't flinch, but his gaze grew even more focused, his eyes narrowing as he watched her. "You think this will bring you peace?" he asked quietly, his voice low and steady. "That revenge will fill the emptiness you feel?"

Her chest tightened, the sharpness of his question sinking deeper into her mind. Would it?

She closed her eyes, feeling the wind brush against her skin. The cold was numbing, but her heart felt like it was on fire. The emptiness. The part of her that had been crushed by his rejection, by his lies. The part of her that had thought she could survive it all. The part that had believed in him.

But he hadn't just broken her. He had taken everything. He had stolen her trust. And now, she was left with nothing but anger. Anger and revenge.

She opened her eyes, locking them onto the rogue. "What else do I have?" she asked, her voice thick with emotion. "What else do I have, if not this?"

The rogue stepped forward, his presence calming, but his words sharp. "You have your strength. Your power. You have a chance to rebuild, Selene. But if you let this anger consume you, you'll never be able to lead. You'll never be able to rebuild anything."

Her eyes flickered with something like doubt, but she quickly shook her head. "I don't care about rebuilding. Not anymore. He took everything from me. And now, I'm going to take everything from him."

The rogue's expression hardened, his voice deep and serious. "Then what happens after? What happens when you've torn it all down and you're left with nothing?"

Selene's breath caught in her throat. The rogue was right. She would have nothing. Once the dust settled, once the revenge was over, who would she be? Would she have any piece of herself left?

The weight of that question hung in the air-a question she had been running from for too long.

Her wolf stirred again, more forceful now, urging her to let it go-to embrace the anger, to release the pain. To destroy. But a part of Selene, buried deep inside her, still hesitated.

She wasn't just angry at the Alpha. She was angry at herself. Angry for believing that he could ever be hers. Angry for letting him tear her down. Angry that she had let him control her.

But no longer. No more.

She looked at the rogue, her eyes dark with resolve. "I won't stop. I can't. I have nothing else."

The rogue nodded slowly, his gaze hardening as he stepped back, giving her space. "Then you'll have to fight for it. For what you want. For what you deserve. But remember this, Selene-vengeance doesn't bring peace. It brings destruction. And you'll have to live with that."

She felt the weight of his words, but they didn't sway her. The destruction was already done. The Alpha had destroyed her-and now, she would destroy everything he held dear.

Her heart pounded in her chest as she turned, her wolf's growl rising from deep within her. The anger that had once felt like a choking vine around her neck was now a weapon-a fire.

"Then let it destroy me," Selene whispered to herself, the words filled with a sense of finality. "Because nothing will stop me now."