Chapter 2 The marking of ashes

The forest was quiet. Too quiet. The rustle of leaves beneath her boots, the occasional snap of twigs-everything seemed to reverberate in Selene's ears, each sound amplifying the silence that weighed down on her. It was as though the entire world had stopped just for her. The silence screamed louder than anything else.

She had run for what felt like hours. Her breath was ragged, each inhale shaky, every exhale a reminder of the turmoil that churned in her chest. The burning sensation in her legs-exhaustion-should have been enough to slow her down, but it only propelled her forward, deeper into the woods, further from the pack.

The pack;

She didn't even know why she thought she could go back. She had never truly belonged to it, not the way the others did. Her heart had been given to the Alpha, and in return, he had taken it and thrown it away like a discarded trinket. The thought made her lungs constrict, as if her heart was being squeezed by invisible hands.

Her fingers brushed against the familiar bark of the trees as she pushed through the underbrush, the cold bite of the night air wrapping around her like a suffocating blanket. What was she supposed to do now? She wasn't the Luna anymore. She wasn't the Alpha's chosen mate. She was nothing.

Except she wasn't nothing.

Her eyes darted between the trees, seeing nothing but shadows and flashes of light as the moon hung overhead, its pale glow filtering through the canopy above. She didn't know where she was going, but she couldn't stay there. She couldn't stay near them, near him. The betrayal was too fresh, too raw.

Selene felt the familiar pull in her chest, the quiet, aching presence of her wolf-the part of her that had once felt whole, once felt safe with the Alpha's touch. But now, it was just a hollow echo of what it had once been. Her wolf was angry-furious, even-but it, too, had been rejected. And for what?

She had given him everything. Her heart. Her loyalty. Her trust.

And he had thrown it all away. Without a second thought.

The forest grew darker around her, as if the trees themselves were closing in, suffocating her with their cold shadows. But she couldn't stop. She couldn't turn back. She wouldn't be that girl again-the girl who was too weak to stand on her own. She had made a mistake. She had believed in him, in them. Now, she had to fix it. She had to fix herself.

Her breath came faster now, her pulse thundering in her ears. The cold was nothing compared to the fire that burned inside her-the fire that screamed for vengeance, that screamed for justice.

The snap of a branch brought her to an immediate halt, her body going still as a shadow flitted across her peripheral vision. Her wolf stirred restlessly, growling low in her chest, instinctively ready to defend herself.

"Selene," a voice called out, soft, almost... sad.

She turned quickly, but she didn't need to see who it was. She already knew. The rogue stood before her, his eyes soft but guarded, his presence unwavering despite the uncertainty that gripped her.

"You shouldn't be out here alone," he said quietly, stepping toward her with slow, deliberate movements.

"I'm fine," Selene snapped, taking a step back, her heart pounding. Her instincts screamed to run, but she didn't. She couldn't. "I need to be alone."

His gaze softened. "You can't outrun what's inside you. You can't outrun this."

Selene clenched her fists. "I'm not running from anything. I'm just-" She cut herself off, the words suddenly choking her. She didn't know what she was doing. She didn't know what to feel. Everything was a blur of pain, of broken promises, of a heart that had been torn apart and left to bleed.

"Everything that was taken from you," the rogue continued, "won't be fixed by running. And it won't be fixed by revenge. Not in the way you think."

She turned away sharply, refusing to let him see the cracks in her facade. Not now.

"I don't need you to lecture me," she snapped, her voice tight. "I don't need anyone."

The rogue stepped closer, his presence undeniable. But instead of anger or resistance, his eyes held something else-understanding. "You're angry, I get it. But you're going to need more than anger to survive this."

Her chest tightened, the weight of his words sinking in. She could feel the pain, the rage-both coursing through her veins like a toxin. She wasn't going to survive this alone. She didn't even know what this was. What had become of her? What had she become?

"I'm done," she said, her voice barely a whisper. "Done with him. Done with everything. I'm not the broken Luna anymore. I'm not his second choice."

The rogue's gaze flickered with something deeper-something almost... sympathetic. "Then let the broken parts die. Let them burn. But you can't keep running from yourself."

She didn't want to listen. She didn't want to hear him. She just wanted the pain to stop. She just wanted to stop feeling like she was being torn in two.

But his next words were softer. "There's a place for you here. But you have to stop thinking you can fight this alone."

Her heart clenched at his words. A place? A place for her? Was it even possible? Could she ever find her way back to something whole? Or was she doomed to remain this broken, angry shell, consumed by the wreckage of her past?

Her eyes flicked to the rogue, who had now closed the distance between them. He was no longer just a stranger. He was the one who understood the kind of pain that had swallowed her whole. He had his own battles, his own scars.

"I don't need a place," she said quietly, but the words were hollow. "I just need to leave. To escape this."

But even as she said the words, she knew it wasn't true. She was tired of running. Tired of feeling empty.

The rogue paused, looking at her with a weight that felt like it could crack the earth beneath them. "Then let's not run. Let's face it."

Selene felt the fire inside her flicker-alive once more. It wasn't the fire of vengeance that had burned so hotly before. No. This was something different. This was a fire of rebirth. Of strength.

"I'm not running," she whispered, the words catching in her throat, but they were hers. "I'll take it back. Everything that was stolen from me."

As the rogue stood beside her, silent yet resolute, Selene felt something shift inside her-a quiet confidence. She would rise. She wasn't done. She would fight for everything she had lost.