Chapter 4 The wound that binds

The forest was quieter now, the evening breeze picking up and whispering secrets between the trees. But Selene didn't hear it. She didn't hear anything except the thumping of her own heartbeat, pounding relentlessly in her chest, an echo of everything she had lost-and everything she was about to take back. The silence wasn't peaceful. It was deafening.

She moved through the forest with the single-minded purpose of a predator, her eyes scanning the shadows for any sign of movement, but she was no longer the girl who had run from her past. She had embraced it. The fire that had once smoldered inside her, hidden beneath layers of doubt, was now a roaring inferno.

Her breath was steady, the cold air filling her lungs, but it didn't do much to cool the heat that swelled inside her chest. Revenge. That was all that was left. But even as her mind screamed for justice, for the Alpha's downfall, a part of her still ached with the memory of what had once been.

The rogue had warned her. His voice still echoed in her ears, a quiet reminder that vengeance was a path paved with destruction. But what else did she have? If revenge wasn't the answer, what was?

The trees whispered around her, their branches bending with the weight of a story older than she could comprehend. Her feet felt heavier now, each step carrying the weight of the betrayal, the weight of the years she had spent in chains-chains that had been forged by the Alpha's false promises.

She had thought she was free once, when she had run. But now, she realized the truth. She had never been free.

Her heart pounded, and she took another step, this one slower, more deliberate. Her wolf stirred within her, her senses sharper than ever before, but it didn't help to quiet the storm inside her. She could feel the pull-the need for what she had lost. The need to fight for what was rightfully hers.

She couldn't afford to be weak anymore. She couldn't afford to look back.

After what felt like hours, she reached the clearing. The faint glow of moonlight illuminated the familiar outline of the pack's old training grounds. The place where she had first felt alive. The place where she had first believed in him.

Now, it felt like a graveyard,

Selene stood at the edge of the clearing, her eyes scanning the familiar terrain. The old wooden training posts were still there, but they seemed hollow, as if the memories of what had happened there had been erased. The wind stirred the leaves beneath her feet, the whisper of the trees a stark contrast to the deafening silence of her heart.

Her pulse quickened as she stepped forward, her feet crunching the leaves beneath her as she crossed into the center of the clearing. The sounds of the night seemed to disappear as she stood in the heart of the place where everything had changed.

"Selene."

The voice was a shock, a jolt of recognition that ripped through the quiet. She turned sharply, her instincts flaring, but she didn't need to see the figure to know who it was.

Enzo.

Her breath caught in her throat, and for a moment, it felt like the world around her paused. There, standing in the shadows of the trees, was the brother she had once loved. The brother who had abandoned her, standing with the Alpha's side and pledging loyalty to a man who had ripped her heart out and thrown it away.

"Enzo," she whispered, her voice trembling, but she quickly masked it with the anger that surged within her. She wouldn't let him see the pain. Not now. Not when she had come so far.

"I knew you'd come back," he said quietly, his voice steady, but there was something uncertain in his eyes-a flicker of regret.

Selene took a deep breath, steadying herself, forcing her body to remain still, though every part of her screamed to rush him, to demand answers. Why? Why had he stood by and let her be cast aside?

"I didn't come back for you, Enzo," she said, her voice icy. "I came back for the pack."

Enzo stepped forward, his hands raised in a peaceful gesture. "You don't have to do this, Selene. You don't have to fight him."

She laughed bitterly. "You're still trying to protect him. After everything?"

Enzo's face faltered for a moment, but then he steadied himself, his gaze unwavering. "I'm not protecting him. I'm trying to protect you. I don't want to see you make the same mistakes again. You can't win this fight. Not like this."

Selene took a step closer to him, her eyes burning with frustration. "You don't get it, Enzo. He broke me. He destroyed everything I believed in. And you-" Her voice trembled as she reached the breaking point. "You were supposed to be there for me. You were supposed to stand with me."

The pain was raw now, too much to contain. She could feel the tears threatening to rise, but she crushed them down. She wouldn't show weakness. Not to him. Not to anyone.

"Don't you understand?" she said, her voice cracking slightly. "He was never going to choose me. I wasn't his Luna. Not really."

Enzo's gaze softened, and for a moment, she saw the brother she had always known. The one who had protected her when they were children, the one who had promised to always have her back.

"I'm sorry, Selene," he whispered. "I couldn't stop him. I couldn't stop any of it. But I never wanted to hurt you."

A sharp pain pierced her chest as the truth of his words settled in. He hadn't betrayed her out of malice. He had done it out of loyalty, out of a sense of duty to the pack. But that didn't make it any less painful. That didn't fix her.

Selene took a step back, the fire in her chest igniting once more. She would not let herself crumble in front of him. She had already let too many people take her down. The Alpha had taken everything. Enzo had taken her trust. And now, she was taking everything back.

"You still don't get it, do you?" she whispered, her voice fierce with newfound strength. "I'm done being broken. I'm done being your second choice. And I'm done being anyone's victim."

She turned and walked away, leaving him behind in the clearing, his words echoing in the distance. Her brother. She didn't know if she could forgive him. But she wasn't here to make peace. She was here to take the pack. To claim what had been stolen from her.

The moon hung overhead, casting a cold light on the path ahead, but Selene didn't feel the chill. She didn't feel the cold that had once suffocated her. She was fire.

And fire consumed everything.