Chapter 4 Bound to Another

Selene sat by the window of the guest bedroom in the Ryder estate, watching the moon descend beyond the treetops. The cloak from the Gathering was still wrapped around her shoulders, though the fire in the hearth had long since gone out. Sleep evaded her, as did clarity.

Three nights to decide her fate.

Three nights to choose between a man she barely knew but felt drawn to-and a man she was promised to by blood.

She touched the silver pendant at her throat.

"You belonged to someone once," she murmured to her reflection in the window. "How did you choose, Mother?"

A knock on the door startled her. She didn't answer. It opened anyway.

Caleb stepped inside.

He wore a clean white shirt, his golden hair damp as if he'd just washed the scent of the forest off himself. His presence was sharp, calculating.

"I figured you'd be awake," he said.

Selene stood, spine straightening. "You don't knock?"

"I do. But I don't wait." She narrowed her eyes. "Typical Beta arrogance."

His smile didn't reach his eyes. "I prefer confident. And I have every right to be."

She crossed her arms. "Why are you here, Caleb?"

"To remind you of your duty," he said, stepping closer. "We were promised to each other, Selene. You were pledged to the Voss family to secure peace and protection for the Ryder name."

"I didn't make that promise," she said.

"Your aunt did. Your mother would've, too, if she'd lived long enough." "You don't get to speak for her," Selene snapped.

He sighed. "Look, I'm not here to fight. I'm here to make things right between us. You're confused, I get it. That bond with Luca-it's not real."

"It feels real," she whispered.

"Feelings don't last. Bonds like ours-alliances-they endure," he said. "And I know you. Or I could. Given time."

Selene studied him. There was no cruelty in his voice, only determination. A man who didn't love her but believed he was the right choice for her. For the pack. For everything.

"I dreamed I was a wolf," she murmured.

Caleb blinked. "That's the bond messing with your head. He's gotten inside it. If you give in to him now, he'll mark you. There's no turning back after that."

"Then I should get the choice before anything is permanent," she said.

"You already had a choice," he said. "It was made for you before you were old enough to walk." "I'm not a child anymore."

He stepped closer, lowering his voice. "If I make the claim, and you accept, Luca can't touch you. He won't dare. The Elders won't allow a mated female to be challenged."

Selene looked up at him.

"And what if I don't accept?" His jaw tightened. "Then you'll have made your decision." He turned and left her standing alone, his boots echoing down the hall like thunder.

Later that afternoon, Rowan found her in the garden-sitting beneath the same twisted ash tree where she used to play as a child.

"You're quiet," Rowan said, easing onto the bench beside her.

"I'm tired of being told what I owe everyone," Selene said. "My aunt. My mother. The Elders. The pack. Even the moon."

"Do you know what your mother told me when she left?" Rowan said softly.

Selene shook her head.

"She said, 'I'd rather die a free woman than live as someone's obligation.'"

Selene swallowed hard. "But she did die."

"She died saving you," Rowan said. "But she lived first. With love."

Selene turned to her. "Did she ever regret leaving?"

Rowan didn't answer right away. "She regretted that you'd one day have to return."

The wind blew through the tall grass, carrying with it the scent of pine and something sharper-like silver and storm clouds.

Rowan reached into her cloak and handed Selene a folded letter.

"She wrote this the night before she died. I was told to give it to you when your bond awakened."

Selene's hands trembled as she unfolded it.

My dearest Selene,

If you're reading this, the moon has called you home.

You were born with two hearts-one human, one wild. You may feel torn between them. But you are not broken. You are more.

I loved your father more than anything, but our world would never understand that kind of love. They fear what doesn't fit into their rules.

Never let them chain your spirit. Love, when it's real, isn't about claiming or owing. It's about choosing. You must choose.

And whatever you choose-know that I am proud of you.

Always.

-Mom

Tears slipped silently down Selene's cheeks as she folded the letter.

Rowan placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "You are not bound by the past. Not even by blood. You can choose your own way."

"But what if choosing Luca destroys everything?"

"Then let it burn," Rowan said softly. "And build something better." That evening, Selene wandered the edge of the forest, lost in thought. The sky turned bruised with twilight. She heard a rustle-then a low growl.

She spun around-and there he was.

Luca.

Half-shifted, his eyes glowing silver, his voice rough.

"I didn't come to fight."

"Then why are you here?" she asked.

"To walk with you."

Selene hesitated, then nodded.

They walked in silence at first. Then he spoke.

"Three nights," he said. "That's all I get to convince you I'm not the enemy." "You're not," she said quietly. "But you're not the easy choice, either." He looked at her. "Easy paths never lead to legends." She laughed under her breath. "That sounds like something out of a storybook."

"You are a story, Selene. One the moon started writing the day you were born."

They stopped at the stream. The water glowed under the moonlight, and she knelt to dip her fingers in it.

"I found her letter," she said.

Luca crouched beside her. "Your mother's?"

She nodded. "She said love is about choosing. Not claiming."

He was quiet for a long moment. "Then let me say this," he said, voice raw. "I didn't come to claim you. I came to choose you. Again and again. Until the moon burns out."

Selene's heart pounded.

"Do you still dream of me?" he asked.

She nodded.

"I dreamed you shifted," he said. "You were magnificent. Wild. Untouchable. And you were mine."She met his eyes. "Then maybe we're both dreaming." He brushed a strand of hair from her cheek. "Then let's not wake up."

And this time, when he leaned in, she didn't pull away.

Their lips met-slow, electric, inevitable.

It wasn't fireworks.

It was moonlight and wildfire.