Chapter 5 The Pull

Selene awoke to the sound of the wind sighing through the trees. Her heart still pounded from the kiss.

Even now, alone in her bed, her lips tingled with memory. Her skin remembered the warmth of Luca's body, the way his hands had cradled her face like she was something sacred, not just fated.

And that was the problem.

It had felt real.

Too real.

She sat up, breathing heavily, as a sharp ache throbbed in her chest-not pain, exactly. Not desire, either. Something deeper. Something she didn't yet have a name for.

The bond.

It was strengthening.

And it was pulling her toward him.

In the hours before dawn, Selene walked through the silent house. Every creaking floorboard beneath her bare feet whispered secrets she hadn't uncovered. Portraits of ancestors-fierce-eyed, noble, all with the same silver pendant at their throat-watched her from the walls.

She paused at the hall's end, where an old mirror stood. Her reflection stared back, but something shimmered just beneath the surface. Not a beast. Not a stranger. Her. The version of herself she didn't know how to be yet.

But she was waking.

Soon, she'd have to choose.

Later that morning, Rowan appeared in the kitchen as Selene was steeping tea made from forest herbs. She gave a knowing glance to the girl's pale cheeks and distant stare.

"I take it you saw Luca again."

Selene didn't look up. "He kissed me."

Rowan raised an eyebrow. "And?"

And I kissed him back."

Rowan poured herself a cup. "So you're falling."Selene looked at her sharply. "You sound disappointed."

"Not disappointed. Cautious. You're not just choosing a man. You're choosing a pack. A future. A war, perhaps."

Selene set her cup down. "Would you have me choose Caleb?" Rowan was quiet. "I would have you choose what won't get you killed."

"That's not an answer."

"It's the only one I have."

By midday, word had spread throughout Hollowridge and beyond: the Elders would convene for a private deliberation the following evening. Whispers trailed through the pack like smoke-some saying Selene would break her bond to Caleb, others swearing she would never betray her bloodline.

Selene walked through the market square to clear her head, but everywhere she turned, eyes followed her. Some curious. Some reverent. Others cold with judgment.

"You've caused quite the stir," came a voice behind her.

She turned to find Caleb.

He wasn't alone.

Three members of his family stood beside him-Betas with power in their stride and arrogance in their gaze. "We've decided," Caleb said. "We'll present our claim tomorrow night to the Elders. If you accept, the bond will be sanctified before the council."

"And if I refuse?"

"Then we'll consider it a betrayal," he said coolly. "One that ends our alliance."

Selene stared at him. "You'd cast me out?"

"I'd do what's necessary to protect my family's honor. You should do the same."

His words landed like ice against her spine.

This wasn't a proposal.

It was an ultimatum.

That night, Luca came again.

He didn't wait outside this time.

He knocked once, and when she opened the door, he stepped inside like he belonged there. Selene folded her arms. "Not afraid I'll slam the door in your face?"

He smirked. "You could try."

He walked past her into the room and turned, his eyes drinking her in like she was the first bloom of spring.

"I felt you pull away after the kiss," he said. "But the bond didn't weaken."

"No," she admitted. "It didn't."

"Why?"

Selene bit her lip. "Because I don't know if I can fight it anymore."

Luca stepped closer, slow and deliberate.

"You were never meant to fight it," he said. "You were meant to feel it. And decide."

He took her hand. Sparks danced across her skin at his touch.

"Do you want to see what it truly is?" he whispered. Selene's breath caught. "What do you mean?"

He raised her hand to his chest, placing her palm over his heart.

"Let me show you."

What happened next wasn't physical.

It wasn't a kiss.

It wasn't a shift.

It was a bonding.

A connection that bypassed skin and dove straight into spirit.

The world dissolved.

Her senses heightened.

Her breath synced with his.

She saw through his eyes-flickers of his memories, his pain, his victories. The night his father died. The day he took the mantle of Alpha. The moment he saw her at the Gathering and knew everything had changed.

Then came her-a vision of herself through his eyes. A beacon of fire and light. She gasped and stumbled back, clutching her chest.

"I saw..." she whispered.

"You saw the truth," Luca said gently. "You're not just my mate, Selene. You're the Luna this pack has waited for."

She shook her head. "But I'm not ready."

"You don't have to be ready," he said. "You just have to be willing." Tears welled in her eyes. "Caleb's presenting his claim tomorrow night."

Luca's jaw clenched. "If you accept, I won't stop you. But if you refuse, I'll stand before the Elders with my claim. I will not let them take you from me without a fight."

She reached for him then-drawn by something deeper than logic. He wrapped his arms around her, grounding her in the storm that was her awakening.

"What happens if we bond tonight?" she asked softly. "Then there's no going back," he whispered. "No Elder, no council, no arranged alliance can override a claimed mate bond under the Blood Moon."

Her heart thundered.

The air between them thickened.

But she stepped back.

"Not yet," she said. "I need to go to the council with a clear heart. If I choose you, I want it to be my choice."

Luca nodded, fierce pride in his eyes.

"I'll wait," he said.

And then he was gone.

Selene stood alone beneath the window where moonlight poured in. For the first time, she felt not only the pull of the bond-but the power of her own will against it. And in that delicate balance between instinct and choice, she found something she hadn't had before.

Control.