Chapter 5 C5

The night split open with the sound of tires screeching and shouts rising in the distance. Selene's pulse hammered as she clutched the side of the car, trying to gather her thoughts. The poison's bitterness still clung to the back of her throat, though it wasn't her who had swallowed it this time. No, Lilith had.

Her stepsister's smug laughter still echoed in her head from her past life, taunting, victorious. Not this time.

"Stay in the car," Damian's voice was sharp, commanding, but there was a raggedness underneath it, a raw edge that betrayed his condition. The wolfsbane was already coursing through his veins, eating away at his strength. Even a Lycan heir couldn't resist it forever.

Selene's gaze flicked to him. In the shadows, Damian's features were pale but hard as steel. He hadn't told her directly what was wrong, but she could see it, the faint tremor in his hand, the sheen of sweat along his jawline. He was breaking apart inside, yet still trying to shield her.

He's fighting for me. Even when he should barely be able to stand, he's trying to be my shield.

"No," Selene whispered, more to herself than him. "Not again. I won't be useless."

Her wolf stirred in the depths of her soul, chained and muffled under layers of sorcery, yet she could feel its anger pulse in tandem with her own. This was different. This was her second chance.

A blur darted across the alley ahead..... Lilith, her face twisted with shock and fury. Even poisoned, she ran fast, desperate to vanish before the trap she had set turned against her.

Damian cursed under his breath and stumbled forward, pressing a hand to the brick wall for balance. The wolfsbane burned his veins, dulling his senses. He should have been able to snap Lilith's spine in a heartbeat. Instead, each step looked like a war against his own body.

Selene slipped out of the car before he could stop her. Gravel crunched beneath her shoes as she pushed forward, her eyes locked on Lilith's fleeing silhouette.

"Selene!" Damian's voice broke through the chaos, strained. "Don't-"

She didn't listen. Not this time.

The crowd outside the bar had scattered at the sound of gunfire. Streetlights buzzed weakly, casting fractured halos over the pavement. Selene's heart raced, but with every breath she reminded herself: I've lived this once before. I know how it ends if I falter. And I refuse to die the same way twice.

She cut down a narrow side street, cutting off Lilith's escape route. Her stepsister's eyes widened, flickering between rage and disbelief.

"You-" Lilith hissed, clutching her side as the wolfsbane began its cruel work inside her. Her movements were less precise now, her balance faltering. "How did you-"

Selene's lips curled into a smile that wasn't the least bit gentle. "You're not the only one who knows how to play with fate."

Lilith snarled and lunged, claws flashing. Selene braced herself, instinct screaming at her to retreat, but she didn't. She sidestepped, letting Lilith's poisoned body betray her. The older girl stumbled, her attack cutting air.

For the first time in two lifetimes, Selene wasn't the one collapsing to the ground.

Behind them, Damian's growl reverberated low and dangerous, though his body betrayed him, his knees buckling. He forced himself to straighten, silver eyes burning even as blood beaded at his lip. The wolfsbane had him in its claws, yet his will alone kept him standing.

Selene's chest tightened. Why does he fight so hard? For me? For himself? She didn't know yet. But she couldn't let him fall.

Lilith straightened, panting, her face twisted with fury. "This... isn't over, Selene. You don't deserve-"

"Save your lies," Selene snapped, her voice low, cold, nothing like the timid girl she had once been. "You lost the moment you touched my drink."

For the first time, fear flickered in Lilith's eyes.

But before Selene could press forward, the air exploded with the crack of more gunfire. Bullets ricocheted off the walls, whizzing past them. Damian shoved forward, grabbing Selene and dragging her back against his chest, his body the shield once again, even weakened, poisoned, he protected her.

Selene felt his heartbeat against her spine, too erratic, too fast.

"Run," Damian rasped in her ear.

And for the first time, Selene didn't think about escape. She thought about standing her ground.

I'm not prey anymore.

The night roared around them, the hunt far from over.