Mira's POV
I have always known that Selene was different.
Not just in the way she carries herself graceful yet unpredictable, like a cat toying with its prey but in the way she sees the world.
Where others see rules, she sees opportunities to break them. Where others feel fear, she laughs in its face.
But even for her, this is insane.
"You're joking." My voice is flat as I stare at her, hoping and praying that this is just one of her little games.
She shrugs, the moonlight making her silver hair glow like the very celestial body she claims to be named after.
"I don't joke," she says smoothly.
I scoff. "You do. And it's usually at someone else's expense."
She sighs dramatically, rolling her eyes. "Fine. Then let's say I'm entertaining a possibility."
I cross my arms. "The possibility that you… you, of all creatures are developing actual, real, mortal feelings for the Alpha?"
She doesn't answer right away.
That's what makes my stomach twist with unease.
Selene always has something to say. A taunt, a lie, a distraction. But now?
Now she just stares at me with those unnerving eyes, her expression was dead serious for the first time.
I shake my head. "No. Absolutely not. Whatever this is, kill it. Crush it. Burn it to the ground before it burns you."
Selene tilts her head, amused. "You sound dramatic."
"I sound right." I take a step closer, lowering my voice. "You think you can just… feel things for an Alpha and walk away unscathed?"
She shrugs again. "Why not?"
I let out a bitter laugh. "Because Alphas don't love creatures like you, Selene. They fear you. They worship you. And when they can't control you, they destroy you."
Her expression doesn't change. "No one can destroy me."
I narrow my eyes. "Then you're more naïve than I thought."
She laughs at that, an actual, real laugh. And I hate it. Because it means she isn't taking me seriously.
"You don't understand," she says lightly. "I can't die, Mira. I am the Moon Goddess."
I stare at her.
I wait for her to say she's joking.
She doesn't.
I exhale slowly, pinching the bridge of my nose. "Selene…
She holds up a hand. "No, no. You don't have to say it. 'Selene, that's a myth. Selene, you are delusional. Selene, you're just a powerful supernatural being with an ego problem…'"
I glare. "That last one was accurate."
She smirks. "Thank you."
I groan. "This is not funny."
"I'm not laughing."
And for the first time, I realize, she isn't.
She's serious, she actually believes this.
I shake my head. "You can't be the Moon Goddess. You bleed, Selene. You hunger. You…" I gesture wildly at her. "You trip over air, for crying out loud!"
She purses her lips. "That was one time."
"It was this morning."
She shrugs. "Time is irrelevant when you're immortal."
I take a deep breath. I am going to strangle her.
Or at least try.
"Let's say for argument's sake that you are the Moon Goddess," I say, my patience hanging by a thread. "That doesn't change the fact that what you're feeling? It's dangerous."
She watches me, amused. "Why do you assume it's dangerous for me?"
I blink. "What?"
She leans forward slightly. "Why do you assume I'm the one at risk?"
I stare at her.
And then I understand.
Oh.
Oh, this is worse than I thought.
I let out a harsh laugh. "You think you're the threat here?"
Her eyes gleam. "Aren't I?"
I shake my head. "Selene, listen to me. If you let this feeling grow, it won't be you who suffers. It will be him."
She tilts her head. "Explain."
I swallow, forcing myself to keep my voice steady. "You don't love, Selene. You consume. You unravel. You take something whole and leave it shattered."
She frowns slightly, as if considering my words.
I continue. "Adrian Moray is an Alpha. He is strong, stubborn, impossibly rebellious at times. But even the strongest fall when the right weakness is exploited."
Her lips curve into a knowing smile. "And you think I will be his weakness?"
I hold her gaze. "I think you already are."
For a moment, neither of us speak.
The wind howls through the trees, the moonlight spilling across her impossibly perfect face.
Then, slowly, she leans back, tilting her head toward the sky. "It's been a long time since someone feared me for the right reasons."
I swallow hard. "Selene…"
She glances back at me, her eyes burning. "But you're wrong, Mira."
I frown. "About what?"
She smiles.
"Love doesn't make you weak. It makes you reckless."
I inhale sharply. "That's worse."
She laughs. "I know."
And then, just like that, she turns and walks away, humming softly to herself.
Leaving me standing there, heart pounding, knowing with absolute certainty that I have just witnessed the beginning of something catastrophic.