The scent of burned sage and rotting flesh clung to the healer's hut like a second skin. Kael thrashed on the cot, his skin slick with fever-sweat, the wound at his side oozing black-tinged blood that refused to clot.
Ghost-wolf poison.
Selene pressed a fresh poultice to the wound, her shadows writhing beneath her fingertips as they tried...and failed...to draw out the corruption. Every time they touched it, the darkness recoiled like a whipped animal.
"Damn it, hold still," she snarled.
Kael's hand shot out, clamping around her wrist with bruising force. His golden eyes were glazed, pupils blown wide with pain, but the Alpha command in his voice was undeniable: "What are you?"
The question hung between them like a blade.
Selene wrenched free. "I'm the one keeping you alive."
A lie. She wasn't sure what she was anymore. Not after seeing Roran dissolve into mist. Not after Liora's whispers in the dark.
The door burst open. Alpha Orric filled the doorway, his silver-streaked beard bristling, his scent thick with fury. Behind him, two warriors dragged a battered Cyrus between them, his face swollen with fresh bruises.
"You," Orric spat at Selene, "have five seconds to explain why my son is dying and my Beta is a ghost."
Cyrus lifted his head, his one good eye locking onto Selene. "Run," he mouthed.
Too late.
Orric backhanded her.
The blow sent her crashing into the wall, her vision whiting out for a heartbeat. Her shadows exploded, lashing the air like living things, but the Alpha's power crushed them back...an invisible weight pressing down until her bones creaked.
"Father..." Kael choked out.
"Silence!" Orric's roar shook the hut. He grabbed Selene by the throat, hauling her up until her toes scraped the floor. "Roran was family. And you brought his killer here."
Selene gagged, clawing at his wrist. "I didn't..."
"Liar!" Spittle flecked her face. "Just like your mother. She begged too, before I slit her..."
Crack.
Kael's fist connected with his father's jaw.
The Alpha staggered, dropping Selene. She hit the ground gasping, her shadows curling protectively around her as father and son faced off, their matching golden eyes blazing.
"You knew." Kael's voice was raw. "You knew what Roran was."
Orric wiped blood from his lip. "I knew he was loyal. Unlike you." His gaze flicked to Selene, dripping with venom. "You'd choose a shadow bitch over your own blood?"
Kael bared his teeth. "You murdered hers."
The admission hung in the air like a death sentence.
Selene's breath left her in a rush. "What?"
Orric laughed...a cold, hollow sound. "Oh, she didn't tell you? How her precious mother stole my mate first? How she whelped that..." he jabbed a finger at Cyrus, "...in my bed?"
Cyrus snarled.
Selene's world tilted. No. Her mother had been kind. Gentle. She'd never...
"Enough." Kael's voice cracked like thunder. "You're done."
Orric's smile was all teeth. "You challenging me, boy?"
The hut went still.
Then...
Cyrus moved.
He lunged, shifting mid-step, his black wolf form slamming into Orric with enough force to splinter the door. They crashed into the dirt outside, a whirl of fangs and fury, as the pack erupted into chaos.
Kael swayed, his wound weeping fresh blood. "Selene..."
She didn't let him finish.
Grabbing his arm, she hauled him toward the back exit, her shadows swallowing them whole. The last thing she saw before the darkness took them was Cyrus...pinned beneath Orric's jaws, his fur matted with blood...locking eyes with her.
"Go," his gaze said.
And then they were running.
The Forest at Dusk
The trees blurred past as Selene dragged Kael deeper into the wilderness, his weight slowing them down. His breath came in ragged gasps, his skin burning through her grip.
"Stop," he gritted out. "We can't outrun them."
She whirled on him. "Your father just admitted to killing my mother!"
"And you lied about Roran!" Kael shoved her against a tree, his fingers digging into her shoulders. "You knew ghost wolves were real. How?"
The truth clawed up her throat. "Because I'm one."
The words hung between them, poison and confession in one.
Kael recoiled. "Impossible."
"Is it?" She laughed bitterly. "Why do you think my shadows react to your blood? Why Roran hated me? We're the same."
A lie. But close enough.
Kael's grip slackened. "You've been... feeding on me?"
The hurt in his voice was worse than any accusation.
Before she could answer, a howl split the night...close. Too close.
Kael's head snapped up. "Orric's hunters."
Selene's shadows bristled. "Then we fight."
"No." He caught her face, his palm rough against her cheek. "You run. Find Cyrus. I'll hold them off."
Like hell. She opened her mouth to argue...
And the world exploded.
Pain. White-hot and searing, radiating from her back as something pierced her...a blade? A claw? She couldn't tell, couldn't breathe, as the forest tilted sideways.
Kael's roar was the last thing she heard before the darkness took her.
"SELENE!"