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1100 words

Another dinner filled with nothing but quietness. Kael sat across from me, his shoulders stiff beneath the black wool of his formal jacket, pushing food around his plate like the meat had offended him personally. I watched him instead of eating, counting the seconds between his chews, between his glances up at me—rare, and fleeting.

Finally, I broke the silence. “You’ve barely said a word to me in three days. I’m starting to wonder if I’ve done something wrong.”

He didn’t look up. “You haven’t.”

“Then what is it?” I asked. “Don’t say it’s the western border again. I’ve read the reports, Kael. You’ve barely assigned anyone out there.”

He tensed. “And now you’re reading my reports behind my back?”

“I’m your Luna. Not your enemy,” I snapped, heat rising to my cheeks. “If you don’t want me to act like I’m on the outside, stop keeping me there.”

His knife clattered against the plate. He finally looked up—jaw clenched, eyes dark. “I’m dealing with more than you know, Selene.”

“Then tell me,” I said, voice trembling. “Because right now I’m starting to think you’re not dealing with anything. You’re hiding.”

Silence. A heartbeat. Two.

He stood suddenly, chair scraping against the stone floor. “I don’t have the energy for this.”

“You never do anymore,” I whispered.

He didn’t respond. Just turned and walked out of the hall, footsteps echoing down the corridor like falling stones. I sat frozen for a moment, heart hammering, the silverware glinting coldly in the candlelight.

And then I got up and followed.

I didn’t know what I expected—an apology, maybe. A sliver of truth. Something to crack through the walls he kept throwing up between us. But as I reached the archway and stepped out into the courtyard, I saw him.

Kael.

Near the garden edge. With someone.

They were close. Too close.

My feet slowed, heart dropping into my stomach as I watched. The other figure leaned in, and Kael didn’t stop them. Didn’t pull away.

And then—he kissed them.

I froze.

The shadows were thick, and the angle was wrong. I couldn’t see the face. Just the fall of hair. A familiar silhouette.

No…

I started forward, instincts taking over. My legs moved without permission, anger and dread boiling in my chest. I needed to know. I had to see.

But just as I stepped out from behind the hedge, a voice called out.

“Luna Selene?”

I turned sharply, startled.

Rhett, one of the senior patrol guards, was jogging toward me with a quick bow. “Apologies. I didn’t mean to startle you. I was hoping to ask-”

I blinked, torn between slamming a hand over his mouth or pretending I wasn’t about to chase my mate through the garden like a jealous teenager. I flicked a glance back toward where Kael had been, but the spot was empty now. Just moonlight and rustling leaves.

Gone. Fuck!

“Is everything all right, my lady?” Rhett asked, frowning.

I forced a breath, smoothed the tremble in my voice. “Yes. Just… taking a walk.”

“Should I escort you?”

“No.” I smiled, tight and false. “Thank you. I won’t be long.”

He nodded and turned to leave, but the moment he was out of sight, I stepped toward the garden again, my hands cold, my breath short.

Who was she?

And why did something deep insi

de me already know?

I didn’t go back inside. Not right away.

The soft buzz of conversation drifted from the banquet hall windows, laughter echoing faintly through the courtyard—none of it reaching me. Some of the pack members were celebrating a win from a fight with an enemy pack. My focus stayed rooted on the garden’s edge, where I had seen Kael. Where I had seen… her.

Whoever she was.

The shadows stretched long across the stone path, but I moved without hesitation now, slipping between hedges and rose archways, deeper into the hidden walkways that circled the estate. This part of the grounds was quiet, unguarded. Most wolves avoided it—it was too close to the old family mausoleum, where the Alpha bloodline rested. But Kael came here often. It was his sanctuary.

And apparently, now his hiding place.

My nose caught it first—faint, but not faint enough. A scent. His, of course. Warm and smoky and sharp like the first bite of a thunderstorm. But beneath it… something else. Softer. Sweeter.

Floral.

Feminine.

Familiar.

I froze, inhaling again, trying to separate the notes. And then my stomach dropped.

Jasmine.

The same perfume I wore—only lighter. Younger. Sharper around the edges. It wasn’t mine.

But it was close enough.

I followed it down a narrow gravel path, just out of sight of the main corridor. Trees loomed overhead, and the light from the moon turned everything into shifting silver ghosts.

Something rustled ahead—soft footfalls. I crouched behind the stone lantern pillar just as two shadows emerged from between the trees, walking quickly in the opposite direction, hands brushing before parting.

Kael.

And a woman with loose dark hair, pulled hastily into a braid.

I couldn’t make out her face. She turned away too fast. But there was something… familiar in the way she moved. Confident. Catlike.

I didn’t step out. I couldn’t. My pulse thudded in my throat, and my breath felt too loud in the quiet night.

Say something, part of me screamed. Ask him. Demand the truth.

But I stayed rooted to the spot. They disappeared into the shadows, the moment slipping through my fingers like smoke. When I finally moved, it wasn’t toward them. It was toward the edge of the stone bench by the garden where they’d stood. I crouched, fingertips brushing the smooth curve of the stone.

And there—half-crushed into the grass—I found it.

A hairpin.

Silver and etched with a tiny moon symbol.

My heart stilled.

It belonged to Maris.

I recognized it instantly. I’d given it to her two birthdays ago.

But… no. No. That didn’t make sense. It couldn’t be hers.

Except the scent hadn’t lied. And neither did the chill crawling down my spine.

I clutched the pin in my hand and stood, breath shaking.

Still, I told myself I couldn’t be sure.

Not yet.

But I was close.

So damn close.