Chapter 5

Selene's POV

So this was what a fated mate felt like. huh?

In my past life, I'd never let Jaxon close enough to find out. I avoided him at every public event after I rejected him. I'd never stood close enough to catch his scent.

My wolf was practically purring. She hadn't been this happy — this present — in years. The entire time I'd been with Derek, she'd been quiet. Distant.

Jaxon's breath was warm against my forehead. His arms hadn't moved. Neither had I.

Then he spoke. Low and close enough that I felt the words before I heard them.

"Watch your mouth." Cold. Controlled. Whatever had flashed behind his eyes, he'd forced it back. "I didn't come after you for what you did at that banquet. No retaliation. No revenge. That is already more than you deserved."

"But don't test me, Selene. I'm not a kind man." His eyes held mine. "Stop coming here. Stop provoking me."

"Now leave."

I blinked. His words cleared away all the imagination I had from his scent and touch.

I pushed him. Not hard. Just enough to reclaim the space between us.

"I understand," I said. My wolf whined inside my chest, but I turned and walked out without looking back.

I didn't breathe properly until I was in my car with the doors locked.

Jaxon and I were fated mates, and yet somehow, getting close to him had become the hardest thing in the world.

I guessed I had failed the Moon Goddess again.

Mia was waiting in the upstairs hallway when I got home. She was in pajamas, cross-legged on the floor by my bedroom door, phone in her lap.

"You've been gone all day," she said, standing up fast. "Where did you go? You missed dinner. Dad was asking."

I unlocked my door and she followed me in. I sat on the edge of my bed, and she sat beside me, close enough that our shoulders touched.

"I went to see Jaxon," I said.

"You really did?" Her eyes went wide. "How did it go?"

"He told me to leave. Called me an idiot." I stared at the ceiling. "He's not wrong."

Mia was quiet for a moment. Then she bumped her shoulder against mine. "What's going on with you, Selene? Really. You've been different since yesterday. The thing at dinner, refusing to marry Derek, going to find Jaxon. It's like you woke up a completely different person."

I looked at my little sister. Fifteen. Smart. Brave in ways she didn't even know yet.

"I'm going to tell you something," I said. "And you're not going to believe me. But I need someone to know."

I told her. All of it. The boat, Derek's confession, Vera, the rope around my wrists, the water closing over my head. Waking up in this bed. My wolf's message from the Moon Goddess.

Mia listened without interrupting. Her face went from confused to pale to very, very still.

"That's insane," she said finally.

"I know."

"It sounds like a dream. Like, a really vivid one."

"I know that too." I didn't push. "But I know what I experienced. It was all real."

Mia chewed her lower lip. Processing. Then she looked up at me with something fierce in her eyes.

"Okay," she said. "I believe you. Or I believe you believe it. Either way, I'm helping."

I squeezed her hand. "Thank you."

Mia chewed her lip for a moment. "So Jaxon is a dead end. For now." She sat up straighter. "Then we go the other way. If we can prove Derek and Vera are together — actual proof, not just your memory — we don't need Jaxon's forgiveness. We just need the evidence."

I stared at her. Fifteen, and already thinking three moves ahead.

That's what I was thinking too.

My phone buzzed.

Derek's name on the screen. I felt my stomach clench.

Hey babe. I know things got heated last night. Can we grab dinner tonight? Just us. Talk it through. I miss you.

The words were warm. Gentle. As always.

I stared at the message. Then I typed back: Okay. Where?

Mia leaned over my shoulder and read the text. Her nose wrinkled. "You're going?"

"Yes. I need him to think everything's fine first," I said. "If he suspects I'm serious about breaking up, it will be harder to find any proof."

Play along. Gather information. Don't let him suspect.

Derek booked us a seat in the most famous restaurant in the entire werewolf world.

When I walked in, Derek was already seated at a corner table with candles and a bread basket. He stood when I walked in, pulled out my chair, kissed my cheek. His cologne hit me first — sharp and sweet, the same brand he'd worn the night he killed me.

"There she is." He stood and pulled out my chair. "You look tired. Long day?"

"Long day," I said. I sat. Smoothed the napkin over my lap.

"Did you go see Jaxon?"

I'd rehearsed this answer in the car. "I tried. His Beta wouldn't even let me through the door." I shrugged. "Didn't see Jaxon once. Soren just told me to leave."

Derek's shoulders relaxed. Visibly. He reached across the table and covered my hand with his. "Hey. I'm sorry you went through that."

I didn't pull away. Every cell in my body wanted to, but I didn't.

"I was being irrational," I said. "Jaxon was so cold, so rude. It made me realize how good I have it with you." I looked at him. Made sure my eyes were soft.

He squeezed my hand. The satisfaction on his face was barely hidden.

"You were right. I overreacted the other night. Wedding nerves. You know me." I looked at him over the top of the card. Small smile. Steady eyes. "I'm sorry."

"I knew you'd come around," he said. "We're going to be fine, Selene. Better than fine."

He leaned in and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. His thumb lingered on my jaw.

This was the man who'd killed me. Who'd tied my ankles and pushed me into the ocean. And I was letting him touch my face across a candlelit table.

The things you do when you need evidence.

Then the restaurant door opened. My wolf snapped to attention.

I looked toward the restaurant entrance.

Jaxon stood in the doorway.

He wasn't looking around the room. He wasn't scanning the crowd. His pale gray eyes were locked directly on me — on Derek's hand on my jaw and the intimate distance between us.

His expression didn't change. But something in those eyes shifted. Darkened.

"Mate is angry." My wolf's voice cut through everything, sharp and clear.

Then Jaxon started walking towards us.