Chapter 16
Selene’s POV
The door clicked shut behind me with a solid finality.
For a long moment, I simply stood there, my hand still resting lightly on the cool metal handle, breathing in the sterile, faintly metallic air of the
research center.
Outside, beyond the reinforced glass, Julian Blake remained frozen.
Through the narrow window, I could see him-
standing motionless in the corridor, staring at the closed door with wide, broken eyes.
His shoulders sagged.
His mouth opened slightly, as if he still hoped–still begged–for a second chance.
His wolf, usually so dominant, so commanding, whimpered audibly across the bond that no longer existed between us.
For the first time, I noticed how small he looked.
How utterly lost.
The sight struck something deep inside me, something old and half–healed.
For a heartbeat, pity bloomed.
Then I crushed it.
“Are you hurting for him?” my wolf murmured quietly inside my mind.
I flinched at the rawness of the question.
Before I could answer, a voice spoke behind me.
“Heart aching a little?” Ethan Caldwell’s voice was low, roughened with something I couldn’t name.
I turned quickly, startled by his sudden closeness.
Ethan stood just a few paces away, his arms crossed, an unreadable expression shadowing his usually warm features.
I blinked at him, my mind still clouded by too many thoughts.
Before I could respond, he spoke again, his voice almost hesitant.
“Selene…” he said, his green eyes holding mine. “Could you… maybe… not love him anymore?”
The words tumbled out awkwardly, but their weight hit me full force.
For a moment, I simply stared at him.
Ethan, who had always been steady, dependable.
Ethan, who had pulled me back from the edge when the world shattered around me.
I opened my mouth, ready to deny, ready to tell him he was wrong-
but instead, I found myself asking,
“Why would you say that?”
He looked down, as if the polished floor might somehow spare him the vulnerability he had just exposed.
“For three years,” he said softly, “you were his mate.
Now he’s here, desperate, begging for you to come back.
Most wolves… most people would feel something.”
I thought about it–really thought about it.
About the years I had spent tangled in Julian’s orbit, caught between love and duty and loneliness.
Chapter 16
About the nights I had waited for a mate who never came home.
About the child I had carried–and lost–alone.
I nodded thoughtfully, and for a second, I saw panic flicker across Ethan’s face.
But then I smiled gently and shook my
“No,” I said simply.
“I’m not going back.”
head.
Ethan’s shoulders relaxed, his breath leaving him in a quiet whoosh.
“I won’t lie,” I continued. “There was a time when I thought I’d never survive without him.
But now I see it clearly.”
“Some wounds,” I said, “even if they heal, still leave scars too deep to ignore.”
“Julian can regret it for the rest of his life,” I said, my voice growing firmer, “but it won’t erase what he did.
And it won’t make me forget what I deserve.”
lifted my chin, meeting Ethan’s gaze directly.
“We’re meant to move forward,” I said. “Not cling to ruins.”
For a moment, neither of us spoke.
The steady hum of the lab equipment filled the silence around us.
Finally, I turned back toward my workstation, my fingers moving easily across the data panel, resuming the analysis I had paused before the confrontation.
I feit calm.
Peaceful.
There was no anger left.
No grief.
Only a quiet, steady determination.
Ethan sat down beside me again, his presence warm and comforting, but unintrusive.
Out of the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of him smiling–a real, unguarded smile that lit up his face.
I didn’t know why, but somehow it made the air around us feel lighter.
He had always been like that—
the steady rock I could lean on without ever feeling trapped.
I allowed myself a small smile.
Maybe, after all the storms I had weathered, I deserved a little steady ground.
“Thank you,” I said quietly.
Ethan looked up, blinking as if I had spoken in a language he didn’t recognize.
“For what?” he asked, bewildered.
I shrugged, my lips curving up.
“For not giving up on me,” I said. “For trusting me when I couldn’t even trust myself.”
Ethan flushed slightly and looked away.
“Selene,” he said, his voice gentle, “you shouldn’t be thanking me.”
“You should be thanking yourself.”
Chapter 16
“You’re the
one
who
never really
gave up.”
Chapter
