The moon was full.
Selena lay in her room, eyes closed but wide awake. Her body ached from the Trial, but it was her thoughts that kept her restless. The stranger's words repeated in her mind like a silent drumbeat:
"He mates with equals."
She didn't want to care.
But something deep inside her something primal did.
Suddenly, her breath caught in her throat. A chill filled the room. Her surroundings shifted, the walls melting into mist. She sat up, heart pounding.
> "Selena."
A voice ,ancient and soft called her name.
She turned and found herself standing in a vast silver forest, the trees glowing with moonlight. Above her, the sky shimmered with constellations she didn't recognize. She wasn't dreaming.
She was in the Realm of the Moon.
The Goddess appeared again, cloaked in white, her silver hair flowing like water.
> "Your journey is no longer your own, my child," the Goddess said. "The bond you severed has opened the way to your true destiny."
Selena frowned. "Damien was never my destiny."
> "No," the Goddess agreed, "he was your lesson. But your equal, your true mate awakens. And he is watching."
A shadow moved between the trees.
Selena turned to see him: tall, broad-shouldered, silver and black wolf fur wrapped around his armor like a mantle. His eyes… glowing sapphire with flecks of gold.
> "Who are you?" she asked.
He didn't speak. But she felt the answer.
Not in words.
In connection.
Suddenly her mark burned, flaring with moonlight. Her knees buckled, and in a flash, she was back in her room gasping, sweating, glowing.
She sat up, touching the mark on her shoulder.
It was pulsing.
Alive.
Claiming her… again.
But this time, not with pain.
With promise.