Kael did not sleep that night.
The bond would not let him.
He stood alone on the balcony of the guest wing, the Eastern winds cutting sharply across his face. Below, palace guards patrolled in steady patterns. Everything was orderly.
Everything made sense.
Except her.
Lady Selene.
Impossible.
He had watched Lyra Hale die.
He had felt the bond snap — the violent recoil of a connection severed by death. He had buried the memory, sealed it beneath duty and war and bloodshed.
And yet—
The moment Selene stepped into the hall, something inside him had awakened.
Not gently.
Not subtly.
His wolf had surged forward like a beast recognizing its mate after a long separation.
Mine.
The word echoed violently in his mind.
"No," Kael muttered into the wind.
He would not allow weakness.
He turned sharply as his Beta approached.
"You investigated her?" Kael demanded.
"Yes, Alpha. Lady Selene Valeris. Daughter of the Eastern Councilor. She fell ill three years ago but reportedly recovered. No record of travel. No suspicious alliances."
Kael's jaw tightened.
"Three years ago," he repeated.
Lyra had died five years ago.
The timeline didn't align.
But the bond did.
His wolf growled low in his chest.
The Beta hesitated. "Alpha… there is something else."
"Speak."
"Alpha Cassian has requested private dinner with Lady Selene tomorrow evening."
Silence.
The air around Kael shifted.
The glass railing beneath his hand cracked.
The Beta stepped back instinctively.
"Granted?" the Beta asked carefully.
Kael's eyes darkened.
"Of course," he said calmly.
Too calmly.
"Let him dine with her."
Let him try.
Across the palace, I stood in the eastern gardens beneath the moonlight.
The night air was colder than I expected, but it helped steady my thoughts.
He remembered.
Not consciously.
But his wolf did.
That was enough.
Footsteps approached behind me.
"Lady Selene."
I turned.
Alpha Cassian walked toward me, dressed in dark silver robes, his expression relaxed yet observant.
"You shouldn't wander alone," he said lightly. "Some Alphas are territorial."
I smiled faintly. "Should I be afraid?"
"Not afraid," he replied smoothly. "Careful."
He stopped beside me, close enough that his warmth brushed my skin — but it did not ignite anything within me.
No bond.
No fire.
Just strategy.
"I noticed something today," Cassian continued. "Alpha Ravaryn reacted to you."
I met his gaze. "Reacted how?"
"Like a man who saw a ghost."
Interesting.
"So you believe in ghosts?" I asked.
"In this world?" Cassian's smile sharpened. "I believe in secrets."
His hand lifted slightly — not touching, just hovering near mine.
Testing.
The mate bond pulsed faintly.
Not from him.
From somewhere behind us.
A sudden gust of wind tore through the garden.
The scent of cedar and winter air flooded my senses.
Kael.
I didn't turn immediately.
But Cassian did.
"Alpha Ravaryn," Cassian greeted smoothly.
Kael stepped from the shadows.
He looked lethal.
Controlled.
Barely.
"Lady Selene," Kael said quietly, eyes fixed on Cassian's proximity to me. "You seem… comfortable."
"I am," I replied calmly.
Cassian's fingers brushed mine deliberately.
The reaction was immediate.
The air snapped.
A low, animalistic sound tore from Kael's chest before he could stop it.
Not human.
Wolf.
The garden lamps flickered as power rippled outward.
Guards at the far end stiffened.
Cassian withdrew his hand slowly, eyes narrowing.
"So it's true," he murmured.
Kael's control fractured.
His eyes flashed gold.
"Leave," he ordered Cassian.
The command carried Alpha dominance.
Heavy.
Oppressive.
Cassian straightened but did not bow.
"With respect," he said coolly, "she is not yours."
The words hit like a blade.
Not yours.
Kael stepped forward.
The ground beneath his boots cracked slightly.
I could feel his wolf pushing against the surface, furious and confused.
"She will walk back to the palace with me," Kael said.
It wasn't a request.
I held his gaze steadily.
"On what authority?"
The question stunned the air between us.
For a second — just one — something raw flickered in his expression.
Pain.
Then it hardened.
"As an Alpha protecting a guest."
I tilted my head.
"And if I prefer Alpha Cassian's company?"
Silence.
Deadly silence.
The bond between us burned painfully now — reacting to every word, every inch of distance.
Kael's voice dropped to something almost inhuman.
"Choose carefully."
There it was.
Possession.
Fear.
Memory fighting its way to the surface.
I stepped back.
But not toward him.
Toward Cassian.
"I appreciate your concern, Alpha Ravaryn," I said gently. "But I am quite safe."
Cassian offered his arm.
I took it.
Kael's wolf roared inside him.
I felt it — the violent surge of instinct to claim, to drag me away, to mark what was his.
But he didn't move.
Because he couldn't.
Not without revealing the truth he was trying to deny.
As we walked away, I did not look back.
But I felt him standing there.
Burning.
Conflicted.
Haunted.
Good.
Let him feel what I felt five years ago.
Powerless.