Damien stared at her from the staircase.

Neither of them moved.

Selena’s pulse pounded painfully in her ears as she stood in front of the basement door like a criminal caught in the act.

“What are you doing down here?” Damien asked quietly.

Too quietly.

Selena swallowed hard. “I couldn’t sleep.”

His eyes shifted briefly toward the iron door behind her before returning to her face.

“And?”

“I was walking.” She forced a weak laugh. “Then I got lost.”

“You’ve lived here for three years.”

The air turned heavy.

Selena suddenly became aware of how fast her heart was beating. Worse—how sharply she could hear his.

Thud.

Thud.

Thud.

Why could she hear that?

Damien slowly walked downstairs toward her.

“You’re pale,” he said.

“I’m fine.”

“You’re shaking again.”

Because you scare me.

The thought flashed through her mind before she could stop it.

Damien reached her at last. His fingers gently wrapped around her wrist.

The second he touched her, Selena flinched.

A flicker crossed his face.

Hurt.

Then suspicion.

“Did you stop taking your medication?” he asked softly.

“No.”

“Look at me.”

She did.

His eyes were beautiful. Dark gray. Calm. The kind of face people trusted immediately.

But tonight something beneath that calmness felt wrong.

Predatory.

“You shouldn’t come here,” Damien said.

Selena forced herself to glance at the basement door casually. “What’s down there?”

“Storage.”

“Then why lock it?”

“Because some things are dangerous.”

His thumb slowly brushed the inside of her wrist.

The movement should have been comforting.

Instead, Selena’s stomach twisted.

Then Damien suddenly frowned.

His grip tightened slightly.

“You’re cold.”

Before Selena could respond, he lifted her hand closer to his face.

And froze.

There was blood on her fingers.

Both of them stared at it.

Selena’s breathing stopped.

“I…” She looked down in confusion. “I don’t know where that came from.”

Damien’s expression darkened instantly.

“Were you hurt?”

“No.”

But as soon as she answered, sharp pain sliced across her palm.

Selena gasped.

A thin cut had opened across her skin.

Fresh blood welled out slowly.

Damien stared at it too intensely.

Almost like he was studying something.

Then his gaze lifted sharply to hers.

“Did this happen just now?”

“I think so…”

The wound should have hurt badly.

Instead, Selena watched in horror as the cut slowly began closing on its own.

Not completely.

But enough.

Damien saw it too.

Silence crashed between them.

Selena’s voice came out barely above a whisper.

“Damien…”

His expression changed immediately.

That dangerous look vanished.

He smiled gently again.

“You’re overtired.” He pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and wrapped it around her palm. “Come back upstairs.”

“But my hand—”

“You scratched yourself on the door.”

“That’s not possible. I barely touched—”

“You’re exhausted, Selena.”

His tone sharpened slightly.

Not enough for others to notice.

Enough for her to notice.

He took her hand and guided her upstairs.

This time, Selena noticed something she never had before.

The guards.

Two armed wolves stood silently near the hallway entrance.

Watching her.

Not protecting.

Watching.

The moment she looked at them, both lowered their heads immediately.

Like they were afraid she had noticed.

Fear crawled beneath her skin again.

—

The next morning, Selena woke alone.

Damien’s side of the bed was already cold.

For several seconds she stared at the ceiling, trying to convince herself last night had been another nightmare.

Then she looked at her hand.

The cut was gone.

Completely.

Selena sat upright immediately.

Impossible.

Slowly, she touched the smooth skin.

No scar.

Nothing.

A knock interrupted her thoughts.

“Mom?”

Ethan peeked through the door holding a stuffed wolf.

Selena forced a smile. “Come in.”

He climbed onto the bed carefully.

Children usually moved naturally around their mothers.

Ethan always seemed cautious around her.

Like he was trying not to upset something dangerous.

“Dad left early,” he said quietly.

“For council business?”

“Mm.”

Selena brushed curls away from his forehead. “Ethan… can I ask you something?”

The boy immediately looked nervous.

“About last night?”

“No.” She hesitated. “About me.”

“What about you?”

“Before Dad found me… do you know anything?”

Ethan’s little fingers tightened around the toy wolf.

“No.”

“You’ve never heard anyone talk about it?”

“No.”

Too fast again.

Selena lowered her voice gently. “You don’t have to be scared.”

“I’m not scared.”

But he was.

She could smell it now.

Fear had a scent.

Why could she smell that?

The realization made her dizzy.

Suddenly Ethan whispered:

“Dad says talking about the past makes you sick.”

Selena stared at him.

“Why would it?”

“I don’t know.”

Then, after a pause—

“But sometimes he gets angry when people mention wolves around you.”

Her chest tightened.

“Wolves?”

Ethan nodded slowly.

“He says your condition gets worse when your wolf instincts are triggered.”

Condition.

Instincts.

Something deep inside Selena stirred violently.

Before she could ask another question, a maid entered nervously.

“Lady Selena, Alpha Damien asked for your medicine.”

Selena frowned. “Already?”

“The doctor changed the dosage this morning.”

Something cold settled in her stomach.

The maid handed her the silver bottle.

Selena opened it slowly.

Inside were black capsules instead of white pills.

“When did they change?” she asked quietly.

The maid looked confused. “They’ve always looked like that, my lady.”

Selena froze.

No.

That was impossible.

The pills had been white.

Hadn’t they?

Suddenly her head started hurting again.

Fragments flashed violently through her mind—

Hands forcing her mouth open.

Chains.

Someone holding her down.

A male voice:

“Increase the suppressant dosage.”

Selena nearly dropped the bottle.

“Mom?” Ethan whispered.

She realized she was breathing too fast again.

The maid stepped back nervously.

“My lady?”

Selena looked down at the capsules in her hand.

Suppressant.

The word echoed inside her skull.

Suppress what?

Slowly, carefully, she slipped one capsule into her sleeve instead of swallowing it.

Then she forced a smile.

“I’ll take it later.”

The maid hesitated. “Alpha Damien specifically said—”

“I said later.”

Something dangerous slipped into Selena’s voice accidentally.

The maid instantly lowered her eyes.

“Yes, my lady.”

The moment the door closed, silence filled the room.

Ethan stared at her strangely.

Selena noticed immediately.

“What?”

The boy looked frightened now.

“You sounded different.”

Her stomach twisted.

“How?”

“Like…” He swallowed nervously. “Like before.”

Selena’s entire body went still.

“Before what?”

Ethan’s face turned pale the moment he realized what he had said.

He climbed off the bed immediately.

“I have lessons,” he mumbled.

“Ethan.”

But he was already running toward the door.

Before leaving, he looked back at her one last time.

And for the first time since she became his mother—

Selena saw genuine fear in her son’s eyes.

Not fear of punishment.

Fear of her.

The door shut.

Silence returned.

Slowly, Selena opened her palm.

The black capsule rested there quietly.

She stared at it for several seconds.

Then walked toward the bathroom sink.

And flushed it away.

For a moment, nothing happened.

Then suddenly—

Pain exploded through her body.

Selena collapsed against the sink with a scream.

Her bones burned.

Her hearing sharpened violently.

Voices downstairs.

Footsteps outside.

Heartbeats.

Every sound slammed into her skull at once.

And beneath the agony—

Something alive inside her finally opened its eyes.

A wolf.

Her wolf.

Selena stopped taking the pills.

Not completely.

Just enough to test herself.

One capsule hidden beneath her tongue.

Another flushed down the sink.

Then she waited.

At first, nothing happened.

By afternoon, everything changed.

The world became louder.

She could hear servants whispering outside closed doors. Hear the crackling fireplace two rooms away. Hear Ethan laughing in the garden from the second floor.

And beneath all of it—

Heartbeats.

Dozens of them.

Selena nearly dropped the teacup in her hands.

“What’s wrong, my lady?” the maid asked nervously.

Selena forced herself to smile. “Nothing.”

But it wasn’t nothing.

By evening, scents overwhelmed her too.

Rain.

Smoke.

Wine.

Fear.

The guard near the west hallway smelled afraid every time she walked past him.

Why?

Selena entered the bedroom quietly just before dinner.

Damien was already there changing clothes after returning from council meetings.

His sleeves were rolled halfway up his forearms.

And Selena froze.

Scars.

Long claw marks crossed Damien’s skin.

Old scars.

Battle scars.

But one of them looked familiar.

Too familiar.

A sharp image flashed through her mind—

A burning hallway.

Someone slashing Damien across the arm while screaming:

“Monster!”

Selena staggered slightly.

Damien looked up immediately.

“Selena?”

She blinked.

The memory vanished.

“You’re home early,” she said carefully.

Damien studied her face for a moment too long. “You look pale.”

“I’m tired.”

“You haven’t been sleeping.”

Neither had he.

She could smell exhaustion on him now.

And stress.

Heavy stress.

Damien walked toward her slowly. “Did you take your medication today?”

There it was again.

Always the pills.

“Yes.”

The lie came easier now.

But Damien kept staring at her.

As if he knew.

Then suddenly he reached up and brushed his thumb beneath her eye.

“You can smell me now, can’t you?”

Selena’s pulse stopped.

“What?”

His expression darkened slightly.

“You reacted the second you walked in.”

Fear crept down her spine.

Had she made it obvious?

Damien lowered his hand slowly.

“You need a stronger dosage.”

“No.”

The answer escaped before she could stop it.

Both of them froze.

Selena saw surprise flicker across his face.

Because she almost never argued with him.

Damien’s voice softened dangerously.

“Selena.”

“I said no.”

Silence.

Heavy silence.

Then Damien smiled faintly.

“Fine,” he said calmly. “We’ll discuss it later.”

But Selena smelled anger beneath his calmness.

Sharp.

Controlled.

Waiting.

—

That night, Selena couldn’t breathe inside the manor anymore.

Every wall felt too close.

Every hallway felt watched.

So after Damien fell asleep beside her, she slipped quietly from bed and left the estate.

Cold forest air hit her instantly.

And relief flooded her chest so hard it almost hurt.

The deeper she walked into the woods, the calmer she became.

Her senses sharpened beautifully here.

She could hear rivers beneath frozen ground.

Could smell pine trees miles away.

Could feel something alive inside herself slowly waking up.

A wolf.

The realization terrified her.

And thrilled her.

Selena stopped near a frozen lake, breathing hard.

Moonlight reflected silver across the ice.

For one strange moment, the scene felt familiar.

Like she had stood here before.

Then pain exploded through her body.

Selena gasped violently and dropped to her knees in the snow.

Heat burned beneath her skin.

Her spine arched painfully.

Something inside her clawed upward desperately.

“No—”

A growl tore from her throat.

Not human.

Her eyes widened in horror.

The pain worsened instantly.

Bones burned.

Muscles twisted.

The wolf inside her fought against invisible chains wrapped tightly around it.

And suddenly—

A scent flooded the forest.

Cold.

Wild.

Dangerous.

Not Damien.

Something stronger.

Selena looked up sharply.

A man stood between the trees watching her.

Tall.

Dark coat dusted with snow.

Silver eyes glowing faintly in the moonlight.

Every instinct inside her screamed predator.

Yet strangely—

Her wolf quieted the moment she saw him.

The stranger approached slowly.

Carefully.

Like he understood exactly how dangerous she was becoming.

“Easy,” he said quietly.

Selena tried to back away.

Pain ripped through her immediately.

The man’s expression darkened.

“How much suppressant did they give you?”

Suppressant.

Again that word.

Selena’s breathing shook. “Who are you?”

Instead of answering, the stranger crouched in front of her.

His scent surrounded her instantly.

Smoke.

Winter.

Blood.

And beneath it—

Power.

Ancient power.

The kind that made every creature in the forest go silent.

“You’re fighting the drugs,” he said calmly. “That’s why it hurts.”

“How do you know that?”

His jaw tightened slightly.

“Because I’ve seen this before.”

Selena stared at him.

Moonlight reflected sharply across his silver eyes.

Not wolf eyes.

Something worse.

Something older.

Then suddenly distant howls echoed through the forest.

Search parties.

Damien’s wolves.

The stranger heard them too.

His expression became colder instantly.

“They’re looking for you.”

Selena forced herself upright shakily. “I have to go.”

“You shouldn’t.”

“I’m married.”

The stranger’s eyes narrowed slightly.

“To Damien Cross.”

Not a question.

Selena’s stomach tightened. “You know him.”

“Yes.”

The single word carried hatred.

Real hatred.

The stranger stood slowly.

“You shouldn’t trust him.”

Fear flashed through Selena immediately.

Not because of the warning.

Because part of her already believed it.

The man noticed.

Of course he did.

His gaze softened slightly.

“What’s your name?” he asked quietly.

“Selena.”

A strange expression crossed his face.

Like disappointment.

“No,” he murmured. “That’s the name he gave you.”

The world seemed to stop.

“What?”

The stranger took one slow step closer.

And very carefully asked:

“What was your name before the massacre?”