The air was thick with tension, the kind that pressed down like a storm about to break. Selina's heart raced, the rogue king’s words echoing in her mind. Promised? By her father? To this monster? The accusation was absurd—impossible. But Jack’s silence, the way he avoided her gaze, was more damning than anything the rogue king could have said.

“Jack!” she shouted, her voice trembling but sharp enough to cut through the heavy silence. “Tell me he’s lying!”

Jack finally met her eyes, his lips parting as if to speak, but no words came. His expression was a cocktail of guilt, fear, and something else she couldn’t quite place.

The rogue king chuckled, a low, menacing sound that made Selina’s wolf snarl within her. “Poor little Luna. Betrayed by the ones you trust most. Isn’t it delicious?” His blood-red eyes gleamed with malicious satisfaction. “But don’t worry, my dear. You’ll understand everything soon enough. The full moon is coming, and when it rises, so will the truth.”

Before Selina could respond, the rogue king turned and melted into the shadows of the forest, his monstrous figure vanishing as though he’d never been there. His parting words lingered like a curse.

The silence he left behind was suffocating. Selina stared at Jack, waiting, demanding an explanation, but he just stood there, shoulders slumped, looking like a man drowning in his own guilt.

“Jack,” she said again, her voice softer now but no less firm. “What did he mean? What haven’t you told me?”

He sighed heavily, running a hand through his hair as if searching for the courage to speak. “Selina, it’s... complicated.”

“Complicated?” she repeated, her tone incredulous. “I just found out I’m some kind of dire wolf, that my father supposedly promised me to a rogue king, and you’re telling me it’s complicated?”

Jack stepped closer, his hands raised as if to calm her. “Please, just listen. Your father—he made choices to protect you. He thought he was doing what was best—”

“What was best?” Selina interrupted, her voice rising. “Selling me off to that monster was what was best?”

“It wasn’t like that!” Jack snapped, his own frustration boiling over. “He was desperate. The rogue king had threatened to destroy your pack, to kill everyone you loved. Your father thought... he thought he could buy you time. He didn’t know you’d grow into... this.” He gestured to her, as if her newfound power was something he couldn’t fully comprehend.

Selina staggered back, her knees threatening to buckle. Her father, the man she’d idolized, had betrayed her? The pain of it was a physical thing, cutting through her like a blade.

Jack reached for her, but she pulled away. “Don’t,” she said, her voice cold. “You knew, didn’t you? You knew all along.”

“I didn’t know it would come to this,” he admitted. “I didn’t know he’d come for you so soon.”

“So you did know.” The words were a whisper, but they carried the weight of her heartbreak. She shook her head, stepping further away from him. “I trusted you, Jack. I thought you were my mate.”

“I am your mate!” he said, desperation lacing his voice. “Everything I’ve done was to protect you, Selina. Please, you have to believe me.”

But she didn’t answer. She couldn’t. Her world had been shattered too many times in the past hour, and she didn’t know what to believe anymore.

The sound of approaching footsteps pulled Selina from her spiral of thoughts. She turned to see a man emerging from the shadows of the forest, flanked by a pair of wolves in their human forms. His presence was commanding, his posture regal.

“Alpha Lucas,” Jack said, his tone shifting to one of respect.

The man nodded, his dark eyes sweeping over Selina. “So, this is the legendary Luna,” he said, his voice smooth but tinged with curiosity. “I came as soon as I heard the commotion. It seems I was right to be concerned.”

Selina frowned, unsure what to make of this new figure. There was an air of power about him, but it was different from Jack’s raw dominance or the rogue king’s malevolence. It was refined, controlled.

“Alpha Lucas,” Jack began, “now might not be the best time—”

“Nonsense,” Lucas interrupted, his tone firm but not unkind. His gaze shifted back to Selina. “Luna Selina, I would be honored if you would join me for dinner at my palace tomorrow evening. There are things we must discuss, matters of great importance to the packs.”

Selina hesitated, glancing at Jack, whose expression was unreadable. Finally, she nodded. “Fine. I’ll come.”

Lucas smiled, though there was a hint of something unreadable in his expression. “Excellent. I’ll send an escort to bring you. And, if I may, I’d like to propose a date for your wedding.”

Selina blinked, taken aback. “Wedding?”

“Yes,” Lucas said smoothly, ignoring her confusion. “The next full moon. It’s an auspicious day, one of grace and rebirth. The perfect time for a union such as yours and Jack’s.”

Her stomach churned at the mention of the full moon, her mind flashing back to the rogue king’s words.

---

A Dark Omen

The night exhales its final breath, spilling black gold into the horizon before retreating into the embrace of dusk. Shadows rise like solemn priests, chanting the hymns of the approaching dawn, their murmurs soft yet inevitable. As Selina lay in her bed, sleep refused to come. Her thoughts churned, replaying everything that had happened. She couldn’t shake the rogue king’s sinister grin, his cryptic words.

When the first howl pierced the night, she bolted upright, her heart pounding. It was Jack. She could feel his distress through their bond.

Then came another howl, deeper and darker. The rogue king.

Selina’s blood ran cold as a single thought settled in her mind: The full moon was closer than they realized, and with it, her destiny was racing toward her like a storm she couldn’t outrun.