CHAPTER FOUR — WOLVES AT THE DOOR (Part One)
Selena's scream ripped through the collapsing dark as Malek's arms closed around her and the world shattered. The air twisted like molten glass, folding in on itself, swallowing sound and color until only light remained—raw, blinding, violent. The ground vanished beneath her feet, and for one terrifying heartbeat, she was falling through nothing but silver fire. She clung to Malek's cloak, her fingers trembling as if they could anchor her to reality. "Kade!" she screamed, her voice cracking across the chaos. Somewhere in the distance, a wolf's roar tore through the void—broken, furious, heart-wrung. Then the world snapped apart.
The fall ended as suddenly as it began. Stone slammed beneath her knees, cold and unyielding, jarring every bone in her body. Selena gasped, lungs burning as she struggled to drag air into them, her chest still pulsing with the fevered rhythm of the Moonfire. Malek caught her before she could collapse completely, one steady hand braced against her waist—firm but careful, a contradiction that infuriated her even as it steadied her. When she lifted her head, her breath hitched. They were no longer in the mountain cave. Before them loomed a citadel carved into an obsidian cliff, its jagged towers slicing through the moonlight like blades. Dozens of dark-cloaked sentinels stood along the walls, their eyes glinting beneath the flames of high-burning torches. The air reeked of power. And shadows.
Selena stumbled backward instinctively, her heart tripping over itself. Malek caught her wrist, gentle yet unyielding, keeping her upright. "Selena," he murmured, his voice low enough to sound almost human, "you're safe now." She yanked her hand away as though burned. "Safe?" she snapped. "You ripped me out of Kade's arms! How is that safe?" His expression barely flickered, though something in his eyes—a flash of pain, guilt maybe—betrayed the calm. "If I hadn't," he said quietly, "the Moonfire would have consumed you where you stood." His words should have comforted her. They didn't. They felt like another cage.
Before Selena could speak, the warrior who had followed them from the cave stepped forward, falling to one knee before her. "My Luna," he said reverently, head bowed low. "Forgive the violence. Your survival required immediate passage." His voice was respectful, even afraid—but the title made her blood run cold. Selena recoiled, shaking her head. "Don't call me that," she said, her voice rising. "I'm not your Luna." The warrior looked up, his eyes dark and steady. "You are born of the moon's blood," he said simply. "That is enough." Selena's throat tightened. "No," she whispered, more to herself than him. "It isn't." Malek's voice softened. "Selena—" "Don't," she snapped, her breath trembling. "You made that choice for me. You dragged me away. And now—" Her voice cracked. "Kade doesn't even know where I am."
A shadow crossed Malek's expression—something sharp and wounding, gone almost as soon as it appeared. "He will come for you," he said softly. "Kade always comes for you." There was no mockery in his tone this time, only certainty and a quiet ache that felt heavier than anger. "But if he'd stayed in that cave," Malek continued, "he would have died trying to protect you. And the Shadowborn would have taken you before either of us could stop them." His voice dropped. "I did the only thing that kept you alive." The conviction in his words unsettled her as much as their truth. Selena wanted to hate him, to scream, to deny everything—but part of her knew he was right. "Take me back," she said at last, her voice trembling with desperation. "Please." Malek's jaw flexed. "Not yet."
The answer hit like ice water. "Why not?" she demanded. His eyes met hers, steady and dark as night water. "Because the Moonfire hasn't stabilized. Moving you again could kill you." His voice softened, almost pleading. "And if you return before you've chosen your Heart-Bond…" He hesitated, then exhaled. "You will burn from the inside out." Selena's hand rose instinctively to her shoulder, where her birthmark pulsed like a second heartbeat. "I don't want to choose yet," she whispered. "I can't." Malek nodded slowly, his voice barely audible. "I know. But the moon doesn't care."
Before she could answer, a door above them creaked open with a hiss of cold air. A woman stepped out onto the upper balcony, her hair long and black as ink, her eyes the color of molten amber. Power radiated from her like frost. "Alpha Malek," she said, her voice sharp and cutting. "You brought her." Malek inclined his head slightly. "Yes. The Luna reborn." The woman's gaze swept over Selena, slow and assessing, until her lips curled. "She's weaker than I expected." The words cut through Selena like a blade. Malek's jaw tightened. "She just awakened," he warned. "Watch your tongue." The woman smirked. "If she dies before she chooses, the failure is yours, not mine."
Selena's stomach turned. Failure? Prophecy? What am I to them? Malek took a step forward, subtly placing himself between them, his body a wall of quiet protection. "Send word to the Elders," he ordered. "Tell them the Luna needs stabilization immediately." The woman's expression sharpened. "And the other Alpha? The Banished One?" Selena's pulse stumbled. "Kade…" she breathed. Malek's face darkened. "He'll reach our borders before sunrise." The woman's lips curved, cruel and delighted. "Then we must prepare." Selena's fear ignited. She caught Malek's arm, voice trembling. "Prepare for what?" He turned to her, his eyes hard with knowledge she didn't want to hear. "Kade isn't coming alone. The moment he felt our connection, he would have rallied his wolves."
Her breath hitched. "What connection?" she asked, her voice barely a whisper. "There is no bond between us." Malek's silence stretched, heavy as thunder before a storm. "When I pulled you from him, the Moonfire reacted," he said finally. "It marked us both." Selena's blood went cold. "What… what does that mean?" she asked, barely able to form the words. "It means," Malek said quietly, "that the moon sees us as potential mates." Selena shook her head, anger flooding her chest. "No. No, Malek, I didn't choose you." "You didn't have to," he said, his voice rough. "The Moonfire chose for you—for now."
Her anger surged like a breaking wave. "I won't be forced into this," she hissed. "Not by prophecy. Not by fate." Malek stepped closer, his expression cracking with something raw and unguarded. "I don't want to force you," he said, his voice low, aching. "I never wanted this to happen this way." His hand rose, fingers brushing her cheek in the barest touch—a touch full of longing he had no right to feel. "But I will protect you," he whispered, "even from him." Selena's breath caught. "Kade is not my enemy." Malek's eyes, shadowed and sad, met hers. "No," he said quietly. "But he is mine."
The ground beneath them trembled, a deep vibration that seemed to crawl through the fortress walls. Selena gasped as torches flared brighter, their flames stretching toward the wind that suddenly howled through the citadel. Malek's expression hardened. "He's here." The cry of wolves erupted from the ramparts—dozens of voices, howling to the moon. Selena ran to the edge of the courtyard, heart hammering in her throat. "Kade came for me," she whispered. "He came." Malek's hand shot out, gripping her shoulders before she could move. "Stay behind me," he ordered, his tone an Alpha's command. "Kade!" she shouted toward the gates, voice breaking. "I'm here!"
The fortress shuddered under the first impact. The gates bowed inward as something massive struck them—once, twice. Each blow echoed through her ribs. A third came, loud enough to shake dust from the high beams. Then the iron doors split with a shriek. Through the burst of splintered metal and moonlight, a giant gray wolf charged into the courtyard, eyes burning silver, muscles rippling with fury and grief. Kade. His roar shook the walls. And in that single instant, as his gaze locked on hers, Selena knew—nothing would stop the storm that was about to break.