Selena.
I return to my room and close the door quietly behind me.
The space is still familiar, just like it's always been—but it doesn't feel safe anymore. The soft smell of lavender that used to calm me now just makes the emptiness louder. It once felt like comfort. Now it feels like a lie, like another carefully built layer of a life that was never meant to protect me.
I move to my vanity stand and slide my fingers beneath the sleeve of my dress. The folded paper is still there.
I tuck it away more securely, behind the false lining in the drawer beneath my jewelry.
The possiblity that everything I have believed in the last decade has been nothing but a lie makes me want to run away from everyone and everything.
But, that will be what they want. And I will be a fool to let those bastards succeed the second time. I will fight for my father's legacy. I will protect my blood line and I will find someone who loves me and deserves to seat with me on my father throne.
My hands are steady.
That, more than anything, tells me I have changed.
Then, a knock sounds at the door.
My shoulders square before I answer.
"Come in."
The door opens, and Silas steps inside.
He fills the room the way he always does. Broad shoulders, calm expression, the kind of presence that once made my heart settle.
Now, it's a reminder of what I lost and what I will no longer surrender.
Loretta's scent lingers on him, faint but undeniable. An image of them together flashes before my eyes, my stomach twisting before I can look away
I keep my face smooth.
"Selena," he says, his gaze sweeping over me. "I was looking for you."
"I was done eating, so I came back to my room."
His eyes linger. Not accusing. Assessing.
"You've been distant today."
I turn toward him fully. "I'm allowed to have quiet moments. Aren't I?"
"Yes," he agrees slowly. "But this feels different."
Of course it does.
I offer him a small smile. Polite. Empty. "I'm fine, Silas. I'm just having a very moody day," I say.
He doesn't look convinced.
Silence stretches between us, heavy and deliberate. I can almost feel him weighing his words, choosing which question to start with.
He finally speaks, careful and controlled.
"My father said you were in your dad's office."
There it is.
I didn't need him to say it. I already knew that was why he was here. His father must have gone straight to him the moment he left my dad's office.
I keep my face calm, unreadable.
"Did he?"
"Yes." His tone remains mild. Too mild. "That surprised him."
"It surprised me too," I admit. "I didn't think anyone would be going there after I specifically asked that it should be inaccessible," I say calmly. No grudge. No anger.
"He said he suspected someone had been in there… and wanted to prove himself wrong when he found you." He replied calmly.
How he lies so easily should be a talent he has mastered over the years.
"Why were you there?" he asked when I didn't respond.
I meet his eyes. I don't deflect. I don't lie outright.
"I missed my father." I say quietly. "I wanted to feel close to him."
The truth, offered in a shape that protects me.
Something flickers across his face. Doubt, perhaps. Or frustration that there is nothing to push against in my answer.
"I see," he says after a moment.
He does not say I understand.
Before either of us can speak again, the door opens.
Loretta steps inside.
"Oh," she murmurs, feigning surprise. "I hope I'm not interrupting."
Her gaze flicks to Silas, then back to me.
He inclines his head politely. "Loretta."
She smiles. "Alpha."
She turns to me, her tone bright. "Selena, you didn't forget our plans for later, did you?"
My heart stills.
The woods.
The memory rises unbidden. Her standing just like this. Her voice casual. My own hesitation. My refusal.
I remember saying no. I chose staying with Silas instead.
I remember waiting for him that night. Waiting until my candle burned low. Waiting until I fell asleep alone because he had "something to attend to."
I had never known where he went.
Now, I wonder if I was meant to know something else instead.
I look at Loretta closely. The careful way she watches me. The expectation she tries to hide.
"I remember," I say.
Her brows lift slightly.
"We're going hunting," she adds, as if explaining it for Silas's benefit. "I promised Selena I'd take her."
In my first life, I had used Silas as my excuse.
This time, I don't.
"Of course we'll go sister," I say calmly.
Loretta blinks.
Just for a second.
Then she smiles again. "Good. I thought you might be too tired."
"I'm not."
Silas straightens. "I'll drive you both."
Both of us turn to him.
"There's no need—" Loretta begins.
"I insist," he says smoothly. "It's not safe beyond the inner woods. I won't have either of you exposed."
His eyes settle on me. Not harsh. Not gentle.
Watchful.
"That's thoughtful of you," I reply. "But don't you have some other place to be at," I ask.
"Some place more important than spending time with you?" He asks, his tone casual, playful. "I don't trust any other person to keep you both safe, my love,"
I do not argue.
Loretta nods. "You are so sweet Silas. I wish I can get a man who loves me just the way you love my sister."
Oh bitch, please.
The tension hums beneath the polite words, invisible but unmistakable.
After a moment, Silas turns toward the door. "I'll have the car prepared."
When he leaves, the room feels different again.
Loretta studies me openly now.
"You seem… different today," she says.
I meet her gaze. "So do you."
She laughs softly, as if I've made a joke. Her hand subconsciously rubs her stomach as she muttered "Change, they say, is the only constant thing."
"Yes," I agree. "It is."
She lingers a moment longer, then turns and exits, leaving the door ajar behind her.
The room falls silent, and for the first time, the quiet does not feel like weakness. I sit on the edge of my bed and release a slow breath.
The woods.
Silas watching. Loretta leading. The past bending in a new direction.
And judging by the looks on their faces, it is not the one they expected.