3

The cold night air bit at Selene’s skin as she ran, her feet pounding against the damp forest floor. The towering trees of the Whispering Forest stretched endlessly ahead, their twisted branches forming an unholy canopy above her. Shadows flickered, shifting in the moonlight, whispering through the leaves like ghostly voices.

Her lungs burned, her heart pounded, but she didn’t stop. She couldn’t.

The rejection still pulsed through her veins like venom, poisoning every breath she took.

Alec.

Kael.

Lucian.

Three men. Three fated mates. Three rejections.

It was supposed to be the happiest moment of her life—finding her mate, feeling the rush of the bond pulling them together in an undeniable connection. Instead, she had been cast aside as though she were nothing.

A mistake.

A curse.

Her stomach twisted, and a sob threatened to claw its way out of her throat. She swallowed it down. No. She wouldn’t cry. Not here. Not now.

Instead, she ran.

Branches tore at her clothes, snagging on the loose fabric of her tunic. The wind howled, whispering secrets in a language she couldn’t understand.

The Whispering Forest had always been a forbidden place. Legends told of spirits lurking between the trees, ancient beings that watched from the shadows, waiting for lost souls to wander too deep.

Selene had never cared much for stories. But now, she was a lost soul, and she had nowhere else to go.

She didn’t stop until her legs finally gave out, collapsing onto the damp moss beneath her. Her breath came in ragged gasps as she curled in on herself, hugging her knees to her chest.

Why?

Why had the Moon Goddess done this to her?

Was this some kind of cruel joke? To give her not one, but three mates, only to have them turn their backs on her?

She wasn’t enough for them.

She wasn’t enough for anyone.

The thought burned like acid, seeping into her bones.

She closed her eyes, willing the bond to disappear, to release her from the unbearable ache in her chest.

But it was still there.

Weak, fraying at the edges, but there.

No matter how much they rejected her, the bond still existed.

A shiver ran down her spine.

What if they rejected her fully? What if they completed the severance?

It would destroy her.

Her mind flashed to stories she had heard growing up—wolves who had been rejected so completely that their souls withered away, turning into nothing more than hollow shells.

Selene clenched her fists.

No. She refused to be that weak.

If they didn’t want her, fine. She would survive without them.

She forced herself to stand, wiping at the stray tears clinging to her lashes. The moon had shifted higher in the sky, casting an eerie glow over the trees. She needed to find shelter, somewhere to clear her head and figure out what came next.

As she turned to move, something strange happened.

The air grew heavier, charged with an energy she didn’t recognize. The ground beneath her trembled ever so slightly, almost as if it were alive.

A gust of wind rushed through the trees, carrying with it a whisper.

Come.

Selene’s pulse spiked. She whirled around, searching for the source of the voice.

But there was no one there.

The shadows seemed to shift, moving as if they had a mind of their own. The wind picked up again, this time stronger, pulling at her hair, urging her forward.

And then she saw it.

Barely visible through the tangled undergrowth, an opening in the trees. It hadn’t been there before.

A trick of the moonlight? Or something else?

Selene hesitated. Every instinct screamed at her to turn back, to leave the forest before she stumbled into something she couldn’t escape.

But something deeper—something primal—pulled her forward.

She stepped through the opening, pushing aside the vines and branches that blocked her path.

And then she saw it.

An ancient temple, hidden beneath the roots of the forest.

Her breath caught in her throat.

It was massive, carved from dark stone, its surface covered in intricate symbols that glowed faintly in the moonlight. Ivy and moss crawled up the sides, weaving around statues of wolves frozen in time, their stone eyes locked onto her as if waiting.

Selene swallowed hard.

She should leave.

She should turn around and pretend she never saw this place.

But something in her bones told her this was where she was meant to be.

She stepped forward, her fingers brushing against the cool stone of the temple’s entrance.

The moment her skin made contact, a surge of energy shot through her.

The air crackled with power, and the symbols along the temple walls flared to life, glowing with an ethereal light.

Selene gasped, stumbling back, but the ground beneath her shifted, and suddenly, she was falling.

The world spun, shadows engulfing her as she tumbled into darkness.

Then, silence.

For a moment, she thought she had lost consciousness. But then she heard it—a voice, low and ancient, whispering in the air around her.

"Daughter of the Moon… you have finally come home."

Selene’s eyes flew open.

She wasn’t in the forest anymore.

She was somewhere else. Somewhere older.

And something deep within her was awakening.