Selene’s POVWoops.When I asked Drake to keep me company at the party, I planned to flirt and dance, to give Bastien a little taste of his own medicine. Annoyance, that was the plan. An annoyed Bastien is manageable, an enraged Bastien is dangerous.I stare at my husband with wide eyes. He’s standing in the doorway, on the verge of shifting, fury rolling off him in waves. His metallic gaze is locked on my face, on my tears and Drake’s comforting hands.Drake doesn’t seem the least bit troubled by the rabid creature looming over us. He slides his fingers from my skin, turning to Bastien with a friendly smile. “Bastien, it’s been a while.”“Too long.” Bastien agrees, “So long you seem to have forgotten who you’re dealing with.”Drake rolls his eyes, and I have a sudden and newfound respect for the young Alpha. He may wear the face of a playful rogue, but underneath he is every bit the hard and commanding leader the role demands. “Honestly Bastien, I didn’t think you’d be so ungrateful.
Bastien’s POVMy wolf is going out of his mind with the need to claim Selene.She’s driving, her attention fully focused on the road, but every few minutes she sends a worried glance my way. She’s so beautiful, and her sweet scent is making my mouth water. I’m not sure I can wait to get home. I want to take her now, finally make her mine in every way possible.I’ve been worried about my little wolf lately: first the strange illness and her refusal to seek help; then the incident with Arabella and her flight from the hospital. Worse was her determination to hide from me during the storm, and her devastation throughout; her secretive behavior afterwards.Perhaps it is simply that so much has happened in such a short period of time, or that I’m projecting my own distress about the rejection onto her, but something tells me there is more to her actions than meets the eye.Tonight didn’t help, staying on task after learning that Selene had nearly drowned had been nearly impossible. Only Ai
Bastien’s POVFive Hours EarlierI stare at the flier in my hands, my hackles raised. It’s a reward poster, not the kind people pin up to find lost pets or missing children, but the kind law enforcement agencies use to locate wanted criminals. It has precisely the same format, asking for tips or any information regarding the whereabouts of Volana wolves, listing details on how to identify them and promising monetary compensation for any solid leads. A crude illustration was plastered beneath the words, displaying a woman with black hair and two-toned eyes. She looks nothing like Selene, but the descriptions provided offer enough details for even the most clueless wolf to identify members of her lineage. “Where the hell did you find this?” I ask Aiden in horror. When he’d called me right before my father’s celebration insisting it was an emergency, I’d known something had to be terribly wrong. Aiden knew how important this event was, he would not call me away for no reason. Even so,
3 Days Until the Rejection CeremonySelene’s POVI haven’t seen or spoken to Bastien since the night of Gabriel’s birthday party, despite my efforts to get in touch with him.I barely slept that night, though I never sleep well without Bastien. I tossed and turned, wondering where he’d gone, what had happened. It’s clear to me that he was drugged, but I cannot even begin to understand everything that happened between us in those few short hours. All I know is I’m done.The last few weeks have been a blur, more confusing and eventful than any since we married. I can barely think straight with everything that is going on, but I think I’ve finally understood that Elysium – and the life I’ve lived here – is in the past.I was never meant to stay here forever. I do not belong, and this chapter of my story is ending fast. Our rejection ceremony is in three days; after that I will start fresh somewhere new.My selfish heart wants nothing more than to spend every last second of my remaining t
Selene’s POVDrake sits across from me, appearing surprised but sympathetic as he processes my revelation. “Bastien doesn’t know?” He asks.“No.” I confirm simply, “And he’s not going to find out.” I rub the back of my neck, “Our situation has always been complicated, but Bastien is a good man. If he found out the truth he would never go through with the rejection, and I won’t have him stay with me out of pity or obligation.”“For what it’s worth,” Drake offers kindly, “I think he’s a fool for wanting to reject you at all.”“Then you’re one of the few.” I reply honestly.He frowns, “Is the baby the reason you’re leaving?”“It’s the reason I realized I had to go,” I confess, “But in all honesty I don’t think I could have stayed either way. I don’t want to watch Bastien marry someone else.” Hot tears burn my eyes, “And I’m sick of being the pack side show. I need a fresh start, someplace where nobody knows me. Where my baby and I can be safe.”Drake squeezes my hand. “I understand.” I s
Day of the CeremonySelene’s POVMy fingers anxiously trace the flowers embroidered into the bodice of my wedding gown. It’s a delicate white confection, so weightless and ethereal I look more like a wood nymph than a bride.I remember the day we chose it, Bastien and I. It was the first dress we found that did not completely overpower my waifish frame three years ago. We tried countless others first, but the moment I stepped into the gossamer fabric I knew, and Bastien’s face said it all.This is the way of rejection ceremonies: Marriages end as they begin.We will wear the same clothes, meet at the same moonlit altar with friends and family looking on; we’ll even play the same music. Yet instead of vows to love and keep each other we will vow to part. Instead of exchanging rings we’ll remove them, and instead of shifting to run together beneath the stars, we’ll divide, forging new paths in directions of our own choosing.Of course, Bastien and I never ran together in the first place
Selene’s POV“Selene, are you ready?” Odette is knocking on the dressing room door, her kind voice unusually somber.“Yes.” I call, smoothing my skirts. “You can come in.”The door pushes open, and my mother-in-law’s lovely face peeks inside. She sidles through the narrow opening, approaching me with a wistful expression. “Oh my darling.” Odette murmurs bleakly, her eyes shining as she studies my reflection. “I really thought you two would make it.”“I thought we might too” I admit, keeping my gaze high to ward off tears. “For a while.”Her hand closes around mine, squeezing gently. “What happened, Selene?” She asks gently.All at once it hits me that I’m not merely losing my husband, but the only parental figures I’ve known since my mother died. I swipe at an escaped tear, “It’s what Bastien wants.”Odette frowns, the edges of her warm brown eyes crinkling beneath the weight of her drawn brows. She opens her mouth to speak but before any words can escape, all the blood drains from he
Bastien’s POVThe day after my father’s murder the sun rises just like it has every morning for eons. Its rays filter through the gauzy curtains adorning our bedroom windows, announcing dawn’s arrival as if this day is no different than the millions which came before.This cannot be. Surely the sun cannot shine on a world where my father does not exist. Surely the earth cannot keep spinning when his life has winked out forever.Yet they do. The world forges on as though nothing has changed – oblivious to the loss of one of its most remarkable creations.I wish I could snuff out the dawn as brutally as someone did my father’s soul.All I have left of him now are memories. Every plan we made, every expectation or imagined future is gone. We will never speak again, never go on another hunt or share another laugh. Our relationship is an artifact of the past, an unfinished book whose final chapters will never be written.I cannot bear it.What’s worse is I know this is only the beginning.