Chapter 13
Dorian’s POV
that
Walking next to Selene felt like stepping back into a dream, a twisted nightmare I couldn’t escape. The moon hung high, casting a silver glow the made her skin look almost ethereal, but the reality was anything but. I was drowning in memories of in–every laugh, every kiss–but all I could think about was how much Fil fucked it all ups
She’s still so beautiful after all this years and I would have been damned if I didn’t want to take here right here. Fuck man, get your dick out of the
“No. 1 didn’t. I came back because I had no choice but to help my seriously ill mother if you may ask. And whatever you’re thinking, whatever sick fantasy you’ve built up in that twisted head of yours, it’s not happening,” she replied to my question, and the way she said it was like a dagger to my qui. Her care was steady, but I could see the wall she’d built up. “It’s not about you, Alpha” I tried to tease her, pull the Selene I used to know who would gut me with a punch after some sick, silly joke, but she didn’t budge and I knew for sure I was too far back to chase her.
“Not about me?” I shot back, anger simmering just beneath the surface. “You think I can just turn off the part of me that’s been waiting for you? You’re not that easy to shake off of my life. Had it been the other way, trust me. darling. I wouldn’t be getting off of your picture every single fucking night
She laughed, a batter sound that sent chills down my spine. “You’re married. You have a kid. Don’t pretend you can just sweep me back into your life like nothing happened” Hurt flashed in her eyes and the sick part of me relished in the fact that she still carried such emotions for me.
Rage burned through at the sound of the very reason my only woman left me, “Antara is a fucking transaction! I don’t love her. I never did?” The words shipped out, raw and unfiltered, and I could see the shock in her eyes. It felt good, and terrifying, to lay it all out there. “You’re the only one who’s ever mattered” my voice broke.
The silence hung between us, thick with unspoken feelings and regret. “I’m not your backup plan, Alpha Dorian. I’m not the ghost haunting your perfect little life.”
o haunt me: I want you
“Damn it, Selene” I said, my voice a low growl. “You’re not a ghost. You’re the only real thing I’ve ever had. I don’t want you to here. I want a future with you, not just these pathetic memories.
She shook her head, the movement so final it felt like a punch to the gut. “I’ve moved on, Alpha. I’ve built a life without you. You need to look forward. Stop living in the past”
“Look forward?” | echoed, my voice dripping with bitterness “How can I when I can’t stop thinking about the way you used to fit against me? How your laugh used to make the world feel lighter? You think I want to forget that?”
reignite the i
Her eyes softened for just a second, and it was enough to
flame of hope in my chest. “Alpha…I can’t be that person for you again.”
“Damin it. Selene Call me like how you used to…. Why not?” I stepped closer, the urge to reach out and pull her to me almost overwhelming. “You’re the only person I’ve ever loved, I’m done pretending otherwise.”
Her stunned ulence was deafening. I could see the flicker of something in her eyes–was it hope? Or was it just disbelief? I wanted to scream, to shake her until she understood how deeply I regretted everything that had led us here. I’d caused her pain. I’d made choices that left scars, and now
of the man I used to be, all because I couldn’t protect her.
“Doran,” the beally murmured, the softness in her voire laced with uncertainty. “You don’t get to say that after everything
And alie was right. I didn’t. But I’d be damned at 1 let her walk away again, not without trying to make her see how much I regretted my actions, how inch Lorded her back in my life. It was time to fight, for claw my way back to her, even if it meant facing the monster I had become.
Hu woods were like hir, burning too hot, too fast. I couldn’t tell if it was desperation or madness behind those eyes, but either way, it didn’t matter. Not ampton
I’ve been waiting for you.” he said, las sonte raw and thick with emotion
Waiting. That word felt laughable. He waited: After all the dji he put me throught The memories floodeid back–everything he said after all that pher Arisara parme through, the cruel way he ripped my heart apart and dires at my feet like it was nothing, letting his own guind drag me out
budidn’t even be diocked if he was the one who ordered those mento leave me deep in a rouge–infested forest. Five
it dann suer wasn’t bong enough to forgive
ng my lips. “You can’t just decide when I matter, Dorian fin and soine
the toy you can throw away and then
ijent when you get bored of your wile.”
ed like I’d slapped him, but I wasn’t done, Not by a long shot.
encoded
“Don’t forget,” I said sharper than the fast, “you were the one who made it clear I wasn’t enough for you back then–it had always been Amara. Don’t
marthing you can just dir with a few fucking
the same person I was when I left, and neither are you.”
5:47 PM 0.
Chapter 13
For a moment, there was silence. He looked at me like he didn’t know what to say, and for once. I felt like I had the upper hand. But then his expression changed–softer, almost pleading. It was the same look that used to undo me. The one that made me believe in us. But I couldn’t fall for that again.
“Selene,” he said, his voice dropping lower. “There’s been a misunderstanding. I never wanted it to l
I didn’t–He stopped, as if the
words caught in his throat. “You don’t know the full story. You don’t know what I’ve been through in Amaras pack, all the conditions they set.”
I know Dorian would have been able to do something, whatever his situation was. Hell, he’s the Alpha of the strongest pack in the continent, so his reasons aren’t fucking reasonable right now. He’s trying to manipulate me, again.
I should’ve walked away right then, but for some reason, I didn’t. Maybe it was the part of me that still cared. Maybe it was the stupid, broken piece that hadn’t let go entirely. But I just stood there, waiting for him to say something–anything–that would make this make sense. And yet, nothing he said would ever change the fact that he hurt me. He shattered me into pieces and expected me to just pick them up and carry on like I wasn’t bleeding all this time.
A misunderstanding? I wanted to laugh again, but I was too tired.
“Whatever it is, I don’t need to hear it,” 1 finally said, shaking my head. “I’ve moved on, Dorian. You should do the same. I’m not here to relive the past or hear your explanations. You had your chance.”
I turned on my heel, the cool night air biting against my skin as I started walking back toward the house. My heart was pounding in my chest, and I hated that he could still get under my skin like this. Hated that a part of me wanted to look back.
But I didn’t. I couldn’t. I’d spent too many years trying to stitch myself back together, trying to forget how much it hurt to love him. There was no going back. Not until he’s breathing still.
