I never returned to Cassian's room after that day, though I resumed attending the council meetings with him. It seemed to satisfy him—for now. He thought I was complying, that I'd accepted my place beside him.
But the truth was far more complicated.
I kept seeing disturbing visions whenever I touched things that belonged to him. They came in flashes—blood, fire, shadows whispering in tongues I didn't understand. I couldn't tell him about them. Not when I didn't even understand them myself. All I knew was that they felt tied to him... and somehow, to me.
Maybe there's more to my origins than I've been told.
Maybe there's more to me.
None of the visions made sense, no matter how I tried to piece them together. They were broken fragments of a past or future I didn't recognize.
And then there was my wolf.
She stirred restlessly whenever Cassian was near. Rumbling. Pacing. Wanting. I didn't understand that either.
The entire pack territory called to me, like some part of my soul belonged to it. To him.
I found myself watching Cassian from the private bleachers during training, unable to tear my eyes away as he led the younger alphas. There was something about the way he moved—precise, commanding, primal. His wolf form was even more enthralling. My own wolf would rise within me, drawn to his presence with a yearning I didn't know how to fight.
And the strangest part?
I didn't hate it.
It was infuriating. He was infuriating. And yet... I wanted to be near him. Maybe it was the visions. Maybe it was instinct. Or maybe it was the secrets I knew he was still keeping—about the prophecy Leticia kept whispering around, about why he declared me as his mate, about the war he never speaks of but wears like armor.
He told me about Elias Thorne—the alpha who wants him dead.
But there's more.
There's a shadow in my memories, one I'm sure is behind the destruction of my former packs. I feel it watching, waiting. I haven't been able to relax since the dream—the one where I died on the battlefield. Maybe that's why I stay close to Cassian. Because for some reason, I believe he can protect me.
"Elara!"
I jolted, blinking rapidly. "Yes?"
"You're spacing out again. Focus," Leticia said, her tone sharp but not unkind.
Right. We were working with the crystal ball again. I looked down at it, the cool glass humming with my energy. Wisps of shimmering white light swirled from my fingers into its core, but showed nothing in return.
"Why am I doing this again?" I asked, frowning.
"For the third time, Luna," Leticia said, barely keeping her patience, "we're trying to uncover the missing pieces of your visions."
"Why?" I asked again, frustrated.
She let out a sigh. "You want answers, don't you?"
Of course I did. I didn't know who I truly was. My past was a fog. My purpose—nothing but scattered echoes.
"You and Cassian are keeping things from me," I said, pulling my hand away from the orb. "You know something. You both do."
Leticia gave me a helpless smile. "It's not time to tell you yet, Luna."
"Why not?"
"Because the goddess is keeping it from you for a reason. You feel it, don't you? The bond. With Cassian."
My cheeks flushed, and I looked away. I couldn't deny it.
"What does that have to do with any of this?"
"Everything," she said softly. "The answers will come in time. You already hold most of them inside you. But they must awaken naturally."
I sighed and reluctantly placed my hand back on the crystal ball. We worked until deep into the night, but still, the orb revealed nothing. Leticia eventually told me to stop trying and allow the visions to come on their own.
Later, I took a bath and crawled into bed, exhausted. The moonlight poured through my window like silver water.
"What are you trying to tell me, Selene?" I murmured, staring at the glowing crescent above.
No answer.
I turned on my side and closed my eyes.
Not long after, sleep took me—and with it, the dream.
It was foggy and dark. I couldn't tell if I was dreaming or had been pulled somewhere else. Shadows curled around me as I moved forward, searching. Then I saw them—figures in the distance.
I ran toward them.
What I saw stopped me cold.
A young girl—me—stood beside a dying woman. Flames flickered around them. Blood pooled on the earth.
The woman was middle-aged, but unfamiliar. I had no memory of her, yet something about her felt important. Vital.
"What… What is going on?" I whispered.
The woman, weak and gasping, clutched my younger self's hand. "Find… the Vale Alpha," she rasped. "He is coming. The corrupted one is coming…"
And then she went still.
My younger self just watched, her face pale and unreadable.
I stepped forward, heart thudding. Then, the woman's head turned. Her dead eyes met mine.
I froze.
Her lips moved.
I couldn't hear.
"What?" I asked, moving closer.
She whispered.
"Behind you."
I turned—
And saw him.
A hooded figure. A face hidden in shadow. But the eyes… mismatched. One red, one blue. Burning. Alien.
"I'm coming for you," he hissed.
A flash of silver. A knife raised.
I screamed—
And jolted awake, breath ragged, drenched in sweat.
My room. I was still in my room.
I buried my face in my hands and exhaled shakily.
"The corrupted one…"
I whispered into the silence.
"Who is that?"