CHAPTER 113: CHAPTER 113: WHY DID YOU DO THAT?

Luca’s POV~

The world around me was hazy, blurred at the edges like smoke. But slowly, the picture became clearer, pulling me back into the past. I knew this day. I could never forget it.

It was the day we went to Selene’s pack for their celebration.

I remembered how everyone was preparing, the carriages lined up, and the banners flying in the air. The celebration was supposed to be simple; an Alpha would take one of his heirs, just a single brother, to represent the pack. That was always how things were done. But that day was different. That day, all four of us went together.

We didn’t speak of it aloud, but I knew the truth. Each one of us wanted to go because of her. Selene.

I had just turned eighteen, strong enough to stand beside my father. My face was calm as always, cold and unreadable, but deep inside my chest there was a strange heat, a lightness that I could not hide from myself. I wanted to see her. Even if only from afar, even if only for a moment. I wanted to know how she was doing and if she remembered them.

On the way, I noticed my brothers. Aeron’s eyes were sharp, but there was a faint glint in them, a rare spark he could not fully conceal. Kael’s lips curled with a trace of anticipation, though he tried to mask it as arrogance. Even Lucian seemed restless, his gaze always turning toward the road ahead.

We all carried the same thought, though none of us said it out loud. We were going there for her.

The dream shifted. The scene melted into something softer, brighter.

We met her again. Selene.

Not the woman she would one day become, but the young girl she had been, standing under the pale silver of the moon. She wore a simple white dress, her silver hair falling down her back, her eyes wide and bright like the stars.

I remembered the sound of her laughter. Light, unguarded, the kind of laughter that could make even the heaviest heart feel free. She was talking about something small, something silly, but I had listened like it was the most important story in the world.

She had reached out her hand to me, tiny compared to mine. "Come," she said, her voice soft, "let’s see the lanterns."

And I had followed.

The night sky had been full of floating lights, golden lanterns drifting upward like stars being born. She had tilted her head back, her eyes shining, her lips parted in wonder. I had not looked at the lanterns. I had only looked at her.

I had not told her then how much she meant to me. I could not. I was eighteen, she was still a girl, and the world between us was far too wide. But in my heart, I had already made a promise—one I never spoke aloud.

That one day, no matter what it took, I would protect her smile.

Selene’s small hand tugged at mine as she ran ahead, her hair flying in the wind. She suddenly stopped, turning to face me with that bright smile that always made my chest feel too full.

"Luca," she said, her voice serious for once, her eyes wide and shining. "If I do something bad one day... Would you hate me?"

I froze, the words sinking into me like a stone dropped into still water. Hate her? The very thought was impossible. I forced a smile, shaking my head.

"There will never be a day I could hate you," I said firmly, the pride in my voice surprising even me. "You are like the sunshine, Selene."

Her lips curved into the brightest smile, her laughter ringing out as she shouted, "Then don’t forget this promise, okay? Or I’ll never forgive you!"

Before I could answer, she spun around and dashed away, her laughter echoing as she ran between the lantern lights. I chased after her, my steps light, my heart full—

But suddenly, the world cracked.

The laughter vanished. The lanterns went out. The air turned cold.

I was no longer outside under the moonlight. I stood in a hall drenched in blood. The bodies of my warriors, my pack brothers, lay scattered across the stone floor, their lifeless eyes staring up at me. The smell of iron filled my lungs until I could hardly breathe.

And in the center of it all... stood her.

Selene.

But not the girl I knew. Her eyes were empty, cold as ice, staring at me like I was a stranger. Without any warmth, nothing of the sunshine she once was.

My lips trembled as I whispered, "Selene... this is not you. It’s not you who did this..." My voice cracked, almost begging. "You didn’t kill them. Tell me you didn’t."

But she said nothing.

Her silence was worse than her answer.

Then, her pack members surrounded me, their faces twisted with hatred. They didn’t act on their own. They moved because she had given the order.

My heart shattered. "Selene..." My voice was broken, pleading. "Why? Why are you doing this to me?"

She finally spoke, her tone colder than death itself. "Forget it, Luca. Surrender yourself. You cannot fight. I’ve already given you the wolfsbane."

Her words hit me like lightning. My eyes widened in horror as my body trembled. I tried to call my wolf, to shift, but nothing answered. My strength bled away like water in my veins. I was powerless.

"Why?" I screamed, my voice raw and desperate. "What did you do? Why, Selene?!"

But she never looked back. She turned and walked away, leaving me drowning in betrayal.

The pack warriors surged forward, dragging me down. Attacking me from all sides. I fought, but my body was weak, heavy with wolfsbane. My strength was nothing without my wolf; my alpha aura could not even suppress those bastards, as I have recently turned eighteen.

The ground turned red beneath me as they beat me bloody, and when they finally dragged my broken body across the floor, I looked up one last time.

She stood there watching me without any emotion, like I did not even deserve even a bit of pity from her.

And her words from that night echoed in my head, like a cruel whisper from another world.

If I do something bad... would you hate me?

I wanted to scream at her...Why?! But the sound died in my throat, swallowed by the darkness that came rushing in.