CHAPTER 84: CHAPTER 84: SELENE’S ESCAPE

Selene’s POV ~

With those words, I did not wait. I pushed him with all my might. Aeron was not prepared for it, and he stumbled back, shock flickering in his eyes. I didn’t stop to see his reaction. I didn’t stop to feel anything. I just ran with all my might.

The door flung open, and I slipped out before his hand could reach for me again. My breath came sharp and fast, my heart hammering in my chest. I looked down at my wrists, at the cursed cuffs that still chained me. A deep fury boiled inside, and I smashed them against the wall with all the strength I had left. Once. Twice and then Crack.

The metal broke, the pieces falling to the ground with a dull clang. And in that moment, I felt it—my power. My true self rushing back through my veins in a wild and unrestrained manner. My lips parted in a sharp breath as a storm surged in me, and before Aeron could even catch his footing, I used a simple enchantment and vanished from the corridor.

On the other side, I appeared outside the building, the cold air hitting me like freedom. My eyes darted to the car waiting at the edge of the path.

And I realized I had to get out before all of them knew I had run away, because it would be impossible to escape if they all started chasing me. I moved fast, every muscle screaming for freedom.

But just as I reached it, I froze.

Someone was already there before me.

Luca.

My heart, which I had painfully forced to grow dull, began to ache again as my gaze landed on him. I realized my body was actually trembling to go towards him.

"Damn, why was he here too? Are these brothers hell-bent on capturing me?" I muttered with dread. I may not have lost my composure with Aeron, but with Luca, I could not dare guarantee the same.

He stood by the car like he had been waiting for me, like he knew I would come here all along. My chest tightened, and my steps faltered.

"Fuck," I cursed under my breath. My eyes hardened. I could not face him, not now. Not when Aeron would already be searching. Not when they were all too close. I turned sharply, deciding to run in another direction, to find another car, and to get the hell out of this place.

But fate was cruel.

I collided headfirst into a solid wall of muscle, and before I could even recover, rough hands gripped me like iron. My head snapped up, and my blood ran cold.

Alpha Julian.

A wicked snarl stretched his lips. "Found you, bitch. Where do you think you’re running?" His voice was low, venom dripping from every word.

My stomach twisted, not with fear but with fury. His eyes glinted with madness, and I knew what burned inside his chest—it was still the humiliation I had carved into him before. And now, he thought fate had handed me to him.

"No one will stop me this time," he spat, his face twisting. "No one will stop me from teaching you a lesson. You’ll crawl at my feet when I’m done."

His hand rose, aiming for my face, the same way I once struck him. He wanted to return the shame. He wanted to see me fall.

But I didn’t give him the chance.

My gaze turned sharp, my voice cutting as I muttered, "Get the hell out of my way... or you’ll regret being born."

The words made his face burn red, his anger exploding. He snarled and brought his hand down, but before it could touch me, I caught it. My fingers wrapped round his hand before twisting them at an unnatural angle.

Crack.

His scream tore the night with a shrill sound, like a pig being slaughtered. His eyes widened with disbelief written all over him.

"You... how..." he stammered with a pale face. He was an Alpha, a man who believed himself unbreakable and untouchable, a being that prided himself on his raw strength. And yet I had twisted his hand like it was nothing. He felt the bones snap, and the shock tore his pride apart.

"You whore!" he roared, but his anger only fueled me.

I did not give him another chance. My knee shot up hard between his legs. His eyes bulged, and his mouth opened in a silent scream as he saw stars.

I leaned close and whispered in a cold voice, "Do you think I have time for your nonsense?"

My foot connected again, this time with enough force to drop him to the ground, writhing.

And I ran.

I didn’t look back. I couldn’t. My only thought was to escape. But his pig-like scream had already ripped through the night, echoing down the halls, and I knew.

Luca would have heard.

But at least it was satisfying to teach this leech a good lesson. My hands had been itching for days just to beat him into a pulp. But I knew I didn’t have enough time. Luca must have already noticed us. And wasting even a second there was inviting him to catch me.

My chest pounded harder as my feet carried me faster, tearing through the grounds. But no matter how hard I ran, I knew the truth—I could not outmatch the Duskdraven Alphas. Not in strength, nor in speed. And if they turned into wolves to chase me, I would be doomed.

My mind raced for options, my lungs burning, when I felt something slip from my wrist.

The bracelet.

I didn’t notice until it hit the ground with a faint metallic clink. The enchanted piece that had been hiding my scent. The only thing keeping me invisible to them.

My heart sank.

I didn’t have time to go back. I didn’t have time to fix it. My only option was to run and pray that my head start would be enough. That I am already far from them and that he would not catch on to my scent.

~~~

Luca’s POV ~

I was standing by the car, waiting, my patience thin, when it hit me.

A scent. Sweet, intoxicating, burning through my veins like wildfire. My wolf stirred violently, howling in my mind with desperation. The voice in my head was deafening, a howl that shook me to the core.

Mate.

For a second, everything went blank. My breath stilled, my mind drowning in the storm of that single word. Then my eyes snapped wide open, as my head turned toward the source.

And what greeted me was...

Julian sprawled on the ground, screaming like a beaten dog, clutching his pride in agony. But I didn’t care about him. My gaze was pulled beyond, to the figure already tearing away from the scene. A girl with wild hair, her body burning with desperate speed, running like the world itself was chasing her.

Selene?

My mate.

A growl built deep in my throat as my chest heaved. My wolf was going insane, demanding and roaring for me to run, to chase, to claim.

And before I could even think, my legs were already moving.