Chapter 78: "Let’s Run Away"

Selene’s POV

What sort of extramarital affair was this? Lucian was putting me in a spot I never wanted to find myself in.

Here was the Alpha, meeting me in a secluded place ... all because of what a bitch would say and for the love of his people. Anyways, they were both great causes. I just couldn’t wait to hear what he had to say so I could get back to my life.

Spotting him from a distance, I already knew it was him. He was dressed casually. I guessed he’d sighted me even earlier because his eyes were already fixed on me before I got close.

"Alpha, you called me," I said.

"What’s with the formalities? Call me Lucian," he said.

"There is no premise upon which I’d call you that," I replied.

Lucian gave a faint smile.

"You’re really taking this personally, huh?"

"It has always been personal from the beginning," I said back.

"I just wasn’t myself then." He paused. "And I realized I haven’t seen you in a while." He reached out to touch my cheek. I pulled back.

"You’re married, Alpha. You can’t touch me," I said.

"A marriage they forced me into because of duty and responsibility?" He didn’t drop his hand. "Besides, you’re my breeder first of all ... so I can touch you."

He was trying to tear down my walls by stripping away my choice.

That was so fucking personal on his part too.

"Tessa won’t be happy if she sees or hears this," I said, holding my ground even as I felt the space between us shrinking. "She’ll take it personally, and I don’t want to see a married woman hurting." I could no longer push him away entirely ... with Lucian, if you tried to stop him, he’d do something drastic. I knew him too well for that. All I could do was convince him not to cross the line he was edging toward.

"I feel like you’re the cause of all this," he said.

So that was why he’d called me out here. To dump his frustration on me and pin everything at my feet.

"How am I the cause of everything?" I asked.

"You didn’t fight hard enough for our love. And now you’re causing me so much pain because I can’t live without you."

The words came out of him raw and unguarded. The king was speaking from somewhere real, and I didn’t know what to say back ... because whatever I said, it would end the same way it always did.

"And don’t tell me we had no choice," he continued. "You’re getting more beautiful every day. You’re out there without me. And it hurts me more than you know."

I stayed quiet and let him get it out.

"You’re not saying anything, Selene."

I wanted to be the strong wolf I kept telling myself I was ... the one who had burned down every feeling she had for him. But no matter how many times I said it or tried to believe it, it wasn’t going away. I loved him. I loved him so deeply that the only way I’d found to manage it was to stay as far from him as possible.

"I have nothing to say," I finally spoke. "Some things just don’t work out."

"You’re wrong, Selene." He looked at me straight. "Let’s run away."

My eyes snapped to his. I looked at him hard, making sure I was hearing what I thought I was hearing.

"What..."

"You heard me right. We can do it now," he said again.

I was sure now. It was him. Those were his words.

I reached out and held his hand. Our separation was getting to him far more than I had imagined.

At least he was being open. So I owed him the same.

"Lucian ..." I started carefully. "Even though you already know this, I want to say it clearly. You are the first person I have ever loved. And I will always love you. But this cannot work. This territory needs you. You are the Alpha. These people look to you."

I had seen him vulnerable before, but never quite like this. I could have said yes. I could have taken his hand and run with him. But I couldn’t be that selfish ... not when his people needed him. And not when I had something I was in the middle of building. I couldn’t walk away from that either.

"I hope you understand," I said.

"I’ll never give up." His jaw tightened. "I still believe we can work. And I’ll be alive to see the day it does. I love you, Selene. You haven’t changed one bit."

He leaned in to kiss me.

"No, Lucian. You’re married." I stopped him.

"Ohh," he said quietly, and turned away.

I caught the glimmer of tears in his eyes before he did.

I think Lucian loved me more than I loved him. But I still loved him enough to know I couldn’t take him away from everything ... the land he’d known his whole life, the title he was born to carry.

I went back to the breeders and told them everything.

I cried on their shoulders, and they held me the way they always did.

"Love will always win, Selene. You just have to be patient," Valerie said.

"I couldn’t go through with it," I told them. "I don’t like Tessa, but I would never want to be in that position myself. So I had to pull back."

"She’s only getting what she deserves," one of the other breeders said. "I hope she suffers even at the top."

I tried to sleep. It took a long time ... too many thoughts, too many feelings fighting for space. But eventually, sleep came.

When I woke up, I made a decision.

I was not going to let Lucian consume me. I had work to do, and I wasn’t about to let this moment slip through my fingers.

Opportunities like this didn’t come around twice.

I headed straight back to the lab to push for the approval signature on my product. Getting to the right people wasn’t as strenuous as I feared ... but once I was in the room, the real challenge started.

They had concerns.

The product was a new type ... something that had never been seen before. So why should they commit their resources to manufacturing something unproven? How could they be sure it would deliver real results?

That was where my marketing instincts kicked in. I laid out every intricate detail ... what the product was, how it worked, and exactly what it would do once it was created at scale.

And then the lab technician stepped in.

Having tested everything himself, he stood his ground and defended my product front to back. He didn’t waver once. And because he was known and trusted in that building, the board believed him ... after putting it through proper scrutiny.

The question of whether I was a Winterwood native almost became an issue. Almost. But I had been claimed by the Alpha, and I pledged that the product’s origin would be verified as rooted in Winterwood ... made possible through their resources. I also told them there was one name I’d be adding who wasn’t from Winterwood: Mr. Cipher. My mentor. My teacher. My father figure from Bloodmoon.

They accepted it.

It was signed.

The copyright disclaimer was done. Just like that, it was cleared for manufacturing.

"Thank you, sir," I said to the lab technician.

"It’s good work," he said simply. "And good work deserves to reach the world."

I thanked every member of the review board who had approved it.

They told me it would be ready for manufacturing within a week ... once they’d gathered the required signatures from the elders’ council and the Alpha. I would remain anonymous to all of them until after it was manufactured. That was my request. My choice. And the board agreed to honor it.

Winterwood and the entire territory of Morvaine were about to feel my comeback.

It was going to be a big bang. The kind no one could ignore or walk away from.