Why is Selene so certain that I'm alone? Aleksasha wondered, her fingers flexing slightly at her sides, the weight of her sword reassuring. The forest seemed to lean in, waiting for the answer with her, but it offered none.
Then realization slid into her mind like a blade slipping between ribs. She doesn't know about Matias.
Selene's voice had circled her like a hawk watching wounded prey — coy, smug, full of expectation. But there had been no mention of the wolf. No sly references to the silver shadow that stalked at Aleksasha's side.
She didn't know.
Aleksasha's heart thudded once, a sharp beat of cold clarity.
Selene had seen the letters. Had seen Aleksasha's words, perhaps even guessed at the truth beneath them. But she hadn't seen the man who had returned from war… and certainly not the beast he had become.
She thought Aleksasha was still playing catch-up, still fumbling in the dark, awakening to a power she didn't understand without guidance, without protection.
