Chapter 8

Safe

I gripped the edge of the blanket to keep myself from moving.

The fabric was soft. Midnight Pack soft. Not the thin, scratchy blankets from Obsidian Moon.

He noticed. His golden eyes darkened.

“Raven?”

“Yeah?”

“You okay?”

“Yeah,” I lied. “Just... tired.”

He didn’t push. He just kept feeding me, slow and careful, sitting on the chair opposite me.

Spoonful of warm rice. A piece of bread torn with his fingers.

Three months of this. Roses every morning. “For healing.”

For the first time since the night at the border, I let myself believe that maybe — just maybe I could be safe here.

Ember purred. “He’s cute when he’s serious like this.”

“Shut up,” I told her.

The door burst open before Zayn could answer.

“Zayn!”

A girl stood there. Tall. Polished. Hair in a sleek braid, wearing cream trousers and a coat that probably cost more than the entire guest wing.

She looked like she’d stepped straight out of a magazine in the capital.

Zayn’s chair scraped back but he didn’t stand. “Selene?”

Surprise. Genuine surprise. He wasn’t expecting her.

Selene.

The name hit me like ice water.

I knew her.

The Inter-Pack Summit. I was 16.

That was the same year Zayn started leaving gifts at my door. The shawl. The herbs. The book.

He had come to the Summit with his delegation. And she was there.

Standing at his shoulder in a training uniform, hair in the same sleek braid. Laughing when he won his spar.

The elders whispered the whole week. “The Varga girl. She’s perfect for him. Smart. Political. A true Luna.”

I remembered because I was hiding behind a pillar, watching him, pretending I wasn’t.

“I came as soon as I heard,” Selene said, eyes sweeping the room and landing on me. On the blanket. On the bedside tray. On Zayn’s hand that was still hovering near my face from wiping the jam.

Her smile faltered for half a second. Then it was back, bright and sharp.

“Oh. You have a guest.”

“Raven,” Zayn said. His voice was careful. Neutral. Like he was introducing a council member.

“This is Selene Varga. Selene, this is Raven.”

Raven. Not mine. Not protected. Just Raven.

It hurt. More than it should have.

Ember growled low in my head. “She smells like him. Like his house. Like she knows where his office is.”

“She’s hurt,” Selene said. “What happened? I heard it was one of our drivers. On the border road.”

“It was an accident,” Zayn cut in. His golden eyes flicked to me, checking. “Selene, now isn’t a good time.”

“Of course,” she said smoothly. She stepped in and shut the door behind her. “I just flew 14 hours. The council is a mess without you.”

The room got too small. The roses Zayn delivered every morning suddenly smelled too sweet.

“I have to go,” Zayn said finally. His voice was rough. “Council meeting. 15 minutes.”

He crouched in front of me.

“Look at me,” he murmured.

I did. Golden eyes. 

“You’re safe,” he said quietly. Only for me. “I’ll be back. Don’t worry.”

Then he stood. Looked at Selene.

“See that she’s comfortable. Nothing else.”

“Of course, Alpha,” Selene dipped her head. Perfect. Obedient.

Zayn left. The door shut.

And the second it did, the warmth left with him.

Selene exhaled. She dragged the empty chair closer to the bed. His chair. The one he’d just been sitting on, feeding me.

“So,” she said. “Raven.”

She picked up the spoon from the bedside tray. His spoon.

“I remember you,” she said suddenly.

My head snapped up.

“The Summit. You were sixteen. Hiding behind the pillar by the food tables.”

She smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “You were watching him. The whole time. I thought it was cute then.”

My face burned. She saw me. All those years ago.

“You know,” she said, stirring the rice like it belonged to her. “Back then the elders were already saying we’d make a good match. Me and Zayn.”

She looked at me. She really looked at me. “Gifts are nice. But duty is forever, isn’t it?”

The words landed like a slap.

“They’re very concerned now,” she continued. “About him bringing in an outsider. A stranger from Obsidian Moon. Especially one who... ran.”

She tilted her head. “That’s what they’re calling it, right? You ran. The night of the Ascension. When your replacement was crowned.”

My stomach dropped.

So she knew. Everyone knew.

“I wasn’t replaced,” I whispered. “I left.”

“Semantics,” Selene said softly. “The story is you abandoned your post. That you weren’t strong enough to stay.”

She set the spoon down. “And now you’re here. In his room. Being fed by him.”

Ember snarled. “She’s baiting you. Don’t cry.”

“I can feed myself,” I said, my voice shaking.

“I’m sure you can,” Selene said. She stood. Walked to the vanity. “He's always used these. A pause. “White roses.”

She picked one up from the vase. 

“My mother grew them. Only ones in the district. He'd climb the fence to take them when we were kids.” 

Her mouth curved. 

“Said they were for 'wound dressings' and 'healing salves'. The healers needed them. Got in trouble every time anyway."

She looked at me. 

"He still sends them to every injured wolf in the park. Says clean scent helps them heal faster. Military tactic, really.’’

A memory that was 10 years old. A memory I wasn’t in.

She turned back to me. “Look, I’m not trying to be cruel. I’m just being realistic.”

Her voice dropped. “Zayn carries too much. The rogues. The council. The entire park.”

Her fingers brushed the collar of my gown. Midnight blue. Just like the one I tore running here.

“He doesn’t need more weight. He needs someone who can carry things with him. Someone who understands duty.”

She finished buttoning me. Stepped back.

“Cedar,” she said, inhaling near my hair. “That’s his scent. All over you.”

Then she walked to the door.

“Rest, Raven. I’ll tell the healers to check on you.”

Her hand paused on the doorknob.

“Oh. And don’t worry about the council talking. They’ll get used to you. Or they won’t.”

She smiled. “Either way, I’m home now. To help.”

The door clicked shut.

I was alone.

The bed was too big. The room too quiet.

The roses made me nauseous.

Safe, Zayn had said.

I’m home now, Selene had said.

“She’s a problem,” Ember whispered.

And for the first time in three months, I wondered if I had just traded one cage for another.