Chapter 434

Lord Frederick’s POV
“Selene!”
Her name ripped from my throat before I could stop myself. I shoved past Olivia, the echo of the door slamming behind me. My boots pounded against the floor, the sharp sound chasing her retreat down the corridor. She was fast, but not fast enough to outrun me. She never could.
I caught her wrist at the top of the stairs. Her body jolted, stiffening, her breath ragged as she turned on me with eyes that were—hurt, betrayed, and so goddamn alluring.
“Let go of me!” she snapped, yanking at my grip. “I don’t want to hear another word from you. Not one.”
I tightened my hold instead, dragging her closer. Her scent coiled around me—sharp, wild, intoxicating. It made my chest ache, made the hunger in me roar.
“You think this is easy for me?” I bit out, my voice low and rough. “You think I used you?”
She laughed, but it was angry, bitter. “What else was I? A fling, remember? A mistake? You said it yourself!” Her chest rose and fell hard, her lips trembling. “All you wanted was to fuck me. Again and again. And like a fool, I allowed you. And when you whispered you were falling—”
Her voice cracked, and she cut herself off. But I heard it. I knew what she almost said. I had no idea she heard me saying that. I thought she had fallen asleep.
Damn her. Damn me.
I pulled her flush against me as I hugged her, my heart hammering with a rage I didn’t know how to aim. At her. At myself. At the truth clawing at my insides.
“You drive me mad,” I growled, my breath hot against her hair. “What do I do, Selene… I have fallen for you.” Thᴇ link to the origɪn of this information rᴇsts ɪn
She angrily pushed me away, her eyes flickering, pain flashing in her eyes. “Then why lie? Why call me nothing? Why parade your marriage to her in front of me?”
Because I had to.
Because admitting the truth—that she was the one who set fire to my veins—would ruin everything I’d built.
I shoved the thought down, hard, forcing my voice to turn cold again as I took another step towards her. “Because you are dangerous, Selene. I can’t love the way I love you… Olivia is the perfect one for me.”
Her breath hitched, her body stiffening. For a second, I thought she would snap, spit on my face. But instead, she shoved me away with a strength that surprised even me.
Her frown deepened. “Then let me go.”
And before I could react, she spun and bolted down the stairs, leaving me with my chest heaving, my fists clenched, and one truth I couldn’t escape:
I couldn’t let her go.
Not now.
Not ever.
I stumbled back into my room, slamming the door shut behind me. My hands gripped the edge of the table so tightly the wood creaked. My chest rose and fell in harsh bursts.
What was I doing?
Selene’s scent still clung to me, burning in my veins, rattling my thoughts. I had wanted to push her away. I had needed to—for Olivia, for the plan, for the prophecy that promised the greatest supernatural heir if I married the “perfect one.”
But the moment she looked at me with those wild, hurt eyes, everything inside me had cracked.
I dragged a hand over my face, sinking down on the chair, elbows on my knees. “Damn it,” I muttered under my breath. “Do I let Olivia go? Do I give up the future I’ve built for a woman who
I swallowed hard.
A woman I had hopelessly fallen in love with.
The thought alone made my chest ache.
If I kept Olivia, I would have the power, the child, and the legacy. But with Selene, I would have the fire—the maddening, consuming fire that made me feel alive for the first time in decades.
My head pounded. The choice suffocated me, making it difficult to breathe.
And then—
A hurried, frantic knock shattered my thoughts.
“What?” I barked, fuming with rage.
“Lord Frederick—” a panicked voice came from the other side, breathless.
I shot to my feet, my anger flaring. “I said, what is it?”
The door swung open before I could cross the room. One of my guards stood there, pale, sweat beading on his brow.
“Lord—there’s trouble.”
My eyes narrowed, my body tensing. “Speak,” I commanded.
The guard swallowed, glancing down. “Lady Selene said she was going for a walk. We… we allowed it.”
Ice shot through me.
“You what?” I roared, my voice booming through the room as my claws itched to emerge. “Are you stupid? What if she leaves?” My heart hammered as I closed the distance between us. “Do you know the danger out there? Vampires are lurking around the borders—”
The guard raised his hands quickly, trembling. “That’s not all, my lord!” he blurted. “I was watching the CCTV feed… and I saw it happen.”
My stomach dropped. “Saw what?”
His voice cracked. “The moment Lady Selene stepped out of the gates, masked men appeared. Six of them. Before she could shift into her wolf, they sprayed something at her—she inhaled it and collapsed.”
The world tilted.
For a heartbeat, everything went silent except for the rush of blood in my ears.
Then my rage hit, hot and explosive.
“No!” I yelled as I shoved past the trembling guard. My anger lashed through the hall, sending the staff scattering as I stormed toward the surveillance room. My heart was slamming in my chest so hard it almost drowned out my footsteps.
Selene was mine—whether she admitted it or not, whether I wanted it or not—and the thought of anyone laying hands on her was making me go insane.
The door to the CCTV room slammed open under my hand. The guards inside scrambled to their feet, their faces paling at the fury etched into mine.
“Pull it up,” I snapped, my voice deadly calm. “Show me.”
One of them hurried to rewind the footage. My claws dug into the back of his chair as the screen flickered.
And there she was.
Selene.
She stepped out of the gates, her head slightly bowed, her hair falling across her face. Then—like shadows crawling out of nowhere—six masked men closed in on her.
I leaned closer, every muscle in my body tight.
She barely had time to react. Her wolf flashed in her eyes, her body beginning to tremble with the shift—but then the spray hit her. A black mist. She inhaled, choked, and collapsed to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut.
My hands trembled as I watched them drag her body across the dirt. Rage built, but beneath it—fear. Real fear.
They shoved her into the back of a black SUV. The doors slammed shut.
I narrowed my eyes. No plates. No way to trace.
“Freeze it!” I snarled. The guard’s hands shook as he obeyed, pausing the frame where Selene’s limp body was being shoved into the trunk.
Her face.
Her pale lips.
Her closed eyes.
The sight tore through me like a blade.
I gripped the screen so hard the glass threatened to crack.
If they fed on her—if they dared sink their fangs into her—I would tear the entire world apart.
The footage resumed, showing the SUV speeding away.
My breath came rough, heavy, ragged.
For the first time in years… fear consumed me.
The same fear I had only felt once before.
When I almost lost Hailee to childbirth.
And now—at the thought of losing Selene.