Chapter 10
Tristan’s POV
I crushed the empty whiskey bottle in my fist, shards of glass biting into my palm. The pain was barely noticeable compared to the constant tearing sensation inside my chest. Blood dripped onto the polished marble floor of my penthouse–a stark contrast to the pristine emptiness surrounding me.
Three weeks. Twenty–one days since Lysandra had walked away. The divorce papers sat on my desk, mocking me with their finality.
With her gone, I couldn’t stand being in our house. So I’d retreated to my apartment, the cold, sterile penthouse.
The drive to Moon Sanctuary the next afternoon did nothing to improve my mood. I killed the engine of my car and sat for a moment, steadying myself. I was late. Good.
Inside, I found my father pacing the grand living room like a caged animal. His head snapped up at my entrance, nostrils flaring as he caught my scent.
“You reek of alcohol,” Fenris spat. “Again.”
I said nothing, slumping into a leather armchair without being invited. My head throbbed, the hangover a dull companion to my constant chest pain.
“Why are you drunk every day?” he demanded, looming over me.
I met his gaze with defiance. The great Alpha Fenris Wolfbane–the man who had destroyed my life with his demands and prophecies. If he hadn’t forced me to marry Lysandra two years ago, everything would be different. I wouldn’t be feeling this inexplicable hollowness.
“Come to my room,” he ordered, turning away without waiting for a response.
***
‘I hear you plan to marry Selene,” he said without preamble.
The accusation caught me off guard. While Selene and I had grown closer since Lysandra left, marriage hadn’t
crossed my mind.
“Selene deserves me,” I replied defensively. Images flashed through my mind–a child lost in the woods, a brave girl with golden hair fighting off rogues to save me. The scar on her arm, permanent proof of her sacrifice.
“If I want to marry Selene, what’s the problem?*
The blow came without warning. My father’s fist connected with my jaw, sending me staggering back. The Alpha in me roared to retaliate, but I held myself in check.
“What the fuck?” I snarled, touching my split lip.
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Chapter 10
“I chose the perfect woman for you,” Fenris growled, his eyes glowing with Alpha power. “She took care of you for two years. And what did you do? You divorced that innocent woman. Now, what do you want? To marry that home–wrecker?”
“Dad, please.” The words tasted like ash in my mouth.
“Please? For what? You should have told me this when I was severing Lysandra’s connection to the pack. I would have appreciated it. That poor girl had to leave this pack because of you. You should have begged me to stop her from leaving Silverblood.”
His words hit harder than his fist had. If I had asked him to stop the severing ritual… would Lysandra have stayed? The thought paralyzed me.
I drove home in a fog, my father’s words echoing in my head. The twilight had descended by the time I reached my house–not the penthouse, but the actual family home I’d shared with Lysandra.
Stumbling through the front door, I froze. A woman in a flowing white dress stood by the window, her back to me. My heart stuttered.
“So you came back,” I said, sarcasm failing to mask the sudden hope in my voice.
The woman turned, and the hope died instantly. Not Lysandra. Selene.
“Tristan, you’re home?” Her voice was honey–sweet as she glided toward me.
“It’s you!” I couldn’t keep the disappointment from my tone.
That’s when I noticed–she was wearing Lysandra’s dress.
“Why are you wearing Lysandra’s clothes?” I demanded, something primal and possessive surging through me.
“I spilled coffee when I came over,” Selene explained, her fingers playing with the hem of the dress, drawing it slightly higher on her thigh. “I just borrowed something to wear. She wouldn’t be so petty about it, would she?”
She stepped closer, her body pressing against mine. Her hand slid up my chest, fingernails lightly scratching through my shirt.
“I missed you,” she whispered, her lips brushing my ear. “You’ve been so distant lately.”
As she pressed her mouth to my neck, my mind flashed to Lysandra in that same dress. On Selene, it looked wrong -too tight across the chest, too loose at the waist.
My wolf thrashed violently inside me, rejection so strong I nearly shifted right there. Nausea rolled through me, and I had to swallow hard to keep from vomiting.
I stepped back, putting distance between us. “Don’t wear her clothes again. They don’t suit you.”
Shock registered on Selene’s face, followed by hurt. Her lower lip trembled as tears filled her eyes. She looked down, her sleeve riding up to reveal the long scar on her right arm.
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Chapter 10
Guilt crashed over me. What was I doing? This woman had saved my life as a child, risked everything for me. She loved me, and here I was, being cruel because… because what? Because she wasn’t Lysandra?
“I’m sorry, I said, taking her hand. ‘I’ve had a rough day.”
Selene’s expression changed instantly. The hurt vanished, replaced by a sultry smile. She pressed herself against me again, hands sliding around my waist and down to my hips.
“I know exactly what you need,” she murmured, her lips a breath away from mine. “Come with me.”
My wolf howled in protest, but the pain in my chest had been constant for weeks. Maybe this distraction was what I needed. Maybe this was the way to forget.
“I’ll meet you at the club,” I said weakly.
“No,” Selene purred, her fingers interlacing with mine as she pulled me toward the stairs. “I have something much better in mind.”
She led me up the staircase, her hips swaying hypnotically before me. At the top, she glanced over her shoulder, eyes dark with promise.
“Let me show you how to forget her completely,” she whispered, tugging me toward the bedroom–my bedroom, where Lysandra had once slept.
Even as I followed, the tearing pain in my chest intensified, becoming almost unbearable.
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