Chapter 0303

Selene's fingers tightened around her teacup as she lost herself in thought. I remained silent, giving her space to gather her words.

"My father was a good man—once." Her voice was quiet, edged with old pain. "For the first ten years of my life, he was the perfect Alpha, the perfect father. I was his only child, his heir. But when I didn’t shift at ten… everything changed."

She exhaled sharply, as if the memory still burned. "At first, he was patient. Then came the anger. Then the cruelty. He turned on my mother, blaming her for not giving him a 'worthy' heir." The word twisted bitterly in her mouth.

"He exiled me when I was twelve. My mother refused to let me go alone—she knew I wouldn’t survive. We ran. Found this place. Spent a year looking over our shoulders, ready to bolt at the first sign of him."

Her fingers trembled as she lifted the tea bag from her cup, setting it aside. "Then he started taking other women. At first, I didn’t understand. My mother just called it betrayal. But it happened more and more. She grew weaker. Couldn’t shift anymore."

A dark shadow crossed her face. "On my sixteenth birthday, he killed her." Her voice cracked. "I’m sure he knew what day it was. He’d ruined enough of them before."

"What do you think he did?" I kept my voice low, careful not to pull her from the memory.

She met my gaze, her eyes sharpening with cold certainty. "He marked another she-wolf. Took a second mate. And it destroyed her."

"So that’s why you don’t believe in the mate bond."

"Would you?" Her laugh was hollow. "I’ve seen what it does. I won’t let any man have that kind of power over me."

I couldn’t argue. Her father wasn’t the first Alpha to twist the bond into something ugly. But I’d also seen the other side—Adrian and Evelyn, Sebastian and Seraphina. The bond didn’t make them weak. It made them stronger.

"Not all men are like him," I said softly.

Her jaw clenched. "How would I know?"

"Give me a chance to prove it."

She shook her head. "My father was different—until I failed him. If I’d shifted, I might never have seen the monster underneath."

"Your father was a bastard. That doesn’t mean I am." I leaned forward, holding her gaze. "Even if I wanted to be cruel, Magnus wouldn’t let me. My wolf would tear me apart before I hurt my mate—or my child."

"You can’t know that."

"I do." My voice dropped. "I grew up without a father. I won’t let my child do the same."