Chapter 87: Shattered Control

Selene was crawling up the path that led back to the castle.

She had remembered dragging her weak body out of the cave right before it had turned into a complete mess.

She was still very naked, her claws dragging against the bark of trees, keeping her body steady.

She could already tell that the strangulation marks around her neck were very obvious, and even though Della was gone, it still felt like she was still being choked to death.

Selene glanced back at the mountain, her face as pale as a ghost. How on earth did everything go wrong so quickly? One minute she was enjoying the view of Conan about to ruin the miserable slave forever, and the next second there was blinding light and suddenly, the gravity in the room had become a hundred times stronger.

Selene felt a scream of frustration climbing up her throat, only to be cut off painfully when it was met with the pain in her throat.

She’s never heard or seen a Rotblood awaken before. Of all the books she’s read in this world, nothing ever talked about it. Whenever Rot-bloods were mentioned, they were always said to be wolfless and powerless, spreading misery and curse whenever they went.

There was nothing in any book or tale, or even a myth, that once spoke about a Rotblood gaining a wolf.

Not just any wolf, but one as absurdly powerful as that!

When Della had her in that deathly chokehold, Selene had watched her life flash before her eyes. She’d never begged the Moon Goddess to spare her life so hard before.

Selene gently leaned against the bark of another tree, clutching her tight throat.

She wasn’t even healing like she was supposed to. Instead, the pain only seemed to be getting worse by the minute and she wouldn’t stop vomiting blood and saliva.

It felt like her life energy was being drained, and her vision was beginning to double. Finally, her strength could take it no longer, and her legs gave out on her.

She slipped down the tree, her butt hitting the cold sand. Breathing had even become a problem for her now, and her breath was coming out in sharp, fast pants. Was she infected or something?!

"You don’t look so good," A deep voice rang next to her.

She couldn’t even look up at him. It would mean moving her neck, and she couldn’t even lift an arm at the moment.

A large cloth was calmly wrapped around her shoulders, the silk smoothly sliding down her skin and down her legs.

Cassian stepped into view, leaning on the tree right next to hers. He stared up at the full moon for a moment, unable to keep the smile that kept tugging at the corner of his lips.

Tonight had definitely been something no one would ever forget.

"Happy?" Selene’s painted voice pulled his gaze back down to her.

He stared at his stepsister. Her voice sounded like it had been dragged through mud several times, and even though she still looked very terrible, her breathing was beginning to sound better.

"The Rotblood awakened," She continued, a tang of bitter anger in her voice, "You must be shaking with excitement,"

"Well, I wouldn’t use the word ’shaking’," He smirked, watching her struggle to look up at him, "More like ’uncontrollably trembling’ "

She seriously wanted to jump at him and rip out his throat with her bare arms, but for now she would have to settle with regaining her strength, "It still doesn’t change anything," She said, pulling the cloth tighter around her body.

Chills.

She was getting the chills.

And wolves are usually very warm-blooded animals that could survive through any horrendous winter. But she was actually getting chills when it wasn’t even snowing.

Even her wolf was still trembling like a wet cat.

Even still, Selene was still in rage.

"What?"

"You also saw it, right?!" Selene squeezed her eyes shut, her throat burning, "Her powers dropped right before she ran out. Which means she’s powerless again. If she wasn’t, she wouldn’t have run,"

"God, Selene," Cassian shook his head in dismay, "Haven’t you learnt your lesson? The woman basically revealed everything about you in front of everyone. You should be thinking of how to escape right now,"

"No," Selene shook her head too, more in desperation than in confidence, "They are not gonna believe her. I’ve been in the game longer than she has been. I just need to convince them that she’s wrong, as I always have,"

Cassian watched her struggle to get back on her feet again, slipping each time she did. Selene was one persistent bitch who would fight through the thickest of walls to get to where she wanted to be.

One of the annoying qualities she had that had Cassian wrapped around her finger was that he found it strangely endearing.

Even though it involved her ruining people’s lives.

"What are you doing now?" He asked, watching as she finally stood on two shaky legs, her claws digging into the bark of the tree for extra support.

"I need to go back in there," She replied, taking a step in the direction of the mountain, "I was wrong to leave. If I leave, I would be leaving room for the accusations to grow and spread. Moreover, I need to get things back under control so that when Malachi returns... he’d see how capable I am, and it would make him question everything Della revealed about me even more,"

Cassian almost growled right there.

He’d always thought Selene was simply obsessed. But if there were a word that had a deeper meaning than obsession, that would be it. That would be exactly how Selene felt for Malachi.

And in return, his messed-up head adored her for her unbreaking character and got more intoxicated by her.

"Stop, Selene," Cassian warned, stepping in her path.

She looked up at him, her heavy eyes meeting his, "I won’t,"

"You need to walk away now, Selene. You’ve done enough already!"

"No!!" She growled, her eyes turning golden yellow, "No, Cassian. I have come too far to turn around now!" She didn’t sound like herself anymore.

Cassian held her gaze for a long moment before exhaling through his nose, "You still don’t understand," he murmured.

Selene shoved against his shoulder, trying to push past him, "I said move."

He caught her wrist before she could take another step, "You think Malachi will be impressed that you kept everyone calm?" His voice was almost pitying now. "After everything she revealed?"

Selene ripped her hand free, her eyes blazing gold, "She has no proof!!"

Cassian gave a humourless chuckle, "Does she need to have proof, Selene? She’s just spread fear, and that’s far more dangerous."