Chapter 175

Selene was still on the floor when a knock came.

She didn’t move. She couldn’t. Her body was frozen, her mind blank, her heart pounding with a terror she had never known before. She had lost. Everything she had schemed for, everything she had sacrificed for, everything she had destroyed for gone. All of it, gone.

The door burst open.

Soldiers poured into the room armored men with hard faces and harder eyes. They surrounded her in an instant, their hands reaching for her, their voices sharp and cold.

“Selene of the Silverwood pack, you are under arrest for treason against the Crown.”

She didn’t resist. She couldn’t. They pulled her to her feet, bound her wrists with iron cuffs, and dragged her out of the room.

The academy was waiting.

Students lined the corridors, their faces a mixture of shock and disgust. Some of them whispered. Some of them pointed. Some of them called her names—traitor, liar, whore. The words washed over her like water, but she barely heard them.

Her friends were there.

Celeste and Mira stood at the front of the crowd, their faces streaked with tears. They didn’t call her names. They didn’t point. They just watched, watched as the girl they had loved and followed and trusted was dragged away like a common criminal.

Celeste opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. Mira buried her face in her hands and sobbed.

The Silvermoon Proctor stood at the entrance to the academy, her silver hair gleaming, her pale eyes filled with disappointment. She didn’t speak. She didn’t need to. The look on her face said everything.

You have brought shame upon this academy. Upon your pack. Upon yourself.

Selene hung her head.

But deep down—deep in the darkest part of her heart, she was still blaming Nyra. Still hating her. Still cursing her name.

This is your fault, she thought. All of this is your fault. If you had never come to this academy—if you had never stolen Soren from me none of this would have happened.

The soldiers dragged her through the gates and threw her into a wagon. The doors slammed shut. The horses began to move.

And Selene was carried away to face the judgment of the King.

The group found Finn after two days of searching.

The cabin was exactly where Ragnar had said it would be—a small, weathered structure deep in the northern forest, hidden among the trees. Smoke curled from the chimney. A horse was tethered outside. And through the single window, a figure could be seen moving about inside.

Nyra signaled to the others. They spread out, surrounding the cabin, their weapons drawn. Corvin and Roderic took the front. Valeria and Maureen covered the back. Marek and Ragnar flanked the sides.

Nyra walked to the door and knocked.

“Finn. We know you’re in there. Come out.”

A long pause. Then the door creaked open.

Finn stood in the doorway, his sandy hair disheveled, his clothes rumpled. He looked tired, dark circles under his eyes, a day’s worth of stubble on his chin. But he was smiling that same easy, friendly smile that had fooled everyone for so long.

“Hello, dearest,” he said. “I see the Moon Court has been good to you.”

Nyra smiled—a cold, dangerous smile. “As you can see, dear friend.”

They stood facing each other, the Daughter of the Moon and the traitor who had fooled them all. The air between them crackled with tension.

“Why?” Nyra asked. “Why did you do it? Why did you betray us? Betray me?”

Finn tilted his head, as if considering the question. “Why does anyone do anything? Power. Revenge. Survival. Pick one.”

“You were my friend. My roommate. You saved my life more than once.”

“Did I?” Finn laughed. “Or did I just make you believe I did? Everything I did, every kindness I showed, every moment of friendship it was all part of the plan. I needed you to trust me. I needed you to believe in me. And you did. You all did.”

His eyes swept over the group—over Corvin, over Roderic, over Valeria, over Maureen and Marek. “You all believed in me. That was your mistake.”

“Valeria sweetheart, I see you betrayed us. I have always known you are nothing but a snake. You shameless whore. I remember when came begging my father to avenge you, you will do anything as far as you are able to kill Nyra to take Soren back, but the next minute you are in my brother’s bed, fucking him anything you are sad as the whore that you are.” Finn said with a smile on his face.

“Shut up, you know nothing about me,” Valeria said.

“Is that so, or I just know you cheap self couldn’t stay with one man. You don’t love Soren as much as you proclaim you do, that’s why you were able to sleep with my brother without any guilt.” Finn said.

“You are truly just like your father, a demonic bastard. Your mother left you alone in this world to escape your monstrous self because she knew she gave birth to a monster.” Valeria spat at him.

You will be the first I will kill when I leave this place, you bitch”. Finn said his hands fisted.

“Blah blah blah, Valeria sang as she rolled her eyes in boredom, I doubt you will escape,” she said with a smile.

“Anyone else has anything to say to me,” Finn said as his eyes swept over the crowd, his smile back in place.

Maureen stepped forward, her eyes blazing. “You stabbed Jasper. You nearly killed him.”

“I did.” Finn’s smile didn’t waver. “He was too observant. He figured out what I was. I had to silence him.”

“You could have killed him.”

“I could have. But I didn’t.” Finn shrugged. “I missed his vital organs on purpose. He’ll live. You’re welcome.”

“You monster,” Maureen spat. “You absolute monster.”

“Monster?” Finn laughed—a cold, hollow sound. “You have no idea what I am. You have no idea what I’ve been through. You think I wanted to be this way? You think I chose to be a traitor, a liar, a killer?”

“You had a choice,” Nyra said quietly. “You always had a choice.”

“No. I didn’t.” Finn’s smile faded. “My father Varek, he killed my mother. Did you know that? She was his mistress. His whore. And when he was done with her, he had her poisoned. I was eight years old. I watched her die.”

The group fell silent.

“I grew up in the shadows,” Finn continued. “Always the illegitimate son. Always the afterthought. My father didn’t want me. My half-brother didn’t want me. The only person who ever loved me was my mother and she was taken from me.”

“So you decided to become like him?” Nyra asked. “You decided to become a monster?”

“I decided to survive. I decided to take what I deserved. The Astrlyn pack, the throne, it was never meant for me. But I was going to take it anyway. Because I earned it. Because I suffered for it. Because I deserved it.”

“You deserve nothing,” Ragnar’s voice came from the shadows.

Finn froze.

Ragnar stepped out from behind a tree, his scarred face streaked with tears, his eyes red with heartbreak. He had been there the whole time, listening, watching, waiting.

Finn’s composure cracked. For the first time, he looked genuinely shocked.

“Ragnar. I didn’t—I didn’t know you were—”

“You didn’t want me to hear the truth?” Ragnar’s voice was hoarse. “You didn’t want me to see who you really are?”

“Ragnar—”

“No.” Ragnar stepped closer, his hands clenched into fists. “No more lies. No more manipulation. I want to hear it from you. I want you to look me in the eyes and tell me the truth.”

Finn stared at him. The mask was gone now—the easy smile, the friendly demeanor, the mask of the foolish boy. In its place was something raw. Something real.

“The truth?” Finn’s voice was barely a whisper. “The truth is… I love you.”

Ragnar flinched.

“I didn’t mean to. I didn’t want to. But I do.” Finn’s eyes glistened. “You were the only good thing in my life. The only person who ever looked at me and saw something worth loving. And I—” His voice cracked. “I ruined it. I ruined everything.”

“You could have stopped. At any point, you could have stopped. You could have told me the truth. You could have chosen a different path.”

“I couldn’t. The plan was already in motion. My father—”

“Your father is a monster. And so are you.” Ragnar’s voice was hard, but the tears kept falling. “You’re just like him. You’re exactly what he made you.”

“No.” Finn shook his head. “I’m not. I’m not him.”

“You stabbed Jasper. You kidnapped a child. You helped poison Soren. You destroyed everything you touched.” Ragnar stepped closer, his voice rising. “You’re a monster, Finn. You’re a monster, and I—”

He stopped. His voice broke.

“I loved you.”

Finn stared at him. The tears were streaming down his face now—real tears, not the fake ones he had used so many times before.

“I know,” he whispered. “I know you did.”

“Give up.” Ragnar’s voice was desperate. “Please. Give up. Let them take you. Serve your sentence. Maybe—maybe there’s still hope for you.”

“There’s no hope for me.” Finn shook his head. “There’s no redemption. No forgiveness. Not for what I’ve done.”

“Then what? You’ll fight? You’ll kill more people? You’ll spend the rest of your life running?”

“Yes.” Finn’s voice was firm. “Because that’s who I am. That’s who I’ve always been.”

Ragnar stared at him. The tears kept falling. His heart was breaking—shattering into a thousand pieces.

“Then I have nothing more to say to you.”

He turned his back.

“Ragnar—”

“Don’t.” Ragnar’s voice was sharp. “Don’t say my name. Don’t speak to me. Don’t ever come near me again.”

He began to walk away—away from the cabin, away from Finn, away from the boy he had loved with all his heart.

“Ragnar, please—”

“I said don’t!”

Ragnar stopped. He didn’t turn around. He couldn’t. If he turned around, he would see Finn’s face. He would see the tears. He would break.

“Do what you want with him,” Ragnar said, his voice hollow. “I’m done.”

He walked away, his footsteps crunching on the frozen ground. And as he walked, the tears fell—hot and silent and endless.

Finn watched him go. The mask was gone now. The confidence was gone. All that was left was a broken boy, standing in the doorway of a cabin, watching the only person he had ever loved walk out of his life forever.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I’m so sorry.”

But it was too late.

It was always too late.