The Switch
Selena’s POV
The walk to Cassius’s residence was the longest of my life.
Every shadow seemed to move.
Every rustle of leaves sounded like warriors coming for me.
My heart was a drum in my chest, pounding so loud I was sure the whole pack could hear it.
But I kept walking.
One foot in front of the other.
Wrath, Selena.
Remember who you are.
Cassius was waiting at the door.
His smile was already in place—that sharp, knowing thing that made my skin crawl.
“You’re early,” he said.
“You said dawn.”
“I did.” He stepped aside.
“I didn’t think you’d actually come.”
I forced a smile of my own.
“I don’t have a choice.”
“None of us do.”
He led me inside.
Through the main room.
Into the back.
Same suffocating darkness.
Same feeling of being trapped.
“Eugene will be here soon,” he said.
“But first—I need proof.”
“Proof of what?”
“That you’re still loyal.” His eyes flicked to my dress.
“Show me what you took from my brother.”
I reached into my pocket.
Pulled out the vial Ian had given me.
Water from the lake.
Nothing more.
Cassius took it.
Held it up to the light.
Swirled it.
“Water?”
“A sedative. My own blend. Takes effect fast—stops the heart within an hour.”
His eyes narrowed.
“You expect me to believe you made this?”
“I expect you to trust me.”
“I don’t trust anyone.”
“Then test it.”
Cassius stared at me.
For a moment, I thought he’d refuse.
Then he pulled a small knife from his belt.
Pricked his finger.
Let a drop of blood fall into the vial.
The water stayed clear.
I held my breath.
Cassius smiled.
“Excellent,” he said.
“You’ve earned my trust.”
He handed the vial back.
I tucked it into my dress.
“Now,” he said.
“Let’s go kill my brother.”
We moved through the back corridors of the pack house.
Cassius walked ahead of me, confident.
Unhurried.
Like he was already celebrating.
The council room doors loomed ahead.
“Remember,” he said.
“Wait for my signal. Then you walk to him. Hand him the vial. Watch him drink it.”
“And then?”
“And then—” he smiled, sharp as a blade, “—you watch him die.”
I nodded.
Swallowed the bile rising in my throat.
He pushed the doors open.
The council room was full.
Eugene was there.
Jacqueline.
All the elders.
Everyone who mattered in Silvermoon.
And Ian.
He sat at the head of the table.
Arms crossed.
Eyes fixed on the door.
On me.
I walked forward.
Step by step.
The vial burned a hole in my pocket.
Cassius was watching.
Eugene was watching.
Everyone was watching.
I reached the table.
Stopped in front of Ian.
“Grand Alpha,” I said.
“I have something for you.”
I pulled out the vial.
Held it out.
Ian’s eyes met mine.
Ocean blue to emerald green.
I could see it—the fear behind his calm.
Not for himself.
For me.
“Cassius told me to give you this,” I said.
The room went dead silent.
Cassius’s voice rang out.
Sharp.
Angry.
“What are you doing?!”
I turned to face him.
“You wanted me to poison him. In front of everyone. So they could watch you take the throne.”
His face went white.
Then red.
“You lying—”
Eugene shot to his feet.
“This is absurd! The slave is lying!”
“She’s not lying.”
It was Jacqueline.
She stood slowly.
Her hands were shaking.
But her voice was steady.
“Cassius approached me weeks ago. He promised me Luna if I helped him frame Selena. I have letters. Proof.”
Cassius’s eyes went wide.
“You—”
“Your brother is a snake,” I said.
“And everyone in this room just heard him.”
Chaos erupted.
Eugene lunged at me.
I dodged.
His shoulder slammed into the table.
Vials and papers went flying.
Cassius was shouting.
Ordering his warriors to attack.
But Ian’s guards were already moving.
Already surrounding them.
Ian was on his feet.
In front of me.
His body a wall between me and the danger.
“Arrest them,” he said.
Quiet.
Cold.
Final.
“No!” Cassius screamed.
“You can’t—I’m your brother—”
“You stopped being my brother the day you decided to kill me.”
The guards descended.
Cassius fought.
Kicked.
Screamed.
But they dragged him out anyway.
Eugene followed.
White-faced and trembling.
Jacqueline sank back into her chair.
Her face was gray.
“I didn’t want this. I just wanted—”
“I know.” Ian didn’t look at her.
“I’ll deal with you later.”
He turned to me.
His hands found my face.
Cupping my cheeks like I was something precious.
“You’re safe,” he said.
“You’re safe.”
I nodded.
But I couldn’t speak.
My body was shaking.
The adrenaline was fading, and everything hurt.
My head.
My chest.
My hands.
“Ian,” I whispered.
“What?”
“I think I’m going to faint.”
His arms caught me before I hit the floor.
I woke in his chambers.
Soft light filtered through the curtains.
The fire crackled in the hearth.
And Ian was beside me, sitting in a chair he’d dragged next to the bed.
He was asleep.
His face was slack.
Younger.
Less guarded.
I reached out, touched his cheek.
His eyes opened immediately.
“You’re awake,” he said.
“How long?”
“Six hours. The healers said you were exhausted. They gave you something to help you rest.”
“The council?”
“Dealt with. Eugene confessed everything. Cassius is in the dungeon. Jacqueline gave us enough evidence to charge them both.”
I closed my eyes.
“It’s over.”
Ian took my hand.
“It’s over.”
I opened my eyes.
Looked at him.
“What happens now?”
He didn’t answer.
Just lifted my hand to his lips.
Pressed a kiss to my knuckles.
“Now you rest,” he said.
“Promise me you’ll be here when I wake up.”
“Where else would I go?”
I smiled.
It was small.
Tired.
But real.
“Nowhere,” I said.
“You’re not going anywhere.”
“Neither are you.”
He meant it.
My eyes were already closing.
The exhaustion was pulling me under.
But something scratched at the back of my mind.
Something wrong.
Something I’d missed.
“Selena,” Razor whispered.
“Listen.”
I forced my eyes open.
“Ian.”
“Hm?”
“Cassius said something. When he tested the vial.”
“He cut his finger. He let his blood fall into the water.”
“Yes?”
I sat up slowly.
My head swam.
But the pieces were clicking together.
“He didn’t just test the water,” I said.
“He tested the poison. And if the poison was real, his blood—”
“Would have reacted.” Ian’s face went pale.
“He would have reacted.”
“He didn’t. He was fine.”
The room was silent.
“The vial was water,” I said.
“But Cassius didn’t know that. Cassius thought it was poison. And he was fine.”
Ian’s jaw tightened.
“He’s built a tolerance.”
“And if he’s built a tolerance,” I said slowly, “then he’s been preparing for this for a long time. Longer than we thought.”
“That means—”
“He’s not just working alone.” I met his eyes.
“There are others. People who helped him prepare. People we haven’t found yet.”
Ian stood.
Paced to the window.
“If there are others—”
“They’ll come for us. They’ll come for you.”
“Then we’ll be ready.”
I swung my legs over the edge of the bed.
Ignored the screaming in my muscles.
“Whatever happens next,” I said, “I’m not leaving your side.”
He didn’t argue.
Just crossed the room.
Cupped my face in his hands.
“If there are more threats—”
“Then we face them together.”
His forehead pressed against mine.
His breath was warm against my lips.
“Together,” he repeated.
The word felt heavy.
Important.
Like a promise we were both making.
One kiss.
Gentle.
Soft.
Full of everything neither of us could say.
Then we pulled apart.
And the door shattered inward.
Six warriors.
Black masks.
Silver blades.
They moved too fast.
Too coordinated.
They knew the room.
Knew our positions.
Knew exactly where to strike.
Ian didn’t hesitate.
He shoved me behind him and launched himself at the first warrior.
Screaming.
Violence.
Blood.
I reached for a weapon—anything—but there was nothing.
Just my hands.
My teeth.
My rage.
One of them grabbed me.
His arm locked around my throat.
The silver bit into my skin, and I remembered.
The shackles.
The pain.
The helplessness.
No.
Never again.
I slammed my head back.
Felt his nose break.
He dropped me.
I turned.
His blade was raised.
Coming down.
And then—nothing.
He crumpled at my feet.
Ian stood behind him.
Blood on his hands.
The hilt of a knife buried in the warrior’s throat.
His eyes found mine.
“Are you hurt?”
“I’m fine.”
“Liar.”
He pulled me into his arms.
His grip was tight.
Desperate.
“They knew,” I said.
“They knew you’d be vulnerable. They knew Cassius was in the dungeon. They came for you.”
Ian’s expression darkened.
“Then Cassius wasn’t working alone,” he said.
“And whoever else is out there—they just declared war.”
His hand found my hair.
Stroked it.
Gently.
Like I was something precious.
“Tonight,” he said.
“We hunt.”
I looked up at him.
Emerald to ocean.
“Together,” I whispered.
“Together.”
END OF CHAPTER 24