I spun, every muscle tensed, ready for a threat. My wet ponytail whipped around and slapped against my neck. “What?” I barked, scanning their faces for signs of danger.

Leo’s eyes locked on me, the usual teasing gone from his expression, replaced by something much darker—anger. Real anger. His storm-gray eyes swirled with flecks of gold, his wolf barely contained beneath the surface. I froze under the weight of his glare.

“What the hell is on your back, Selene?” he demanded, his voice sharp and low, vibrating with barely suppressed fury.

He hadn’t called me by my full name in months. That alone sent a chill through me.

I blinked, confused for a moment, before the realization hit me like a brick. I reached behind me, feeling the hem of my wet shirt bunched around my ribs. It had ridden up, exposing everything—bruises in varying shades of healing around my torso, pink welts, and old silver-touched scars lining my back.

No. No, no, no.

I yanked the shirt down, panic swelling in my chest. “It’s nothing,” I stammered, my voice rushed and flimsy. “Just... training injuries. That’s all.”

It was a weak lie. Too weak. I saw the truth dawn in Leo’s eyes, and it was like a bomb had gone off in his mind.

“You’re lying.” It wasn’t a question—it was a statement. And worse, Aaron and Ryan echoed him in that eerie twin-speak they did sometimes.

My heart raced as they climbed out of the pool, moving toward me with slow, deliberate steps. Water dripped off their bodies, but their focus was razor-sharp.

“It’s not a big deal,” I said, backing up instinctively. “Some people just spar a little rougher now that I can fight—”

“That’s bullsh*t.” Ethan’s voice was cold as stone, cutting through my weak excuse. “You don’t spar with anyone but us, Kylie, and a few others. No one has touched you like that.” He advanced, his eyes dark with restrained rage.

I took another step back, scanning for an escape route. I could run, but getting into the house would slow me down, and they knew me well enough to anticipate my moves.

Devin’s voice rumbled behind Ethan, low and dangerous. “Who did this to you?” His usual playful grin was gone, replaced with something deadly. “Tell us, Selene. We’ll handle it.”

Handle it? Deal with it? My mind snapped under the weight of those words. I stopped backing away, fury bubbling up from somewhere deep inside me—a place I’d buried for too long.

Years of anger, pain, and loneliness rose like a tidal wave, and my wolf stirred, pushing against my skin, ready to tear out everything I’d held back for so long.

I saw red.

“No.”

The word erupted from me in a roar, startling them into silence. They froze, wide-eyed, their protective stances faltering under the sheer force of my rage.

“You will let it go,” I growled, my voice low and dangerous. “You don’t get to swoop in now and play the heroes. Where the hell were you when it actually mattered?”

They stared at me, stunned, as I unleashed everything I’d kept locked away for years.

“For years, I’ve dealt with this. Alone. While you—” I pointed a shaking hand at Leo and the others, “—stood by and did nothing. You ignored it because it didn’t affect you. Because in your world, looking the other way makes things disappear, right?”

Ethan flinched, but I didn’t care. I wasn’t holding back anymore.

“I did everything right. I was the perfect student, the perfect daughter, the perfect warrior.” My voice cracked, but I pushed on. “I showed up. I worked harder than any of you. I gave everything I had, and no one noticed—no one cared—until now.”

I turned on Leo, glaring at him with every ounce of the fury I’d kept buried. “Delta Kyle and Luna Ava noticed. Even Kylie noticed. And they respected my wishes—they let it go. But you? You five have known me my whole damn life, and you didn’t give a sh*t. Not until you decided I was good enough to be part of your little group.”

Their faces crumbled under the weight of my words, but I was far from done.

“You don’t get to play protector now,” I hissed. “It’s too late. I don’t need you. I never did.”

The silence that followed was suffocating. They stood there, stunned and helpless, the weight of their guilt hanging heavy between us.

“Let it go.” I threw the words at them like knives, cutting off any protests before they could start. “I’m handling this. On my own. And that’s how it’s going to stay.”

With that, I spun on my heel and marched toward the house, my body trembling with the effort of holding back the shift. My wolf clawed at the surface, desperate to escape, to rage, to destroy—but I wouldn’t give her that satisfaction.

Not here. Not now.

Luna Ava’s POV

I shot off the couch the moment I heard Selene’s roar, Michael following close behind me as we rushed to the balcony.

From our vantage point, we could see the boys gathered near the pool, still as statues, while Selene stood at the edge of the patio, soaked and furious, her eyes burning with rage. Even from here, I could feel the storm swirling around her, dangerous and wild.

I crossed my arms, watching closely. “What the hell did they do to her?” I muttered under my breath.

Michael placed a hand on my shoulder, his gaze calm but sharp as he studied the scene below. “Whatever it was, she’s handling it.”

Her words carried up to us, fierce and unrelenting.

“I did everything that was ever asked of me. I was the perfect daughter, the perfect student, the perfect warrior—and none of you noticed. Not until now.”

Michael exhaled slowly. “Damn. She’s giving it to them.”

“She should,” I snapped. “They deserve it.”

I leaned against the railing, my heart aching for the girl standing alone against the weight of everything she’d carried for years. “She’s special, Michael. You can see it—the way those boys look at her, like she’s already becoming part of them. But they’ve been blind for so long.”

“They’ll figure it out.” Michael’s voice was steady, reassuring. “They need to learn how to make things right. She’s making them face what they ignored.”

I shook my head, frustration bubbling under the surface. “They’re still boys. Oblivious, stubborn boys. She deserves better.”

“She’ll get it,” Michael promised, pulling me into his arms. “She’s stronger than any of them realize. And she’ll survive this—just like she always has.”

I leaned into him, drawing comfort from his warmth. “She just has to survive high school first.”

Michael chuckled, kissing the top of my head. “High school’s got nothing on her. She’ll be just fine.”

I smiled, knowing he was right. But as I looked down at Selene—at the fire in her eyes and the fury in her stance—I knew one thing for certain.

She wasn’t just going to survive.

She was going to thrive.