21. Pressing Questions

It seemed to act as work and play, with a messy desk that seemed to belong to a harried supervisor, but behind that was a king-sized four-poster bed surrounded by white gauzy curtains. Overheard, a light in the shape of the moon hung from the ceiling and offered the perfect lighting for a night under the stars.
There was a balcony to the far right of the room, doors open to the ground level, letting in a sweet summer breeze. A table Seff imagined would be along a riverside for romantic lunches was set with place settings, wine glasses, and a lit candle in its center.
Selene pulled out a chair for Seff.
She went to slide into it, but the Luna stopped her with a gentle brush of her hand. “Wait, let me get you something else to wear.” She produced a blue slip from atop the bed. “This will be more comfortable.”
Blessedly the slip was opaque. Seff searched Selene’s face. “Is this your harem’s official outfit?”
Selene’s mouth twitched—in annoyance not at her, but Kiran. “My pack is not required to wear anything they do not feel comfortable in. We all may dress as we wish.”
Yes, she was known for her painfully sheer dresses, but tonight her silk dress was black with a modest neckline that hung to her knees. Her black waterfall of hair was equally straight and shiny as silk, like water’s reflections on a midnight river. A goddess.
Seff turned quickly and shimmied into the slip. It was comfortable and plain, covering more than enough of her privates. She instantly felt more at ease with herself.
She sat down in tandem with Selene, who poured a glass of wine for them both with a bottle that looked decades old. “I stole it from a lord eighty years ago,” she said with a smirk. “Taste.”
Seff obeyed the offer. It touched her tongue and was indeed much better than drugstore wine that was all she could afford. “Delicious,” she said with a genuine smile.
“Perfect. Lona,” Selene called. The Delta came through the door with a large server’s tray. In front of them she set loaded plates of expensive cuts of steak. “Thank you.” At that moment, Seff’s stomach growled. She clutched her middle in absolute embarrassment. Selene only chuckled. “Seff, enjoy.”
In silence—not entirely uncomfortable—the wolves ate their meals. It was gloriously juicy, rich with flavor, but each indulgent bite was a new question piling up in Seff’s mind. When they finished and downed the last sip of wine, Seff opened her mouth.
“You are going to apologize.”
Seff closed her mouth. Selene was looking out the balcony, her expression like the calm before a storm. She seemed to be thinking of something to say next. Finally she exhaled; somehow that was graceful. She turned depthless blue eyes on Seff.
“For hurting my Omega’s sons. Do not be. Ask your next question.”
Seff’s heart was skipping beats. Selene’s demeanor turned crisp; not entirely unkind, but still unyielding. And it took no small amount of courage to ask, “Why me?”
The room seemed to eddy of all noise. Selene’s eyes were doors to her emotions—and they slammed shut. She lifted her chin and looked down her perfectly sloped nose at Seff as if judging her, judging what to say next. Seff held her breath.
“Is your mother or father from the Magnolia pack?”
Seff’s lungs deflated of air like a popped balloon. It was not what she expected and not the answer she was hoping for. But she felt bound to respond, “My mother, Linden.”
“And your father?”
“Alarik Bleize. The Lovell pack.” Her parents had met when her mother decided to take a simple day trip to the next town over, where coincidentally her father did. They fell in love and mated not too long after, Alarik choosing to follow Linden back to her home. It was not illegal or frowned upon for a wolf to switch packs in the case of being soulbound mates. Not long after, Seff’s twin brothers were born. A few years later, along came Seff, a rare single pup.
“What is your mother’s last name?” the Luna pressed.
Is. Present tense. Seff’s heart ached, but confusion kept her on track. “I...I don’t know…”
Though Seff was struck for the very first time how odd that sounded, not to know her mother’s maiden name, but Selene leaned forward on her elbows. “Which pack is she from?”
“The Magnolia.”
Then she leaned back, jaw working. Seff tensed in fear of an outburst. Selene noticed and immediately relaxed. “I’m sorry, Seff. This is just…a mystery.”
“What is? You promised answers.”
Selene nodded. “I did. And I will give them. But first I must ask you…” Her eyes searched Seff’s with such desperate hope that Seff suddenly felt the urge to want to help the female who she had to remind herself killed multiple wolves. “Have you heard the name Calla Amaranth?”
Selene leaned closer, but Seff only shook her head. No, it rang no bells.
She tried not to look disappointed. She looked out the balcony doors again. “I see.” There was a great pause before she asked, almost grudgingly, “What about the name Zinnia?”
How would Seff know any of these names if she didn’t even know her own mother’s? “Luna, I—”
“Call me Selene.”
“Selene,” she amended. “Please, tell me what’s going on.”
She shook her head, her beautiful hair falling over her shoulders. Seff felt a sudden and strange urge to twirl it around her finger. “You just look like someone Kiran and I knew in the past. But our minds are muddled. It gets hard to differentiate face from face after so many years.”
“I’m sorry.”
“No! No, do not be bogged down by our ancient pasts. There’s too much to uncover.” Selene waved a dismissive hand and poured Seff another glass. “All efforts are for naught, aren’t they?”
She said it miserably, this time truly not hiding her inner emotions that were buried deep by her public demeanor. Which was the true Selene? Or was it hard for even her to tell, after almost one hundred and fifty years of life?
“May I still ask questions?” Seff ventured carefully.
“Of course. Contrary to belief, I am a patient female.”
Seff would like to believe her. At that moment, she took her word. “My parents are dead, Selene.”
The Luna’s eyes sparked. “I didn’t know. My condolences.”
“A car crash last year,” she said before she could ask. “It was my fault.”
Selene rested the edge of the glass on her lips, looking over its rim at Seff with soft intent, as if trying to solve a riddle. It was a gaze that Seff felt bowed under. She took to swirling her wine to free herself from it. Though she couldn’t deny…she liked the goddess’s attention. Or was it just the alcohol?
“You really believe that?” Selene asked finally. “It isn’t the point you want to ask about. It’s the point you want me to remember so I stop asking questions. Ask your real question.”
Seff’s heart did a flip and she froze. Surely now Selene would kill her for trying to deceive her—because she was right. Seff didn’t want to talk about her parents or how she seemed to not know simple details about her own family, so she used their deaths to prevent further conversation about them. She felt painfully transparent, stripped by Selene’s gaze.
It was best to not lie as much as possible. “Am I destined to be a slave to Kiran forever?”
The gaze narrowed sharper than a blade and Selene leaned forward abruptly. “No. But I realize that your question is really one you want to ask yourself: “Your friend from the Choosing. You chose Kiran over me because of her. Now you are asking why. ‘Why did I chose Kiran over me?’”
Painfully transparent. Stripped bare, as if Selene could read her thoughts and emotions. Tears burned her throat. “I chose Allium,” she rasped. “And it backfired. In just a few days…” She felt like a complete idiot, trying not to cry in front of an all-powerful immortal Luna. It was loss, fear, anger that made her say next: “I lost everyone I love to that godsdamn Keep.” Seff paused before adding quietly, still not meeting Selene’s heavy eyes, “I’m wondering why I was Chosen. I’m wondering why I chose.”
There. Her heart was bared. It wasn’t every corner of it, but neither was it just the surface layer.
It wasn’t quiet for long this time. “You can always break your ties with them and join my pack.”
Seff’s head jerked up. “What?”
“You heard me,” Selene said, eyes glinting. She was a statue of poise, a promise, an entity to worship for the starry night that she embodied, as smooth and dark as a blessed river.
“If you haven’t mated yet, you haven’t completely sold your soul. If you change allegiance to me, then Kiran can do nothing but watch you walk into a better life for yourself.”
Cut ties with Allium? Could Seff do such a thing? Simply walk from day to night? Or was it really that easy, when she had lost her friend already?
“Or…you could fall in love with him instead.”