C10 Ten

Selena’s POV

I sat on the wrecked couch, in the same trashed living room, holding a crying Mia.

She was the blonde girl Ethan had been with earlier, the one I’d somehow also learned was his “girlfriend.”

I had to throw in air quotes, big ones, because Ethan was basically a walking red flag. Not that it mattered at the moment. Right now, all that mattered were her trembling shoulders.

Her little brother, Matt, was the body we’d found outside, torn up like… Jane.

Mia sobbed harder, digging her fingers into the front of my shirt–Adrian’s shirt ugh–while I rubbed her back, whispering, “You’re okay, honey… everything’s going to be fine.”

Lies.

Nothing about this shit was even close to okay.

When we first came back inside after finding the body, the whole house was in chaos. Word had clearly spread, because everyone who’d stayed over was either screaming, crying, or full-on panicking.

Adrian ordered everyone to go home, just to get a bit of control over the situation. Once the house cleared, it was only a matter of time before the cops arrived. Adrian and Ethan were now outside, talking to them.

Finally, the front door opened. They walked back in, looking super tense with tight jaws, stiff shoulders, and really serious faces.

Mia’s head jerked up instantly. “W-what did they say? D-did the police know who killed him?”

Adrian shook his head. “No. But they think it’s a wild animal, a stray dog even.”

I rolled my eyes at him. This again? Seriously? Humans and their amazing detective skills.

Ethan ran a hand over the back of his neck. “They asked for security footage, but I told them it’s been down for a while now.”

Mia’s face fell. “I-I never should have thrown the party. If I’d kept an eye on Matt like Mom and Dad told me to, instead of throwing a party, this-this wouldn’t have–“

Her voice broke off completely, and she collapsed into a full-body sob, burying her face in my shoulder.

Ethan immediately rushed over and carefully pulled her into his arms. “Hey, hey… no. No, baby. Don’t do that. Not your fault, okay? You hear me? None of this is your fault.”

She shook hard, gripping his shirt. “What am I supposed to tell Mom and Dad when they get back in two days, Ethan? How-how do I even start?”

Ethan held her tighter. “I know… I’m so sorry. But you’re not alone, okay? I’m here with you, and I’m not going anywhere.”

Seeing Mia like this ripped my heart into a thousand pieces. It yanked me right back to Jane’s death, to the broken version of myself staring at her lifeless body, and suddenly fury was coursing through me.

My line of vision shifted to Adrian, leaning quietly against the wall, seemingly lost in thought, and my blood boiled hotter by the second. This was all on him. Every single damn bit of it.

‘Don’t, Lena,’ Issa whispered in a weak voice, still shaken from earlier.

‘Don’t what?’ I asked in my head.

‘Whatever you’re about to start… don’t. Now’s really not a good time.’

‘There’s never a good time, Issa.’

She tried to speak again, but I blocked her out, letting fury see me gently stroke Mia’s hair.

“You know…” I said too calmly, “none of this would be happening if some people actually listened when they were warned.”

Adrian slowly turned his head toward me. His grey eyes were storms ready to tear the roof off.

“And what exactly is that supposed to mean?” he asked, too quietly.

I shrugged, pretending not to notice the tension thickening the air. “Oh, nothing at all. Just pointing out that ignoring things usually leads to… worse stuff.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I caught Mia and Ethan watching us with wide eyes, trying to make sense of what the hell was happening…and where it was headed.

Adrian pushed from the wall and took two unhurried steps toward me. “If you’ve got something to say, mother… it’s best to spit it out. No one’s in the mood for a slow, wrinkly‑old-lady hemming and hawing.”

My jaw ticked at his words, and of course he caught it. When I stayed silent, the asshole actually smirked. “That’s what I thought,” he muttered, turning away.

Nope.

Hell. No.

Absolutely NOT.

I stood. “Actually? Yeah. I do have something to say, son.”

Ethan quietly whispered, “Doc… don’t—”

Too late, because I was already pushing toward Adrian.

“I WARNED you,” I snapped. “At the facility. I told you a rogue wolf attacked Jane. The claws, the bites, all of it, same damn thing. And you brushed me off like the arrogant prick you are.”

Adrian slowly faced me again, eyes burning violently. I planted myself right in front of him, glaring up at him.

“And now look,” I continued, my chest flaming up. “Someone else is dead. Because you couldn’t be bothered to pull your head out of your own ass long enough to take a warning seriously.”

Ethan whispered under his breath, “Oh, this is bad…”

I didn’t stop for a second.

“How many more people need to die before you actually do something about it? Huh? Before you stop pretending you know everything?”

Adrian’s jaw clenched so hard I thought I might have heard it crack.

“And let me add one more thing,” I stepped closer–one more step and we’d be chest to chest… okay, chest to stomach since he’s at least a foot taller. “Your father? He was more of an Alpha than you’ll EVER be.”

Silence fell over the room like a wet blanket. Everyone could feel it. I’d just crushed his ego, and he knew it.

One thing I noticed right from day one was that… Adrian Holt hated being compared to his father. Money, leadership, reputation–he wanted it all on his own terms and never let anyone touch that sore spot.

And here I was, poking it without a second thought. I was well aware that I was treading dangerous waters, but I had zero fucks left to give. He needed to be knocked off his high horse.

Grey eyes drilled into mine, hard enough to scare anyone else in my spot. Me? I didn’t so much as blink, I was way too pissed for that shit, so I held his glare, matching him perfectly.

The glaring contest dragged on forever before he finally spun on his heel and stormed out, slamming the front door so hard a picture frame flew off the wall and shattered.

Mia flinched. “W-wolves?” she whispered shakily. “Miss Selena… is that what you’re saying killed my brother?”

Shit. I’d been so caught up in all the Adrian bullshit that I totally forgot she was still here.

Ethan’s eyes widened in their sockets. “Mia, baby–don’t say that. Don’t even—”

“Ethan,” she sobbed, gripping his arms. “Tell me the truth. Tell me what’s happening. Please.”

“Mia, it’s–listen, don’t worry about t-that right now,” Ethan stuttered, avoiding her eyes. “Please. Just… don’t think about it.”

She kept asking, he kept dodging, and me? I was so DONE. Quickly gathering up all my stuff, I slammed on my heels, clenched my teeth and said, “I’m leaving.”

Ethan glanced at me desperately. “Doc, wait–just give us a sec—”

“Nope. I’m done with this house. I’m done with this conversation. I’m done with all of you.”

I stormed out wearing Adrian’s shirt like a fricking idiot, didn’t look back, didn’t breathe until I slammed my car door, and only then did it dawn on me that Ethan and Mia hadn’t even noticed the huge-ass–thankfully no longer glowing–mate mark on my neck, which the shirt did absolutely nothing to conceal. Small victory, I guess, in the middle of this entire shitshow.

When I finally slammed my front door behind me, the rage eased up just enough for me to step into our room, but I stilled the moment a sweet, floral scent hit me. Her scent.

My eyes went straight to Jane’s corner, where clothes were scattered across the floor, books stacked all crooked, her shoes kicked to the side, and her favorite pink blanket folded neatly on the bed, like she was still here. And without even realizing it, I drifted toward that corner.

All the beautiful memories I’d shared with her came rushing back at once as I collapsed onto her bed, clutching her blanket to my chest and ugly-sobbing until my chest physically hurt.

When I finally stopped shaking, I washed my face, took a shower, changed, and sat on my bed trying to figure out what the hell to do next. Adrian clearly wasn’t going to do jack shit until more bodies dropped, so it looked like I was alone in this.

The sound of my phone pinging broke my train of thought. I picked it up, expecting nothing good, and, surprise, it was a message notification from Elder Jafar.

What now?

I tapped it open and my jaw just about fell off my face.