Selene felt something different about herself the moment she woke up. A low groan escaped her lips as she stirred. There was an unfamiliar sensation that overwhelmed her and prickled her senses.
Then in an instant, she sat up, the world tilting slightly as she adjusted to the sudden influx of sensations.
Her hands instinctively flew to her neck as memories flooded in to her head leaving her no chance to forget.
She looked around the large room in fear feeling the weight and ache of unused muscles pulling her back.
"Am I in paradise ?" She croaked to herself.
Her eyes darted around the room.
It was vast, opulent, and utterly foreign. The walls were draped in rich velvet, the floor was a mosaic of marble and precious stones, and the furniture was a collection of antique pieces that spoke of wealth and power.
Earthly possessions, she thought to herself.
"Definitely not paradise then." She realized sadly.
Then her eyes settled on a large mirror placed at the far end of the room.
Fighting weakness, Selene dragged herself to the mirror and disappointment clouded her as she stared back at her reflection.
She looked exactly the same.
Bald, Pale white and worst of all still dressed in her engagement dress.
Memories of her engagement night flashed
in her head starting from the nightmare that had occurred in her room when she was almost raped and ending with the dark look in Lyall's eyes before he killed her.
Again, her hands went to her neck. She could feel pain but she was completely healed. Again, death had failed her.
But Unlike the first wake after death, she felt a new surge of energy. She felt different and reborn.
Perhaps this was a message from the goddess, telling her that she was not ready to die. Telling her that her goal could be achieved after all.
"But where am I?" She asked herself starting to wander around weakly.
Then she noticed the mosaic on the wall.
The River Crest.
Panic gripped Selene's heart as she took in the swirling waters depicted in blue and green, seeming to flow across the surface.
"No. No. No." She said to herself as she staggered back. "I can't be here."
Though her father had tried to filter the books that Selene read, it was impossible to conceal writings of the river pack from her.
Varon would sneak books to her each time he returned from his travels and there she read about the history of the secluded park of the realm.
"Anywhere but here." She repeated as it dawned on her that she was in danger yet again.
Was this because she called death on herself? It would have been better for her to die anywhere else but here. She was aware that this was the enemy's territory.
Not just any enemy in fact….
"You're Awake!" A cool deep voice sliced through her thoughts.
"Aarghh!" Selene screamed shortly at the deep voice.
She turned and saw dark eyes digging deep in to her as well as noticing the huge man standing a few feet away from her.
In the single moment that the pair of dark eyes met the blue ones, there was a burst of attraction and overwhelming energy.
Zephyr felt his whole body awaken all over again and the air crackled with an energy he hadn't felt before, a strange mix of anticipation, awe and yearning.
"Who are you?" Zephyr asked coldly.
His voice was deep and demanding making Selene place her hands firmly on the shelf she was hiding behind.
In one moment, Zephyr walked swiftly to her.
He moved with a grace that spoke of a wild, untamed spirit, yet there was an undeniable elegance to his movements, a hint of something powerful.
Selene gasped in shock when he roughly grabbed her in to his arms.
Despite her fear, a sense of completion washed over her, her instincts responding to something primal within him.
Time seemed to slow, the world fading away as she drank him in. Every line of his face, every curve of his body, was etched into her memory.
He was tall, impossibly so, with broad shoulders that hinted at his strength. His hair was the color of midnight, a stark contrast to the milky skin that seemed to glow. But it was his eyes that held Selene captive.
Beautiful dark eyes that revealed darkness and hatred like he knew who she was already.
"Who are you?" He asked in a more forceful tone.
Selene shivered in his grasp, her mind racing as she thought of what to say.
"Tell me now!" He growled shaking her roughly.
"I don't know!" She blurted out with her heart pounding. "I don't know who I am or where I am."
"Then why are you scared?" He asked as if reading her soul.
"Because you are scary." She retorted, finding the courage to meet his gaze defiantly. "Who are you?"
She sensed a power radiating from him, a force that both terrified and intrigued her.
She didn't know who this man was but he seemed to awaken senses in her that she thought herself incapable of feeling. She could also sense some sort of power he had.
The tension between them was palpable, even to Zephyr.
Her glassy blue eyes seemed to pierce his own, touching something deep within his empty soul.
Zephyr's gaze swept over her making her feel small.
He studied her intently, his gaze lingering...
And then he saw it.
The dark caricature of a crown etched on her arm.
Zephyr froze, surprise giving way to a surge of pure, unadulterated hatred.
The Royal Mark.
Memories, dark and violent, flooded his mind. With a roar that shook the very foundations of the room, he threw her from him.
Selene crashed against the wall, collapsing in a heap.