Chapter 6 C6

The air split with the sharp crack of gunfire. Bullets slammed into the armored frame of the luxury car, making the entire vehicle shudder. Selene's pulse raced, but her mind was clearer than it had ever been. The old her, the naïve, helpless girl who clung to false love, was gone.

She glanced sideways. Damian leaned heavily against the seat, one hand pressed to his chest. His veins darkened with the telltale marks of wolfsbane poisoning, the corruption creeping faster through his system than even her medical knowledge had prepared her for. He was strong, too strong to collapse like this unless he'd ingested a deadly dose.

Wolfsbane. Lilith's poison again. She won't rest until she owns everything I've lost.

"Damian," she whispered sharply, gripping his wrist. His storm-gray eyes flickered open, meeting hers through the haze of pain. Even in this state, he was terrifying, his presence radiated authority, restrained only by the chains of the poison burning through him.

"You... shouldn't be here," he rasped. "Run."

Her jaw clenched. In her first life, she had done exactly that-run, hide, pretend to be weak until the world trampled her into dust. But this time...

Selene's lips curved into a smile, sharp and dangerous. "No. I told you already, I'm not prey anymore."

The car door burst open, and masked assassins swarmed in like shadows. Their eyes glowed faintly, wolves forced into submission by whoever commanded them. One lunged first, a blade flashing in the dim light.

Selene moved before she thought. Her wolf, sealed by Lilith's sorcery, still howled inside her veins, but she didn't need claws or fangs, she had her training, her instincts, and the cold fire of revenge that sharpened her every move.

She grabbed the assassin's wrist, twisting sharply until the blade clattered to the ground. A swift kick to his chest sent him sprawling back into two more. Another came from the side, swinging a club toward her skull. She ducked, her body moving with the agility she'd honed in secret in her past life, back when she still believed she had a future worth fighting for.

Behind her, Damian stirred, forcing himself upright. His aura, even poisoned, surged with enough force to make the air heavy. The assassins faltered, their steps uncertain. His voice was a growl, thick with pain yet unyielding.

"She's mine. Touch her and you'll beg for death."

The assassins hesitated only a heartbeat before attacking again, emboldened by numbers. Selene leapt into the fray, each movement fueled by the memory of her broken legs, her father's empty eyes under Lilith's spell, the bitter taste of betrayal in her final breath.

Never again. I'll never be the one bleeding on the floor while they laugh. She thought to herself.

She seized a fallen blade, her grip firm, and slashed across the thigh of an oncoming wolf. He howled, collapsing. Another lunged from behind, but Damian intercepted, his hand closing around the man's throat. Even poisoned, he snapped the assassin's neck with a single brutal twist.

Selene's breath came fast, but adrenaline surged through her veins. Side by side, she and Damian cut through their attackers, their movements rough but strangely in sync as if some unseen bond was pulling them together.

Then, just as suddenly as it began, the assault stopped. The remaining assassins drew back, forming a loose circle. Their leader, a tall figure cloaked in black, lifted a hand, signaling them to hold.

Selene narrowed her eyes. The man's presence was wrong, too calm, too deliberate. He hadn't come to kill. Not yet though.

"You've improved, Selene," the figure said, his voice smooth, mocking. "In another timeline, you'd be broken on the floor by now."

Her breath hitched. That voice....she knew it.

How? How could he know about another life?

Damian stepped in front of her, shielding her even as his body swayed under the wolfsbane's toll. His growl was low and lethal. "Say another word, and I'll tear your throat out."

The cloaked man only chuckled, then signaled retreat. The assassins melted back into the night like smoke, vanishing as quickly as they'd come.

Selene's grip on the bloodied blade tightened. Her heart pounded not from fear, but from rage and the gnawing certainty that the past was not as simple as she'd believed.

Damian collapsed to one knee, his strength finally giving way. Selene caught him, her smaller frame struggling but refusing to let him fall.

"Don't you dare die on me," she whispered fiercely, her throat tight. "Not you. Not this time."

His storm-gray eyes flickered with faint amusement even as his body trembled. "You sound... like you've done this before."

Her lips parted, but no answer came. Because for the first time since her rebirth, Selene realized she wasn't the only one carrying secrets from another life.

She froze, staring into Damian's half-lidded eyes as he whispered hoarsely, "We've met before... haven't we, mate?"