The attack came at night.
Not rogues.
Assassins.
Professional.
Silent.
Fast.
Lucien sensed them first.
"Inside. Now."
Too late.
The first attacker dropped from the roof.
Second from the shadows.
Third from behind.
They weren't trying to capture me.
They were trying to kill me.
My mark exploded.
But something was wrong.
Too many attackers.
Too fast.
My control slipped.
Energy surged wildly.
Walls cracked.
Windows shattered.
I heard Lucien shout my name.
But I couldn't stop it.
Power kept rising.
Burning.
Growing.
I couldn't breathe.
I couldn't control it.
Then—
A hand grabbed my face.
Firm.
Grounding.
Kaiden.
"Look at me."
My vision focused.
Gray eyes.
Commanding.
Steady.
"Breathe with me."
In.
Out.
In.
Out.
My power began stabilizing.
Lucien eliminated the last attacker.
Silence fell.
Kaiden didn't move his hand immediately.
Neither did I.
Then Lucien cleared his throat.
Kaiden stepped back.
Professional again.
"What were they?" I asked quietly.
Lucien answered:
"Darius."
Kaiden nodded.
"First assassination attempt."
My stomach dropped.
"First?"
Kaiden met my eyes.
"Yes."
That meant more were coming.
Lucien added:
"This is why alliances exist."
I finally understood.
This wasn't about pride anymore.
This was survival politics.
And I was now officially part of Alpha war strategy.
Which meant one thing:
There was no going back to being just Selene.