THE ALPHA'S FORBIDDEN FLAME.

Talia's POV

Restlessness is a quiet kind of torture.

It doesn't scream.

It doesn't hurt loudly.

It just sits inside your chest and slowly eats away at you.

That was how I felt.

Trapped.

I spent most of my days in my room now. The same walls. The same window. The same view of the trees I wasn't allowed to walk into.

Guards stood outside my door day and night, pretending they weren't there, pretending I wasn't a prisoner.

I stopped asking to go out.

The answer was always no.

At first, I tried to distract myself. I wrote in my journal. I read old books Ingrid brought me. I helped her with housekeeping.

But even Ingrid couldn't save me from boredom forever.

Conversation became repetitive. Silence stretched longer. And every time she left, the room felt smaller.

Ramon was nowhere to be seen.

And honestly? Wherever he was, he could stay there.

After our argument, I didn't want to see his face. I didn't want to hear his calm voice or his rules disguised as concern. I didn't want him looking at me like I was fragile glass waiting to shatter.

I hated that he was right about the danger.

And I hated even more that his protection felt exactly like a cage.

One afternoon, I sat on the edge of my bed, staring at the door like it might open on its own if I glared hard enough.

That was when I heard voices.

Soft.

Right outside my door.

I leaned closer, my heart picking up speed.

"...she hasn't been outside in days," a woman's voice said.

I knew that voice.

Selene.

"She's safer this way," a guard replied.

"Safe doesn't always mean alive," Selene said sharply. "You wolves forget that."

There was a pause.

"I'll speak with her," she added. "She needs someone who isn't afraid of her questions."

The guards hesitated, then the door knocked.

I opened it myself.

Selene stood there, her dark hair loose around her shoulders, her expression soft but serious.

For a second, we just looked at each other.

Then I stepped aside. "Please come in."

She glanced at the guards once more before entering.

The door closed behind her.

I exhaled deeply. "Thank you."

She smiled faintly. "You look like someone who hasn't seen the sky in a while."

"That obvious?" I muttered.

She sat on the chair near the window while I remained standing, pacing like a restless animal.

"I feel like I'm losing my mind," I admitted. "I can't go anywhere. I can't breathe without someone watching me."

She nodded slowly. "Ramon thinks he's protecting you."

"I know," I snapped. "That doesn't make it okay."

"No," she agreed quietly. "It doesn't."

I stopped pacing and stared at her. "Why are you here, Selene?"

She met my eyes without flinching. "Because I remember what it feels like to be silenced for someone else's fear."

Something about that made my chest tighten.

We talked for a while. About small things. About the pack. About how strange wolf politics were. She had a dry sense of humor that surprised me, and for the first time in days, I laughed.

But eventually, the silence crept back in.

And with it, the question I couldn't stop thinking about.

"Selene," I said slowly, "tell me the truth."

She stiffened slightly. "About what?"

"About Ramon," I said. "And the rogues."

Her gaze dropped to her hands.

That scared me.

"They sent a message because of me," I continued. "That's what he said. But this war didn't start with me, did it?"

She didn't answer right away.

"Selene," I pressed.

She inhaled slowly. "No. It didn't."

My heart sank. "Then why?"

She looked up at me, and something dark passed through her eyes.

"Because Ramon made a promise," she said. "And broke it."

The room felt colder.

"What kind of promise?"

She hesitated, then spoke anyway. "He promised marriage to the sister of the rogue wolf."

I felt like the floor shifted beneath me.

"What?"

"She was young," Selene continued. "She was strong and loyal. She believed in him. But he used her and when he was done, he discarded her like trash."

My throat went dry. "You're saying he... used her?"

"She was pregnant, Talia," Selene said softly. "With his child."

The words slammed into me.

"No," I whispered. "That's not.....he wouldn't....."

"He left her," Selene said. "Abandoned her. No explanation. No protection."

My hands began to shake.

"And when the child was born?" I asked.

Selene's jaw tightened. "The child died. So did the sister."

I felt sick.

"That's why the rogue pack wants blood," she continued. "Not territory. Not power. But Justice."

I backed away slowly, my chest tight, my thoughts spinning wildly.

"That doesn't sound like the man I know," I said, more to myself than to her.

Selene's eyes sharpened. "You don't know him, Talia. Not really."

I swallowed hard. "He told me he wouldn't take what I didn't choose. He said he wouldn't force me."

"Did he choose for her?" Selene asked quietly.

Silence swallowed the room.

My heart was racing now, confusion tearing me apart.

"Why would he do that?" I whispered.

"Because he's an Alpha," she replied. "And Alphas make decisions that destroy lives."

I shook my head. "That's not fair."

"Neither was abandoning a pregnant woman," Selene snapped.

Pain flashed across her face before she quickly masked it.

I stared at her. "Why are you telling me this?"

She stood slowly. "Because you deserve the truth. Because if you're going to stay here, you should know who you're trusting."

My chest burned.

I didn't know what to believe anymore.

Ramon the protector.

Ramon the liar.

Ramon the man who kissed me like I mattered.

And now this.

Selene walked toward the door. "Think carefully, Talia. Wolves don't forget betrayal."

She reached for the handle.

Then froze.

Her eyes widened slightly.

I turned slowly.

Ramon stood just outside the door.

His face was stone.

His eyes were locked on Selene.

"How long," he asked quietly, "were you planning to poison her with lies?"

My blood ran cold.

Selene's hand trembled on the handle.

And in that moment, I realized.....

This wasn't just a story.

It was a war of truths.

And I was standing right in the middle of it.