Chapter 27: Chapter 27

LUXURY

Heat.

Raw and merciless, curling around me, pressing against my skin like a second layer.

It wasn’t just fire.

It was alive.

It moved like a living thing, shifting, twisting, hunting. Every time I lunged, it burned hotter, searing through the air, an inferno given form.

I had fought monsters before.

But not like this.

Not blind against something that didn’t even have a scent.

My strength had never been in my eyes.

I had never needed them to fight, to rule, to survive. I had learned early—by necessity, by force—that the world could be navigated through other means. Sound. Scent. Vibration.

But this—this was different.

This thing, this fire-wolf, didn’t breathe.

Didn’t have a heart.

Didn’t make a sound.

It was just heat.

Roaring, shifting, endless heat.

I could hear the fire crackling, feel the waves of unbearable warmth licking at my fur, but every time I moved, every time I tried to anticipate where it would strike next, it shifted—always faster than I could react.

It was toying with me.

Pushing me back.

Burning the oxygen from the air itself.

A vicious snarl ripped from my throat as I lunged again, my fangs snapping around nothing. My paws barely found traction before the heat surged, forcing me to dodge, to retreat, to struggle.

I hated it.

Hated how helpless I felt, how every instinct inside me was screaming, wrong, wrong, wrong.

I had no strategy, no way to track it.

It was everywhere.

And I had no idea how the hell I was supposed to kill something I couldn’t even touch.

Then—a ~second~ presence hit the clearing.

A weight, solid and real, landing beside me with a force that sent vibrations through the dirt.

A scent.

Wild. Familiar.

Selene.

Her growl rolled through the air, deep and lethal, vibrating through my ribcage. I didn’t have to see her to know what she looked like.

Massive.

Larger than any wolf in this pack.

A force of pure will.

She had found her strength.

And she had come for me.

Something inside me steadied.

The fire raged, but I wasn’t alone anymore.

She moved before I did, her claws scraping against the earth as she charged. A snarl ripped from her throat as she lunged, her massive jaws snapping down on the fire wolf’s shoulder—

And it reacted.

For the first time.

A blast of heat roared outward as the fire-wolf shook, twisting violently as though it felt her.

I heard the change.

The first weakness.

Selene wrenched back, snarling as she landed beside me, her fur singed, but not burned through.

She could touch it.

A plan clicked into place.

I lunged at the same time she did.

Together.

Selene slammed into the fire beast’s side as I struck low, snapping my teeth at what should have been nothing—but it wasn’t.

It shuddered.

It fought back.

It had a core.

And if it could fight, if it could react—

It could bleed.

Selene struck again, her fangs latching onto its leg, dragging it toward the ground. I lunged for its throat, aiming for the place where a wolf’s pulse would be—

The fire howled.

The heat grew brighter, more violent, as if the creature knew it was dying. Its form flickered, shifting between shape and nothingness, its body no longer holding together under the force of our attack.

Selene’s growl rumbled beside me, her massive form moving with precise, brutal force. I felt her shift with me, our attacks synchronized, our bond pulsing stronger with every strike.

We were winning.

We were breaking it.

And then—a voice.

Low. Cold. Twisting through my mind like smoke.

~You think this is victory, boy~?

I froze.

Because I knew that voice.

I had heard it my entire life.

My father.

His laughter slithered through my skull, thick with something ancient, something wrong.

~You have always been weak, Luxury. Even now, you fight blindly, like a fool. Just as I made you~.

My blood turned to ice.

The fire wolf lunged, knocking me backward. I felt the heat graze my ribs, scorching my fur, but I barely registered the pain.

Because my father’s voice did not stop.

~You were never meant to be whole~.

The realization hit me like a punch to the ribs.

This wasn’t just a test.

This wasn’t just a curse.

His spirit was here. Bound to the land.

Selene snarled, her fangs snapping at the fire wolf’s throat, tearing through its flickering form. It shrieked, flames splitting, embers scattering like dying stars.

But my father’s voice laughed.

The fire wasn’t just fire.

It was him.

His legacy. His power.

Madame Verda’s chanting rose, her voice breaking into something shrill, something frantic.

Then—she screamed.

“This runs deeper!”

Selene’s wolf hesitated for only a fraction of a second before lunging again, refusing to stop. I forced myself back into the fight, snapping at the fire wolf’s hind leg, dragging it down with sheer strength.

Madame Verda’s voice cut through the night like a blade.

“He was cursed before he was even born!”

The words sent a pulse of something violent through my chest.

I couldn’t breathe.

Couldn’t think.

The fire wolf shrieked, struggling, flickering in and out of existence.

Selene growled, her body pressed against mine, but I was spiraling.

The witch’s voice turned raw, urgent.

“He did this to you, Alpha!” she cried. “Your father tainted you before you even left your mother’s womb!”

The fire exploded, sending a blast of unbearable heat through the clearing.

The memories came fast.

Flashes. Fragments.

The rituals. The ones my father performed before I was even born.

The blood. The sacrifices.

Not for power.

For control.

For a legacy.

For a son who would never see the truth of what he had done.

I had been blind because he had made me this way.

Because his rituals had cursed his own blood.

I snarled, rage clawing up my throat.

Selene was already moving, already attacking, but I wasn’t thinking anymore.

I was done.

Done fighting my father’s battles.

Done living in the cage he built around me.

Done suffering for his sins.

With a roar, I lunged for the fire wolf’s throat, sinking my teeth deep into its burning flesh. The flames licked at my muzzle, seared my fur, but I didn’t let go.

I held on.

Selene struck a heartbeat later, her own teeth latching onto its back, ripping at the embers, at the magic that kept it alive.

The fire wolf thrashed.

It screamed.

And for the first time—

It felt fear.

The magic in the air shifted.

It broke.

The flames burst outward, collapsing, the heat vanishing in an instant.

The fire-wolf was gone.

And so was my father’s voice.

Silence crashed into the clearing and darkness swallowed me whole.

***

I woke to the sound of my own breath.

Slow. Unsteady.

I felt the warmth of the blankets, the steady rise and fall of my chest. My body ached, the remnants of the ritual clinging to my muscles like ghosts, but something else felt…wrong.

Or maybe—different.

I blinked.

And froze.

Shapes.

Light.

Color.

Blurry, shifting, unfamiliar—but there.

I sucked in a breath, my pulse slamming into my ribs.

I turned my head slightly, and the world moved with me. The dark, undefined shapes around me blurred into one another, shadow and dimness pressing against something brighter, something golden.

I saw it.

Not in the way I was used to—by scent, by sound, by vibration—but with my eyes.

My hands shook as I slowly lifted them, staring at my own fingers. They were hazy, unfocused, but I could see them.

I could see.

A sharp breath tore from my throat, too fast, too shallow.

I wasn’t supposed to—this wasn’t—

I squeezed my eyes shut. Opened them again.

The colors remained.

Still unfamiliar. Still wrong. But real.

I turned my head again, my breath catching.

There was something beside me.

No—someone.

A body. Warm. Curled under the covers.

Dark hair, long and spilling over the pillows in soft waves. Skin, soft.

I didn’t need to see her to know who she was.

Selene.

The scent of her wrapped around me, grounding, centering. But it was the fact that I could see her that made my pulse stutter.

She was blurred, but her shape—her presence—was more than just something I felt.

I saw her.

My breath came in uneven gasps, my fingers twitching against the sheets as my mind struggled to understand.

I didn’t know what I was looking at.

Didn’t have the words for it.

But it was there.

A choked sound slipped from my lips. My chest ached, my mind spiraling between shock and panic.

This wasn’t possible.

It shouldn’t be possible.

I had been blind my entire life.

My throat tightened as I clenched my hands into fists, pressing them against my ribs. My heart was pounding, the sound of it deafening in my ears.

Breathe.

Breathe.

A soft inhale beside me.

I stiffened.

Selene shifted, her body stretching, her breathing deep and slow as she woke. I felt the moment she turned toward me, still caught between sleep and waking.

Then—

She sat up.

And I knew the second she noticed.

I heard her breath hitch, felt her energy shift.

Her voice, barely above a whisper.

“…Lux?”

I swallowed hard, not trusting myself to speak.

She sat up further, and suddenly, she was closer.

I could see the way she moved, the way the shape of her changed. Her head tilted, as if she were watching me, studying me.

And then—

A sound.

Soft. Choked.

I didn’t understand what was happening until the scent of salt hit my nose.

She was crying.

Her hands flew to my face, warm fingers cupping my cheeks, thumbs brushing against my skin. I tensed, unsure what to do, how to react—until she whispered, breathless and raw—

“Your eyes.”

My body locked up.

I felt her shift, her thumbs moving along my cheekbones, her breath uneven.

“They’re…” She sucked in a shaky breath. “They’re blue.”

My pulse stopped.

I had never known the color of my own eyes.

Never needed to.

But the way she said it—like it was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen—

It made something in me break.

A shudder ripped through me. My throat tightened so hard I could barely breathe.

Her hands were still on my face, but her voice was thick with emotion.

“Lux,” she whispered, shaking her head like she couldn’t believe it. Like she was the one who had seen a miracle.

I inhaled sharply.

And then—I broke.

A sob tore from my chest, raw and sudden, shaking my entire body.

Selene gasped softly, but she didn’t pull away.

Didn’t let go.

She held me as I shattered, as my entire world unraveled in the space of a breath.

I had never known what light looked like.

Had never known color.

But now—

I could see her.

And I didn’t know how to process it.