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I reached for her hands, stepping closer.

“I know you’re nervous about the ceremony. But what you’re saying doesn't makesense.”

Her wounded expression morphed into a glare as she seemed to realize something new. “So you lied?” she challenged. “You’ve never wanted to leave the compound.”

I sighed, knowing what this was about. It was one specific conversation from years ago, a night when Dad and I had an epic argument over Mom’s death. “That was…” I stammered, unable to find the right words. “No, I didn’t lie. I don’t lie. And no, I don’t want to leave the compound.”

How could she not see the madness in this plan? “Pride and Pack are everything, Selena. You know that. It is my honor and my duty to serve. I don’t intend to abandon my family, my pack, or my home.”

We stood there staring at each other. A stalemate. “Selena, think about this. You don’t really want to leave your family and your home to venture into some foreign world where you’d have to hide who you are, right? It’s one thing to play at human interaction in Half Moon Bay, but leaving the compound to live on your own in a world that is all humans all the time? Who would you even be without your pack?”

I pressed her hands together, folding them in mine. “Listen, the fates are with us. We must have faith in our traditions. The Blue Flower Moon will reveal what we already know, the coupling ceremony will put my father’s concerns to rest and show the entire pack the truth–we are meant to be together. Please, Selena.”

She slid her hands out of mine. For the first time, she didn’t argue, only shook her head numbly. “I think you should go home.”

What was happening? I got that she was struggling with grief and insecurity, but this was too much. The abject dismissal, like she’d already given up on us because I didn’t share her abandonment fantasy, flared a new heat inside of me. One that begged for release, that wanted to storm off and howl into the night. I was dangerously close to erupting, so I stepped back and escaped into the night air.

Outside, I replayed the conversation in my head. It was rude to leave without thanking Terra for the meal and saying goodbye, but my pulse throbbed with frustration. The forest beckoned. I was ready to shift, to pounce and run through the trees. I rounded the corner of the Asher’s house to heed the call, but something stopped me dead in my tracks.

Diana was kneeling on the grass, her face upturned to the moon. She was the picture of serenity. As I watched, her peaceful stillness somehow flowed into me, and the irritation drained from my body.

How could twins be so different? One fiery and flippant. The other steady and tranquil.

She had handled the disagreement with Selena with such control, such grace and dignity, as if she was not also grieving for her father.

I moved slowly, with caution, trying not to disturb Diana. But a misplaced step snapped a twig. Suddenly, she was looking my way.

Busted.

She whipped herself to her feet, a warrior at the ready.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to intrude,” I said, raising my hands in a peaceful gesture. Diana relaxed.

“I hate that Selena said those things to you. It was definitely undeserved.”

She drew into herself, looking at the ground. “She is in pain, and people in pain say things they don’t mean. I forgive her.”

I took another step toward her in wonder. “How can you be so calm about everything?”

Her eyes flickered up to meet mine, and for a spellbinding moment, I realized everything about her. She was calm on the outside because she must be, but inside she was a tangle of more. She was a puzzle, a tantalizing labyrinth of strength and power and something else I could not quite fathom. I loved puzzles.

She looked away, the trees capturing her gaze for the moment. “I strive to be a great warrior for the pack, and the best warrior controls their anger.” When she turned to meet my gaze again, she had a half smirk on her face. “Unless you’re Jesse, of course.”

“Of course!” I mimicked Jesse’s bravado, “The greatest of them all!”

“Just ask him,” she quipped.

We laughed together, and the last of my remaining anger ebbed away.

Selena might have been fire, but Diana was a vast ocean, with all its healing power. In her sparkling eyes, I could see the moon and stars dance just beyond our grasp. I could smell the salty breeze of the sea blowing in from the coast.

A sudden urge seized me, and before I realized it, my face angled in her direction, like her tide drawing me closer, a siren beckoning me to the sea.

But a flicker of flame stopped me.Selena. I pulled back just in time, before I could complete the betrayal. Diana’s eyes were wide, and I realized I’d probably overwhelmed or frightened her with my advances.

Words tangled on my tongue, but I managed to choke out, “Have a good evening.” Then I fled to my Jeep.

DIANA