Magnus had just finished feeding me. I was lying on his chest as he gently stroked my back. The warmth of his touch and his steady heartbeat calmed me. After venting all my frustration earlier, I decided to let go of my anger and forgive him. However, the thought of Selene staying in the palace still made me uneasy.
I hesitated for a moment before speaking. "Magnus, what happened to Selene's parents after the fire?"
He sighed deeply. "Her parents weren't at home when the fire happened, and they're still missing. We've been searching for them but haven't found any leads yet."
Hearing that didn't ease my mind. I sighed heavily. Something about all of this felt off, and I couldn't shake the feeling.
"Is there no other place she could stay?" I asked cautiously, trying to hide my discomfort.
Magnus shifted slightly beneath me. "She told me she has no one else. Selene said she was kidnapped ten years ago and sold into slavery. She claimed she barely managed to escape and come back here. She also mentioned that I'm still her mate, but because we never mated, the bond didn't last long."
I frowned at his words. "Slavery?" I whispered to myself. Something didn't add up. Selene didn't act like someone who had been through years of trauma. Instead, she carried herself with confidence, even arrogance. How could someone who supposedly endured so much pain focus on dragging me into a competition for Magnus?
Pieces of the puzzle swirled in my mind: her missing parents, the strange black liquid I'd found in her room, and now her story of slavery that didn't match her behavior. I didn't trust her, and the more I thought about it, the more uneasy I felt.