The halls of the Mooncrest mansion were quieter than usual, like the stone itself was holding its breath. After the rogue attack, the pack moved with hushed urgency, a heavy tension woven into the air like smoke.
Warriors sharpened blades they'd already bloodied. Patrols doubled. Even the younger wolves kept their laughter tucked behind tight mouths.
But more than fear hovered in the air.
It was her name — murmured too softly to confront, spoken just loud enough to haunt.
Selene felt their stares as she passed — piercing, speculative, some laced with confusion… others, with something darker.
She kept her head high, though her stomach twisted with each step.
They hadn't seen Kael since the attack. But everyone knew she had helped him. That she had brought the Alpha back, bloodied and wounded, cradled by the mate no one had wanted. And that truth spread like fire, feeding rumors and unspoken questions.
She hated the eyes most of all.
The ones that now looked at her not with mockery, but with wary curiosity. Like they had seen something shift in her and weren't sure whether to challenge it or fear it.
Selene did her best to ignore them. She buried herself in tasks, helped where she could, and avoided the east wing entirely — the Alpha's territory.
She hadn't seen him since that night. Not at meals. Not even from a distance.
Not even to explain what nearly happened between them.
And maybe that should have made it easier. Maybe she should have been relieved.
But every time she passed the windows that faced the woods, her eyes searched for a glimpse of him.
Every time she closed her eyes, she still felt the heat of his skin under her fingertips. The moment he had leaned in, the weight of his stare, the magnetic pull of his body to hers.
The moment he stopped — and left her cold.
It hadn't meant anything.
That's what she told herself.
It meant nothing.
Until the knock came.
She had been sitting on the edge of her bed, combing her damp hair with slow, distracted strokes when the firm rapping made her jump. Her heart leapt into her throat as she opened the door.
A guard stood there, posture rigid, expression unreadable.
"He's asking for you," he said simply.
She stared at him for a heartbeat too long, her chest tightening. "Now?"
He nodded once. "He said immediately."
She followed the guard without a word, her hands clammy against her sides, her pulse pounding in her ears.
Why now? After all this silence? After that near-kiss, after that cold dismissal?
The Alpha's chamber loomed before her like a fortress — thick oak door carved with the Mooncrest sigil, guards posted at either side. She paused at the threshold, then stepped inside.
The room was dim, shadows pooling in the corners like secrets. A single oil lamp on the desk flickered low, casting golden light across the floor.
Kael stood with his back to her, facing the fireplace. His shirt hung over the edge of a nearby chair — discarded. Bare-chested, he looked like something torn from a war tale, his torso wrapped in clean bandages that ran diagonally across the fresh wound on his side. The raw gash pulsed with heat, angry with no attempt to heal.
Her breath caught despite herself.
He didn't turn. "Close the door."
She did.
For a moment, silence.
She stood just inside the room, unsure if she was meant to speak, to move, to breathe.
Finally, his voice cut through the stillness — low, careful. "I owe you thanks."
Selene blinked, unsure she'd heard right.
"For what you did," he added. "Out there."
She swallowed. "You're welcome," she said softly, the words strange on her tongue. The last thing she'd expected from Kael was gratitude.
He turned slowly, facing her fully.
And the look in his eyes nearly undid her.
Not cold. Not cruel. Just… tired. Stripped.
Less the Alpha now and more the man. The weight of pain and responsibility pulled at the corners of his mouth, softened the sharp lines of his face.
"You were brave," he said after a beat. "Foolish, but brave."
Selene folded her arms across her chest, trying to shield herself from the way he looked at her. "You'd have bled out if I hadn't stepped in," she said. "Forgive me for not waiting politely while you died."
That ghost of a smile again — barely there.
"I'm not used to people disobeying me."
"Get used to it," she murmured.
That startled a small sound from him — not quite a laugh, not quite a sigh. The air between them shifted. Warmer now. Electric.
He stepped toward her, and every nerve in her body lit up like fire.
"Why did you help me?" he asked, softer now. "You could've stayed inside. Let the others take care of it."
Her throat tightened. She should lie. Say it was duty. Obligation.
But she couldn't.
"I didn't want you to die."
He stood inches from her now, close enough that she could feel the warmth radiating from him, the scent of blood and pine and something that was uniquely Kael filling her lungs.
Their eyes locked.
"I don't know what this is between us," she whispered, voice barely audible. "But it's… something."
His hand lifted, fingers brushing her cheek so gently it barely felt real. She swore he trembled.
She didn't move.
His gaze dipped to her lips. His breath mingled with hers.
She closed her eyes.
Waited.
And waited.
Then — nothing.
The warmth disappeared.
When she opened her eyes, he had pulled away, his face shuttered, cold.
"This can't happen," he said hoarsely. "You don't understand."
She stepped back like he'd struck her.
"Then explain it."
"I can't." His voice was sharper now, edged with frustration. "I won't."
"Fine," she snapped. "Keep your secrets. But stop pulling me close if you're just going to push me away."
She turned sharply, headed for the door, but his voice stopped her before her fingers reached the handle.
"Selene—"
She paused, not looking back.
"Figure yourself out, Alpha. Because next time you reach for me… I might not be there."
The door clicked shut behind her.
He didn't move. Didn't breathe. Just stood staring at the place she'd been.
His fingers flexed uselessly at his sides, the feel of her skin burned into his palm.
He had been so close.
And it terrified him.
Because Kael knew the truth of what he was — the curse that lived under his skin, the storm that churned in his blood. What he felt for her wasn't just inconvenient. It was dangerous. Forbidden.
He would burn her alive, eventually.
Unless he let her go.
But gods help him — he didn't know if he could.