Selene's POV
I was drowning.
That was the first thing I felt before the pain. A heat beneath my skin, pulsing like liquid fire through my veins. My lungs clawed for air, but they wouldn't fill. My heart thundered against my ribs like a trapped animal.
Then I opened my eyes.
The room was dark.
Stone walls. Heavy furs. Flickering fire casting shadows against everything it touched. The scent of pine, smoke, leather…and him. The moment it hit my nose, my body arched against the sheets like I'd been struck.
And I couldn't move.
My wrists were bound.
Ouch!!
I looked at my wrists, they weren't just bound, they were burning.
"Silver…" I growled.
The realization sliced through the fog. I twisted instinctively, only for the metal to bite deeper into my skin, making me hiss.
What the hell had he done?
Panic flared behind my eyes as I tried to sit, tried to scream, tried to make sense of the white-hot ache lacing through every nerve ending.
And then I heard heavy footsteps approaching
My gaze snapped to the door just as it creaked open and he stepped inside.
Tall. Broad. That same midnight hair and cold flame in his eyes. The warlord. The beast from the altar.
The one who chained me.
He didn't say anything.
Just looked at me.
And the worst part?
My body responded to him.
A traitorous tremor curled through my stomach. The scent of him was everywhere, smoke and something darker, something primal. It wrapped around me like a net, suffocating and seductive all at once.
"What is this?" I managed, my voice raw. "Why am I bound?"
He came closer.
I hated how my pulse reacted.
"You passed out," he said simply. His voice was low, rough like gravel soaked in heat. "You've been out for hours. The silver's to keep your power in check."
"My power?" I spat the word like poison. "You think I did that on purpose? That I wanted to collapse in a pool of light in front of a pack of wild men?"
His lips twitched, just barely.
"I think you're dangerous," he said. "And I think I'd rather have you alive and pissed… than dead."
My chest rose and fell in shallow bursts. I yanked at the cuffs again, even though the pain was immediate and punishing.
"Let me go," I growled. "Now."
He didn't flinch. Didn't even blink.
Instead, he walked right to the edge of the bed. Close enough that his shadow swallowed me whole. His scent was stronger now, and my skin broke out in goosebumps even though the room was warm.
"You don't feel it?" he asked, voice a whisper.
I did.
Oh goddess, I did.
The pull. The bond. It was clawing at me from the inside out. A magnetic storm, dragging my thoughts into the heat of him, tangling them in a need that had nothing to do with reason or consent.
My voice was smaller when I spoke. "What… are you?"
His eyes darkened and then leaned closer.
"I'm yours," he whispered to my ear. "And you're mine."
I shook my head. "No. No, this isn't right. There's no way. That wasn't a claiming ground. That wasn't a proper bond. It wasn't even…"
"It was," he cut in. "You felt it. I know you did."
Silence stretched.
I hated him for being right. Hated the weakness curling inside me, the heat pooling low in my belly every time his gaze touched me.
"I don't know who you are," I whispered, voice shaking. "But you can't keep me like this."
He leaned in, resting one hand against the headboard just inches from my head. The chains clinked as I shrank away, but I held his eyes.
"You're not a prisoner," he said. "You're a secret. One my entire army would kill each other over if I let them close enough to smell you again."
I blinked.
"I don't care about your army."
He tilted his head. "Good. Then stay alive long enough for us to figure out what you are."
I froze.
Not who.
What.
My voice went cold. "You think I'm some kind of weapon."
"I know you are."
That stung. More than I expected.
"Untie me," I whispered again.
"No."
"I'll kill you."
His mouth twitched again into a smirk.
"You could try."