Chapter 3 — Selene’s POV: A Dangerous Curiosity
1321 Words
We didn’t stop running.
Not when the howls grew louder.
Not when the forest itself seemed to close in around us.
Not even when Justice stumbled for the third time and nearly pulled me down with him.
“Keep up,” I hissed, tightening my grip on his wrist.
“I’m trying,” he muttered, breath uneven but controlled.
I glanced back briefly, my senses stretching behind us. The scent of my pack was getting stronger ,familiar, sharp, unmistakable.
Too close.
“Faster,” I urged.
“I would, if I wasn’t bleeding out,” he shot back dryly.
I almost snapped at him again, but I stopped myself. Arguing wouldn’t help.
Thinking would.
I quickly changed direction, pulling him off the narrow path and deeper into a thicker part of the forest where the trees grew closer together and the ground dipped unevenly.
“Where are we going?” he asked.
“Somewhere they won’t look first,” I replied.
“That’s reassuring.”
“It’s not meant to be.”
He let out a quiet breath that almost sounded like a laugh.
I didn’t understand him.
Even now,with danger right behind us,he wasn’t panicking.
That should have made things easier.
Instead, it made everything feel more… unsettling.
We finally slowed when the howls shifted direction slightly. Not gone—but no longer directly behind us.
For now.
I released his wrist and stepped away, listening carefully.
Silence.
Too much silence.
“They’ve split up,” I said quietly.
“Meaning?” he asked.
“Meaning they’re not just hunting randomly anymore,” I replied. “They’re searching.”
“For me,” he said.
“For us,” I corrected.
He didn’t argue that.
Good.
I turned back to him, finally taking a proper look at his condition. His face was pale, his breathing heavier than before, and the blood on his side had spread further.
“You’re worse,” I said.
“I’ve been better,” he admitted.
“That’s not reassuring.”
“You seem to like reassurance,” he said.
“I like not dying,” I shot back.
That earned me another small look from him—one I couldn’t quite read.
Annoying.
“Sit,” I ordered, pointing to the base of a tree.
He hesitated.
“Now,” I added.
This time, he listened.
Good.
I crouched in front of him, my fingers hovering over the edge of his torn shirt. “This is going to hurt.”
“I assumed as much.”
I didn’t warn him again.
I tore the fabric aside.
He tensed immediately, a sharp breath escaping him, but he didn’t make a sound beyond that.
I paused.
“You can react, you know,” I said.
“I am reacting,” he replied, his voice tight but steady.
I almost rolled my eyes.
Instead, I focused.
The wound was deep, but clean. Not made by claws.
A blade.
That caught my attention.
“Who did this to you?” I asked, glancing up at him.
“Someone who didn’t want me to get here,” he answered.
There it was again.
That strange certainty.
“That doesn’t answer my question.”
“It answers enough.”
I frowned but didn’t push further.
For now.
I pressed my hand lightly near the wound, assessing it.
“You need to stop the bleeding properly,” I said. “Or you won’t make it through the night.”
“I thought you said I’d survive,” he murmured.
“I said you might,” I corrected. “Don’t twist my words.”
A faint smile touched his lips again.
I ignored it.
Carefully, I tore a strip from the edge of my sleeve and pressed it against the wound.
“This will slow it down,” I said. “But you’ll need more than this.”
“I’ll manage.”
“You won’t,” I snapped, then softened slightly. “Not alone.”
The words slipped out before I could stop them.
Not alone.
Why did I say that?
I quickly looked away, pretending to focus on tying the fabric securely.
For a moment, neither of us spoke.
Then..
“Why did you come back?”
I froze.
His voice was quiet.
Too quiet.
“I didn’t,” I said automatically.
“You did,” he replied. “You could’ve left me. You didn’t.”
I tightened the knot harder than necessary.
“That doesn’t mean anything.”
“It means something.”
“It doesn’t,” I insisted.
“Then why are you still here?”
I didn’t answer.
Because I didn’t have one.
Because the truth was. ..
I didn’t know.
And that bothered me more than anything else.
I stood quickly, brushing my hands against my clothes like I could shake the feeling off.
“We need to keep moving,” I said.
“Selene.”
I stopped.
Slowly, I turned back to him.
“What?”
He looked up at me, his expression more serious now.
“You don’t trust me,” he said.
“That’s obvious.”
“But you didn’t leave.”
I clenched my jaw.
“Get up,” I said instead.
He didn’t move immediately.
“Selene.”
“What?” I snapped.
“You’re curious.”
The word hit harder than it should have.
“I’m not.”
“You are,” he said calmly. “And that’s more dangerous than fear.”
I stared at him.
For a second, I considered denying it again.
Arguing.
Mocking him.
But the words didn’t come.
Because deep down..
I knew he was right.
I was curious.
About him.
About how he knew my name.
About why he didn’t act like every other human.
About why his presence didn’t feel wrong.
And that curiosity…
Was dangerous.
“Say whatever you want,” I muttered, turning away. “Just don’t slow me down.”
Behind me, I heard him push himself up again.
This time, when he stepped beside me, I didn’t grab his wrist.
I didn’t touch him at all.
That felt safer.
We moved through the forest in silence for a while.
But my mind wasn’t quiet.
It kept drifting back to him.
To his words.
To that strange moment when I touched him.
To the way he said my name.
And the more I thought about it..
The more everything started to feel like it was slipping out of my control.
“You’re thinking too loudly,” he said suddenly.
I stopped.
“What does that even mean?” I asked, annoyed.
“It means,” he said, glancing at me, “you’re overthinking.”
“I’m not.”
“You are.”
“I’m not.”
“You are.”
I glared at him. “Do you always argue like this?”
“Only when I’m right.”
I scoffed and kept walking.
But a small part of me..
A very small part..
Almost smiled.
Almost.
Then..
A branch snapped somewhere behind us.
We both froze instantly.
This wasn’t a distant sound.
It was close.
Too close.
I slowly turned my head, my senses stretching outward again.
There.
A scent.
Familiar.
My heart dropped.
“Selene?” Justice said quietly.
I didn’t respond immediately.
Because I already knew.
They had found us.
“Run,” I whispered.
But before we could move..
A voice cut through the trees.
Cold.
Sharp.
Familiar.
“Selene.”
My blood ran cold.
I turned slowly.
And there he was.
Kael.
Standing between the trees, his eyes locked on mine.
Then they shifted.
To Justice.
And in that moment..
Everything changed.
Because the look on Kael’s face wasn’t confusion.
It wasn’t surprise.
It was something worse.
Recognition.
“You…” Kael said slowly, his voice darkening.
My heart slammed against my chest.
Because that only meant one thing
This wasn’t the first time they had crossed paths.
- Writer
