Chapter 2 — Selene’s POV: The Forbidden Scent
1547 Words
“How do you know my name?”
The question came out sharper than I intended, but I didn’t take it back.
I couldn’t.
Not when my heart was beating like this.
Not when everything about this situation felt… wrong.
The human,Justice, I would later learn didn’t answer immediately. He just watched me, like he was studying something important. Like I was the answer to a question he had been asking for a long time.
It made me uncomfortable.
I hated being the one who didn’t understand what was going on.
“You shouldn’t be here,” I said instead, taking another step back. “You need to leave.”
“And you need to stop pretending you’re not curious,” he replied calmly.
My eyes narrowed. “Curious about what? A lost human who doesn’t know when to run?”
A faint smile touched his lips again, like he found something amusing in my irritation.
“You didn’t answer my question,” I added. “How do you know my name?”
This time, he sighed softly, like he had expected that.
“I’ve heard of you,” he said.
“That’s not possible.”
“It is,” he said simply.
I shook my head immediately. “Humans don’t know about us.”
“Most don’t,” he corrected.
That made me pause.
Most?
A cold feeling crept into my chest, but I pushed it aside quickly. “Even if that were true, no human should know my name specifically.”
“Selene,” he repeated, slower this time, like he was testing how it sounded. “The girl who doesn’t follow rules. The one who avoids the gatherings. The one who doesn’t trust the moon.”
My breath caught slightly.
That wasn’t just a guess.
That was… specific.
Too specific.
“Who told you that?” I demanded.
He didn’t answer.
Instead, he leaned back slightly against the tree again, like the conversation itself was taking energy from him. I noticed the way his hand pressed tighter against his wound, the faint tension in his jaw.
He was trying to act fine.
He wasn’t.
“You’re losing blood,” I said, my voice softer before I could stop myself.
“I’ve had worse,” he replied.
I raised a brow. “You don’t look like someone who survives ‘worse.’”
That earned me a quiet chuckle.
“You’d be surprised.”
I clicked my tongue and looked away for a second, scanning the forest. Everything felt too still. Too quiet.
That wasn’t a good sign.
My kind didn’t need sound to know when something was off.
And right now, everything felt off.
“You still haven’t answered me,” I said, turning back to him. “Why are you here?”
“To find you.”
“There it is again,” I muttered, frustrated. “That doesn’t make sense.”
“It doesn’t have to,” he said.
“Yes, it does.”
“No,” he shook his head slightly. “It just has to be true.”
I stared at him.
He wasn’t joking.
That was the problem.
There was no fear in him. No hesitation. Just this quiet certainty that made my skin prickle.
Humans didn’t act like this.
They panicked. They begged. They ran.
They didn’t stand in front of a werewolf like they belonged there.
“Listen carefully,” I said, stepping closer again, lowering my voice. “You don’t understand where you are. If anyone else finds you here, you won’t get the chance to explain anything. You’ll be dead before you finish your sentence.”
“I know,” he said.
That stopped me.
“You… know?” I repeated.
“Yes.”
My brows pulled together. “Then why are you still here?”
“Because leaving isn’t an option.”
“Everything is an option,” I snapped.
“Not this.”
Something in his tone shifted.
It was still calm, but there was something deeper under it now. Something firm.
Something final.
I didn’t like it.
I exhaled sharply and ran a hand through my hair. “You’re impossible.”
“I’ve been called worse.”
I almost laughed at that.
Almost.
But I stopped myself.
This wasn’t funny.
Nothing about this was funny.
“You need to move,” I said after a moment. “Staying here is dangerous.”
“And going with you isn’t?” he asked.
I hesitated.
That was a good question.
Taking him anywhere near the village was the worst idea possible. Even hiding him nearby would be risky.
If the Alpha’s patrols caught his scent...
My chest tightened.
“Why do you care?” he asked suddenly.
I blinked. “What?”
“Why do you care if I live or die?” he continued, his eyes locked on mine. “You don’t know me. By your rules, I shouldn’t even exist in your world.”
I opened my mouth to answer.
Then stopped.
Because I didn’t know.
I didn’t know why I hadn’t already turned and left him here.
I didn’t know why I was still standing in front of him, arguing instead of walking away.
I didn’t know why his scent...
I inhaled again without thinking.
It hit me stronger this time.
Warm.
Strange.
Different.
Not unpleasant.
Not threatening.
Just…
There.
And for some reason, it pulled at something deep inside me.
I quickly stepped back again, annoyed at myself.
“This doesn’t mean anything,” I muttered.
“What doesn’t?” he asked.
“Nothing,” I snapped. “Forget it.”
A small silence fell between us.
Then—
“Selene.”
My name again.
Softer this time.
I looked up at him.
“If I leave,” he said slowly, “I won’t survive out there. Not like this.”
I clenched my jaw.
“That’s not my problem.”
“It becomes your problem the moment you found me.”
“No, it doesn’t.”
“Yes,” he said simply.
I hated how certain he sounded.
I hated that a part of me knew he wasn’t wrong.
I groaned softly under my breath and turned away, pacing a few steps before stopping.
“Fine,” I said suddenly.
When I turned back, he was watching me closely.
“I’ll help you,” I continued quickly. “Just until you can move properly. Then you leave. You don’t come back. You forget you ever saw me. You forget this place exists.”
He didn’t respond immediately.
“Say something,” I added.
“Why?” he asked.
My patience snapped. “Because I just agreed to help you, and the least you can do is respond like a normal person!”
He smiled slightly.
“I was just wondering,” he said, “if you actually believe I can forget you.”
My breath hitched again.
There was something about the way he said it.
Something that made my chest feel tight.
“You will,” I said firmly. “You don’t have a choice.”
“Neither do you,” he replied quietly.
I frowned. “What does that mean?”
But he didn’t answer.
Instead, he pushed himself off the tree, clearly forcing his body to cooperate.
For a second, he staggered.
Instinctively, I stepped forward and caught his arm.
The moment my hand touched him...
Everything stilled.
My breath caught.
His skin was warm.
Too warm.
And something..
Something unfamiliar shot through me, sharp and sudden, like a spark under my skin.
I pulled my hand back immediately.
“What was that?” I whispered, more to myself than to him.
He didn’t answer right away.
When I looked up at him, his gaze had changed.
Slightly darker.
More intense.
“You felt it too,” he said.
It wasn’t a question.
I swallowed.
“No,” I lied.
He didn’t believe me.
I could see it in his eyes.
But he didn’t argue.
Instead, he just nodded once, like he was accepting something.
That made me even more uneasy.
“Come on,” I said quickly, turning away. “We need to move before..”
A distant howl cut through the forest.
My entire body froze.
Another howl followed.
Closer.
My heart dropped.
Patrol.
They were already out.
I turned back to him instantly. “We have to go. Now.”
He didn’t argue this time.
Good.
I grabbed his wrist without thinking and pulled him along, moving quickly through the trees.
The howls echoed again.
Closer.
Too close.
“They’re tracking something,” he said under his breath.
“You,” I replied.
“And you,” he added.
I didn’t respond.
Because deep down
I knew he was right.
We moved faster, but I could feel it now.
The shift in the air.
The hunt had started.
And for the first time since I broke the rules…
Fear crept in.
Not for myself.
But for him.
Because if they found us like this
There would be no explaining.
No mercy.
No second chances.
And as I tightened my grip on his hand, one terrifying thought settled in my mind
I didn’t just help a human.
I just became his only chance of survival.
- Writer
