Chapter 10 — You’re Not Leaving
837 Words
Selene waited.
She had always been patient.
It was how she survived centuries of war, betrayal, power struggles, and bloodshed.
She didn’t act without purpose.
Didn’t move without certainty.
Didn’t strike unless she knew she would win.
But this—
This was different.
This was not a strategy.
This was a necessity.
Because if she stayed—
She would lose control.
Her gaze lifted slowly to the door.
Closed.
Guarded.
Watched.
She could feel them outside.
The wolves.
Restless.
Hostile.
Waiting for a reason.
And inside—
Him.
The bond pulsed again.
Sharp.
Unrelenting.
Selene inhaled slowly, forcing her body still despite the warmth that refused to fade, despite the unfamiliar heaviness settling deep inside her.
It had grown.
She knew it.
Felt it.
Not visible.
Not yet.
But stronger.
Demanding more of her.
Taking more from her.
Her fingers pressed lightly against her stomach.
A mistake.
Because it responded.
A slow, steady pulse.
Her breath caught.
“This ends now,” she whispered.
And then—
She moved.
The shadows answered instantly.
They always did.
Darkness curled around her form, bending, stretching, swallowing her presence as she stepped toward the wall—not the door.
She wouldn’t walk out.
She would vanish.
The moment she reached for it—
Pain hit.
Sharp.
Blinding.
Selene gasped, her body folding slightly as the bond snapped tight inside her, something resisting—something holding.
“No—”
The shadows faltered.
They didn’t take her.
Her eyes widened.
That had never happened.
Never.
She tried again.
Forced her power deeper, harder, commanding the shadows to obey her.
Nothing.
Another pulse.
Stronger.
Selene’s breath broke.
“It’s stopping me…” she whispered.
Her own body—
Was stopping her.
The realization hit like a blade.
“You’re not leaving.”
The voice came from behind her.
Low.
Certain.
Selene turned slowly.
Kael stood in the doorway.
He hadn’t rushed in.
Hadn’t shouted.
Hadn’t reacted with surprise.
He had expected this.
Her eyes narrowed.
“You did this.”
Kael stepped inside, closing the door behind him without breaking eye contact.
“No,” he said. “You did.”
Selene’s power flared instantly.
Frustration.
Rage.
Something dangerously close to panic.
“I am not trapped here,” she said.
Kael didn’t argue.
Didn’t need to.
“You tried to leave,” he said.
Silence.
“And you couldn’t.”
The truth settled between them.
Heavy.
Unavoidable.
Selene’s chest rose and fell unevenly.
“This is not your control,” she snapped.
Kael took a step closer.
“No,” he agreed.
A beat.
“It’s ours.”
The words hit harder than anything else.
Selene stilled.
Another pulse.
Stronger.
Her body reacted instantly, her hand pressing against her stomach as the sensation rolled through her again—deep, anchored, unrelenting.
Kael’s gaze dropped.
“You feel it,” he said.
“I hate it,” she shot back.
His jaw tightened.
“No,” he said quietly.
“You hate that you can’t ignore it.”
Silence.
Because he was right.
Again.
Selene took a step back.
Then another.
Distance.
She needed distance.
“You don’t understand what this means,” she said.
Kael didn’t stop advancing.
“Then tell me.”
Her gaze flickered.
For a moment—
Uncertain.
“If my court finds out—” she started.
“They already tried to kill you,” he cut in.
Her eyes flashed.
“And yours will finish it.”
Another step.
Closer.
“They already tried.”
Selene’s breath caught.
That—
That was the truth she couldn’t escape.
Another pulse.
Stronger.
Her body swayed.
Kael reached her before she could fall.
This time—
She didn’t fight it.
Didn’t pull away.
His hand steadied her at the waist, his other gripping her arm, holding her in place as her strength faltered again.
“You’re getting weaker,” he said.
“I am not weak,” she snapped.
His grip tightened slightly.
“Your body is changing.”
The words landed heavier now.
Selene’s breath trembled.
She could feel it.
The difference.
The shift.
Her power—
Still there.
Still deadly.
But no longer absolute.
No longer untouchable.
Another pulse.
Her eyes shut briefly.
Kael felt it through her.
Through the bond.
Through the contact.
“It needs you to stay still,” he said.
Selene’s eyes snapped open.
“You don’t know that.”
“I feel it,” he said.
Silence.
Because she did too.
That pull.
That instinct.
That… demand.
Stay.
Rest.
Protect.
Her body was no longer hers alone.
“I won’t be controlled by this,” she said.
Kael’s voice dropped.
“You already are.”
The words hit deeper than anything else.
Selene went still.
Another pulse.
Stronger.
Her breath caught—
Then softened.
Just slightly.
Kael saw it.
His expression shifted.
“You’re not leaving,” he said again.
This time—
Not a command.
A fact.
Selene didn’t argue.
Because for the first time—
She wasn’t sure she could.
- Writer
