Chapter 5 — Taken
1074 Words
Selene should have left.
The moment the last body hit the ground… she should have vanished into shadow, returned to her fortress, rebuilt her control, and buried whatever weakness had begun to take root inside her.
That was what a queen would do.
What she had always done.
But she didn’t move.
Because neither did he.
Kael stood too close.
Close enough that she could feel the heat of him brushing against her skin, feel the weight of his presence pressing into her senses in a way that made it hard to think—harder to breathe.
His gaze had not left her.
Not since he realized.
Not since he felt it.
Selene’s fingers curled faintly at her side.
“Step back,” she said.
Her voice was steady.
Controlled.
A lie.
Kael didn’t move.
“You’re injured.”
“I will heal.”
“Not from silver.”
His tone sharpened.
Commanding.
It hit something deep inside her—something that reacted before she could stop it.
Her spine straightened instinctively.
Her body… stilled.
As if listening.
Selene’s eyes narrowed.
“You presume authority where you have none.”
His jaw tightened.
“And you pretend you’re fine when you’re bleeding out.”
“I am not—”
Her words cut off.
Because another pulse hit her.
Harder than before.
Her breath caught violently, her body swaying just slightly—
Just enough.
Kael moved instantly.
His hand caught her arm, steadying her before she could fall.
The contact sent a shock through both of them.
Selene froze.
Because this time—
She didn’t pull away.
The bond surged.
Hot.
Sharp.
Unforgiving.
Her senses flooded with him—his scent, his warmth, the steady, powerful rhythm of his heartbeat just beneath her awareness.
Alive.
Too alive.
Kael’s grip tightened slightly.
Not enough to hurt.
Enough to keep her there.
“Stop fighting it,” he said, his voice low.
Selene’s gaze snapped to his.
“I am not fighting anything.”
His expression darkened.
“You’re barely standing.”
“I don’t need your—”
Another pulse.
Stronger.
Her body betrayed her completely this time.
She inhaled sharply, her hand pressing instinctively against her stomach as the sensation rolled through her again—deep, undeniable.
Alive.
Kael’s eyes dropped instantly.
His entire body went still.
“You feel that,” he said.
Not a question.
Selene closed her eyes briefly.
Control.
She needed control.
“I told you,” she said, her voice quieter now, strained despite her efforts, “I don’t know what this is.”
Silence stretched.
But it wasn’t empty.
It was charged.
Heavy with everything neither of them wanted to say.
Kael exhaled slowly.
Then—
Without warning—
He moved.
Selene barely had time to react before he pulled her closer.
Not rough.
Not violent.
But absolute.
His arm wrapped around her, anchoring her against him as if he had already decided she wasn’t going anywhere.
Her eyes snapped open.
“What are you doing,” she demanded.
But her voice lacked force.
Because her body—
Traitorous, cursed, uncontrollable—
Melted into the contact for half a second too long.
Kael felt it.
Of course he did.
His grip tightened.
“Getting you out of here.”
“I can leave on my own.”
“Not like this.”
Selene tried to pull away.
She did.
But her strength—
Usually unmatched—
Faltered.
Just enough.
“I am not going anywhere with you,” she said, her tone sharpening.
“You don’t have a choice.”
The words hit harder than they should have.
Her power flared instantly.
Dark energy cracked through the air around them, the ground trembling beneath her feet as shadows lashed outward.
“I always have a choice,” she said, her voice turning lethal.
Kael didn’t flinch.
Didn’t release her.
Didn’t step back.
“Then make it,” he said.
Selene froze.
Because she couldn’t.
Her body swayed again.
Weaker this time.
The wound at her side burned, silver poisoning slowing her healing, dragging her strength down piece by piece.
And beneath it—
That pulse.
Stronger now.
Persistent.
Demanding.
Her gaze flickered to his.
For a moment—
Just a moment—
Something cracked.
Not power.
Not control.
Something deeper.
Kael saw it.
And something in him shifted in response.
His voice dropped.
Lower.
Rougher.
“You won’t make it back to your fortress,” he said. “Not like this.”
Selene said nothing.
Because she knew.
He was right.
That was the worst part.
“They’ll come again,” he continued. “Not just your people. Mine too.”
Her eyes narrowed.
“You think your wolves would dare—”
“They will,” he cut in. “If they believe what I believe.”
Silence.
Heavy.
Unavoidable.
Selene’s breath slowed.
“What do you believe,” she asked quietly.
Kael didn’t hesitate.
“That you’re carrying my child.”
The words settled between them like a death sentence.
Selene’s chest tightened.
Her fingers pressed harder against her stomach.
Another pulse answered.
Stronger.
Clearer.
As if confirming it.
“No,” she said.
But it lacked force.
Lacked certainty.
Kael’s gaze softened.
Just slightly.
Dangerously.
“Yes,” he said.
Her heart—her dead, still, impossible heart—
stuttered.
“I won’t let them take it,” he added.
Selene’s breath caught.
Her gaze snapped to his.
“Do not speak as if you have any claim over—”
“I do,” he said, his voice turning deadly. “It’s mine.”
The possessiveness in his tone should have enraged her.
Should have driven her to tear him apart.
But instead—
Her body reacted.
Heat flared.
Sharp.
Unwelcome.
Selene’s lips parted slightly.
Then closed.
Because she didn’t have an answer.
Didn’t have control.
Didn’t have—
Anything.
Kael didn’t wait anymore.
He lifted her.
Selene gasped, her hands instinctively gripping his shoulders as the sudden movement sent another wave of dizziness through her.
“What are you doing—”
“Ending this argument.”
Her power flared again.
Weak.
Unstable.
Ineffective.
“Put me down,” she snapped.
Kael didn’t even slow.
“No.”
And with that—
He turned.
And carried the Vampire Queen into the forest.
Not as an enemy.
Not as a prisoner.
But as something far more dangerous.
Something he had already decided to protect.
- Writer
