A choice
1105 Words
The wind howled through the trees as Selene’s breath came in ragged gasps as she sprinted through the thick forest, her boots barely making a sound against the damp earth.
She didn’t look back.
She couldn’t.
Kieran was coming.
The moment their eyes had met back at the village gate, she had felt it—the raw, magnetic force that bound them together. The mate bond.
It had almost been her undoing.
But Ronan had saved her.
And now, she was running because of him.
Her lungs burned as she pushed forward, the thick branches slashing at her arms, the scent of pine and damp moss clogging her senses. The river was close. If she could cross it, she had a chance.
“Faster,” Ronan gritted out behind her. He was keeping pace, but she could hear the strain in his voice, see the tightness in his movements.
They had both seen Kieran’s expression when she had fled.
He wasn’t just hunting anymore. He was furious.
A furious Alpha was a dangerous Alpha.
And Kieran had never handled loss well.
Selene leaped over a fallen log, her heart pounding so loudly she barely registered the rustling behind them.
Then—
A deafening snarl.
Selene barely had time to react before a massive shape lunged from the shadows.
One of Kieran’s wolves.
The beast struck Ronan first, knocking him off balance. He grunted, rolling with the impact, but the wolf was relentless.
“Ronan!” Selene turned, her instincts screaming.
The wolf’s massive fangs sank into Ronan’s arm, tearing through fabric and skin. He let out a strangled growl, his knee buckling.
Selene didn’t think—she just moved.
Her dagger was in her hand in an instant. She lunged, slashing downward, her blade slicing through the creature’s thick fur. The wolf yelped, stumbling back just enough for Ronan to shove it away.
But more were coming.
Selene’s chest heaved as she heard it—the unmistakable sound of more paws pounding against the earth. They were surrounded.
No.
Not now.
Not when they were so close.
Her eyes darted toward the river just beyond the tree line. It was their only hope.
“Come on!” she urged, grabbing Ronan’s good arm.
But he wasn’t moving.
Selene’s stomach dropped. Blood was seeping through his sleeve, his breath coming in sharp, uneven bursts. The wound was bad. If they didn’t stop it soon—
A deep, bone-chilling growl sent ice through her veins.
She knew that growl.
Kieran.
Selene turned slowly, her pulse hammering against her ribs.
He stood just beyond the trees, golden eyes glowing in the darkness, his presence swallowing the space between them.
His wolves parted for him as he stepped forward, slow, deliberate.
A predator savoring the moment before the kill.
Selene felt the bond coil tight around her, suffocating.
“You ran,” Kieran murmured, his voice low, dangerous. “Again.”
Selene swallowed hard, shifting protectively in front of Ronan.
“I had no choice,” she said.
Kieran’s eyes flickered to the blood staining Ronan’s sleeve, then back to her. His expression was unreadable.
“You’re bleeding,” he said—not to her.
To Ronan.
Selene’s muscles tensed.
Kieran took another step forward. “He won’t last long in that condition.”
Selene’s heart clenched. “Don’t—”
“You know that’s a mortal wound, Selene,” Kieran continued, voice maddeningly calm. “He won’t make it through the night.”
“Shut up,” she snapped.
Kieran tilted his head. “But I can save him.”
Selene’s breath hitched.
Kieran’s power was undeniable. As an Alpha, his strength, his blood, carried a healing force stronger than any medicine. If he gave Ronan even a drop of his blood, the wound would close within minutes.
But there was a cost.
Selene knew exactly what Kieran wanted in return.
Her.
The air between them crackled with tension.
Selene’s nails dug into her palms.
“You’re a monster,” she whispered.
Kieran’s lips curled. “And yet, you’re still mine.”
Her pulse pounded in her ears.
She could keep running. She could leave Ronan behind, gamble on his survival.
But if she left, Ronan would die.
A strangled breath escaped her lips.
I can’t do this.
Kieran waited, his patience infinite. He had already won. He knew it.
And Selene hated him for it.
Hated him.
Hated herself more for the way her body still ached for him despite it all.
The mate bond was a curse.
And tonight, it was her prison.
Slowly, Selene lifted her chin, locking eyes with him.
“Save him,” she said. Her voice didn’t waver.
Kieran’s golden eyes darkened.
“And in return?”
Selene’s chest rose and fell in a slow, deliberate breath.
“I’ll stop running.”
The moment the words left her lips, she felt it—the shift in the air.
Kieran took a step closer, so close she could feel the warmth of his body against hers. His scent wrapped around her, drowning her in memories she had fought to forget.
His fingers brushed against her wrist, feather-light, like he was testing if she was real.
“You swear it?” he murmured, his voice rough.
Selene swallowed hard, everything inside her screaming.
“I swear.”
Kieran exhaled, his eyes closing for a fraction of a second—like he had just won the war he had been fighting for years.
Then, without another word, he dropped to one knee beside Ronan.
Selene watched, numb, as he pressed his palm to the wound, his power flaring in the dark. Ronan’s breathing eased almost instantly, the torn flesh knitting back together before her eyes.
She should have felt relief.
Instead, her vision blurred with tears.
Tears of anger. Of defeat.
She had fought so hard for five years to build a life away from him. To carve out an existence that was her own, where she wasn’t just a possession.
But now, she was right back where she started.
Back in his hands.
Back in a life where her freedom was an illusion.
A prisoner.
A wolf with clipped wings.
Selene sucked in a sharp breath, biting down on the sob that threatened to escape.
Kieran stood, his golden eyes piercing into hers. He reached for her—gently, carefully, like she might disappear if he moved too fast.
His touch burned.
“Come, Selene,” he murmured.
And with her head held high, her hands clenched into fists, and her heart breaking all over again—
She walked back into her cage.
- Writer
