Chapter4The Stranger In The Dark
1234 Words
Selene’s POV
Darkness.
Then warmth.
I blinked.
Light flickered above me, dancing in the dim glow of fire. My skin prickled, my body aware before my mind caught up. Everything felt strange—too sharp, too loud, too much.
The weight of fabric covered me, a loose robe brushing against my bare skin. The scent of something earthy, smoky, unfamiliar clung to me, but underneath it, there was something else—something burning.
I sat up.
Slowly. Cautiously.
My limbs obeyed, but the action felt foreign, like I was using a body that didn’t belong to me.
I looked down at my hands, turning them over and flexing my fingers. Nothing. No memory. No recognition.
Who… am I?
The thought should have terrified me. But there was no fear.
Only silence.
I inhaled deeply, taking in my surroundings.
Stone walls. Fireworks lights are flickering in the corners. The air carried the scent of something ancient, old, worn with time.
And across the room—
Him.
A man.
He sat in a chair, his frame relaxed but commanding, the weight of his presence undeniable. Dark hair fell over his forehead, his crimson eyes watching me with unreadable intensity.
He said nothing.
Neither did I.
I should have been afraid. But I wasn’t.
I just… watched him.
His expression didn’t change. His fingers tapped against the armrest of his chair, slow, calculated.
“You don’t look surprised.” His voice was deep and smooth, but there was an edge to it.
I didn’t answer.
Couldn’t.
I didn’t know how.
A flicker of something crossed his face.
“You don’t speak?”
I parted my lips, but the words didn’t come. I had none to give.
His gaze flickered over me, assessing, waiting. The fire crackled beside me, a slow hiss breaking the silence.
His expression remained unreadable, but there was something else in his eyes now—a test.
He moved.
Slow, deliberate.
His steps were measured as he closed the space between us, his presence overwhelming.
He expected something. A flinch. A step back. Fear.
I didn’t move.
Didn’t react.
His fingers brushed my chin, tilting my face upward. The touch sent a strange ripple through me—not fear, not warmth, just that tingling electricity that I should climb him and mold our bodies into one.
My pulse didn’t race. My breath didn’t hitch.
I met his gaze, steady.
Unyielding.
“I don’t fear you,” I whispered.
His eyes darkened.
He stepped back slightly, but the surprise was clear in his gaze. “I thought you didn’t speak.”
That was unexpected.
“Me too,” I murmured, my voice softer this time. “It just… happened.”
The way Kieran stared at me was unnerving. His crimson eyes flickered with something unreadable, but he said nothing.
Silence stretched between us, thick and heavy, only broken by the distant crackling of fire from the torches lining the stone walls.
I wasn’t sure how much time had passed since I woke up in this place. Minutes? Hours? I had no sense of time, no sense of self.
I licked my lips, trying to ignore the strange dryness in my throat. “Where am I?”
Kieran didn’t answer right away. He exhaled slowly, like someone forced to tolerate a conversation he didn’t particularly want to have.
“My stronghold,” he said simply. “Shadowfang Dominion.”
The words meant nothing to me.
I frowned. “Shadowfang…” I whispered, rolling the name on my tongue, hoping it would spark something inside me.
Nothing.
I glanced at him again, noticing the way he saw me like a puzzle he had yet to solve. Not with fear. Not even with sympathy. Just… curiosity.
“You’re an Alpha,” I said, more of a statement than a question.
He didn’t confirm it, but he didn’t deny it either. “You remember what that means?”
I hesitated. Did I?
The word felt familiar. Alpha. Pack. Leader. The meaning behind it made sense, but everything else remained frustratingly blank.
“I don’t know,” I admitted, looking down at my hands. “I don’t remember anything.”
Not even my own name.
The thought sent a sharp, almost panicked tremor through me.
I swallowed. “Who am I?”
Kieran’s brows furrowed slightly. “You don’t know?”
I shook my head. “I… I don’t even know what I look like.”
It was the truth. I had no idea what my reflection would show if I saw one. I knew I had skin, hair, eyes—but the details? Gone.
Some things I don't even know, like this soft white thing I am sitting on.
Kieran studied with me for a long time. Then, finally, he said, “Selene.”
Something flickered in my chest, but it was faint, distant.
“Selene,” I whispered, testing the name. It didn’t feel wrong, but it didn’t feel entirely right either. Like wearing a dress that was almost my size, but not quite.
“Is that my name?” I asked.
Kieran’s expression didn’t change. “It is now.”
I frowned slightly, but I didn’t argue. What else did I have? If he called me Selene, then I would be Selene.
For now.
A heavy pause settled between us before he turned toward the door.
“Come,” he said. “We’re going for a walk.”
I hesitated. “Why?”
“You’ve been lying in bed for hours,” he said, without looking back. “If you’re going to live, you need to move.”
That made sense.
I didn’t question him further.
I followed him into the hall, my bare feet silent against the cold stone floor. The air smelled of smoke and aged wood.
Kieran walked ahead of me, his pace steady, his presence filling every inch with space around us. He moved like a king in his domain, and for some reason, I knew instinctively that no one would dare challenge him here.
I opened my mouth, questions bubbling at the back of my throat, but before I could speak—
A blur of motion lunged at us from the side.
Instinct took over.
Before I even knew what I was doing, my hand shot up—
Heat exploded from my palm.
A burst of fire, bright and untamed, shot forward, colliding with a figure that barely had time to react.
A sharp yelp filled the corridor as the flames burnt against his flesh, sending the attacker stumbling back.
The fire vanished almost as quickly as it came, leaving behind the acrid scent of burned fabric.
I blinked, my breath catching in my throat, staring at my outstretched hand.
What…?
The figure groaned, dusting off his now-charred jacket. “What the hell, Kieran! "Call off your feral pet before she burns me alive!”
I whipped my head toward him.
A man stood there, half-burned, but very much alive. His auburn hair was signed at the ends, his face twisted in a grimace as he patted down his slightly smoking clothes.
I barely had time to register what had happened before Kieran’s voice cut through the space between us.
“That was unexpected.”
I turned back to him, my chest rising and falling too fast, confusion twisting through my mind.
He wasn’t looking at Cassian.
He was looking at me.
- Writer
