Chapter 2
1918 Words
Morning arrived with a hush rather than birdsong.
Selene stood in the kitchen, stirring herbal tea with trembling hands, her eyes flicking toward the hallway every few seconds. The mug clinked against the counter. Her fingers itched to smash it. Maybe that would silence the riot in her chest.
But there were children in the next room. Her children. And the man who didn’t know they were his.
Not really.
Not yet.
She closed her eyes, inhaled deeply. The earthy scent of thyme and moonroot filled her lungs. Soothing, grounding. She needed that now more than ever.
Behind her, a door creaked open.
She didn’t turn.
“I smell honey,” Kael said softly, voice rough from sleep.
“Stay out of my kitchen,” she replied coolly.
“Can’t help it. I followed the scent.” A beat. “And not just the honey.”
That made her turn.
Kael leaned against the doorframe, his tall frame nearly filling the space. His skin was still pale, bandages peeking from under his shirt. His golden eyes—gods, those same eyes she used to dream about—were sharper this morning, clearer. Awake.
Selene narrowed hers. “You should be resting.”
“I did,” he said. “But lying in that bed without knowing where I am, what’s happened, or how—”
“You were ambushed by rogues,” she cut in, walking past him with her mug. “You nearly bled out. I saved your life. You’re welcome.”
Kael turned slowly, watching her move with a predator’s gaze—one part curiosity, two parts hunger.
“Where exactly am I?”
“Three miles outside of Wolfpine Ridge,” she said over her shoulder, keeping her back to him. “Human territory. I run a clinic. That’s all you need to know.”
"And the kids?"
Her spine stiffened.
"You have a son," he said. "And a daughter. Twins. Nine years old. A little too fast in their movements, and way too aware for humans. They have my scent, Selene."
She placed the mug down with a little more force than necessary. "Leave them out of this."
He stepped closer, voice low. “They’re mine, aren’t they?”
Selene turned, slowly. The tea forgotten.
“You think you get to come back after a decade and make claims?” Her voice was ice. “You lost the right to ask that question the moment you looked me in the eye and rejected me. In front of our entire pack. Without a word.”
Kael flinched, the pain written clearly across his face.
“I didn’t know you were—”
“Pregnant?” she snapped. “Of course you didn’t. You didn’t even care enough to ask if I was okay afterward. You walked away and never once turned back.”
“I thought I was protecting you!” he said, louder now. “The Council—Maris—they gave me no choice!”
Selene laughed bitterly. “Don’t blame Maris. Don’t make this about the Council. Make it about you. Because I did. I had to make everything about you while I ran, while I gave birth in a damn motel bathtub, while I raised two children alone and afraid!”
The silence after her outburst was suffocating.
Kael took a slow breath. “I... I didn’t know. And I don’t expect forgiveness. But I need to know them. Even just a little.”
“No.” Selene stepped forward, fire flashing in her eyes. “You don’t get that. Not until I decide. Not until they decide. You’re a stranger. You’re a memory. And you’re here only because I didn’t let you die.”
Kael didn’t speak. He just stood there, shoulders tense, jaw working like he wanted to say more—but for once, he didn’t.
Selene moved past him again, heart pounding. Her hand brushed his arm.
And something happened.
The touch was electric.
She yanked her hand back like she’d been burned. Kael froze.
"You felt that," he whispered.
"No, I didn’t."
"You’re lying."
“Don’t mistake instinct for affection,” she said, voice strained.
“I’m not. But you felt it. The bond. It’s still there.”
Selene swallowed hard. The worst part was, he was right.
It was still there.
Buried under pain and rage and years of silence—but it lived. And it ached.
The front door slammed open.
“Mom!”
Rayne’s voice. Urgent. Sharp. Both Selene and Kael turned on instinct.
Selene rushed forward. “Rayne, what—?”
“Someone’s watching the house,” the girl panted. “A man. Tall. Weird coat. He’s not from the village. Rowan saw him through the trees.”
Selene’s pulse rocketed.
Kael's eyes narrowed. “Someone’s following you?”
“Not just me,” she whispered, grabbing a blade from the cabinet. “They’re tracking us. Probably since the moment you showed up.”
Kael’s jaw clenched. “Let me help.”
Selene grabbed a second blade, tossed it to him. “You barely have your strength.”
“I have enough.”
The door opened again—Rowan this time, eyes wide, face pale. “He’s getting closer.”
Selene turned to Kael. “Can you shift?”
“Enough to protect.”
She nodded. “Then shift and wait. We finish this quick. I’m not letting them touch the kids.”
Kael dropped the blade and tore off his shirt. The shift came hard—painful, grunting—but when it was over, his wolf was crouched and bristling, eyes blazing.
Selene glanced at the twins. “Basement. Now.”
They obeyed instantly.
Then she looked back at the man she’d once called her mate.
For one breathless moment, they locked eyes. And for the first time in ten years, they were on the same side.
Not as lovers. Not as enemies.
But as something more dangerous.
Protective parents.
The forest was too quiet.
Selene crept around the clinic’s perimeter, every step as precise as a heartbeat. She could hear the rustle of the wind in the pines, the distant creek bubbling in the gully—but no birdsong. No crickets.
Predators were near.
Behind her, Kael moved like a shadow. His wolf form—sleek, black, powerful—stayed close, but not too close. Not enough to distract her. Just enough to guard her flank.
Selene’s fingers tightened around the hilt of her silver-coated blade.
Then she smelled it.
Not wolf.
Witch.
The air crackled faintly—magic. Old, invasive, sticky like honey left too long in the sun. The scent stirred something feral in her gut.
She crouched behind a fallen log just as a figure emerged through the trees.
Male. Tall. Pale skin beneath a dark forest-green coat. Sharp eyes. Not shifting. Not afraid.
She didn’t recognize him—but the strange gleam in his gaze told her all she needed to know.
He wasn’t here by accident.
Kael’s wolf stepped beside her, low growl rumbling through his chest.
Selene stood slowly.
The man’s gaze landed on her—and he smiled.
“Well,” he said in a crisp accent, “you’re exactly where she said you’d be.”
“Who’s she?” Selene asked coldly.
The man tilted his head. “So cautious. That’s good. Makes the hunt more fun.”
She took a step forward. “You’re trespassing on protected land.”
He ignored her threat, letting his gaze drift briefly toward Kael’s snarling form.
“Oh,” he said, grinning wider. “Is that the disgraced alpha? He looks a little broken. You, on the other hand, look... lovely.”
Kael lunged.
The man raised a hand—and a shock of blue energy crackled in the air, slamming Kael back with a yelp of pain.
“Don’t,” Selene snapped, stepping between them.
“Oh, don’t worry. I wouldn’t kill him. Not before she gets here.”
“Who?”
The man licked his lips. “Luna Maris.”
Selene’s blood ran cold.
Of course. Of course she’d come sniffing around once Kael reappeared. She must’ve known the twins existed—must’ve felt something shift in the magical balance.
And now, she’d sent a warlock to test the defenses.
Selene didn’t wait.
She lunged forward, blade swinging.
The warlock parried, but barely. Selene was faster. Angrier. Every strike was backed by the weight of ten years’ worth of fury.
“You’ll tell her,” Selene snarled, “that if she comes near my children, I will carve her heart out with her own spellbook.”
The warlock growled, palm glowing again—but Kael was already on his feet.
This time, the wolf was quicker.
He slammed into the warlock’s side, knocking him into the base of a tree. Teeth tore into cloth and flesh. The man screamed, trying to cast, but Selene was already behind him. Her blade kissed his throat.
“Yield,” she hissed.
The warlock choked. “I’ll—go—I’ll go—”
Selene leaned in close, eyes glowing with power. “Tell her she’ll have to burn down the whole damn mountain if she wants me.”
She knocked him out cold.
Kael shifted back after they’d restrained the intruder, breathing hard, sweat slicking his torso. His wounds had reopened, but he didn’t seem to care.
“Luna Maris,” he muttered. “She found you.”
“She found you, Kael,” Selene snapped. “She followed your scent. Your mistakes. Your curse.”
His jaw tightened. “This isn’t just about me anymore.”
Selene crossed her arms. “It never was.”
For a moment, the wind between them stirred leaves and silence.
Kael looked at her with something raw behind his golden eyes.
“Selene,” he said softly, “when I rejected you... I thought I was saving your life.”
“And you were wrong,” she whispered.
“But I never stopped wanting you.”
Her breath caught.
The forest, the wind, the blood on her skin—none of it mattered in that moment. Just the way he was looking at her now. Like a man starving. Like she was water.
“Don’t,” she warned. “Don’t make this harder than it already is.”
Kael stepped closer. “I need you to know... I still feel the bond. I always did. Even when I tried to bury it. Even when I pretended it didn’t tear me apart.”
Her pulse raced. The pull between them was undeniable—tighter now, more urgent. And gods, she hated how much she still wanted to feel his skin on hers. Even after everything.
Selene looked away. “This isn’t the time.”
“Then when?”
“When I’m not afraid of what I’ll do if I let you touch me.”
That shut him up.
He exhaled shakily, stepping back. “Understood.”
Selene brushed a hand through her hair. “We need to talk to the twins. They deserve to know everything.”
Kael nodded slowly. “They’re strong. They get it from you.”
She gave him a bitter smile. “You’d be surprised what they inherited from you.”
They walked back to the house in silence.
But the air between them?
Tangled. Heavy. Heated.
Like the night sky before a thunderstorm.
And Selene knew—
The storm was only just beginning
- Writer
