FATED TO A RUTHLESS ALPHA

I don’t need your protection!

CHAPTER 3.

Selene’s POV CONT’D

The next few days passed in a blur.

I wasn’t locked up, but I wasn’t free either. The rogues watched me, their gazes filled with a mix of curiosity and malice. They didn’t trust me, and I didn’t trust them either. But I had nowhere else to go. My body still ached from my escape, my wounds healing too slowly without the support of a pack bond.

Damien had disappeared after that night. I told myself I didn’t care. He was just another rogue, another brute in this forsaken place. But my mind betrayed me. His face, the way his voice had dropped when he called me “little wolf,” lingered like a shadow in the corners of my thoughts. I pushed it away. He was nothing to me.

The rogues weren’t kind. They sneered when I passed, muttering insults under their breath. Some threw scraps of food in my direction like I was a starving dog waiting for scraps. I was used to cruelty—I had grown up with it—but this was different. This was the kind that stripped away every last shred of dignity, the kind that reminded me I was nothing, no one.

One afternoon, a rogue named Varian cornered me near the river. He was tall, his face scarred from past battles, his eyes dark with something sinister.

“Tell me, banished girl,” he drawled, stepping closer. “What’s it like to be thrown out like garbage?”

I clenched my jaw, refusing to answer.

He chuckled. “Oh? No words? You must miss your precious pack, don’t you? Bet they didn’t even look back once they tossed you out.”

I inhaled sharply. That was the truth, wasn’t it? No one had fought for me. No one had cared.

Varian must have seen something in my expression because his grin widened. “Thought so.” He leaned in, his breath hot against my skin. “You should learn your place, little wolf. No one’s coming to save you.”

My wolf stirred, anger flaring in my chest. I wanted to fight, to sink my claws into him, to show him I wasn’t weak. But I had no pack, no strength to back me up. I was alone.

And alone meant powerless.

Just as he reached out, a deep voice cut through the air like a blade.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”

Damien.

Varian stiffened before turning with a scowl. Damien stood a few feet away, his posture relaxed but dangerous. His silver eyes flickered with something unreadable as he looked at me.

“She’s not one of us,” Varian said, his voice laced with irritation.

“She’s mine,” Damien said simply.

The words sent a strange jolt through my chest.

Varian let out a low laugh. “Yours? Since when do you claim broken things, Damien?”

There was a long, tense silence. Then, in a flash, Damien moved. One second, he was standing beside a tree, the next, he had Varian pinned against it, his forearm pressing into his throat.

“Since now.” Damien’s voice was ice. “You got a problem with that?”

Varian’s hands clenched, his jaw working like he wanted to argue. But he didn’t.

Damien stepped back, and Varian shot me one last glare before storming off.

Silence stretched between us.

I should have said something. I should have demanded why he had done that, why he had spoken for me. But all I could do was stare at him, at the sharp angles of his face, the quiet dominance he carried so effortlessly.

His eyes met mine. “Don’t let them push you around, little wolf.”

Then he was gone.

And for the first time since I’d been thrown away, I felt something other than pain.

I felt seen.

I watched as varian disappeared into the trees, his anger palpable. The other rogues who had gathered to watch the scene unfold quickly lost interest, scattering like shadows into the dimming light of the forest. But Damien didn’t leave.

He stood there, his silver eyes locked onto me, unreadable as always.

I swallowed, my throat dry. “Why did you do that?”

He tilted his head slightly, as if the question amused him. “Do what?”

I huffed, crossing my arms. “You just claimed me in front of everyone. You don’t even know me.”

He took a step closer, the weight of his presence pressing against me like an invisible force. “I know enough.”

I scoffed, though my heartbeat betrayed me, hammering hard against my ribs. “And what exactly do you think you know?”

Damien didn’t answer right away. Instead, he let his gaze travel over me, slow and deliberate, like he was trying to figure something out. It made my skin prickle.

“You’re a fighter,” he finally said, his voice quieter now, more thoughtful. “But you’ve been broken so many times, you’ve started believing you’re not.”

His words struck something deep in me, something raw. I hated that he could see it, that he could see me.

I clenched my jaw. “That doesn’t answer my question.”

Damien sighed, rubbing a hand across the back of his neck. “Look, I didn’t do it for you.”

I flinched, though I wasn’t sure why.

He must have noticed because his lips twitched, but the smirk never fully formed. “I did it because Varian is an i***t who thinks strength comes from tearing people down. I don’t like idiots.”

I narrowed my eyes. “So that’s it? You just… felt like putting him in his place?”

Damien stepped closer, and I had to force myself not to back away. “Does it matter?”

“Yes,” I snapped, surprising even myself with how firm I sounded. “Because now everyone thinks I belong to you.”

His expression darkened slightly, and for a second, I thought I had angered him. But then he let out a quiet chuckle.

“You’d rather belong to them?” He gestured toward the direction Varian had gone.

I bristled. “I don’t belong to anyone.”

Damien’s gaze softened just a fraction. “Good. Then stop acting like you do.”

His words were like a slap, cutting through the walls I had spent years building. He didn’t speak with pity or mockery. Just… fact. And I hated how much it affected me.

I looked away, staring at the dirt beneath my feet. “I don’t need your protection.”

“I know.” His voice was calm. “But you’ll get it anyway.”

I let out a shaky breath, willing my emotions to stay buried where they belonged. “Why?”

Damien was silent for a long moment, then he exhaled slowly.

“Because you remind me of someone I once knew.”

I frowned, glancing up at him. “Who?”

But just like that, the wall was back up. His silver eyes turned unreadable again, his expression closed off.

“No one important.”

I knew he was lying.

And somehow, that single lie made me more curious about him than anything else ever could.