Four
1183 Words
Selene’s breath hitched at the word.
Mine.
Killian’s golden gaze burned into her, fierce and unyielding, as if daring her to challenge him.
She should challenge him.
But the way he said it—the way his voice wrapped around the word like a promise, a warning, a claim—made something deep inside her stir.
Her wolf shifted beneath her skin, restless, uncertain.
“I am no one’s,” she said finally, her voice steadier than she expected.
Killian’s smirk didn’t waver. “Not yet.”
She exhaled sharply. “And if I say no?”
He shrugged. “Then you keep scrubbing floors and waiting for Damian to decide what scraps of dignity he’s willing to leave you with.”
Selene’s jaw tightened.
That was the problem, wasn’t it?
She wasn’t free. She was trapped.
Damian had made sure of that.
She could survive like this forever, bending to the weight of a life that wasn’t hers. Or she could take Killian’s offer—step into the unknown and gamble everything on a man she didn’t trust.
A man who wasn’t her mate.
But her wolf didn’t recoil from him the way she should have. She didn’t bare her teeth in rejection, didn’t growl in defiance.
She watched.
She waited.
Like she recognized something in him she wasn’t supposed to.
Selene forced herself to hold his gaze. “You expect me to betray my pack.”
His smirk faded, something more serious slipping into his expression. “No. I expect you to betray the ones who betrayed you.”
Her stomach clenched.
Damian. Lilith. The ones who had watched her fall and done nothing.
Hadn’t she already been cast aside?
Hadn’t she already lost everything?
And yet, the idea of taking something back—of forcing Damian to see what he had thrown away—lit a dangerous spark inside her.
Still, she hesitated. “What exactly do you want from me?”
Killian tilted his head, his golden gaze assessing. “For now? Obedience.”
Her lips parted, heat flashing through her. “Excuse me?”
He took another slow step toward her, close enough that she could feel the warmth radiating from his body. “I will get my revenge, Selene. With or without you. But if you stand with me, you don’t get to pick and choose when to listen.”
Her breath came faster now. “So, I’m just supposed to submit to you?”
His smirk was sharp, predatory. “Not submit. Follow.”
The distinction sent a shiver through her.
Selene had been forced into submission for years. This wasn’t the same.
Bound by Instinct
Chapter Five (Continued)
Selene held Killian’s gaze, her body thrumming with the weight of her decision.
She had said the words—What do you need me to do?—but she hadn’t expected the shift in the air between them, thick and charged.
Killian watched her like a predator who had finally cornered his prey. But it wasn’t hunger in his eyes, not the way Damian had once looked at her when she was still his.
This was something else.
Something unpredictable.
He stepped closer, the heat of his body curling around her like a warning. “We start small. You listen. You watch. You wait.”
Selene frowned. “That sounds a lot like what I’ve already been doing.”
He smirked. “No. You’ve been surviving. This time, you strike when it matters.”
Her fingers curled into fists. “And when will that be?”
Killian lifted a hand as if he was going to touch her but stopped just before his fingers could graze her chin. A test. A provocation.
Her skin burned in anticipation, but she refused to flinch.
“When I say so.” His voice was smooth, full of quiet control.
Selene exhaled, steadying herself. “So, I’m just supposed to follow your lead? Take orders from you now instead of Damian?”
Killian chuckled, the sound dark, full of something she couldn’t quite name. “I don’t give orders, Selene. I make deals.”
She swallowed hard. “And what’s my part of this deal?”
His golden eyes flashed. “You get to decide what kind of woman you want to be when this is over.”
Her heart pounded.
It wasn’t the answer she expected.
It wasn’t the answer Damian would have given.
For two years, she had been nothing—no choices, no future, no purpose beyond what was forced upon her. And now, Killian was offering her something more dangerous than revenge.
Control.
Her lips parted, a retort forming, but then the sharp click of heels echoed down the hallway outside.
Lilith.
Selene knew the sound of her step anywhere.
Killian’s smirk vanished, and in a blink, he moved—faster than she could react. One second he was standing before her, and the next, he was behind her, his hands bracing on either side of the doorframe, caging her in without touching her.
Selene barely had time to catch her breath before the door swung open.
Lilith’s violet eyes flickered between them, suspicion sharp in her gaze.
“Selene,” she said smoothly, her lips curving into something that wasn’t quite a smile. “I didn’t realize you had company.”
Selene forced herself to keep her expression neutral. “I—”
“I was just leaving.” Killian’s voice was lazy, unconcerned, but the way he said it—like he owned the space—made Lilith’s eyes narrow.
For the first time in a long time, Selene saw something unfamiliar in Lilith’s gaze.
Not just suspicion.
Unease.
She wasn’t used to Killian, to the way he carried himself like he didn’t care about the power games of the pack. Like he already knew how they ended.
Lilith’s gaze flickered back to Selene. “You should be resting. Damian will need you early tomorrow.”
A command disguised as concern.
Selene forced herself to nod, swallowing the bitterness that burned in her throat. “Of course, Luna.”
Lilith didn’t respond, but her eyes lingered on Killian a beat too long before she turned on her heel and disappeared down the hall.
Selene exhaled slowly, waiting until the sound of her footsteps faded before she turned back to Killian.
His smirk was back, lazy and sharp.
“She doesn’t like me,” he mused.
Selene shot him a glare. “No one does.”
He chuckled. “Good.”
Her breath was still unsteady, her pulse erratic, but she forced herself to level him with a look. “You need to be careful.”
Killian tilted his head, amusement flickering in his golden eyes. “Oh, Selene.” He stepped even closer, his voice a whisper against her skin. “I want them to see me coming.”
Her stomach tightened.
Because she realized, in that moment, that Killian Blackwood wasn’t just back to take revenge.
He was here to burn it all down.
And he was asking her to light the first match.
- Writer
