Two
942 Words
Selene moved through the Packhouse corridors, the echoes of Damian’s words lingering in her mind. Killian is dangerous.
She didn’t doubt it.
He had been dangerous even as a boy—sharp-eyed and too clever for his own good, an outcast even among his own kind. He had vanished after his father’s death, and no one had dared speak of him again. But now, he was back.
And he had looked at her like he saw everything.
She reached her small chamber in the servants’ wing, a far cry from the luxurious suite she had once shared with Damian. The walls were bare, the mattress thin, but she didn’t care. It was hers, and it was the only place she could exist without someone watching.
Or so she thought.
As soon as she closed the door, a low voice rumbled from the shadows.
“You should hate him more.”
Selene spun, her breath hitching.
Killian.
He was leaning against the wall near her window, arms crossed, golden eyes flickering in the dim candlelight. He shouldn’t have been able to get in without her noticing, but he had. That alone made her wolf stir with unease.
She schooled her expression, stepping back to put space between them. “You shouldn’t be here.”
“And yet, here I am.” His lips curled, but there was no humor in it. “Strange, isn’t it? The woman who was once Luna, now an Omega. And the son of the man who once ruled this pack, now an outsider.”
She didn’t respond.
She didn’t trust him.
But she couldn’t ignore him either.
Killian pushed off the wall, his gaze never leaving hers as he stepped closer. “I remember you, you know. Before.”
A knot formed in her throat. “That was a long time ago.”
“Not long enough.” His voice was smooth, but there was something dangerous beneath it. “I used to wonder why you never questioned my father’s death.”
Selene stiffened.
A test. A challenge.
She met his gaze. “Because questioning anything in this pack gets you killed.”
His eyes darkened, something unreadable flickering in them. “Smart answer.”
She swallowed, willing her heartbeat to steady. “Why are you here, Killian?”
His silence stretched between them, thick and charged. When he finally spoke, his voice was quieter, but no less sharp.
“Because I want what was taken from me.”
*****
Bound by Instinct
Chapter Three
Selene’s pulse hammered as Killian’s words settled between them.
Because I want what was taken from me.
She knew what he meant. His father’s death had never sat right with anyone who dared to think for themselves. Alpha Blackwood’s rule had been absolute, but he had commanded loyalty, respect. Then one night, he was gone—just like that. Damian had taken his place without question, Lilith by his side as if she had been meant to stand there all along.
And now Killian was back, staring at her like she was a puzzle piece in his grand design.
She straightened her spine. “And what does that have to do with me?”
His lips quirked, but there was no amusement in it. “Everything.”
She exhaled sharply, forcing herself to hold his gaze. “If you think I have power left to give, you’re wrong. Damian made sure of that.”
Killian stepped closer, slow and deliberate. “I saw you tonight, Selene. You may have been stripped of your title, your freedom, but you are not powerless.”
Her throat tightened.
Because the way he said it—like he truly believed it—made something deep inside her stir.
She had spent two years pretending to be invisible, forcing herself to be small, to survive. But Killian had looked at her for less than five minutes and saw something else entirely.
Dangerous.
She swallowed hard. “What do you want from me?”
He tilted his head, his golden eyes burning into hers. “An alliance.”
Selene scoffed. “An alliance? With me? What could I possibly offer you?”
“Influence.”
That startled a laugh out of her. “You must be joking.”
“Not at all,” he said smoothly. “This pack still remembers who you were. They might not speak of it, but they haven’t forgotten. And neither has Damian.”
Her stomach twisted at the mention of her mate—her former mate. “You want to use me against him.”
Killian shrugged. “Why not? He used you first.”
Selene’s nails bit into her palms. He wasn’t wrong.
But aligning herself with Killian?
That was another kind of danger.
She studied him, the sharp angles of his face, the quiet fury simmering beneath his surface. He was not a man who made empty threats. If he had come back, it was for a reason.
And despite everything, her instincts told her he wasn’t lying.
Still…
“Damian will never let me go,” she said quietly.
Killian’s jaw clenched. “Then we take from him what he fears losing the most.”
A chill skated down her spine. “And what is that?”
Killian’s gaze darkened, his voice dropping to something almost primal.
“Control.”
Selene’s breath hitched.
He wasn’t just talking about power.
He was talking about her.
And for the first time in two years, she wondered—truly wondered—what it would feel like to take something back.
To take everything back.
Even if it meant surrendering to something else entirely.
- Writer
