The Alpha's Reborn Mate

The Man In The Rain

Selene's POV

The rain had eased by the time Selene reached the end of the street.

She slowed down.

Her shoes were wet, her dress was still damp, and the alcohol had left a faint warmth in her stomach. She should have been thinking about getting home.

Instead, she kept thinking about the man on the balcony.

She didn't know why.

She had seen him for less than a minute.

They hadn't spoken.

Yet something about his face kept returning to her mind.

She stopped beneath a streetlight and looked back toward the club.

The entrance was still crowded.

People came and went beneath the bright sign.

The upper floors were mostly dark.

She couldn't see him.

"Get a grip, Selene."

She turned away.

She had enough problems already.

She didn't need to add a mysterious stranger to the list.

She reached into her purse and pulled out her phone.

It was still switched off.

She considered turning it on.

Then remembered Ryan's messages.

Her thumb moved toward the power button before stopping.

"No."

She put it away.

Ryan could wait.

She started walking again.

The streets were quieter than they had been near the club. Most of the shops were closed, and only a few cars passed every minute.

Selene hugged herself.

She hadn't planned to walk this far.

Her original idea had been to take a taxi home.

But she didn't want to go home yet.

Home meant questions.

It meant Helena asking where she'd been.

It meant Dara making some cruel comment.

It meant Victor looking at her as though she were another problem he had to tolerate.

She wasn't ready for that.

She continued walking.

Then the strange feeling returned.

Someone was watching her.

Selene stopped.

She looked behind her.

Nothing.

A couple walked past, talking quietly.

A taxi drove through the intersection.

A man stood outside a closed pharmacy.

No one appeared interested in her.

She started walking again.

The feeling remained.

She looked across the street.

A black sedan was parked near the curb.

Its windows were dark.

She stared at it for a moment.

Then the car moved.

Slowly.

Selene frowned.

Maybe she was imagining things.

She continued toward a small convenience store she remembered seeing earlier.

The old man behind the counter looked up when she entered.

His eyes moved from her damp dress to her face.

"You've been walking in this rain?"

"Apparently."

He smiled.

"You don't sound happy about it."

"I'm not."

He chuckled.

"At least you're honest."

Selene picked up a bottle of water.

"How much?"

He told her the price.

She paid.

As she turned to leave, he spoke again.

"You shouldn't be out alone this late."

Selene glanced at the clock behind him.

12:18 a.m.

"I know."

"Do you have someone coming for you?"

She hesitated.

"No."

The old man frowned.

"Call somebody."

"I'll be fine."

"You young people always say that."

She gave him a small smile.

"I'll be careful."

He nodded.

"At least stay on the main road."

"I will."

She stepped outside.

The drizzle had almost stopped.

For a few seconds, she stood beneath the awning and drank some water.

Then she started walking.

She didn't notice the black sedan parked farther down the street.

Inside it, Kael sat in silence.

Lucien was behind the wheel.

Neither had spoken for several minutes.

Kael's eyes remained fixed on Selene.

His wolf was becoming increasingly restless.

Mate.

He clenched his jaw.

"Drive."

Lucien didn't move.

"You've been watching her for twenty minutes."

Kael's gaze remained on the road.

"Drive."

"You know this isn't going to make the problem disappear."

Kael turned his head.

"Did I ask for your opinion?"

"No."

Lucien started the engine.

The sedan moved forward.

For the first time, Kael looked away from Selene.

The moment he did, pain struck his chest.

His breathing changed.

He gripped the door handle.

Lucien noticed.

"My Alpha?"

"Keep driving."

The pain grew stronger.

Kael closed his eyes.

He had experienced the curse for centuries.

He knew what it felt like.

The burning.

The pressure.

The weakness.

But this was different.

This wasn't the curse.

His wolf was reacting to distance.

Turn back.

Kael ignored it.

The car continued forward.

His chest tightened.

He opened his eyes.

"Stop."

Lucien immediately stopped.

Kael stared ahead.

For several seconds, he said nothing.

Then:

"Turn around."

Lucien glanced at him.

"I thought you wanted to leave."

"I changed my mind."

Lucien didn't comment.

He turned the car around.

As the sedan headed back toward Selene's location, the pressure in Kael's chest began to ease.

His expression hardened.

That confirmed it.

Whatever was happening between them wasn't something he could simply ignore.

He had spent centuries controlling every part of his life.

He wasn't going to let an ancient instinct control him now.

"Find out everything about her," he said.

Lucien nodded.

"Name?"

"Selene Voss."

Lucien looked at him.

"You know her name?"

Kael's expression didn't change.

"I heard someone call it."

That wasn't true.

He didn't know where the name had come from.

But when he'd looked at her, the name had simply appeared in his mind.

Selene Voss.

He didn't understand it.

And he didn't like things he couldn't explain.

---

Selene reached a bus stop.

The shelter was empty.

She checked the road.

No buses.

She sighed.

"Of course."

She sat down.

Her thoughts returned to Ryan.

Two years.

She had given him two years.

She remembered their first date.

The restaurant had been cheap.

The food had been average.

But Ryan had made her laugh.

She had believed that was enough.

Maybe it had been.

Maybe people simply changed.

She rubbed her forehead.

She didn't want to think about him anymore.

A noise came from the alley beside the bus stop.

Selene looked over.

Three men stepped into the street.

She immediately became alert.

They were young.

One was tall and broad.

Another carried a bottle.

The third kept looking at her.

The tallest smiled.

"Evening."

Selene didn't answer.

He took a step closer.

"Why are you sitting here alone?"

"I'm waiting for a bus."

"At this hour?"

"Yes."

He laughed.

"We can keep you company."

"No, thank you."

She stood.

The three men moved slightly, blocking the sidewalk.

Selene's stomach tightened.

"Please move."

"We're just talking."

"I don't want to talk."

The tall man stepped closer.

"Don't be rude."

Selene stepped backward.

Her phone was still switched off.

She reached into her purse anyway.

The man noticed.

"Calling somebody?"

"No."

"Good."

His hand reached toward her.

Selene moved away.

"Don't touch me."

He laughed.

"You think you're better than us?"

"No."

"Then relax."

He reached again.

This time Selene turned sharply and tried to move past him.

He caught her wrist.

Fear shot through her.

"Let me go."

His grip tightened.

Then a deep growl came from somewhere behind them.

Everyone froze.

The sound didn't seem human.

It was low and powerful enough to make Selene's skin prickle.

The man holding her wrist released her.

A black sedan had stopped several meters away.

The rear door opened.

A man stepped out.

Selene recognized him immediately.

The stranger from the balcony.

The man from the car.

The man she couldn't stop thinking about.

He walked toward them.

Rainwater dripped from his dark coat.

His expression was calm.

Almost too calm.

"Leave."

The tallest man laughed nervously.

"Who are you?"

Kael stopped.

"Someone giving you one chance to walk away."

The man scoffed.

"And if we don't?"

Kael looked at him.

Nothing else happened.

But something changed.

The man's smile disappeared.

His face went pale.

The other two stepped backward.

Selene didn't understand what they were seeing.

Then she saw it.

For a fraction of a second, Kael's eyes flashed gold.

The tallest man stumbled.

"Let's go."

His friends didn't argue.

They ran.

Selene watched them disappear.

Silence settled over the street.

Kael turned toward her.

"Are you hurt?"

She looked at her wrist.

There were already red marks where the man's fingers had been.

"I'm fine."

Kael's eyes moved to the marks.

Something dark crossed his face.

He looked toward the alley.

Then back at her.

"You shouldn't be walking alone."

Selene folded her arms.

"People keep telling me that tonight."

"Maybe you should listen."

She frowned.

"Do you always give orders to strangers?"

"It's advice."

"It doesn't sound like advice."

Kael studied her.

Up close, he was even more intimidating.

He was tall enough that she had to lift her chin slightly to maintain eye contact.

His face was controlled.

His clothes were expensive.

Everything about him suggested someone used to being obeyed.

Selene should have been uncomfortable.

Instead, she found herself curious.

"Who are you?"

Kael didn't answer immediately.

"Someone you don't need to know."

She stared at him.

"That's not an answer."

"It's the only one you're getting."

"You're strange."

A faint movement appeared at the corner of his mouth.

Almost a smile.

Then it disappeared.

Selene noticed.

She wasn't sure why that tiny expression made him seem more human.

"Have we met before?" she asked.

"No."

His answer came too quickly.

Selene narrowed her eyes.

"You're sure?"

"Yes."

"Because you were staring at me at the club."

"I was."

"Why?"

Kael looked away for a moment.

"I don't know."

That surprised her.

He looked like the kind of man who always knew what he wanted.

Yet he seemed genuinely uncertain.

She studied him.

"Do you know my name?"

His eyes returned to hers.

"Selene."

Her heart skipped.

"How do you know that?"

Kael said nothing.

Selene stepped closer.

"I never told you my name."

"I know."

"Then how?"

He looked at her for a long moment.

"I don't have an explanation."

She didn't know whether to believe him.

Before she could ask another question, Kael suddenly stiffened.

His hand moved toward his chest.

Selene noticed.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine."

"You don't look fine."

"I said I'm fine."

She frowned.

"You're very bad at accepting concern."

He looked at her.

For some reason, the statement seemed to affect him.

His expression softened for barely a second.

Then his phone rang.

Lucien answered it from beside the car.

"My Alpha."

Kael took the phone.

"What?"

Lucien's expression was serious.

"The Northern Pack."

Kael's entire demeanor changed.

"What about them?"

"They've crossed the eastern boundary."

Kael's eyes hardened.

"How many?"

"Too many to be a warning."

Silence.

Kael looked toward Selene.

She was watching him.

He didn't want to leave.

Every instinct in him told him to stay.

But if the Northern Pack had attacked, his people came first.

They always had.

"Get everyone ready."

Lucien nodded.

Kael ended the call.

Selene looked confused.

"Is everything okay?"

"No."

"What's wrong?"

"It's not your problem."

She frowned.

"You don't have to keep treating me like a child."

Kael stared at her.

"You don't know what you're dealing with."

"Neither do you."

That caught him off guard.

She continued.

"You don't know me."

"No."

"But you've followed me twice."

"I didn't follow you."

"You appeared at the club and then appeared here."

"Coincidence."

"You said you don't believe in coincidence."

Kael's jaw tightened.

She was right.

Selene folded her arms.

"Who are you?"

He hesitated.

Then said:

"Kael."

She waited.

"Just Kael?"

"For now."

She almost smiled.

"That's convenient."

Kael looked toward the road.

"I need to go."

"Fine."

He turned toward the car.

Selene watched him.

Something inside her told her she would see him again.

She didn't know why.

Before getting inside, Kael stopped.

He looked back at her.

"When you get home, lock your doors."

Selene sighed.

"Another order."

"Take it seriously."

His voice was different now.

There was no arrogance.

Only concern.

That unsettled her more than his coldness.

She nodded.

"Fine."

Kael got into the car.

The sedan drove away.

Selene stood beneath the streetlight until it disappeared.

She looked down at her wrist.

The red marks were already fading.

She touched them.

Then looked toward the direction the car had gone.

"Kael."

The name felt strangely familiar.

She shook her head.

She needed sleep.

That was all.

She started walking again.

---

Kael watched the city through the car window.

He should have been thinking about the Northern Pack.

Instead, he was thinking about Selene.

Her voice.

Her eyes.

The way she had challenged him without knowing who he was.

The way she'd noticed his pain.

His wolf was still restless.

Go back.

Kael closed his eyes.

"Enough."

Lucien glanced at him through the mirror.

"You know what this means."

Kael didn't respond.

"She may be your mate."

"I know."

"And if she is..."

"Don't."

Lucien went silent.

Kael stared out the window.

For centuries, he'd believed his mate was dead.

He had buried her himself.

He remembered her last breath.

He remembered her blood on his hands.

He remembered the silver blade.

Most of all, he remembered her eyes.

They had been the same color as Selene's.

Storm-grey.

Kael's fingers curled into a fist.

It couldn't be her.

It was impossible.

Yet his wolf had never been wrong.

The sedan passed beneath a bridge.

For one brief moment, Kael saw a reflection in the window.

A woman covered in blood.

A silver dagger.

His own body falling.

Then the image disappeared.

He opened his eyes.

Lucien was watching him.

"Are you alright?"

Kael's voice was quiet.

"No."

He looked toward the dark road ahead.

"Find out who Selene Voss really is."

---

Selene reached home just before two in the morning.

The house was dark.

She stood outside the gate for several seconds.

Kael's warning returned to her mind.

Lock your doors.

She shook her head.

"Why am I listening to a stranger?"

Still, she entered the gate and locked it behind her.

She walked toward the house.

Before reaching the door, she stopped.

A strange sound came from somewhere beyond the trees.

A howl.

Selene looked up.

Another howl answered it from farther away.

She stared into the darkness.

There was nothing there.

Her skin prickled.

She hurried inside.

The moment the door closed behind her, she leaned against it.

She took a deep breath.

Her hand went to her phone.

She almost switched it on.

Then stopped.

Not tonight.

She walked upstairs.

She didn't know that across the city, a man was sitting awake because he couldn't stop thinking about her.

She didn't know that someone had already begun searching for her.

And she certainly didn't know that the man who had rescued her was not simply a wealthy stranger.

He was the most powerful Alpha in the country.

And for the first time in four centuries...

His wolf had recognized its mate.

Kael had spent his entire life believing fate had already taken everything from him.

He was beginning to realize that fate had never finished with him.