Chapter 6 Bound in shadows

Selene sat on the edge of the bed, her pulse still unsteady.

Kieran had barely spoken on the way back. His grip had been firm, his silence thick with unspoken words. Now, inside his den. A dark, lavish room that smelled like cedar and fire-he stood by the window, his back to her.

He was angry.

And when Kieran was angry, it wasn't something to be ignored.

Selene exhaled, flexing her fingers. "You don't have to keep me here."

He turned his head slightly, golden eyes glinting in the dim light. "Don't I?"

She tensed.

Kieran moved toward her, slow and deliberate. The air shifted with him, thick with his presence.

"I told you before," he murmured, standing over her. "You're mine."

Selene swallowed, her jaw tightening. "I never agreed to that."

Kieran crouched in front of her, his fingers brushing the torn fabric of her sleeve. "You didn't have to."

Heat licked at her skin. His scent-dark, intoxicating-curled around her, sinking into her bones.

Selene exhaled sharply. "You're not my Alpha."

Kieran's lips curled slightly. "You keep saying that."

"I mean it."

He studied her for a long moment, then reached out-slow, almost teasing-and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. His touch was light, barely there, but it sent a shiver down her spine.

"You can lie to yourself all you want," he murmured. "But we both know the truth."

Selene clenched her fists, her heartbeat betraying her.

Kieran leaned closer, his breath warm against her skin. "You ran straight into danger for your mother." His fingers trailed lightly over her wrist, where her pulse thudded wildly. "I respect that."

His voice dipped lower.

"But if you ever pull something like that again-if you ever put yourself in danger without me, I will drag you back myself."

Selene's breath hitched.

Kieran tilted his head, his golden eyes dark with something lethal.

"Do you understand?"

Selene forced herself to hold his gaze. "You don't control me."

Kieran's smirk deepened. "We'll see."

The air between them was stifling, heavy with something neither of them wanted to name.

Then, as if nothing had happened, Kieran stood. "Get some rest."

Selene blinked. "What?"

He gave her a pointed look. "You're staying here."

She shot to her feet. "Like hell I am."

Kieran raised an eyebrow. "You think you have a choice?"

Selene's stomach knotted.

She had known-known-that he wouldn't just let her walk away. Not after tonight.

Still, she tried. "I have to take care of my mother."

His expression didn't change. "And you will."

She frowned. "What does that mean?"

Kieran exhaled, running a hand through his hair. "It means I'll take care of it."

Selene froze. "What?"

"I'll make sure she gets what she needs." His gaze flicked to hers, unreadable. "You don't have to fight anymore."

Selene's chest tightened.

This was what she wanted. What she needed.

But it wasn't free. Nothing with Kieran ever was.

Her voice came out unsteady. "What do you want in return?"

Kieran stepped closer, his fingers brushing against her chin.

His smirk was slow. Dangerous.

"You already know the answer to that."

Selene's breath caught.

This-this-was what she had been afraid of.

Kieran Moretti didn't make deals. He took.

And now, he had taken her.

Present Day

A sharp knock on the door made Selene jolt awake.

Her breathing was shallow, her body tangled in the silk sheets of a bed far too luxurious to be hers.

For a moment, she forgot.

Forgot where she was.

Forgot that she wasn't free.

Then reality came crashing back.

Kieran.

She swallowed hard, her throat dry.

Another knock.

"Selene."

His voice was deeper now, rougher with age.

She didn't move.

The door opened anyway.

Kieran stood in the doorway, all raw power and effortless control. His golden eyes swept over her, taking in her tangled hair, her bare shoulders against the sheets.

He smirked.

"You look like you've seen a ghost."

Selene exhaled shakily, gripping the covers tighter.

Maybe I have.

Because the man standing before her wasn't just Kieran.

He was something else now.

Something darker.

And Selene had no idea if she would survive him this time.

Because the Kieran standing before her wasn't the same man she had met in the woods all those months ago.

That man had been dangerous, yes. But this one? This one was worse.

This Kieran was in control. He was no longer a simple alpha, no longer a hunted wolf scraping by in the shadows. He had carved his place into this world-with blood, with power, with the kind of ruthless certainty that made even the strongest men tremble.

And now, she was in his hands.

Selene clenched the silk sheets beneath her fingers, her pulse roaring in her ears. She refused to cower. Refused to let him see how the mere sight of him set her entire body on edge.

Kieran watched her, his golden eyes glinting with something dark and unreadable. "You've gone quiet," he mused. "Not like you at all."

Selene forced herself to breathe evenly. "You expected me to scream?"

He smirked. "I expected you to run."

Her stomach tightened. He wasn't wrong-every instinct screamed at her to escape, to claw her way out of this place before she was swallowed whole.

But there was nowhere left to run.

"I need to see my mother," she said, keeping her voice even.

Kieran tilted his head. "And if I say no?"

Selene's jaw clenched. "Then I'll fight."

Something flickered in his gaze-amusement, curiosity. Interest.

"You're always so eager to challenge me," he murmured. He stepped forward, and she had to force herself not to retreat. "Tell me, little wolf, how does it always end?"

Selene swallowed hard.

With him winning.

With him forcing her to yield, to submit, to accept that no matter how much she fought... he owned her.

Not this time.

"I won't let you keep me here," she said, her voice steady despite the storm raging inside her.

Kieran exhaled slowly, as if this conversation bored him. "You're here because you chose to be, Selene."

She stiffened. "I chose to make a deal. Not to be your prisoner."

Kieran tsked, shaking his head. "And yet, here you are."

He reached out, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear before she could pull away. His touch was deceptively gentle, but she knew better.

"Your mother is safe," he said softly. "She has the best care, the best healers. She wants for nothing."

Selene's breath hitched.

"She's here?" she whispered.

Kieran nodded toward the window. The heavy drapes billowed slightly, revealing the distant flicker of torches in the village below.

Selene's stomach twisted. He had brought her here?

"You should be thanking me," Kieran murmured. "She wouldn't have lasted the winter in that run-down shack you called home."

Rage flared in Selene's chest. "You had no right-"

"I had every right." Kieran's voice turned cold, sharp. "You agreed to my protection. Did you think that only applied to you?"

Selene clenched her fists. He had trapped her in the cruelest way possible-by taking away the only thing she could have left for.

"You're a bastard," she seethed.

Kieran's lips twitched. "And yet, you still owe me, little wolf."

Before she could retort, he stepped closer-too close. His scent surrounded her, dark and intoxicating.

"You made a deal with the devil," Kieran murmured, his fingers trailing along her jaw. "And now it's time to pay."

Selene shivered, hating how her body reacted to his touch. Hating how, despite the rage simmering inside her...

She felt him. Everywhere.

Kieran smirked, sensing her hesitation. Sensing the war within her.

And then, in one swift motion, he tilted her chin up-forcing her to meet his gaze.

His golden eyes burned into her, filled with a dark promise.

"No more running, Selene," he whispered.

And this time... she believed him.