Chapter 5 Five

Selene's POV

They stopped spitting in my food today.

That's how I knew I was making progress.

Not exactly the welcome parade, but when you're a rogue locked in the dungeon of the most feared alpha in the region, you take what you can get.

"You're still here," a voice says from the doorway.

I glanced up, halfway through chewing on the dry biscuit they slid through the bars this morning. It's the tall one...grumpy, broad-shouldered, dark eyes that never miss anything. Caleb, I think they said.

"Disappointed?" I ask.

He shrugs. "Impressed, actually. Most rogues don't last a night here. You're on day five."

"Maybe I'm just too stubborn to die."

He huffs a sound that might be a laugh. "Or stupid."

"That too."

He steps closer, crossing his arms. "Why haven't you tried escaping again?"

I wipe my mouth and stand slowly, matching his stance from behind the bars. "Maybe I like it here."

"Sure. Cold stone and insults with breakfast. Real luxury."

I raise a brow. "You've been nicer than most."

"Not nice. Just curious."

"About?"

"Why the Alpha hasn't killed you."

There it is.

The question on everyone's mind.

I met his gaze. "Because he's afraid of me."

Caleb actually laughs now. "You? A rogue? What could he possibly be afraid of?"

"I'm his mate."

The silence that follows is heavy enough to crush.

He stares at me, like I just sprouted wings.

Then, very softly, "You're serious."

"Deadly."

He mutters something under his breath. "Shit."

"Charming."

He turns to leave, but I call after him, "You didn't ask if I accepted the rejection."

He doesn't turn around. "I don't need to."

By the end of the day, the whispers start.

The rogue and the Alpha. The cursed bond. The girl who didn't scream.

They try to hide it, but I see the way they look at me now. Like I'm something wild they don't understand.

Not a prisoner.

Not quite a pack member.

Something in between.

And that, I can work with.

"Hey."

The next morning, a girl with short black curls and sharp green eyes appears outside my cell, balancing a tray. She pushes it toward me with a foot.

"New girl perk," she says. "Real food. Don't get used to it."

I squint at her. "And you are?"

"Mara. Kitchen duty this week."

I sit up. The tray has scrambled eggs, toast, and actual tea.

"Trying to poison me?"

She snorts. "Not yet. Depends on how annoying you are."

I take the tray, cautious. "Why the sudden hospitality?"

"You've got guts. I respect that."

"Or stupidity."

"Same thing around here."

I eat in silence for a while, watching her lean against the wall.

"You really the Alpha's mate?" she asks casually.

"Are you really this nosey?"

She smirks. "This pack thrives on gossip. Might as well give us the good stuff."

I lean forward. "Here's the good stuff: he rejected me, chained me up, and hasn't looked me in the eye since."

"Hot."

"Right?"

She laughs. "Alright, rogue. You're interesting. I'll bring you something edible again tomorrow."

The next to show up is the one they call Luca...young, lanky, with a mop of brown curls and an awkward way of standing like he's unsure he belongs anywhere.

He appears two days later, holding a deck of cards.

"You look bored," he offers.

"I look imprisoned."

"Same thing."

He sits cross-legged just outside the bars and starts shuffling. "Know how to play Snap?"

I arch a brow. "You came all the way down here to play Snap?"

"Boredom kills. Cards distract."

I lean closer. "What's the catch?"

He shrugs. "No catch. Just don't tell Mara. She thinks I'm running errands."

We played three rounds.

I beat him twice.

He pouts both times.

"You're cheating," he accuses.

"I'm a rogue. What do you expect?"

He grins. "Fair enough."

A week in, they give me access to the courtyard.

Under supervision, of course.

Caleb walks beside me like a shadow, always just close enough to intervene if I bolt.

"I'm not going to run," I say.

"Doesn't matter. Orders are orders."

I breathe deep. Fresh air. Open space. My wolf howls in my chest, pacing, restless.

"You shift much?" he asks suddenly.

"No."

"Why?"

I look up at the sky. "Because I spent most of my life hiding what I am."

"Why?"

I glance at him. "Because people like your Alpha don't take kindly to surprises."

To my surprise, Caleb doesn't argue. He just walks a little slower after that.

Later, Mara and Luca meet me by the training ring.

I stare at the sparring wolves. They move fast, calculated, brutal, elegant. The kind of power I was trained to run from.

"Have you ever fought?" Mara asks, watching me.

I shake my head. "Not like that."

"You want to?"

I blink. "What?"

She grins. "We're short on training dummies. Thought you might volunteer."

"I'd rather not die today, thanks."

"Suit yourself."

But when Luca steps into the ring and immediately gets slammed into the dirt by a girl half his size, I laugh. Loud.

And the others stare.

Not with hatred.

With surprise.

Like they forgot rogues could laugh.

Or maybe I just forgot I wasn't broken yet.

By the third week, I'm not chained.

Still watched. Still confined to the main house and courtyard. But no cuffs.

Freedom, just enough to taste.

And that's when I feel it.

The pull.

Sharp. Suddenly. Primal.

I stop walking. My wolf rises like a tide beneath my skin.

He's near.

Aidan.

I turn, eyes scanning the trees, the shadows, the path beyond the training yard.

"Selene," Luca says, frowning, "you okay?"

But I can't hear him.

Because the bond is thrumming again.

And something's wrong.

So very wrong.

Caleb bursts through the training gates a second later, breathing hard.

"Get everyone inside," he snaps. "Now."

"What's happening?" I ask.

He doesn't answer me. But his eyes...his eyes find mine with something like warning.

And then he says two words that turn my blood cold:

"They're here."

"Who?" I demand.

He looks at me like he already knows I won't like the answer.

"The ones hunting you."