Chapter 5 No Alpha Owns Me

Selene's POV

The first thing I felt was warmth, not the feverish kind that had chased me into darkness. This was different and real. My eyes fluttered open, fire crackling by the corner.

I didn't recognize this place; the air was cleaner, different, and safer. Until I saw him, a figure sitting in the corner, one arm draped over his bent knee, his head moved slightly...watching me.

I stiffened, and my breath caught. Immediately, his eyes struck me-sharp, calculating, and locked even in the firelight. His hair was dark, tousled by the wind. His strong jaw was tense, like he was waiting for me to get up.

And I did. I jerked upright too quickly...pain seeping through my belly like lightning. A cry tore in front of my throat before I could bite it back, and my hands flew to my stomach, the swell under my palms anchored me.

But I was still here, still safe. "Don't worry you're not dying." His voice came low and calm. "Just don't be stupid enough to try standing with a fever and a pup in your belly."

"Who are you?" I asked, my gaze snapping to him, but he didn't move.

"I'm Kaelen."

But that name meant nothing to me until I looked closer. Then it hit me like ice down my spine. He was the man with whom I had an altercation, he...he saved me.

But why? Why did he save someone who meant nothing to him? My pulse quickened. "You're...you're one of Rael's men."

"What other reason would you have for saving me if not to drag me back to that monster," I whispered. He shrugged once. "That's all a lie."

But his answer terrified me more. The fever still clung to the edges of my skull, but I forced my legs over the side of the bed. I couldn't stay here. I couldn't trust...

He stood up immediately and fasted. I shifted, trying to summon whatever strength I had left. My wolf whimpered under my skin-too tired to fight. "I'm not going to hurt you or take you back to Rael." He spoke.

His voice is steady. "But if you try to run, you won't make it past the trees. You'll collapse and the next person that finds you, trust me he won't be so kind."

"Not when Rael is offering a bounty on your head." I hated that he was right, hated the way my body was shaking from the effort of just breathing. I hated that part of me wanted to believe him.

"Why didn't you take me to your pack?" I asked, the words leaving my mouth before I could stop them. He didn't give me a reply right away, instead, he walked past me.

Grabbing a jug of water from the shelf and pouring it into a cup. He set it on the small table beside the bed. "I don't owe you any explanations," he said quietly.

"And you wouldn't survive if I answered all your questions." My chest tightened, I didn't know what to make of this man. His energy wasn't soft..it wasn't cruel either. There was this hidden anger in his movements, a barely leashed power.

But behind it... Maybe he was a good person after all. "Drink," he added, nodding to the cup. "And eat your food. You need it for your baby."

I hesitated, staring at the bread and stew on the table, my hands shaking as I reached for it. He turned away, giving me space while I chewed in silence, the taste bringing tears to my eyes.

I hadn't eaten in two days, maybe three. "Why did you help me?" I asked after a while. "With the type of money Rael is offering in my head. Why didn't you turn me in? I'm Rael's...."

I choked on the word before I could finish it. He turned his head slightly, "You mean nothing to him," he said. My chest burned with anger. "Yes, I am," I whispered.

"I was... I don't even know anymore."

Something changed in his eyes. "You were claimed?" My hands dropped to my stomach, his eyes flickering there. He didn't speak, but I saw the way his eyes darkened.

"I never asked for any of this," I said, my voice shaking. "He..he kept coming back. I thought finally I meant something to someone. I thought I was special." The words broke open something inside me. I hadn't said them aloud before. Not even to myself.

"He never marked me," I continued." He never said I was going to be his mate. But he used me like one. And when I found out I was pregnant with his child, I thought.... "

"Maybe it would change something. Maybe he would choose me." Kaelen's eyes remained on the fire. Hard. Unreadable. "But the day I planned to tell him..." I swallowed hard.

"He announced his engagement to someone else. Someone powerful. And I...I ran." For a while there was nothing but silence between us, only the fire crackled. Tears rolled down my cheeks, but I didn't wipe them.

"I've been hiding ever since," I said. "Running from his soldiers. From his scent. From shame. But I'm tired. My baby...my child deserves to live in more than fear.

For a long moment, Kaelen didn't speak. "You're strong." He finally voiced out. I laughed-bitter and cracked. "I'm broken." He turned to me fully now, stepping closer. His eyes weren't angry anymore, they were...human. But intense.

"No," he said. "You survived him. That's not a weakness." But I looked away, my heart was beating too loudly. The fire cast shadows across his face, and his features were too sharp.

But something in them softened for a moment. Just for a moment. He knelt beside the bed. "You don't belong to any Alpha," he said, voice low.

"And I won't let that fucking bastard find you. Not now. Not ever." The weight of his words wrapped around me like armor, and even though I didn't believe in promises anymore...

For the first time in a long time, I wanted to. But why did he talk about Rael that way, like he had known him, or he had hurt him worse than the way he hurt me?

"Why do you talk about Rael that way....do...do you know him?" I asked, the words escaping my damn mouth. He stayed seated there for a while, his eyes locked onto mine, changed into something more venomous.

"Because that damn bastard is my cousin."