Chapter 2 The Alpha in hiding

Selene built the fire with trembling fingers.

It had started to rain-light and cold, the kind of drizzle that soaked you before you noticed it. She dragged Rhian's unconscious body beneath the ledge near the old river trail, where moss grew thick and stone held warmth from the day's sun.

His wounds weren't healing fast. That scared her.

Even rogue wolves healed faster than this. Whatever hit him hadn't just torn skin-it had taken something deeper. And yet, he hadn't shifted. Not once. Either he was suppressing the shift or... he couldn't.

That was worse.

She wrapped a blanket around him. Her only one. He was running a fever now, jaw clenched, a thin layer of sweat on his brow. When he muttered her name-barely audible-her heart stopped. She hadn't told him again. Not since the forest.

He was dreaming about her.

Selene sat with her back against the stone, knees pulled to her chest. She hadn't touched another person in years, not since the hunters from Hollowbrook cornered her near the eastern ridge and she clawed her way out, half-wolf, half-girl, too terrified to remember what happened.

They hadn't come back.

The elders must have taken it as proof the curse was real.

She watched Rhian's chest rise and fall. Every breath seemed like a battle. She didn't know why she cared. She should have left him. Someone like him didn't get hurt without a reason. Alpha. Killer. Dangerous. She knew the type.

But when he opened his eyes again, she didn't flinch.

His voice came rough. Where are we?

Shelter, she said. Not far from the ridge.

You carried me?

Dragged you, mostly. I'm not that strong.

He looked around. You shouldn't have helped me.

Yeah, well. I'm not great at following rules.

He coughed, and his body tensed hard, the pain eating through him. She leaned forward, pressing a hand to his chest. The heat was intense. Too high.

You're burning up, she said. You need to shift, Rhian.

Can't. Something-blocking it. I tried. It hurts like hell.

She hesitated. Then pulled the flask from her pack. It held what little wolfroot tea she had left, bitter and sharp, the kind that helped break inner blocks.

Drink, she said.

He took it without arguing.

After a few sips, he leaned his head back against the stone, exhaling slowly. You're not from Hollowbrook, are you?

Selene's jaw tightened. Not anymore.

They banish you?

Not exactly. They gave me a name. That was worse.

He looked at her, curious.

Crimson-born, she said. The cursed kind.

He said nothing for a moment. Then: Is that why you live out here like a ghost?

Is that why you bleed out in strange forests?

Touché.

She tried not to smile, but his dry tone cracked through her armor. He was calm in a way most alphas weren't. Tired, maybe. But clear. Like he'd bled enough already and wasn't afraid of bleeding more.

What happened to you? she asked.

Pack betrayal. Ambush. Something worse than rogue wolves.

You mean magic?

I mean poison. Witch-wrought. My own people, maybe. I don't know.

He reached up, grimacing as his fingers brushed the bandage.

You saved me.

Don't thank me yet. You're still half-dead.

Better than fully.

His hand dropped back to his side.

She watched him a long while, then turned her face toward the fire. Her breath shook, even if she didn't want it to. It had been too long since anyone sat this close to her. Too long since she heard someone say her name like it mattered.

Selene.

His voice again.

Yeah?

You feel it too, don't you?

Her heart kicked once. Then again.

Feel what?

The pull. This thing between us.

She didn't answer.

Because yes. She did.

And it terrified her.