It happened during a routine patrol.
Selene and two other wolves were assigned to the southern border of BloodMoon territory; a quiet stretch of forest rarely visited by rogues. Easy work. Nothing dramatic.
Until a wire trap snapped around her ankle.
Not a rogue's work. A hunter's. Silver-lined.
The pain was instant; fire shooting through her leg, blood gushing as the wire tightened, searing into her skin. Selene gritted her teeth, swallowing the scream clawing up her throat.
The other two wolves shifted and rushed to her side.
"Stay still!" one said, panicked. "We'll call the Alpha!"
"No," she hissed. "I'm fine."
"You're not! That's silver!"
But she was already pulling a blade from her belt, cutting through the wire with trembling fingers. Every second burned. Her healing factor slowed. Her vision blurred.
Still, she refused help.
Until a growl thundered through the trees.
Kael.
He arrived on foot, not even bothering to shift. His eyes found her instantly, and for once, there was no suspicion in them.
Only rage.
"Who did this?" he barked, inspecting the trap, the blood, the damage.
"Trap wasn't fresh," she muttered. "Probably set days ago. I missed it."
"You never miss anything."
She shrugged. "Guess I'm slipping."
Kael didn't laugh. Didn't smile. He cut the wire, picked her up like she weighed nothing, ignoring her protests, and started walking back.
She'd never seen him look like this.
Not angry.
Worried.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Back at the infirmary, Kael didn't leave her side. Not when they cleaned the wound. Not when the healer applied salve and bandaged it. Not even when she growled at him to give her space.
"Don't be stubborn," he said calmly. "Silver poisoning can spread. You need rest."
She glared at him. "You act like you care."
Kael leaned forward. "I don't act." The silence between them pulsed. Selene looked away first.
"This shouldn't affect the mission," she muttered.
He froze. "What mission?"
Her heart skipped. Idiot.
"I meant patrol," she lied quickly. "I'm still fit for patrol. I don't need babysitting."
Kael's stare was a blade pressed to her throat. But he didn't push. Not yet. Instead, he sat down on the edge of her cot.
"Do you want to know something?" he said, voice low.
Selene looked at him, exhausted. "What?"
"The nightmares."
She blinked. "What about them?"
"You think I didn't hear you screaming at night? You think I didn't sit outside your door because I didn't know what to do?"
Her throat tightened.
"I thought it was just dreams," he said. "But now I think it's memory."
He leaned closer. "Tell me who hurt you."
Selene closed her eyes.
She wanted to say you wouldn't understand.
She wanted to say I can't tell you.
She wanted to say don't look at me like that.
Instead, she said nothing. And Kael's voice dropped to a whisper.
"Was it your old pack?"
Selene stiffened.
He took her silence as an answer.
"I want to kill them," he said.
Her eyes snapped open.
"You don't even know what they did."
"I don't care. If they made you flinch like that, they're dead to me."
A breath caught in her chest.
The man whose pack members had dragged her half-conscious body into his territory.
The Alpha who made her train until her arms trembled.
The wolf who looked at her with distrust, suspicion, and fire… Now looked at her like she was his. Selene hated how warm that made her feel.
Because it wasn't real.
It couldn't be.
That night, she dreamed of Roran.
His voice. His commands. The collar around her throat when she failed him the first time.
"You were made to destroy, Selene. Not to feel. Do not confuse one for the other."
She woke up shaking. And this time, when she opened her eyes, Kael was beside her. Sitting. Awake. Watching her.
"I'm not leaving again," he said quietly. "You can scream. Cry. Shift. Break things. I'll stay."
Selene turned her face to the wall.
If he kept doing this… being human, he would destroy everything she was built to be.
But she didn't tell him to leave.
She didn't lie to push him away.
She just stayed quiet…
And let herself sleep with his scent in the air.