He didn't move.
She forced herself to glance at him; quickly, respectfully. He wore black today. All black. Training clothes that clung to his body like second skin. His eyes were unreadable.
But his scent…
Gods, his scent.
"Do you remember what happened?" he asked.
"Yes, Alpha." She kept her voice small. "I was running. I'd been traveling alone. I got attacked by a rogue. I thought… I thought I was going to die."
Kael stared at her for a long, heavy moment.
"You don't talk like an omega," he said at last.
Selene's stomach flipped.
"What do I talk like?"
He didn't answer. Just turned and walked away, his boots echoing down the hall.
That night, Selene couldn't sleep.
She curled beneath the thin blanket on her cot, her mind whirring. Kael was watching her too closely. Sensing something.
But that moment earlier, that pause between them; it hadn't felt like suspicion.
It felt like… recognition.
The way his eyes lingered.
The way her pulse leapt like a fool pup in spring.
Her hand drifted to her shoulder, where he'd touched her days ago.
Where the bond had sparked.
She squeezed her eyes shut.
No. She wouldn't let this become a distraction.
She'd infiltrated more dangerous packs than this one. Seduced warlords. Poisoned entire councils. She would not be undone by a handsome Alpha with haunted eyes.
Even if he made her wolf ache.
Even if he looked at her like he was trying not to need her.
The next day, Kael summoned her to the training fields.
Selene froze when the omega messengers relayed the message. She'd been chopping herbs. Her hands were stained green.
"Did he say why?" she asked.
The boy just shrugged. "Said he wanted to see how bad your limp really is."
Of course he did.
Selene washed up quickly and made her way to the fields, where Kael stood watching his warriors spar. The field smelled of sweat and churned earth. A few of the fighters glanced her way and smirked.
"Alpha, you wanted me?" she asked, keeping her voice humble.
Kael tossed her a wooden staff.
"Defend yourself."
She caught it on instinct; too fast, too clean.
Damn.
Kael's eyes sharpened.
Selene quickly fumbled, dropping the staff. "Sorry, Alpha."
He stepped closer, voice quiet. "I don't believe you're who you say you are."
Her chest tightened.
"But until I know what you are," he continued, circling her slowly, "you'll train with me. Every morning. Here."
Selene swallowed.
"Why?"
Kael's voice dropped even lower.
"Because if you are a threat, I'd rather have you where I can see you."
And then he added, almost too quietly:
"Because the bond is real, isn't it?"
The air left her lungs.
Selene said nothing.
Kael stepped back, his eyes harder now. "Be ready tomorrow. At dawn."
He walked away, leaving her standing in the middle of the field, her heart in chaos.