Kael didn't go easy on her.
From the first light of dawn, he pushed Selene like she was one of his warriors; not the frail, wounded omega she pretended to be.
By the second morning, she stopped pretending.
He didn't miss it. The quick footwork. The sharp parries. The flickers of calculation in her eyes.
"You're either trained… or born with unnatural instincts," he said between strikes.
Selene dodged his staff, panting. "I survived a rogue attack. Guess I got lucky."
Kael swept her legs out from under her. She hit the ground hard, biting back a groan.
"That's not luck," he said. "That's combat training."
She rolled to her feet, brushing dirt from her arms. "Is this your idea of hospitality?"
"No," he said simply. "This is my idea of control."
That word hit her harder than the fall.
Because that's what this was, wasn't it?
Kael didn't believe her. Not fully. But he couldn't reject the bond either.
So, he'd keep her close. Watch her. Study her.
And if she made one mistake, he'd strike first.
Exactly the kind of Alpha she was taught to kill.
Still, something about the way he looked at her made Selene hesitate.
He was cruel in training, but not careless. He never struck her harder than necessary. Never humiliated her in front of others. He gave her bruises, not shame.
And in between those bruises, there were… moments.
When their hands brushed during a block.
When their eyes locked after a particularly brutal exchange.
When his voice dipped low enough to stir her blood.
Moments where he looked at her like she was more than an enemy. More than a puzzle.
Moments when he looked at her like a mate.
She hated those moments.
Because she wasn't supposed to want him to look at her that way.
Selene sent another update that night.
Still gaining Kael's trust. Close contact. He suspects something. Proceeding with caution.
She paused before sending the final thought.
I will complete the mission. I always do.
It was true. But it felt like a lie.
She lay on her cot, arms aching, ribs bruised. And her wolf, her damn wolf, was restless. Pacing in her mind. Whining at the distance between them and the Alpha.
Selene buried her face in the pillow. The mission came first. Always. Even if her heart was starting to disobey.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kael stood on the training field the next morning before she arrived. He looked like he hadn't slept; dark circles under his eyes, jaw clenched.
"You're late," he said when she walked up.
"It's barely dawn."
"I said be here at dawn, not after."
Selene grabbed a staff without replying.
They sparred in silence, the tension heavier than usual. When Kael finally landed a strike across her side, she flinched, but not from the pain.
From the voice in her head.
Why does he look angry? Did something happen? Did they suspect me?
But it wasn't suspicion in his eyes.
It was something more dangerous.
Jealousy.
"You've been spending time with Beta Rael," Kael said coldly after their final round.
Selene froze. "He offered to show me the garden trail. Said I needed fresh air."
Kael stepped closer. Too close.
"He's not just a tour guide. He's been eyeing you."
"So?" she snapped, before catching herself.
Too late.
His eyes flared with alpha dominance. "You think I don't feel it? Every time another male looks at you, my wolf goes feral."
Selene's heart slammed against her ribs.
This wasn't just about suspicion anymore.
This was the mate bond… twisting him.
"And what do you feel, Lina?" Kael asked, voice low.
"I don't know," she whispered. "I don't want this."
"But you feel it."
"Yes," she said, barely audible. "And I hate it."
His hand shot out; gripping her arm, not in anger but desperation.
"I didn't choose this either."
Their eyes locked.
And for a single heartbeat, Selene saw the man beneath the Alpha.
The one who had let her stay as a member of his pack. The one who stood outside her room that first night when she cried out in sleep. The one who now looked at her like she was both his salvation and his undoing.
Then she yanked her arm away.
"I don't belong here," she said.
Kael's voice was bitter. "No. You don't. But neither of us can stop the bond, can we?"
Selene turned and walked away before her body betrayed her again.
That night, she couldn't send an update.
Because her thoughts were too loud. Too tangled.
The man she was sent to kill…
Had started to feel like the only one who saw her.
Not the spy. Not the enemy. Just… her.
And that was the most dangerous thing of all.