Chapter 2 The Alpha Who Wouldn’t Let Go

Beep. Beep. Beep.

The steady sound of the heart monitor filled the quiet hospital room. The smell of antiseptic hung in the air. The curtains were half drawn, letting in a pale stream of morning light.

Selene stood by the bed, her arms crossed. She didn’t like standing there, but something in her chest refused to let her leave.

The man she had saved last night Kae lwas sleeping. His skin was pale against the white sheets, but he looked strong even in weakness. His jaw was sharp, his shoulders broad, his hands big enough to crush someone if he wanted to.

But that wasn’t what scared her.

It was the bond.

She had felt it when their eyes met. The pull, the fire, the truth whispered to her blood. He was her mate. There was no denying it.

But how could that be?

She had died once. She had been reborn. Her soul wasn’t whole anymore. And yet, here he was, tied to her by something bigger than both of them.

Selene touched the scar at her chest under her shirt and shook her head. She had to keep control.

She was a doctor. A Slayer. A secret reborn soul.

She couldn’t be someone’s Luna.

---

The sound of movement pulled her from her thoughts. Kael’s eyelids twitched, then slowly opened. His eyes were storm-gray, sharp like a blade, and they locked on her at once.

Selene’s breath caught.

The bond slammed into her again, stronger than before. She felt his heartbeat inside her chest, his breath inside her lungs. Her knees wanted to give way.

But she stood firm.

Kael’s lips curved slightly, like he already knew. His voice came rough but steady.

“You.” He swallowed hard, his hand twitching as he tried to reach her. “You’re mine.”

Selene stepped back quickly, almost knocking into the wall. “No. You’re… you’re confused. You were injured. You lost blood. Don’t say things like that.”

Kael frowned, his gaze narrowing. Even weak, he looked proud, like a king who would never bow. “Don’t lie to me. I felt it. The bond. You’re my mate.”

Her heart skipped. She wanted to scream at him to stop. She wanted to run. But her body wouldn’t move.

She clenched her fists. “Rest. You need to heal. I’ll get the nurse.”

She turned to leave, but before she could take a step, his hand shot out. His grip was surprisingly strong, even with all the pain he must have been in. He caught her wrist.

“You’re not leaving,” he said, his eyes burning into hers. “Not until you tell me your name.”

Selene froze. The warmth of his hand burned her skin, but not like fire. It was different. It was the warmth of belonging, the thing she had lost so long ago.

She pulled her wrist free with effort. “Doctor Lawson,” she said coldly. “That’s all you need to know.”

Kael studied her for a long moment. Then a slow, determined smile spread across his lips. “Selene,” he said softly, as if tasting the name on his tongue. “My Selene.”

Her chest tightened painfully. “Stop it,” she snapped, sharper than she meant to. “I am not yours. I don’t belong to anyone.”

---

For the rest of the day, Kael refused to let anyone else treat him. Nurses came, but he wanted Selene. Doctors checked on him, but his eyes always followed her.

It made her restless.

She worked with other patients, but she could feel his gaze even when her back was turned. It was like a chain tying her down.

By evening, she went to check on him again, if only to silence the nurses who whispered that the new patient was too demanding.

Kael sat up in bed now, looking far stronger than he should after such an injury. His healing was fast—another proof of what he was. An Alpha.

“You should be resting,” she said, checking his chart without meeting his eyes.

“I heal quickly,” he replied smoothly. “Especially with my mate nearby.”

Selene slammed the chart shut, glaring at him. “You don’t even know me. Stop calling me that.”

Kael only smirked, leaning back against the pillows. “I don’t need to know everything about you. The bond tells me enough. You’re mine. That’s all that matters.”

Her heart raced. She wanted to argue, to tell him he was wrong, but the truth burned inside her. The bond was real. She couldn’t deny it.

But she could run from it.

---

That night, Selene sat in her small apartment, the scar on her chest aching like it always did when her emotions were too strong.

She lit a candle on the table, staring at the flame. Fire was always with her, inside her, under her skin. Healing was there too, soft and golden. Two sides of her soul, fighting for space.

She remembered the pack that had once rejected her. How they had told her she was nothing. How they had killed her under the Blood Moon.

Mate. Luna. Love.

Those words were chains.

She wasn’t ready to wear them again.

---

The next morning, Kael was waiting.

Selene walked into his room, planning only to check his wound, but he greeted her with a grin that made him look both dangerous and boyish at once.

“Good morning, mate,” he said casually, like it was the most normal thing in the world.

Selene sighed, grabbing her gloves. “You’re impossible.”

“And you’re beautiful,” he replied without hesitation.

Her cheeks burned, but she kept her face stern. “I’m your doctor. Nothing else.”

Kael leaned closer, his voice low but sure. “You can lie to yourself, Selene. But you can’t lie to me. Not about this.”

His hand brushed hers when she checked his stitches, and the spark made her gasp. She jerked her hand back, her pulse racing.

Kael’s smile grew wider. “See? You feel it too.”

Selene’s chest ached. Yes, she felt it. But that didn’t mean she could accept it.

Because if Kael knew the truth—that she was the Slayer, the woman who killed rogues and burned them to ash—he might not look at her with those stormy, certain eyes.

And if he ever found out she had died once

before, would he still call her his?

She didn’t know.

But she knew one thing.

She couldn’t let herself fall.

Not again.