Kael didn't talk about his past.
Everyone in the pack knew that. Even the boldest warriors tiptoed around the subject like it was a minefield. But today, he called for her.
Just her.
No guards, no advisors, no reason given. Selene knocked softly on his door. When it opened, the scent of cedar and something uniquely Kael wrapped around her like a slow pull.
"Come in."
He was shirtless, again. Which was becoming a problem. But something in his face tonight wasn't fire. It was… shadows. Quiet ones.
"Sit," he said, motioning to the armchair across from the fireplace. She did.
He stood at the hearth, poking at the flames like they had insulted him personally.
"I was fifteen when my father was killed," he said suddenly.
Selene blinked.
He didn't look at her. Just kept staring at the fire. "Poisoned by someone he trusted. A Beta, pack council, lifelong friend… doesn't matter. They got close, and they slit his throat with a silver blade."
She didn't breathe.
Kael's jaw tightened, but his voice was steady. "My mother went mad with grief. She shifted under the full moon and never shifted back. Some say she ran into the wilds. Others think she drowned herself in the river."
"I'm—" Selene began, but he held up a hand.
"I'm not telling you for pity."
She closed her mouth. Kael turned then, eyes locking on hers.
"I've known betrayal, Selene. I've lived with it. Slept next to it. Buried half my pack because of it."
She swallowed.
"And yet…" He stepped closer. "You're the first person I've let in since."
Her heartbeat stuttered.
He crouched in front of her now, elbows resting on his knees, expression raw and unguarded.
"So you can imagine how insane it feels that the second I touched you… I knew. You were mine, and it terrified me."
Selene's throat burned.
She wanted to tell him everything. That the betrayal wasn't past, it was present. That she was the one with the knife behind her back. But he looked at her like she was already the most dangerous thing in his world, and he'd still chosen her.
So she said the only truth she could offer:
"I'm sorry for what you lost."
Kael nodded once. "Me too."
Then he did something reckless.
He reached for her hand. Selene froze, but didn't pull away. He ran his thumb slowly over her knuckles, skin against skin. His touch wasn't demanding. It wasn't even suggestive.
It was reverent.
Like she was something sacred.
Her chest ached. "Why are you trusting me?"
"I don't know."
"That's not smart."
"I've been Alpha since I was sixteen, Selene. I know how to smell a lie."
She flinched.
He leaned closer. "And you? You carry truth like it's a curse."
The fire crackled beside them.
"I just don't know what that truth is yet," he whispered.
Her pulse pounded in her ears. She stood suddenly, needing air, space; anything but this.
But Kael followed her to the balcony, silent and sure.
"Look at me."
She didn't.
So he gently took her chin and turned her face.
"Whatever you're fighting… whatever's eating you alive, I want you to know something."
His voice dropped, velvet and steel.
"If you turn on me… I'll survive."
She gasped quietly.
"But it will break me."
Then he released her and walked back into the room. Leaving her alone, and undone.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Selene stared at the moon. Tomorrow, she would write her own message. Not to her pack. Not to her handler. But to herself. A new mission.
Not to kill Kael…
But to save him.
Even if she had to burn everything else to the ground.