Chapter 3 CHAPTER
Selene's Point of View
"Stop staring at me like I'm going to break."
The words came out before I could stop them. They felt sharp, too sharp, like glass that had been shattered in my chest. I could feel my heart in my throat, the weight of everything pressing on me, dragging me down, Mathias—was standing there, looking at me with that damn calm, unflinching gaze of his. His arms were folded, his eyes steady, but I could see the judgment in them. It was like he could see right through me, tearing apart the parts of me that I was trying to hold together.
He didn't say anything for a while, just looked at me. I could feel my legs shaking, and I hated it. I hated that he could see the weakness in me. I didn’t have the luxury of breaking, not here, not now. I had a baby growing inside me. I had to be strong.
"You're bleeding." His voice was cool, and it cut through the silence, making me wince. "And your legs seem to be shaking. Keep pushing yourself like this, and you're gonna break."
I hated the way his words felt like a slap, but I couldn’t argue with him. The bandage on my side had been poorly put together, and I could feel the wetness of blood seeping through. My body was failing me, and I hated it. I hated that I had to rely on anyone, especially someone like him.
"I don’t need your help," I muttered, trying to push myself up, but the world spun around me, and my knees buckled. I tried to steady myself, but it was no use. I collapsed to the ground, my breath ragged. The weight of everything I’d been through in the past days was too much to carry. My wolf howled inside me, but I didn’t have the strength to quiet her.
"Sit down before you fall down," he said again, his tone sharp but with something softer beneath it.
I wanted to argue, but I couldn't. My body was betraying me. I wrapped my arms around my knees, pulling them to my chest. The silence stretched out between us, heavy and thick. I could feel his eyes on me, but I refused to look up. I didn’t want him to see how close I was to losing it.
"I didn’t ask for your help," I muttered, my voice barely above a whisper. I hated how weak I sounded, how desperate I felt. But I couldn’t help it. I couldn’t do this alone.
"No," he replied, sitting down across from me. "You didn’t. But you’ll need it if you want to survive out here."
His words hit harder than I expected, like a punch to the gut. I didn’t want to need anyone. I didn’t want to rely on him. But the truth was, I didn’t have a choice. Not anymore. Not after everything that had happened.
I closed my eyes for a second, trying to push back the tears that threatened to fall. The link with Andreas—no, with my so-called mate—was still there, faint but present. It hurt. It hurt so much that I could barely breathe. He had rejected me. He had broken our bond without a second thought. And I couldn’t let that be the thing that destroyed me. I couldn’t let it take me down.
Mathias’s voice pulled me out of my thoughts.
"What kind of Alpha turns away his Luna?" he asked, his tone rough with something I couldn’t quite place. It wasn’t judgment; it was something else, something I didn’t want to face.
I looked up, surprised by the question. His expression was unreadable, but there was something in his eyes that caught me off guard. A flicker of understanding. A hint of shared pain.
"The kind who never deserved one in the first place," I replied flatly, my voice cold. I didn’t want to admit how much it still hurt, how much it still stung, but I couldn’t lie. Not to him.
Mathias leaned forward, his elbows resting on his knees, his gaze locked on me. "You’re not weak," he said, his words surprising me more than I cared to admit.
"What?" I blinked, not sure I heard him right.
"He rejected you, right? And you think that makes you weak. But he’s the weak one." His voice was low, but it cut through the tension in the air. "You’re still standing. That says a hell of a lot more than anything he’s done."
I opened my mouth to respond, but no words came out. I didn’t know what to say. It was complicated. The anger, the hurt, the confusion—it was all tangled up inside me. How could he understand? How could anyone understand?
"Why do you care?" I whispered, my voice barely audible. "Why do you give a damn?"
Mathias didn’t answer right away. Instead, his jaw tightened, and his eyes flickered toward the horizon. There was something in his expression, something raw and real, and I didn’t know if I was ready to face it.
"Let’s just say I understand what it’s like to be kicked out," he finally said, his voice quieter now, more personal. "To have everything you’ve known ripped away."
I didn’t know what to say to that. I didn’t know if I wanted to know. The silence stretched out between us again, but it was different this time. It wasn’t as heavy. It was full of something unsaid, something that lingered in the air.
Before I could respond, a low, guttural growl echoed through the trees. Mathias’s body went rigid, his eyes narrowing as he shot to his feet.
"They found us," he muttered, his voice dark and tense.
I scrambled to my feet, ignoring the pain in my side as I tried to focus. "Who?" I asked, my voice shaky.
"Rogues," Mathias replied, his expression grim. "The kind who don’t play by any rules. They’ll tear you apart for stepping into their territory."
I wanted to argue, to tell him that I could handle myself, but the sound of branches breaking in the distance stopped me. My wolf stirred inside me, uneasy, alert. We were being hunted. And I could feel it. The danger was real.
I took a step back, trying to keep my balance as I watched Mathias. He was already shifting, his body moving fluidly as his wolf form emerged. The darkness of the night seemed to swallow him whole as he became something bigger, something more powerful. I couldn’t help but watch, a mix of awe and fear in my chest. He was so different from Andreas, so much more in control. So much stronger.
I didn’t have time to think about that, though. The renegade wolves were closing in. I could hear them snarling, their eyes glowing in the darkness. There were three of them, each one bigger and fiercer than the last. My heart pounded in my chest as I shifted into my wolf form, ignoring the pain that shot through me. I couldn’t be weak now. Not when my life—and my child’s life—was on the line.
The fight was chaos. Claws scraped against my fur, teeth bared as the rogues attacked. I fought with everything I had, desperate to protect myself, to protect the life growing inside me. But Mathias was everywhere. He moved like a shadow, his wolf form swift and deadly as he tore into one of the rogues.
I was fighting with everything I had, but I wasn’t sure how much longer I could keep this up. My side was burning with pain, my strength starting to wane. And then, I saw Mathias. He collided with the last rogue, his teeth sinking into the rogue’s shoulder. The sound of it made my blood run cold.
The rogue shrieked in pain, but it was too late. Blood splattered across the ground as the rogue crumpled to the earth. The others had already fled, their howls echoing into the night.
Mathias stood over the fallen rogue, his body coated in blood. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, his gaze turning to me. "You alright?" he asked, his voice low.
I nodded, though my legs felt like jelly beneath me. "You didn’t have to do it," I said, my voice shaking.
Mathias shrugged, his eyes dark. "Didn’t really have much of a choice. You’re not exactly in fighting shape."
I should have been angry, but instead, I just felt... relieved. I wasn’t alone. Not anymore.
Another howl split the air, and this one was different. Deeper, more menacing. Mathias’s face darkened, his body stiffening as he turned to face me.
"We have to move," he said, his voice cold. "Now."
I wanted to ask why, but I didn’t. The sound of the howl was still ringing in my ears, sending a chill down my spine.
"They’re gone," I said, trying to convince myself. "It’s over."
Mathias shook his head, his jaw clenched. "That wasn’t them," he said, his voice low. "Something else is hunting us."
And that’s when I knew it wasn’t over. Not by a long shot.
But who was hunting us?