Chapter 5 Gossip Queen

Selena's POV

If I thought training with Alpha Darius was the hardest part of my morning, I was very wrong.

Because the moment I left the training grounds, the pack house buzzed with whispers. It was subtle at first a glance here, a hushed voice there but by the time I crossed the courtyard, it was obvious.

People were talking about me, again.

If I wasn't so emotionally wrecked, I would've laughed. First I was "future Luna," then "the girl whose mate cheated with her sister," and now...

"Did you see her training with the Alpha this morning?"

"Is she... trying to get his attention?"

"I heard he demanded she train with him alone."

"Do you think something's going on between them?"

I clenched my jaw and kept walking.

The old me, the girl who trusted everyone, would've stopped and explained herself, tried to reason, tried to make people understand the truth.

But that girl was gone.

So I stared straight ahead, pretending I didn't hear a thing.

It worked for almost five minutes.

Until Liora, one of the pack's busybodies and self-appointed gossip queen, stepped directly into my path with a fake-sweet smile plastered onto her face.

"Well, well," she said loudly enough for the nearby wolves to hear. "Look who's glowing this morning."

I blinked at her. "I'm literally covered in dirt."

"But training with an Alpha can do that to a woman." She winked dramatically.

The wolves behind her giggled.

My temples throbbed.

"Move," I said, no humor in my voice.

Liora scoffed. "Ooh, someone's feisty. What's wrong, Selena? Not used to all this attention?"

I stepped closer, lowering my voice. "Liora, I am not in the mood."

She leaned in, smirking. "Or are you just embarrassed that Kael prefers your sister over you?"

Something flickered behind my ribs, sharp and dangerous.

I felt my wolf stir not fully, not loudly, but enough that my fingers twitched.

"Say that again," I whispered.

"Why? It's true." Liora lifted her chin in triumph. "Everyone can see it. Who slept with the Alpha to be? Who does he look at? Who is he presently with now? Hint: not you."

Her words were meant to taunt. But instead, they hit somewhere vulnerable inside me not because she was wrong, but because she was too close to the truth I wasn't ready to face.

"Liora," I said quietly, "get out of my way."

She rolled her eyes dramatically. "Fine. No need to be so touchy. Just don't cry about it later."

She walked off with a dramatic toss of her hair.

And I stood there for a moment, breathing through the tightness clawing at my chest.

The entire pack was watching me.

Good.

Let Kael see it too, let him choke on it.

I adjusted my dress the sweat stained thing that now clung to me uncomfortably and walked toward the kitchens. I desperately needed water and maybe food. Maybe a hole to bury myself in or all three.

But halfway there, a familiar scent stopped me.

Kael.

I froze on instinct, stomach twisting violently, thoughts of food long gone.

I turned slowly, against every bit of sense I had left and found him leaning against the stone pillar near the entrance, arms crossed, eyes dark.

And alone, of course he'd find me now.

"Selena," he said quietly.

The sound of his voice made something inside me flinch and twist not from longing, from memory, from pain, from anger.

I should've kept walking but I didn't.

Instead, I stood there because I needed to hear what he had to say, if only to burn whatever last piece of him still lingered inside me.

"What do you want?" I asked flatly.

Kael looked like someone who hadn't slept. His hair was a mess, there were shadows under his eyes, and he kept licking his lips like he was nervous. Good.

He should be.

"I... I wanted to see if you were okay," he said.

A humorless laugh escaped me. "No, you didn't."

He stiffened.

"You wanted to ease your guilt," I continued. "Don't confuse the two."

Kael pushed off the pillar, stepping toward me. His scent familiar and now painfully foreign, hit me like a blow. My wolf curled away from it instantly.

"Selena," he said, softer this time. "Please. I never meant to hurt you."

A slow, bitter anger spread through my chest. "You didn't mean to? Let me guess, you tripped and fell into my sister?"

He flinched hard.

Good.

"You think this is funny?" he whispered.

"No," I said. "I think it's pathetic."

Kael's eyes flashed with something like frustration. "I messed up, okay? I was confused. I was..."

"Stop talking," I cut in. "Every word you say makes it worse."

He went still, mouth slightly open, like he didn't know how to respond. For a moment, he wasn't the confident future Alpha. He looked... young, and so lost. But not enough to touch my heart again.

Then his gaze drifted over me, from my hair to my dress to the faint smudges from training.

"You trained with my uncle today," he said quietly.

Ah.

So that was what this was really about.

Jealousy, possessiveness but it's too late.

"Yes," I said simply.

Kael swallowed. "Why?"

I smiled, but it felt nothing like joy.

"Why do you think?"

His jaw clenched.

"Selena..." His voice dropped. "Are you doing this to hurt me?"

I stepped closer until we were only a foot apart.

"No," I whispered, staring straight into his eyes. "Hurting you is just a bonus."

His breath hitched. I saw it, the moment that realization stabbed him. The moment he understood I wasn't waiting for or love him anymore.

Kael opened his mouth again, but I didn't give him the chance.

I walked past him without another word.

And he didn't follow.

* * *

Later that day.

By afternoon, the gossip had doubled. I'd had enough.

I left the pack house and ended up wandering the forest edge, not shifting, not running, just... walking. Letting the silence settle. Letting the sound of leaves calm something restless inside me.

But even peace lasts only so long.

Twigs snapped behind me.

I turned quickly.

It wasn't Kael this time.

It was Alpha Darius.

He stepped out from the shadow of the trees like he'd been looking for me or maybe he'd just found me while patrolling. His expression was unreadable, but something about the way he walked toward me made my heart pick up.

Not romantically, Instinctively.

Darius didn't move like normal wolves. He moved like a storm wrapped in a man's body, controlled but dangerous.

"Why are you outside the borders alone?" he asked.

I blinked. "I'm not outside the borders."

"Close enough," he said.

Something about his tone made me shift my weight, suddenly aware of how small I felt in comparison to his looming presence.

"I needed air," I said honestly.

Darius studied me for a moment, then nodded once, acceptance, not judgment. It surprised me.

Silence stretched between us, it was not awkward, just... heavy. Like there were things he wanted to say but was deciding whether he should.

Finally, he spoke.

"You confronted Kael."

It wasn't a question.

My stomach flipped. "I didn't tell him anything."

"I know," Darius said. "If you had, he would be limping."

Against my will, I let out a small, startled laugh.

Darius's lips twitched, the closest thing I'd ever seen to a smile from him.

"If I confront him," he said quietly, "he will limp."

I swallowed hard. "You don't need to get involved. This is between me and Kael."

"No," he corrected. "It's between Kael... and the Alpha he disrespected by betraying one of his own."

My breath caught.

Something warm and unfamiliar curled low in my stomach.

Darius wasn't defending me to soothe me.

He was defending me because he believed betrayal deserved retaliation.

"Why do you care?" I asked quietly, because the question burned too much to hold inside.

His eyes locked onto mine, steady, unwavering.

"Because you're a member of my pack," he said. "One with potential. One I've watched since you were a pup."

My chest tightened. "You... watched me?"

"Of course," he said simply. "You think I don't keep track of every wolf who shows promise?"

I looked away, a small rush of warmth climbing up my neck.

"And also," he added, voice lower this time, "because you deserve better than being treated as disposable."

My breath hitched.

He took one step closer, slow, measured, not threatening, just... present.

I felt him before he touched me, that heavy Alpha aura wrapping around my senses. My wolf stirred faintly, like she was waking from a deep sleep.

That surprised me more than anything.

"I don't feel disposable," I whispered.

Darius held my gaze, his eyes dark and impossibly intense.

"Good," he said. "Don't start."

The air between us shifted, not romantic, not intimate, but something similar to recognition.

The moment when two wolves see each other clearly for the first time.

And then, abruptly, he stepped back. The moment snapped like a twig.

"We train again tomorrow," he said.

I nodded.

He turned, walked a few steps, then paused without looking back.

"And Selena," he said, voice lower than before. "Do not let Kael near you without another warrior present."

A small shiver went down my spine. "Why?"

"Because your ex-mate is unstable," he said. "And wolves who lose the one they took for granted... become unpredictable."

I opened my mouth to speak, but he didn't give me the chance.

He vanished into the trees like he'd never been there.

Leaving me staring after him, heart pounding for reasons I didn't want to examine too closely.