CHAPTER 36: CHAPTER 36: BITE BACK

Selene’s POV ~

The sound of footsteps snapped me out of the numbing rhythm of scrubbing tile.

I didn’t turn at first. I was too tired. Too angry. Too aware of how exposed I was, kneeling on wet marble with a bell chiming from my throat like I was some docile pet waiting for scraps.

But then I heard the low and amused laugh behind me.

"Well, well," came the voice, playful and deep, "I didn’t expect to see this so soon."

I turned my head just enough to see him.

Lucian.

The young of the four Alphas. Sharp where Kael was cold. Grey-eyed, handsome, and dangerous in a different way—like a man who’d smile as he cut you open, just to see how you bled.

His gaze locked on the bell around my neck, and something gleamed in his eyes. Pleasure and dark amusement.

He crouched slowly, picked up the leash from the floor, and gave it an experimental tug.

I choked slightly at the pressure on my throat, my body jerking forward on instinct. He didn’t let go. Instead, he wrapped the leather around his hand, coiling it tight until my face was only inches from his.

"Look at you," he murmured. "Pretty little pet. I see Kael’s been busy."

His breath brushed my skin, warm and taunting. My fists clenched at my sides, nails digging into my palms, but I didn’t move.

Lucian tilted his head as if studying me. His grey eyes roamed over my face, pausing on my lips, my throat, the trembling rise of my shoulders.

"You always looked untouchable," he said, voice soft and cruel. "I used to wonder if anything could ever bring you low. But look at you now."

His fingers reached up, brushing the underside of my chin.

That was it.

My fury snapped through me like lightning.

I struck fast—leaning forward and biting down hard on the finger he dared to tease me with. My teeth sank into flesh, and for a second, I tasted blood.

Lucian flinched but didn’t yank away. He hissed a breath through his teeth and stared at me with wide, shocked delight. Like a man who’d found a spark in a storm.

"Fiesty," he whispered, almost laughing.

Before I could release him or clamp harder, a shadow loomed behind me, and a hand gripped the back of my neck with enough force to make my vision blur.

Kael.

His fingers pressed into my skin, rough and merciless. My breath hitched as he hauled me up by the neck like I weighed nothing, jerking me backward until I was nearly off my knees. My back arched from the pull, and my head tilted back on instinct, forcing my gaze to meet his.

His eyes burned.

"You stupid girl," Kael growled, his voice low and tight with fury. "Still biting like a rabid dog."

Lucian stood now, licking the blood from his finger with a lazy grin. "She’s got spirit, I’ll give her that."

Kael didn’t smile. His jaw was locked, his grip on my neck tightening until I could barely breathe. His face was only inches from mine, every line of him radiating rage and control.

"Good dog," he whispered coldly. "But don’t bite the hand that owns you."

Kael’s grip snapped away from the back of my neck with a violent jerk, and before I could catch myself, I was falling.

Not forward.

Sideways.

Right into Lucian.

I crashed half onto his lap and chest, and a low, rich laugh rumbled up from him before I could even recoil. His hands barely moved to steady me, but the moment I felt his heat, the moment I realized what had just happened, my stomach twisted in horror.

"Ahh," Lucian drawled, his voice far too amused, "throwing yourself into my arms just after biting me? Is our little slave giving me some kind of hint?"

My entire body stiffened.

I looked up at him, stunned, horrified, and seething. His eyes gleamed with playful cruelty as he tilted his head and gave me the kind of smile that could make a person question whether he was joking or dead serious.

I scrambled to get up, heat flooding my face. My hands slipped against the damp marble and the wet hem of my dress clung to my knees. I barely had time to curse under my breath before my balance gave out again.

This time I didn’t fall on him.

This time he caught me.

Lucian’s arm wrapped smoothly around my waist, holding me upright as if this were some kind of dance, not a scene of humiliation.

"There we go," he said in a slow purr. "Can’t have you bruising that proud spine of yours."

"Let go," I hissed, struggling against his hold.

But his grip only tightened—not painfully, but firmly, like I was his plaything and he wasn’t finished yet.

Kael’s voice came next, sharp and low. "Lucian."

I froze. So did Lucian.

I turned my head and saw Kael standing just a few feet away, water dripping from his body, his expression hard as stone. His jaw ticked, and for a moment, he looked less like a furious Alpha and more like a man barely holding back disgust.

Not just at me.

But at Lucian.

Lucian released me slowly, his hands lifting in mock surrender. "Relax, brother. She’s feisty, not fragile. Besides"—his eyes flicked back to mine—"I was only catching her. Our little pet’s leash seems a bit loose."

I forced myself upright, shoving away from both of them. My hands trembled as I straightened, my breaths shallow, but I didn’t look away from Kael. Not even when the bell around my neck let out another humiliating chime.

Kael’s eyes flicked to the sound, then back to me. That disgust in his gaze hadn’t faded. He stepped past me without another word, crossing to the far side of the room, his back tense with every movement.

Lucian lingered, of course.

He never missed an opportunity to gloat.

"I like her spirit," he said, speaking as if I wasn’t even there. "Might be fun to see how long it lasts."

Kael didn’t answer. He just dove back into the pool, water splashing as he disappeared beneath the surface.

Lucian looked at me one last time and gave a slow, deliberate wink.

And I hated him for it.