CHAPTER 86: CHAPTER 86: WHY DO YOU SMELL LIKE SELENE?

Selene’s POV ~

The hit made it hard for me to breathe. One moment I was running...branches clawing at my arms, my heart hammering in my chest—the next I was crushed beneath the sheer weight of a massive wolf.

His body slammed me into the dirt, his claws digging into the ground on either side of my head, trapping me there as though I were prey.

My scream choked in my throat. All I could hear was his ragged breathing, his chest heaving above me, and the wild storm of his heartbeat thrumming against mine.

His fur rubbed against my skin, thick and scratchy, and his deep, musky, and strong scent wrapped around me, filling my chest so much I could barely breathe.

Then came his voice. Low and guttural, vibrating from deep inside his chest. "Who the hell are you? And why do you smell like my mate?"

The words felt like knives, cutting into me exactly where it hurt most. My stomach dropped and twisted, like something had been torn inside me. He didn’t recognize me. He looked at me, pinned me beneath his monstrous form, and still... he didn’t know.

A part of me shattered at that realization, a silent, broken piece of my soul screaming that my mate should know me. He should always know me, no matter what disguise I wore. And yet another part of me... breathed.

Relief slid through me in a shaky exhale I could not contain. If he couldn’t recognize me, then I could escape. If he saw me only as a stranger, I could still run from him, hide from him, and keep the fragile pieces of myself safe.

I forced my trembling lips to part. My voice wavered, soft and desperate, the perfect picture of an innocent girl caught in the jaws of a beast. "I... I don’t know what you’re talking about. I don’t understand. What scent? It’s my own."

The wolf growled, deep and rough, his hot breath burning my face as he came closer. I flinched back without thinking, but there was nowhere to escape. His sharp teeth shone in the moonlight, and his glowing eyes stared at me with real suspicion.

I curled inward, pressing my hands to my chest as though shielding myself from his accusations. My voice broke, trembling with practiced fear. "Please... I’m just a human. I don’t know what you mean. I don’t understand any of this."

His growl deepened, vibrating through the earth beneath us. "Then why were you running away from me?"

His question clawed at me, but I didn’t falter. I swallowed hard, letting tears prick my eyes, letting fear twist across my features until I looked like nothing more than a terrified girl who had stumbled into something she never should have seen.

My words tumbled out in frantic gasps. "I wasn’t running away from you! I swear—I was running from Alpha Julian. He... he brought me here, but his intentions weren’t good. He tried to force himself on me, so I kicked him and ran. That’s it. I don’t know you. I was just trying to save myself."

The wolf’s massive frame loomed above me, but something shifted in his eyes. A flicker of hesitation. Doubt. His ears twitched, and his gaze darted past me, back toward the direction I had come from.

He remembered—I could see it—the bratty heir sprawled on the ground, clutching himself in pain. He realized I had already been running before he even laid eyes on me. My words rang with truth.

And yet... his snarl didn’t vanish. His claws flexed against the earth, his body a wall of heat and power above me. His gaze returned to me, sharper now, piercing. "Then why..." His voice was a low, dangerous rumble. "Why do you smell like Selene?"

The name. My name. It fell from his lips like a curse and a prayer all at once, and every bone in my body ached to respond, to cry out. It’s me—it’s always been me! But I couldn’t. I couldn’t let him know.

If he knew, he would never let me go. He would chain me, cage me, and drown me in his suffocating obsession until I was nothing but a shadow of myself again.

So I did what I had to.

I let my eyes harden for a fraction of a second, the truth flashing and vanishing like lightning before I smothered it beneath a mask. My features softened, meek and pitiful, my lips trembling as though I were too fragile to even hold a lie. "Selene? I... I don’t know anyone by that name. I don’t know anyone. Please... I just want to go home. Please, let me go."

My voice cracked on the last word, a pitiful plea that echoed through the night. I sounded like prey, like a helpless human girl staring up at a predator she could never hope to fight. And it worked.

His breathing slowed, if only slightly. His weight shifted just enough that I could draw a fuller breath without choking on the thick wall of his scent that clung to me like chains. His eyes flickered, caught between anger, confusion, and something that almost looked like despair.

My heart beat wildly, screaming for me to run, but I stayed frozen beneath him, shaking like the helpless girl I was pretending to be. His smell clung to me—thick and overpowering—making it hard to think clearly.

My body screamed at me to flee, but I couldn’t—not yet. Not until he loosened his hold enough to give me a chance.

Inside, my heart whimpered, clawing against my mind, begging me to stop lying, begging me to claim him. But I silenced it with brutal force. I couldn’t give in. Not now. Not when freedom was right there, hanging in front of me like a thread.

His growl rolled through the silence, a sound of both warning and torment. His eyes searched mine, desperate, lost, and furious. But still... he didn’t know. Still, he saw only a human girl.

And for now, that was exactly what I needed him to believe.