Bound by Betrayal, Claimed by the Alpha

Selena's POV

If anyone had told me yesterday that I would willingly walk toward Alpha Darius after having my heart ripped out, I would've laughed in their face. Or cried. Or both.

But here I was, stepping across the training grounds, ignoring the curious glances from wolves who were definitely whispering behind my back.

I didn't blame them.

Yesterday, I was the girl everyone expected to become the future Luna beside Kael. Today... well, today my mate slept with my sister, and apparently the whole pack already knew.

Thanks, gossip network.

Darius didn't move as I approached. He just stood there, arms crossed loosely over his chest, his expression unreadable. The sun caught in the strands of his dark hair, making it look almost too soft for a man who could tear a warrior apart with one hand.

He watched me the way a wolf watches a shifting wind, curious, cold, attentive.

I tried not to show how nervous I was. My heartbeat was embarrassingly loud in my ears. My palms were sweating. And I felt... exposed, somehow, like he could see straight through the steel mask I was trying to wear.

"Alpha," I said, keeping my voice steady.

He nodded once. "Selena."

The way he said my name, it wasn't soft, but it wasn't harsh either. Just firm and sure. A tone that didn't allow space for lies.

I swallowed. "Can we talk?"

A subtle furrow formed between his brows. "About what?"

I hesitated. I didn't want to sound desperate or broken. I didn't want pity. I wanted... control. Even if I barely had any.

"Training," I lied smoothly. "I want to return."

His eyes flicked over me, slow and deliberate. I fought not to shift under the intensity. Darius didn't just look at people, he assessed them, measured them, saw too much.

"You haven't come in weeks," he said. Not accusing. Just stating fact.

"I know." I forced my shoulders straight. "I'm ready to continue."

Darius let silence stretch for a moment. He had a way of doing that, letting quiet do more damage than words. It made me feel like he was peeling me apart without touching me.

Finally, he spoke. "Something happened."

It wasn't a question.

I blinked once, twice. "I don't know what you mean."

"Your scent is different," he said evenly. "Your wolf is quieter. And your aura is... unsettled."

I stiffened. "Everyone has bad days."

He didn't look convinced. In fact, his gaze sharpened like he was about to push, and I panicked. I wasn't ready to talk about Kael, about Lyria, about anything that would make this wound bleed again.

So I did what any wounded person would do.

I lied harder.

"I had a disagreement with someone," I said quickly. "But it doesn't matter. I want to train again."

Darius watched me for a long moment, far too long. Long enough that my pulse stuttered and my stomach twisted with the fear that he saw right through every word.

Then he nodded.

"Fine."

Relief dropped through me so fast I almost sagged in place. But before I could catch my breath, he added,

"But you train with me."

My eyes widened. "W-with you?"

He stepped closer but not too close, just enough that his presence pressed lightly against my skin like a physical thing.

"Yes," he said calmly. "If you truly want to return, you will train under me directly."

My heart skipped.

This wasn't part of the plan at least not yet.

"I-I thought I'd rejoin with the other warriors," I said.

"No." His voice left no room for negotiation. "If you were absent because of weakness, I need to know. If you were absent because of distraction, I need to fix it. And if you were absent because something or... someone hurt you..."

He paused.

"...then I'll deal with it."

My stomach tightened, a strange warmth crawled up my spine at his words, and I hated how easily those four syllables, I'll deal with it, made something in me melt.

I turned away so he wouldn't see the swirl of emotions on my face.

Darius wasn't my mate, he wasn't supposed to comfort me, wasn't supposed to notice me at all.

But here he was, noticing too much.

I swallowed hard. "Alright. I'll train under you."

His nod was barely perceptible, but I sensed approval in it. "Good. We start now."

I blinked at him. "Now?"

"Yes. Unless you prefer to go back to bed and cry about whatever you're pretending didn't happen."

My mouth fell open, colour raising to my cheeks in embarrassment.

"Excuse me?"

A faint, very faint curve tugged at one corner of his mouth. "Your eyes are still swollen. And you're wearing enough perfume to mask your mood. Poorly."

More heat rushed to my cheeks.

Gods.

Leave it to an Alpha to ruin every ounce of composure with two sentences.

"I wasn't crying," I muttered.

He arched a brow.

My shoulders slumped. "...okay, maybe I cried. A little."

"A little?" he asked.

I glared weakly. "Are you going to keep interrogating me or train me?"

"Training," he said immediately, as if he hadn't just roasted me alive.

* * *

The training

I regretted agreeing to train under him thirty seconds later. Darius didn't go easy, heck, he didn't even go medium. He went full Alpha mode, fast, precise, controlled, testing everything from my footwork to my ability to stay upright.

And I hated how right he was.

My wolf was quiet, body wasn't in sync and my focus slid every time my chest tightened or a memory of last night crept in.

At one point I missed a block so badly my wrist stung.

Darius stepped back abruptly. "Enough."

I let out a shaky breath, wiping sweat from my forehead. "You're stopping because I'm sloppy, right? I know I messed up. I'm trying..."

"You're hurting."

The words made me freeze and my heartbeat throbbed in my throat.

"No," I whispered. "I'm angry."

"You're both," he said simply.

I looked away, jaw tight.

And then, quietly, so quietly I almost missed it he said,

"Who hurt you?"

It shouldn't have affected me as much as it did. Maybe it was the tone, low, steady, not demanding, not prying. Just... asking... genuinely.

My throat burned and I almost told him.Kael hurt me.

Lyria betrayed me, Everything I believed in has shattered.

But the words stayed stuck to my throat.

Because telling Darius meant giving power to the pain. And I wasn't ready for anyone not even an Alpha, to see that I was bleeding inside.

So I did the only thing I could.

I stepped back, shaking my head. "It doesn't matter."

His eyes darkened a shade. Not angry. Just... narrowing. Like he was memorizing the lie for later.

"It clearly matters," he said.

I clenched my fists. "Alpha, please. I just want to train."

The moment the word "Alpha" left my lips, something shifted in his expression. Barely but it happened. His jaw tightened, his shoulders straightened.

His attention sharpened on me.

It felt like the air thickened.

He stepped closer, close enough that I felt heat radiating from him. Close enough that if I took one step back, it would look like fear.

And he watched me, really watched me.

For a moment, it felt like he could see the sorrow I tried to bury behind my eyes. The betrayal sitting heavy in my chest. The fury simmering low in my stomach.

And the part of me that was dangerously considering him not as my Alpha, but as a man.

Finally, he spoke. Low but firm.

"If someone in this pack hurt you, Selena," Darius said, "I will know. Whether you tell me or not."

A shiver slipped down my spine not in fear but something else, something I wasn't ready to acknowledge.

But his gaze held mine until I had no choice but to look back.

And in that second, I realized something that scared me more than my breakup. More than betrayal. More than any revenge plan.

Darius saw me, nott the warrior, not the betrayed mate, not the girl trying to act strong.

He saw the cracks and he wasn't looking away.

* * *

His unexpected softness, Darius exhaled through his nose, something like restraint passing through his eyes, and then he stepped back, giving me space again.

Space I didn't realize I'd needed until he moved.

"We're done for today," he said.

My shoulders sagged with exhaustion and disappointment. "I can still go another round."

"You're tired," he replied.

"So what? I can push through..."

"Selena."

Just my name firm, steady like quietly commanding, my protest died

"You fought hard today," he said. "Harder than you think."

And damn it, it meant something. That he noticed. That he didn't treat me like I was fragile or broken.

I nodded, letting out a breath I didn't realize I'd been holding. "Alright."

Darius turned away, but stopped after two steps. His head tilted slightly, as if he sensed something.

He didn't look at me when he spoke.

"But whatever happened to you..."

His voice softened, barely, but enough for my chest to tighten.

"...it won't break you."

My eyes burned, for the second time that morning.

I whispered, "You sound awfully sure."

"I am," he said.

And then he walked away without waiting for a response.

Leaving me standing there, trying to understand why those five words

It won't break you, felt like a hand pressed carefully over the cracks in my heart.