The air between them was thick with tension, the remnants of what almost happened still lingering like an unshaken storm.
Kieran's eyes never left her, his jaw tight, his fists clenched at his sides as if forcing himself to stay still. Selene could feel the heat of his gaze on her skin, burning through her like a brand she couldn't erase.
But she couldn't do this.
Not when Damien still had a claim on her. Not when the supernatural laws that bound them could unleash consequences neither she nor Kieran were ready to face.
She turned away, wrapping her arms around herself as if that could hold her together. "You should go."
Kieran didn't move.
His silence was heavy, weighing on her, demanding an answer she wasn't ready to give.
"I mean it, Kieran," she forced out, her voice barely above a whisper. "Please."
A muscle ticked in his jaw. His hands flexed at his sides, and for a moment, she thought he would fight her on this.
But then, he exhaled sharply.
"Fine."
His voice was low, but there was something dangerous in it. Something final.
He turned to leave, his movements slow and measured, but Selene could see the barely contained fury in the way his shoulders tensed.
He reached the door, gripping the handle so tightly his knuckles turned white.
Then, just as he was about to step out, he spoke.
"You can lie to yourself, Selene." He didn't turn around. "But don't ever lie to me."
The door shut behind him, the echo of his words slicing through the silence like a blade.
Selene squeezed her eyes shut, her chest aching in a way she hadn't expected.
She had done the right thing.
Then why did it feel like she had just made the biggest mistake of her life?
—
Kieran didn't remember leaving her apartment.
All he knew was that he was angry.
Not just at Selene—but at himself.
At Damien.
At the supernatural laws that forced them into this twisted, inescapable nightmare.
He strode through the city streets, the cool night air doing nothing to calm the fire burning in his veins. Every instinct in him screamed to go back, to fight for her, to claim her the way Damien never deserved to.
But it wasn't that simple.
Selene was still bound to that bastard.
And Kieran knew firsthand what happened when someone tried to break a supernatural bond without permission.
His hands curled into fists.
He had spent years training as a warrior, learning the rules, learning how to break them when necessary.
And if it came down to it…
He would break every law in existence to make Selene his.
He wasn't walking away.
Not now. Not ever.
But first, he needed to find out exactly what it would take to sever Damien's hold over her.
And if the answer was war—
Then so be it.