Chapter#11

Varian’s POV

I could feel something wasn’t right. Something about Kaelen felt... wrong. I had heard of Alpha Veyron’s pack—their authority, the power they wielded, and most of all, the sons. Kaelen, especially, was always spoken of in hushed tones. A warrior, built like a mountain, with an iron will that demanded respect. That's how he was described, anyway.

But the Kaelen I saw in this camp was nothing like the warrior I’d imagined. He was small, thin, and his eyes always had this frightened look. It was like a completely different person, someone who didn’t belong in the role he was supposed to occupy.

No. This wasn’t the Kaelen I had heard of. The act, I wasn’t buying it. I couldn’t. There was no way this was the real Kaelen.

But the question wasn’t why they’d replaced the real Kaelen. No. What gnawed at me, what plagued my mind every time I saw him, was why this Kaelen—this scared, weak version—pulled at me in a way that I couldn’t explain.

It was like a magnetic pull, stirring my wolf whenever he was close. I couldn’t ignore it. It was too strong. Something was off.

Last night, I caught the scent of my mate. And it had come from him.

No one in this camp knew what I really was—not that it mattered. They saw the scars, they saw the strength, the victories, and they assumed I was just like any other warrior. But I wasn’t. And that’s exactly how I wanted it.

I had never cared for mates. But Kaelen… Kaelen was different. When I was near him, when I smelled his scent so close, I could feel my wolf stirring, fighting for control, pushing me to get closer, to claim what was mine. I could fight it, but it wasn’t going to be easy.

My life has never been easy. I didn’t grow up like the others here. My story was full of bloodshed, betrayal, and the harshest of truths. When I was seven, I watched my mother burn alive in front of me. She was accused of witchcraft, a crime she didn’t commit.

And me? I never knew who my father was. I never cared. I had no one left.

The only person I had ever called a friend was Leandro, the son of the Alpha in our pack. But the moment my mother died, I was cast aside. Like I was nothing. I was just a seven-year-old, thrown out into the world with no place to go.

I didn’t want a pack. I didn’t want friends. I didn’t want a family. What I wanted was to protect myself from the brutality of those so-called alphas—those bastards who thought their authority was worth spilling blood over. And I would fight anyone who tried to stop me.

I was an Omega.

Being an omega meant people thought I was weak. They thought I couldn’t fight. They were wrong. I had fought in wars, I had led weaker packs to victory, and I had earned respect the hard way.

But none of that was ever for me.

It was for the ones who couldn’t defend themselves, the ones who needed someone to stand up for them. I had learned early on that my strength wasn’t in my status or my place in the pack—it was in my ability to protect. And I protected everyone except myself.

Until now.

I didn’t know why Kaelen’s scent made me feel the way it did. I didn’t know what this pull was. But I was going to find out. And when I did… I would make him face the truth. The truth, that me and Liam shared the same mate and it was him.

Or someone close to him.

Whether he was the real Kaelen or not, whether he had a pack, whether he was hiding from something… none of that mattered to me.

My thoughts jolted me back to his world when I heard a beautiful humming sound. I followed it, and it led me straight to the bathroom where the washing basins were. And there he was—Kaelen, hunched over a pile of uniforms, washing them with a soft, rhythmic hum escaping his lips.

No one else was around, and this was my chance. My chance to finally figure out who he really was.

Selene POV

At night, the camp was unusually still. I slipped out of the room with an armful of uniforms. Washing the group’s uniforms wasn’t just a chore; it was a distraction, something to keep my mind from spiraling into the chaos that seemed to shadow me at every step.

I headed toward the water basin. Each step felt amplified in the silence, the crunch of my boots on gravel like an echo. As soon as I reached the basin, I started washing and humming the lullaby my mother used to sing me when I was little.

I turned a corner—and froze.

I didn’t even have time to react.

“Kaelen.”

The voice was low and cold, sending a jolt through me before I could comprehend what was happening. And in an instant I was slammed against the rough stone wall. A gasp tore from my lips as my back hit the stone cold wall.

Varian.

His towering figure blocked my view. His dead deep blue eyes locked onto mine with an intensity that made my stomach twist. His presence was suffocating, as if the air itself had bent to his will.

“Tell me who you are?” he growled. His voice was barely above a whisper and his breath caught with mine as he spoke. He was too close to me. Our faces had just enough space to let some air through.

He held me from my shoulders, pressing me further on the wall. “I know you’re not Kealen.” he uttered in a threatening tone.

The only thing I worried about was my wolf. It couldn’t come out. My heart pounded wildly in my chest and before I knew it, I felt my wolf waking up.

No. This couldn’t happen. He was so close to me and I couldn’t let my scent fluctuate.

But my wolf, it wasn’t scared—no, it was enraged. But I couldn’t let it surface now, not here, not when Varian’s own wolf seemed so close to breaking through his icy facade.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I forced out, pushing him away and gasping for air.

But he was Varian.

He grabbed me from my neck and pushed me again against the wall. The push was much harder this time making my head hit hard. He leaned in and took a long sniff of my neck. His breath grazed my neck. The sensation sent an involuntary shiver through me. The heat of his body pressed against mine was in stark contrast to the cold stone at my back.

It was hard to resist him. I wanted to grab his face and kiss him, telling him I was his mate. The one he was looking for. The one he’d kill for.

But I couldn’t do that. I had to control myself. I had to control my wolf. He couldn’t know. No one could know.

And then my wolf growled within me.

“Don’t play games with me,” he said, his tone low but sharp enough to cut through my defenses. “You think I don’t notice how you slip away, how you’re always just... there, in the wrong place at the wrong time?”

I forced my gaze to meet his, swallowing the lump of fear in my throat. “If you can’t find your mate, Varian, that’s your problem. Not mine.”

The words slipped out before I could stop them. His eyes flickered. I could see the sadness on his face. His expression softened and he seemed like a totally different man.

But before I could fully take in the look of this other version of Varian I just saw, his eyes hardened again. Cold. He came even closer, so close that I couldn’t move, not even leaving room for air this time.

For a moment our eyes locked and everything became still. I could only hear my heart thudding in my chest and his gaze down on me felt like this was it. I knew I wouldn’t be able to control my wolf anymore.

His lips curled into a cruel smile. “What are the chances,” he murmured, “that you and my mate’s scent both lead me to the same place?”

My blood turned to ice.

Had he figured it out?

My pulse quickened. The delicate balance I’d been holding onto shattered. “I don’t know what you mean,” I managed to say.

His gaze didn’t waver. If anything, it grew more dangerous. He tilted his head slightly, studying me like I was a puzzle he was determined to solve.

“You don’t know?” His voice dripped with mockery, “Because I don’t believe in coincidences, Kaelen.”

He leaned in, his face inches from mine, his eyes searching mine for an answer I couldn’t give him.

“Varian…” I turned my head away, “stop.”

But he held me from my chin, making me face him again. Was he going to kiss me? Did he know who I was?

It seemed like it did. And for a moment, everything I was knew was blank.