Chapter 10 A Forbidden Attraction

Marcus pov

As soon as I left Selena standing there, I could still smell her fear through her scent. I ran straight into the nearest forest and shifted into my Lycan form and headed towards the direction of my house. Branches whipped past me as I sprinted through the darkness, trying, failing, to outrun the chaos clawing inside me.

Why her? Why did I have to go to her?

I felt drawn to her the moment I first saw her. I still remember the way she looked at me shocked and when she asked if I was a god or a human. She looked so serious and so adorably wrong. And the moment she whispered it, I felt something warm in my chest, something dangerous. She thought I was handsome. She had no idea what that did to me.

I noticed all her movements during the interview too. The way she tried to be calm, the way she watched every movement I made. She was adorable. Too adorable.

My Lycan, Rylan liked her even more. He wanted her constantly. He wanted to be near her. He wanted to guard her. He wanted to claim her. He never wanted her out of his sight. Not for a second.

But I didn’t want any of this. I wasn’t supposed to feel this way. It was wrong. Especially the kiss.

Everything I felt, everything I ever promised myself was meant only for my destined mate. My true mate. The one chosen by fate. I had vowed to be hers alone, to give her everything she deserves, my love, pamper care and pure self 

But tonight? Tonight I betrayed her.

The first kiss could have been a mistake.

But the second? That one I kissed Selena because I wanted to. Because I couldn’t resist. And the mark, Gods, I almost marked her.

“We should have stayed and comforted her,” Rylan growled, furious. “You hurt her.”

“I protected her,” I snarled back. “You know what you almost made me do. We could have hurt her even more if we mark her. She is not meant for us and our world”

A cold shiver shot down my spine.

One more second in her presence and I would’ve lost control completely. 

Not just a slip.

Not just instinct.

I would have marked her. Claimed her. Take everything.

My fists tightened until my claws nearly broke skin.

I had waited my whole life for my mate.

I imagined her scent, her voice, the moment I would finally find her. The woman meant only for me. I stayed pure for her, for the one the Moon Goddess chose.

I ruined all of it the moment I met Selena. How will I face my mate now?

Rylan had led me to her window tonight. He insisted. He wanted to see her, no matter what I said. And when I saw her trembling in her sleep, caught in a nightmare, something inside me reacted. Something protective. Something primal.

“She acts strong,” Rylan murmured. “But her scent makes it obvious how afraid she was.”

“She wears a brave face,” he continued, “but her eyes give her away.”

He was right.

And I?

I lost control.

I scared her.

Shame burned through me as I reached the gates of my compound. It wasn’t far from the company, but the distance felt useless, Selena’s scent still clung to me like a shadow I couldn't outrun. I shifted back into human and walked into my room.

The moment the heavy door closed behind me, silence descended like a punishment. Too sharp. Too still. Like the air itself condemned me.

I braced my hands against my desk, head bowed, jaw clenched as I fought to steady my breathing. But nothing about me was steady. Not my control. Not my thoughts. Not the storm ripping me apart from the inside.

I told her to stay away.

Those words replayed again and again, harsh, cold, nothing like what I meant.

I didn’t mean don’t come to work.

I meant don’t get too close.

Don’t look at me with those eyes.

Don’t make this harder.

Don’t tempt me into betraying everything I’ve waited for.

Humans.

I never hated them.

But I never trusted them either, they are too weak.

They were once enslaved by the supernatural race, vampires, witches, demons. They were powerless, broken, used for centuries. My people, the Lycans, ended that. Along with the werewolves and the fae, we fought the Freedom War. We freed the humans.

And we paid for it.

The Lycans were nearly wiped out. We were hunted, feared, weakened. My parents, the Lycan King and Queen, led the war. They bore the scars. And after the war, my people were forced into seclusion. The world hated us for what we did, even though we saved humanity.

Now, three hundred years later, humans walk freely. They’ve advanced. They flourish.

While my people.

We hide.

We struggle.

We wait to rise again.

I am the prince.

Their future.

Their hope.

And Selena?

She cannot be part of my world.

She is human. Fragile. Weak. Breakable.

And every time she trembled tonight, every time her voice shook, every time fear spiked through her scent something inside me snapped in panic.

I could hurt her. She is not meant for my world.

I dragged a hand through my hair, pacing. I shouldn’t have gone to her window. I told her to stay away, yet I was the one who couldn’t stay away from her.

Pathetic.

I sat on the edge of my bed, elbows on my knees, trying to steady the storm inside me, guilt, want, anger. Ever since I met her, nothing has made sense.

Kissing her.

Touching her.

Wanting her like she’s mine when she isn’t.

“I have to stay away from her,” I whispered.

Not from work.

Not from responsibility.

From her.

Because every time she looked at me…

I unraveled.

Rylan had finally gone silent, exhausted from the fight. The quiet gave me a moment of fragile peace, until a thought struck me.

Her scent.

I stopped moving.

Tonight, it wasn’t the same.

It wasn’t stronger or sweeter.

Just, different.

Something underneath the usual warmth had shifted. Faint but unmistakable.

Anyone else would’ve missed it.

But I didn’t.

A frown pulled at my brows.

I should’ve paid attention.

But I was drowning in emotions earlier, guilt, fear, desire, shame.

Tomorrow.

I will figure it out tomorrow.

Right now, I don’t have the strength to face what that change might mean.

I closed my eyes, letting the silence settle around me like a weight.

Sleep wouldn’t come tonight.

And tomorrow.

Tomorrow might bring answers I’m not ready to face.