The Scar That Saved Her

Chapter Thirty-Six: The Scar That Saved Me

Selene’s POV

The room was quiet. Too quiet.

I sat at the edge of the bed, staring at the soft carpet beneath my feet. My fingers clutched the sides of my gown. It was beautiful—smooth, silky, expensive—but I hated it. I hated how it clung to my body. I hated how it reminded me of what I feared was coming.

I had barely finished breathing in when the door creaked open.

I didn’t move.

I already knew who it was.

The air shifted. His scent filled the room—a mix of pinewood and smoke, something dark, something heavy. I kept my eyes on the floor as the door clicked shut behind him. Every part of me stiffened.

His steps were slow, controlled, like he had all the time in the world. But I didn’t.

I was running out of courage.

“You’re quiet,” he said.

I swallowed hard. “I didn’t know you were coming.”

“I live here. You live here now too. Why wouldn’t I come to my wife’s room?”

My stomach twisted at that word. Wife. I wasn’t even sure what I was anymore. Not a daughter. Not an Alpha. Not even free.

He stepped closer. “Stand up.”

I slowly turned my face toward him. “Why?”

“Because I told you to.”

My legs shook as I stood. I knew what was coming. The way his eyes moved over me made it obvious.

“You belong to me now,” he said. “Don’t forget that.”

I felt my body go numb. “You promised…”

“I promised nothing,” he said coldly. “This is what happens when you’re mated to power. You serve it.”

I backed up a step. “Please. I’ve never… I’ve never done this before.”

His expression didn’t change.

“I don’t care.”

A lump formed in my throat. “Please. Just let me go tonight. Just tonight.”

“No.”

His voice wasn’t loud, but it felt like a slap.

“Take off your clothes.”

My hands froze. “Please don’t do this.”

“Do it.”

Tears rushed to my eyes. I looked at him, searching for something—pity, kindness, anything—but there was nothing. Only power.

“I’m the daughter of an Alpha,” I whispered. “I was trained to lead, to fight, not to be stripped like this… not to be used…”

He took another step closer. “You were trained to obey, weren’t you?”

My lips trembled. “No. I was trained to protect my pack. To protect myself.”

“You failed at both.”

That broke me.

I reached down slowly, hands shaking as I gripped the bottom of the gown. I pulled it over my head with trembling arms.

I stood there, in nothing but my underwear, hugging myself as the tears rolled silently down my cheeks.

My skin burned with shame.

“I hope you’re proud,” I whispered.

He grabbed me by the arm—not hard, but enough to make me stumble.

He pushed me onto the bed.

I cried out, covering myself with my arms as I fell onto the mattress.

I begged under my breath. “Please, please, please don’t do this.”

He leaned over me, his body casting a shadow over mine. His hand brushed my waist as he reached to pull the sheet aside—

And then he stopped.

Everything paused.

He wasn’t looking at me anymore.

He was staring at something else.

His eyes had found the long, jagged scar running along my left hip, stretching toward my lower belly.

It was ugly. Dark. It had never healed properly.

He sat back slowly. His hand reached toward it but didn’t touch.

“What… what is that?” he asked, his voice lower.

I turned my head away. “Nothing.”

“Tell me.”

I swallowed a sob. “It was her. The new Alpha.”

He was silent.

“She said because she had once fought for the pack and that she would compete with time, the rightful owner to the position. She did, and she won unfairly. Even after that, she decided to use me as a slave, she humiliated me, an she was planning on doing something unimaginable, that was why I run, and that was why you found me here. I shouldn’t be here, but most people support her, what could I do with her having numerous supporter?”

He was staring. Still. But now… something had changed.

His lips parted slightly. His brows drew together.

He was… shaken.

“You… you fought for your title?”

I nodded, crying harder now. “I fought but the fight wasn’t fairly. But it didn’t matter. Because I wasn’t her. Because I wasn’t them.”

He looked away for a moment, jaw tight.

Then without saying a word, he stood up.

He reached for the blanket and gently covered my body.

I blinked at him through my tears.

He wasn’t touching me anymore. He wasn’t demanding anything.

“I didn’t know,” he said. His voice was quiet.

I didn’t say anything. I couldn’t. My voice was gone. My strength was gone.

“I’ll send for the pack doctor,” he added. “You should’ve been treated a long time ago.”

I nodded slowly, still shaking, still pulling the blanket around me like it could protect me.

He walked toward the door.

Just before he opened it, he turned and looked back at me.

“You said you were the daughter of an Alpha,” he said.

I looked up, surprised.

“You were right,” he added. “You carry your pain like a crown.”

Then he left.

And I broke.

The moment the door closed, I let out a loud sob.

I curled into myself, hugging the blanket, the tears falling so fast I couldn’t breathe.

I didn’t know what to feel. Shame? Relief? Confusion?

He didn’t touch me. But he saw me. He saw me. Not just my body—but my pain.

And he stopped.

That scar saved me tonight.

But it also opened something in him.

And for the first time… I didn’t know if I hated him anymore.

I missed Ronan. His warmth. His quiet protection. He would’ve fought for me. Held me.

But he wasn’t here.

And I was alone.

Alone with a man who had the power to break me—

But tonight, chose not to.