The Witch and Her Four Dangerous Alphas

Chapter 36: Chapter 36: Bite Back

Selene’s POV ~

The sound of footsteps snapped me out of the numbing rhythm of scrubbing tile.

I didn’t turn at first. I was too tired. Too angry. Too aware of how exposed I was, kneeling on wet marble with a bell chiming from my throat like I was some docile pet waiting for scraps.

But then I heard the low and amused laugh behind me.

"Well, well," came the voice, playful and deep, "I didn’t expect to see this so soon."

I turned my head just enough to see him.

Lucian.

The young of the four Alphas. Sharp where Kael was cold. Grey-eyed, handsome, and dangerous in a different way—like a man who’d smile as he cut you open, just to see how you bled.

His gaze locked on the bell around my neck, and something gleamed in his eyes. Pleasure and dark amusement.

He crouched slowly, picked up the leash from the floor, and gave it an experimental tug.

I choked slightly at the pressure on my throat, my body jerking forward on instinct. He didn’t let go. Instead, he wrapped the leather around his hand, coiling it tight until my face was only inches from his.

"Look at you," he murmured. "Pretty little pet. I see Kael’s been busy."

His breath brushed my skin, warm and taunting. My fists clenched at my sides, nails digging into my palms, but I didn’t move.

Lucian tilted his head as if studying me. His grey eyes roamed over my face, pausing on my lips, my throat, the trembling rise of my shoulders.

"You always looked untouchable," he said, voice soft and cruel. "I used to wonder if anything could ever bring you low. But look at you now."

brushing the

That was it.

fury snapped through me like

fast—leaning forward and biting down hard on the finger he dared to tease me with. My teeth sank into flesh, and for a

and stared at me

whispered, almost

harder, a shadow loomed behind me, and a hand gripped the back

Kael.

me up by the neck like I weighed nothing, jerking me backward until I was

His eyes burned.

stupid girl," Kael growled, his voice low and tight with fury. "Still biting like a rabid

stood now, licking the blood from his finger with a lazy grin. "She’s got spirit, I’ll

His jaw was locked, his grip on my neck tightening until I could barely breathe. His face

he whispered coldly. "But don’t

back of my neck with a violent jerk, and before I could catch myself,

Not forward.

Sideways.

Right into Lucian.

from him before I could even recoil. His hands barely moved to steady me, but the moment I felt his heat, the moment I

too amused, "throwing yourself into my arms just after biting me? Is our little

My entire body stiffened.

gleamed with playful cruelty as he tilted his head and gave me the kind

slipped against the damp marble and the wet hem of my dress clung to my knees.

didn’t fall

he caught

as if this were some