The Alpha's Forbidden Vow novel Chapter 39

POV: Selene

I woke up alone.

The bed was cold where he had been, the only evidence of his presence the lingering scent of whiskey and his unique, intoxicating musk on my sheets.

My body ached with a deep, bruised soreness.

But the pain in my heart was far worse.

He had taken me with a violent, jealous rage, a punishment for a crime I hadn't even committed.

He had used my body to soothe his own wounded pride.

And then he had left me, discarded again in the cold light of dawn.

The whiplash of his behavior was making me feel like I was losing my mind.

One moment he was a cold tyrant, the next a savage lover, and then a ghost.

Who was the real Zane?

The tormented man who whispered my name in his sleep, or the cruel king who treated me like property?

I spent the day in a numb, exhausted haze, going through the motions of being Leo’s nanny.

I felt fragile, my emotions rubbed raw.

In the afternoon, one of the older maids, a kind woman named Clara who had been here since before I first arrived, found me in the laundry room.

She had always treated me with a quiet pity and respect that the other staff members lacked.

She slipped a small, plastic-wrapped object into my hand without a word.

It was a cheap, disposable burner phone.

“A friend of yours is very worried,” she whispered, her eyes full of sympathy. “He found my cousin who works in town and asked her to get this to you. He said to only turn it on when you are completely alone.”

Then she was gone, leaving me staring at the phone in my hand.

Elias.

It had to be Elias.

My heart clenched with a mixture of overwhelming gratitude and sheer terror.

He was looking for me. He was worried about me.

His kindness was a beacon of light in this suffocating darkness.

“Selene? Thank God.” His voice, so full of warmth and genuine relief, was a stark contrast to the cold, cruel tones that now filled my world. “I’ve been so worried. Are you hurt? Is he…?”

“I’m fine,” I lied, cutting him off. “Leo is fine. But you can’t call me. It’s not safe. For either of us.”

“I don’t care about that,” he said, his voice firm. “I just needed to know you were alright. I saw them take you. I felt so helpless.”

“You were brave, Elias,” I whispered, tears streaming down my face now. “You were so brave. Thank you.”

“Let me help you…” he began.

“No,” I said, my voice hardening with resolve. “You’ve done enough. You need to forget about us. Live your life. Be safe. Goodbye, Elias.”

Before he could protest, I was about to end the call.

But then my bedroom door was ripped from its hinges.

It didn’t just open; it splintered and crashed to the floor.

Zane stood in the doorway, his body radiating a murderous, black aura of pure Alpha rage.

His eyes, burning with a lethal fire, were fixed on the small, glowing phone clutched in my hand.

And I knew, with a certainty that froze the blood in my veins, that he had heard every single word.