CHAPTER 110: CHAPTER 110: COVEN

Kieran’s POV ~

When Selene left the room to take the call, the silence pressed on me. It was sudden and heavy. A hollow ache spread inside, like she was walking away forever. Sadness gripped me without warning, and I hated how quickly it made me feel sad.

I did not want to be alone.

But then she came back. Her steps were light, but her eyes... her eyes were looking at me with something I could not name. My heart jolted once, hard, but I kept my face calm as always. Calm was easier than truth.

She asked softly, almost too casually, about the party at Sara’s house. Her parents had invited me, but did I want to go or not?

Her words struck me harder than they should have. Did she really mean it? To bring me there? I knew well that the coven never allowed outsiders unless there was trust. Trust was rare and dangerous. And yet, her question meant she trusted me.

The thought unsettled me. It burned in my chest.

She hesitated then, quickly adding that if I was busy, I didn’t have to go. Her tone carried nerves, as though she was afraid of my answer.

Before she could even finish, I heard my own voice cutting through. "No. I will go."

The words came sharp, without pause, and the look on her face showed surprise. But I could not take them back. I did not want to.

After that, we decided to leave immediately since the place was very far away. But then she suddenly asked a question that sent a jolt of fear through me—where was my car? Panic gripped me, but I lied, and relief washed over me when she didn’t press further. I truly couldn’t explain how I had actually come here.

We had already driven halfway when Selene suddenly slowed the car. She turned to me with a small smile and said she wanted to stop at a mall. Her voice was light, but I could hear the unease in it. She did not want to keep wearing the same clothes as last night.

I only nodded, saying nothing, and watched as she stepped out. I stayed in the car, leaning back against the seat, staring through the windshield. My thoughts were loud.

Not long after, she returned. But this time, she was different. She had changed.

When she opened the door and slipped back inside, my heart almost stopped. The new clothes framed her in a way I had not seen before. Fresh, neat, and soft against her skin. Her hair fell free, catching the sunlight through the window. For a moment, she looked less like the Selene I had known and more like someone untouchable. Radiant.

Something inside me shifted sharply.

My chest tightened, and my throat grew warm. I could not stop staring at her. Every detail—her fingers brushing her hair behind her ear, the faint smile on her lips, the way she adjusted her seatbelt—it all struck me deeper than I wanted to admit.

My heart fluttered, hard and unsteady. It was dangerous.

A voice inside whispered fiercely: She is yours. She belongs to you. Don’t let her slip away. Claim her before the world takes her from you.

My breath caught in my chest.

My body reacted before my mind could even stop it. From last night to now, my thoughts had been running wild and restless, and now, just one glance at her was enough to stir something dangerous in me. Heat pooled low in my abdomen, spreading through me until it burned.

Panic shot through me.

I shifted in my seat, crossing one leg over the other quickly, forcing myself to sit straighter to make sure she noticed nothing unusual. The movement felt stiff and unnatural, but I could not risk her eyes lingering too long.

Embarrassment rushed to my face. My ears burned hot.

She looked so radiant beside me, yet all I could think about was how weak I was becoming. How easily she could unmake me with nothing but her presence. It felt humiliated by the way my body betrayed me, but even worse was the way my heart whispered that it wasn’t wrong—that she was meant to be mine, only mine.

I clenched my jaw, forcing my gaze out the window, pretending to be calm, but inside I was in turmoil.

I did not dare look at her again.

I realized then how deeply I was caught.

I could not let her know how badly I wanted her.

Silence filled the car again. She said nothing, and neither did I. But inside, I was chaos. A storm that only she could summon, and only she could calm.

I pressed my jaw tight, swallowing the words my heart screamed at me. I would not let them out.

So I looked away, crowned in silence, pretending to be calm—while every beat of my heart betrayed me.

But then, the memories of last night slipped in. The way I had found her, the state she was in, the helplessness. My chest warmed with something I could not allow myself to feel. I turned my face away, staring out the window, refusing her gaze.

When we entered the coven, I finally found a distraction; I saw it for the first time. It was not what people imagined. That witch’s house is in the hidden forest, not in the shadows of cottages or secret huts. It was a town—structured, organized, alive. Children ran on the streets. Shops stood open. It was simply life.

But as we crossed further in, a strange sensation brushed against me. It was invisible, yet I felt it along my skin like threads of silk tightening. My body stiffened, and I knew then—it was protection. A spell that was protecting the coven.

And just by the slight fluctuation, I knew it was very powerful. Not many could break this and enter inside.

The old stories were true. Stepping into the coven without permission was like stepping into death.

I glanced at Selene, walking beside me without fear. And I realized it was her trust alone that let me breathe here at all.