*Fang’s PoV* 

Selene’s gaze was locked with Fang as they slowly swayed to the wind. It was cold, but the air broke its velocity because of the pillars around the railing. Fang traced his fingers up Selene’s back before it left the fabric and trailed over her bare skin. Selene drew in a quick breath, “Fang.” 

“Yes,” Fang drawled as his fingers traced back the path they had traveled. 

Selene met his dark desire filled eyes, “did you forget about your hands?” His lips curled wickedly before he pulled her flush against him. 

“I don’t remember,” Fang said. 

Selene unexpectedly giggled, “stop making stupid excuses, Fang.” He smiled at her before he brought his hands to rest on the side of her waist as he held her tight against him. “Fang!” Selene warned him again but he simply hummed. Selene could not help but have an uncontrollable smile on her lips, “Fang, stop acting.” He leaned down and pressed his forehead against hers. 

Fang waited for a few seconds before he smiled, “I like how you are finally finding yourself. This is you.” 

He was expecting for her to deny him as usual. However, he was glad Selene was coming around. His patience was running thin with her and he doubted how long he would have held on more before snatching her away, even from herself. His eyes opened to see Selene’s eyes were closed and his jaw clenched while darkness swirled in his eyes. So many things he would have done to make her give in to him. He was glad… glad he didn’t take the impatient way. 

“I am liking this too,” Selene spoke suddenly.

Her eyes slowly opened to watch Fang already looking at her. He moved his head back to have a better look at her. Selene moved his hand away from her waist to take a step back.

Her brows creased, “Fang, I want to apologize.” The words after that stuck on her lips.

Fang waited for her to speak but seeing how she was still at that unbalanced bridge, he pushed her to answer, “for?” 

Selene met his gaze again as a strong wind blew through the balcony and her hair almost tossed over her face. She moved it aside with her slender fingers as she looked back at Fang. His hair handsomely covered his forehead and the messy look made him look a well-kept bad boy. Selene smiled at that sight, “aren’t you reading my mind already?” 

Fang looked at her, still deciding. Then he shook his head, “Some things are too important to be spoiled.” 

Selene was a little surprised to hear that. As much as she had thought of Fang, he was someone who always was in people’s heads, but he refused it right now, “you are saying you are actually out of my head now?” Fang hummed with a nod. Selene did not know what to say to that. She was here to figure out how to make him stop while he himself had stopped. “You are only out of my head?” Selene asked, trying to stall the matter. 

“No, I have to shut it off entirely to not be able to listen to anyone,” Fang informed before he took a step closer to her, “you were saying?” 

Selene nodded, a little awkward with her own words. Apologies were always tough for Alphas. She tried to look away but then took a deep breath and faced Fang, “I am sorry for the way that I treated you. You are a pain in the wrong place, but I think I have come to like it.” Fang was left speechless. Selene pursed her lips, biting into her lower lips before she whispered, “Thank you for helping me find what was taken away from me.” 

Fang was not ready for that this soon. 

She had started owning up to herself but to come around for him this soon? But then he looked at Selene. Her genuinely innocent face made him want to accept it just like that. This was all he had been wanting for a long time, despite the fact that when he met her, he wanted to kill her. There were things that had happened because of her in the past, but he fell for his natural instincts. 

“I should thank you,” he said, since he couldn’t apologize for something she did not know. “If you hadn’t resisted so much, I might have controlled you and then lost my interest pretty soon,” he smirked as he stepped forward. 

Selene laughed at his final statement, “like I would ever let you”

He stepped closer to her and her face only reminded him more of why he used to hate her. He wanted her; he needed every part of her being, and he knew it wasn’t her fault. But he went ahead and hugged her. He wanted that warmth to calm his heart down. 

Selene was a little shocked by his reaction, “Is everything alright, Fang?” 

He nodded over her head, but his heart pained from those memories. Was he doing the right thing, keeping her out of it? Fang could not decide, but he held her tighter against him. 

Selene almost suffocated in his hold, “Fang! What is wrong- hey I can’t breathe like this.” 

He let her go immediately. Selene took deep breaths, but Fang walked past her over to the railing. She turned back to watch him suddenly retreat. It was the last expression she was expecting from him. After all, he was the one who had started the chase. 

“Fang,” her hand rested on his shoulder before she came to stand beside him. 

His knuckles turned white as he gripped the broad railing tightly, his fingers and palm pressing against the rough surface. He turned to look at Selene, “how much do you remember from your childhood?” 

That question was obviously confusing. 

Selene looked at him with creased brows, “how long back are you talking about?” 

“12 – 13 years back,” Fang was a little stern. 

Selene did not know what turn the conversation had taken place, but she decided to answer it, “I do remember a little bit of some major events, no more than that. It was long back, Fang.” Fang stepped closer to her and the next thing he did was grab her face while pressing his thumb on the side of her temple. “What are you-” Selene’s words were cut short as her eyes rolled impossibly back into her eye socket. Fang’s eyes, on the other hand, turned pure golden before he closed them and entered her memories. 

He traveled as far as he could. 

No matter what he was searching and what he was looking through, there were only fixed memories even in her set of major events 

The time she was put in the dungeons. 

How Dandeline had helped her. 

Her trainer, who would almost torture her trying to make her better. 

But there were no other memories. How come this long and she did not have any other memory? Fang dug deeper but it still did not bring him what he wanted to see. Someone must have messed with her mind, thought Fang, because even in her deep subconscious, where traumas would be locked away, there was nothing. 

Fang let her go and Selene blinked twice in confusion, “what happened?” 

Fang shook his head, “Nothing.” 

She was sure something and happened. There were so many things she was remembering right now that she had almost forgotten over past years. Some of the brutal lessons with her trainer and Dandeline’s kindness.

Selene looked at Fang as she turned him to face her, “what is wrong with you Fang why are you acting like this?” For a second Fang thought Selene felt his presence in her head but then she said, “I apologized to you and I’m asking what is wrong even after that. Why won’t you answer me? Is the chase over for you now that I have accepted I want you?”

Fang’s eyes went wide, “what? No.” He let out a sigh before grabbing her face, “I didn’t mean it like that. It is just as if this is a dream.” He lied so there won’t be any need for more explanation.

Selene rolled her eyes, “it is not. Go in my head if you want.” 

Fang snickered, “you want me to go in your head when you are here with a solution to block me out?” 

Selene’s eyes went wide at that statement, “you said you weren’t reading my thoughts.” She pushed him back, a little offended that he saw through her. She was planning to deceive him, but he had already figured it out. 

He reached out to circle his hand around her neck and pulled her closer. 

Selene brought her hand forward to push him but he reached his two fingers between her cleavage and pulled out the blood vial. “How can you… how dare you,” Selene went red for the sudden intrusion into her very private space.

Fang held the vial bottle up, “Hm, so Bane helped you with this.” 

“You cannot just touch a lady however you want,” Selene fumed at him while she took a step back, covering the top of her strapless dress. She had brought her blood to give it to him so she could look through his brain. Since she could do it, she was planning to figure out how his abilities worked so she could block her brain accordingly. But here he had already gone for it, “you are really shameless.” 

Fang ignored her nagging and opened the cork to down the small vial.

Selene stopped speaking immediately. Her eyes went wide as she whispered, “why?”

Fang licked the last drop and flashed her a charming smile, “if that makes you more comfortable.. Go ahead, try your hypothesis.”