CHAPTER TWELVE
620 Words
CHAPTER 12: THE HUNT BEGINS
(Selene’s POV)
The Hollow Queen’s words still clung to me long after we left the Gilded Hollow.
"Tell me, how does it feel to have someone willing to bleed for you?"
I didn’t need to turn around to know Damian was brooding behind me, his silence heavy. I felt it in the way he moved, the way his breath hitched like he was about to speak, only to bite the words back.
Good.
Let him stew in it.
We had more important things to worry about—like killing Vincent Devereaux.
I kept walking, my boots hitting the cobbled streets with purpose. The undercity of Ravenshade pulsed around us, alive with whispers, eyes watching from the shadows.
I didn’t care.
I had a target. A mission.
Devereaux had been untouchable for years, hiding behind his army of blood-sworn followers, ruling the city’s underworld with an iron grip. But now?
Now, he had something I wanted.
I turned a corner, slipping through a hidden alleyway. Damian followed, his presence a dark heat at my back.
"Where are we going?" he finally asked.
"To see an old friend."
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The safehouse was tucked away in the city’s slums, a forgotten ruin swallowed by ivy and time.
I knocked twice.
A moment later, a set of sharp green eyes peeked through the slit in the door.
"s**t," a voice muttered. The door swung open, revealing a wiry man with a scar running from his temple to his jaw. He crossed his arms, scowling. "Tell me you didn’t just bring a cursed werewolf to my doorstep, Selene."
I smirked. "Missed you too, Kade."
Kade Leclair—former mercenary, current information broker, and the only person in Ravenshade who hated Devereaux more than I did.
His gaze flicked to Damian, suspicion hardening his features.
Damian, to his credit, just leaned against the doorway, golden eyes glinting in the dim light. "Are we doing this, or should I leave you two to flirt?"
Kade snorted. "Trust me, wolf. If Selene ever flirted with me, I’d assume I was about to die."
I rolled my eyes and pushed past him. "We need information."
Kade shut the door behind us. "About Devereaux, I assume?"
I nodded. "He’s going to die. But I need to know where he is, how many guards he has, and what he’s planning."
Kade whistled, running a hand through his shaggy brown hair. "Bold of you. He’s been moving carefully ever since you put a blade through his second-in-command."
"Tell me something I don’t know."
Kade exhaled, then reached for a stack of papers on his desk. "Word on the street is he’s holed up in the Ravenshade Manor. But here’s the interesting part—he’s expecting something. Reinforcements. An alliance."
Damian frowned. "With who?"
Kade’s lips twisted. "The Hollow Queen."
Ice slid down my spine.
Damian cursed under his breath. "That b***h was playing both sides."
Of course, she was.
I should have seen it coming. The Hollow Queen never made a deal without stacking the odds in her favor.
My grip tightened on my blades. "Then we move fast. Before she can deliver."
Kade let out a low whistle. "You’re really going through with this, huh?"
I met his gaze. "Devereaux dies. No matter what it takes."
For a second, something unreadable flickered in Kade’s expression. He knew me. Knew that when I set my sights on a target, I didn’t stop.
Damian must have sensed the shift in the air because he stepped closer, his voice low. "And what if it takes you, Selene?"
My throat tightened.
I didn’t answer.
Because we both knew the truth.
I’d already given up too much to back down now.
- Writer
