Chapter 15 — Blood and Instinct
688 Words
The war breached the walls.
There was no holding it back now.
The sound of it—claws against stone, steel slicing through flesh, the clash of wolves and vampires—echoed through every corridor.
Selene felt it all.
Not just through her senses—
But through the bond.
Through him.
Every strike Kael took.
Every movement.
Every surge of his power—
It pulled at her.
Another pulse.
Violent.
Her body tensed sharply, her breath catching as the sensation tore through her again—stronger, deeper, almost… reactive.
“It’s getting worse,” she whispered.
Kael turned to her instantly.
“Stay here.”
Selene’s eyes flashed.
“No.”
“I’m not arguing this.”
“You don’t get to decide that.”
Another pulse—
Her body bent slightly forward, her hand gripping her stomach as heat and pressure surged through her again.
Kael stepped forward.
“You can barely stand.”
Selene looked up at him—
And something in her expression changed.
Not defiance.
Something darker.
“I won’t hide while they come for me,” she said.
Silence.
Because he understood.
Too well.
Another crash shook the structure.
Closer.
“They’re inside,” Kael muttered.
Selene straightened despite the strain.
“Then we end it.”
And this time—
She didn’t wait.
She moved.
Kael cursed under his breath—
Then followed.
The corridor outside was chaos.
Wolves clashed with vampires in brutal, close combat, blood staining the stone floors as both sides fought without restraint.
Selene stepped into it—
And everything shifted.
Power rolled off her instantly.
Not restrained.
Not controlled.
Raw.
The shadows answered her again—faster this time, sharper, more violent as they tore through the nearest attackers.
Kael watched her for half a second—
Then stepped in beside her.
Together.
Again.
They moved like something forged in battle.
Instinctively aligned.
Another pulse.
Selene faltered—
Just slightly.
Kael felt it.
“Behind me,” he snapped.
“No.”
She struck again—
Faster.
Harder.
But something was wrong.
Her timing slipped.
Her body slowed.
Another pulse—
Stronger.
Her breath broke.
That was when it happened.
A figure emerged from the chaos.
Not one of her court.
Not one of his wolves.
Something else.
Its gaze locked onto her instantly.
Not at her face.
At her stomach.
“There,” it said.
Selene’s blood ran cold.
It moved.
Faster than anything else on the field.
Kael saw it too late.
“Selene—!”
The strike came directly for her.
Not to kill her.
To kill what she carried.
Selene reacted on instinct.
She turned—
Shielding herself.
Shielding it.
The blade hit.
Silver.
Deep.
A sharp cry tore from her lips as pain exploded through her side again, stronger than before, more vicious, more consuming.
Her body collapsed—
But before she hit the ground—
Everything snapped.
Power erupted.
Not hers.
The air warped violently, a shockwave tearing outward from her body that threw everything back—wolves, vampires, even Kael—
Silence followed.
Heavy.
Shocked.
Selene lay still.
Her breath uneven.
Her body trembling.
Her hand pressed tightly over her stomach.
“No…” she whispered.
Kael was at her side in an instant.
“Selene—”
She grabbed him.
Hard.
“It’s still there,” she breathed.
Relief.
Raw.
Unfiltered.
Another pulse.
Weaker.
But alive.
Kael exhaled sharply, his forehead nearly touching hers.
“They aimed for it,” he said.
Selene’s eyes darkened.
“I know.”
Something shifted in her then.
Not fear.
Something colder.
Deadlier.
“They don’t want me,” she said quietly.
Kael’s jaw tightened.
“They want it gone.”
Another pulse.
Selene’s grip tightened on him.
Her body leaned into his—
Not from weakness.
From instinct.
Kael’s arm wrapped around her instantly, pulling her closer, holding her against him as his gaze lifted—
And turned lethal.
“Anyone who comes near you dies,” he said.
The promise wasn’t quiet anymore.
It carried.
Through the battlefield.
Through the war.
Selene didn’t argue.
Because this time—
She agreed.
- Writer
