Chapter 13 — Choose
744 Words
The room held its breath.
Selene stood between two worlds.
Behind her—
The wolf who had torn through his own pack to protect her.
Before her—
The court she had ruled for centuries.
Both waiting.
Both watching.
Both demanding.
“My Queen,” the lead vampire said again, slower now, more deliberate, “you will come with us.”
Not a request.
A command.
Selene’s fingers curled slightly at her side.
This was familiar.
This pressure.
This expectation.
She had never hesitated before.
Never questioned.
Never… faltered.
But now—
Another pulse.
Stronger.
Her breath caught.
Her hand moved instinctively over her stomach.
And everything changed.
“You feel it,” the vampire said quietly.
Selene’s gaze snapped to him.
“You are no longer what you were.”
The words struck deep.
“You are unstable.”
Kael stepped closer to her side.
“She’s not going anywhere,” he said.
The vampire’s expression hardened.
“You don’t decide that.”
“I do if you try to take her.”
The air thickened instantly.
“You would start a war over this?” the vampire asked.
Kael didn’t hesitate.
“Yes.”
Silence slammed into the room.
Selene felt it.
That word.
That certainty.
War.
For her.
Another pulse.
Her breath trembled.
“My Queen,” the vampire said, softer now—but more dangerous, “this is your last chance.”
Selene looked at them.
Really looked.
At the loyalty she had built.
The power she had commanded.
The control she had never lost.
Until now.
Then she looked beside her.
At him.
At the blood still marking his skin.
At the way he stood—not forcing her, not dragging her—
But ready to destroy everything if she said the word.
Another pulse.
Stronger.
Her body leaned—
Just slightly.
Toward him.
That was the answer.
Selene exhaled slowly.
“I’m not going with you.”
Silence.
Then—
Chaos.
“You’ve been corrupted.”
“Step away from him!”
“This is not your decision anymore—”
“It is,” she said.
The force behind her voice cut through everything.
The room went still.
Selene stepped forward.
Not toward them.
Toward Kael.
The movement was small.
But it shattered everything.
The vampires moved.
Fast.
This time—
No hesitation.
No warning.
They came to take her.
Kael didn’t wait.
He met them head-on.
The room exploded again.
Selene didn’t stay back this time.
She moved with him.
Power surged through her—darker, wilder than before, shadows tearing through the air as she struck alongside him instead of apart from him.
They fought together.
Instinctively.
Seamlessly.
Like something that had already decided.
Another pulse.
Stronger.
It hit mid-motion.
Selene gasped—
Her body faltering for just a second—
A mistake.
A vampire reached her.
Too fast.
His hand closed around her arm—
And everything snapped.
Kael saw it.
Something in him broke completely.
He moved faster than before.
Faster than anything human or vampire should be able to track.
He tore the vampire away from her.
And destroyed him.
Brutally.
Without restraint.
Silence followed.
The remaining vampires stepped back.
Not fear.
Calculation.
“This is not over,” the lead one said.
Selene met his gaze.
“I know.”
A beat.
“But you won’t touch me again.”
The threat was clear.
Final.
They retreated.
Not defeated.
But not victorious.
The war had begun.
The moment they vanished—
Selene’s strength gave out.
Her body swayed.
Kael caught her instantly.
This time—
She didn’t resist.
Didn’t pull away.
Her hands gripped his arms.
Tight.
Her breath uneven.
“That was reckless,” she murmured.
Kael let out a rough breath.
“You chose me.”
The words were quiet.
But they hit.
Selene didn’t deny it.
Another pulse.
Strong.
Steady.
Her body leaned into him without thought.
Kael’s grip tightened.
“You’re not leaving me again,” he said.
Selene tilted her head slightly.
“That sounds like a command.”
His gaze darkened.
“It is.”
A flicker of something passed through her.
Not anger.
Something else.
“You don’t own me,” she said softly.
Kael leaned closer.
“No.”
A breath between them.
“But I’m not letting you go.”
The air shifted.
Selene’s grip tightened slightly on him.
Another pulse.
Her breath caught.
And this time—
She didn’t step back.
- Writer
