Chapter 4 — The Hunt
921 Words
Selene did not run.
Queens did not run.
They retreated with purpose.
They repositioned.
They chose their battles.
But tonight—
As the shadows carried her deeper into the forest beyond her territory—
Selene Vale knew one thing with absolute certainty.
He was coming.
She could feel him.
The bond stretched between them like a blade—tight, unyielding, impossible to sever. Every step she took only seemed to pull it thinner, sharper, more painful.
He was moving.
Fast.
Closer.
Always closer.
Selene exhaled slowly, forcing her breathing into control.
This was unacceptable.
She was the Vampire Queen.
She commanded armies.
She bent entire bloodlines to her will.
And yet—
Her body trembled.
Another pulse hit her.
Stronger.
Selene stopped abruptly, her hand pressing against her stomach as the sensation rolled through her again—deep, deliberate, alive.
Her eyes shut briefly.
“No…” she whispered.
The forest around her stood still, ancient trees looming like silent witnesses.
She had traveled far enough that even her own court could not sense her clearly anymore.
Good.
She needed distance.
Time.
Space to understand what was happening to her.
Because whatever this was—
It was growing.
The air shifted.
Selene’s eyes snapped open.
Too late.
A blade sliced through the darkness.
She twisted just in time to avoid a killing strike, the steel grazing her shoulder as she moved with supernatural speed. Pain flared—sharp, unexpected.
Silver.
Her expression hardened instantly.
“Traitors,” she hissed.
Three figures emerged from the shadows.
Vampires.
Her vampires.
“You shouldn’t have left the fortress alone, my Queen,” one of them said, his voice smooth, mocking. “It made this… easier.”
Selene straightened slowly despite the pain burning through her shoulder.
“You think you can kill me?” she asked softly.
The forest seemed to darken around her.
Her power stirred.
Cold.
Deadly.
Lethal.
“Not you,” another replied. “Just… what you’re carrying.”
Silence fell.
Heavy.
Dangerous.
Selene’s entire body went still.
The world narrowed to that single sentence.
They knew.
Rage exploded through her.
Not cold.
Not controlled.
Raw.
Violent.
Her eyes flashed silver, power surging outward in a brutal wave that cracked the ground beneath them.
“You dare,” she said, her voice shaking—not with fear, but fury, “to speak of something you do not understand?”
They didn’t hesitate.
They attacked.
Selene moved instantly.
Faster.
Stronger.
Deadlier than before.
But something was wrong.
Her timing—
Off.
Her control—
Fractured.
Another pulse hit her mid-movement, sharp enough to steal her breath for a split second.
And that—
That was all they needed.
A blade drove into her side.
Silver.
Deep.
Selene gasped, her body jolting violently as pain tore through her.
Real pain.
Blinding.
Burning.
She stumbled back, her power flickering dangerously.
“End it,” one of them snapped.
They lunged again.
A roar split the forest.
Not human.
Not vampire.
Something deeper.
Something primal.
The ground shook as something massive crashed through the trees.
Selene barely had time to register the movement before one of her attackers was gone—dragged into darkness, his scream cut off instantly.
The others froze.
Too late.
Kael hit them like a storm.
He didn’t hesitate.
Didn’t slow.
Didn’t think.
He tore through them with brutal, feral precision—claws, teeth, raw strength unleashed without restraint.
This wasn’t battle.
This was annihilation.
Selene watched, breath uneven, her body still burning from the wound in her side.
He was… terrifying.
More than before.
Because this wasn’t controlled.
This wasn’t calculated.
This was instinct.
Rage.
Protection.
Mine.
The last vampire didn’t even have time to scream.
Then—
Silence.
Kael shifted back slowly.
His chest rose and fell with heavy breaths, blood covering his skin, his eyes still glowing faintly gold in the darkness.
Then—
He turned.
And looked at her.
Everything stilled.
Again.
Always.
When it came to him.
Selene didn’t move.
Couldn’t.
Because the moment his gaze dropped—
To the blood soaking through her side—
Something in him snapped.
He was in front of her in an instant.
“What did they do to you,” he demanded, his voice low, dangerous.
Selene forced herself to straighten.
“It is nothing,” she said.
A lie.
A weak one.
His hand hovered near her wound.
Not touching.
But close enough that she could feel the heat of him.
The concern.
The anger.
The… fear.
“They used silver,” he said, his jaw tightening.
Selene’s lips curved faintly.
“Observant.”
His gaze snapped to hers.
“This isn’t a joke.”
Another pulse hit her.
Stronger.
Her breath hitched.
Her hand moved instinctively to her stomach.
Kael saw.
Again.
Always.
His expression changed.
Something darker.
More dangerous.
More certain.
“They weren’t trying to kill you,” he said slowly.
Selene didn’t answer.
Didn’t need to.
“They were trying to kill it.”
Silence fell.
Heavy.
Unavoidable.
Kael stepped closer.
This time—
She didn’t step back.
Didn’t have the strength.
“What is it,” he demanded.
Selene met his gaze.
And for the first time—
There was no denial left in her.
“I don’t know,” she said quietly.
The truth.
Raw.
Unfiltered.
Dangerous.
Another pulse.
Stronger.
Alive.
Kael felt it.
His entire body went still.
His wolf surged forward, overwhelming, possessive, undeniable.
Mine.
His gaze dropped to her stomach.
Then lifted back to her eyes.
And everything changed.
- Writer
