Blood of Stars

Chapter One: The Hunt The forest was alive with the sound of pursuit. Branches snapped, boots pounded against the earth, and the stench of iron and silver drifted through the night air. Selene ran. Her breath tore in and out of her chest as her bare feet skimmed over roots and moss. She moved faster than human eyes could follow, but the hunters were not mere men—they were trained, armed with wards and weapons meant for monsters like her. Moonlight spilled through the canopy, silver and cold. It kissed her skin, awakening the beast within. She felt her claws ache to emerge, her fangs press against her lips. The wolf inside howled for release, the vampire hissed for blood, and the witch in her whispered spells of fire and shadow. All three parts of her clamored, restless, hungry. Not now, she told them. If I lose control, I’m dead. An arrow whistled past her ear and embedded itself in the trunk ahead, sizzling with wolfsbane. The air burned her throat. She staggered, the poison seeping into her senses even though the arrow hadn’t struck. “Spread out!” a man shouted behind her. His voice was cruel, eager. “She can’t hide. The abomination bleeds like the rest.” Abomination. The word cut deeper than silver. Selene pushed harder, heart slamming against her ribs, but the forest thickened, a tangle of brambles and shadows. The hunters closed in. She could hear them circling, their voices a net tightening around her. Panic surged—then the witch’s power rose like a tide. She spread her palm and whispered words older than the forest itself. Fire blossomed in her veins, exploding outward. The arrow that came next turned to ash midair, consumed before it could touch her. For a heartbeat, silence fell. The hunters stopped, muttering prayers, crossing themselves against her sorcery. Selene’s lips curled. “Still want to call me abomination?” She shouldn’t have taunted them. Fury replaced their hesitation. Three men lunged at once, swords flashing silver-white. Selene ducked, claws slashing, her body moving with the wolf’s speed and the vampire’s grace. One man fell, blood spilling into the soil. Another screamed as she broke his blade in half with her bare hand. But the third—he drove his sword through her side. Agony tore through her. The silver burned, searing her flesh. Selene’s knees buckled, but her rage erupted with it. The forest seemed to shiver as she unleashed herself fully. The wolf’s howl burst from her throat, the vampire’s hunger turned her eyes crimson, and the witch’s power flared in black fire. The hunters staggered back. For the first time, they looked afraid. Selene ripped the blade free, snarling, her blood hissing against the earth. She should have killed them all—ended the hunt, silenced their fear with death. But something stopped her. Something strange. The air shifted. Above the treetops, the moonlight bent, as though the sky itself bowed to a presence unseen. A warmth unlike anything she had ever felt brushed her skin, calming the chaos within her. The wolf quieted, the vampire’s hunger dulled, and the witch’s fire softened to embers. Selene froze, her senses caught between instinct and awe. In the distance, a figure stood at the edge of the clearing, cloaked in silver light. The hunters gasped, falling to their knees, their weapons forgotten. Selene’s breath caught in her throat. Whoever—whatever—this was, it was no man. Not beast. Not witch. Not vampire. Something higher. Something untouchable. The figure’s eyes found hers, and though they were impossibly far, she felt them pierce through every layer of her being. The chaos inside her stilled completely. For the first time in her life, Selene was not torn in three. She was whole. And the stranger smiled.