Chapter Four: The Weight of Silence
1076 Words
The night settled uneasily over the stronghold.
Selene stood at the narrow window of the guest chamber, watching moonlight spill across stone and forest alike. From this height, the land looked peaceful. Too peaceful. She had learned long ago that calm often masked intent.
Below, wolves moved through torchlit paths, their presence a constant hum at the edge of her awareness. They did not glare. They did not bare teeth. But they watched.
She could not blame them.
A vampire of imperial blood walking freely among them was more than unsettling. It was a provocation wrapped in courtesy.
Footsteps sounded behind her, unhurried and familiar.
“You should be resting,” Aiden said.
“I am resting,” Selene replied without turning. “This is how I do it.”
He came to stand beside her, close enough that she felt the heat of him without needing to look. It still unsettled her, that warmth. It defied everything she had known about herself.
“You are bleeding energy,” he said quietly. “Not blood. Power.”
Her fingers curled against the stone sill. “It happens when I remain in one place too long.”
“That sounds… inconvenient.”
She smiled faintly. “It is lethal if ignored.”
Silence stretched between them, heavy but not strained. Selene could sense his restraint, the careful way he kept himself grounded, Alpha instincts held firmly in check.
“You did not tell them who I am,” she said.
“No,” Aiden agreed. “Only that you were under my protection.”
“Why?”
“Because names carry consequences,” he replied. “And because once spoken, they cannot be taken back.”
She turned to face him then. Moonlight cut sharp lines across his features, catching in his eyes, steady and intent.
“You assume I deserve that discretion.”
“I assume nothing,” he said. “I chose it.”
The honesty of it struck her harder than any accusation.
“You should not,” Selene said softly. “People like me bring ruin.”
Aiden’s gaze flicked briefly to the shadows curling faintly at her feet. “So do people like me.”
The words lingered between them.
A gust of wind swept through the chamber, carrying with it the distant sound of wolves howling to the moon. The call resonated deep in Selene’s chest, stirring something restless and unfamiliar.
“Your people are bonded to the moon,” she said.
“We are bound to many things,” Aiden replied. “The moon is simply the most honest.”
She met his gaze again, something tightening low in her stomach. “And what binds you?”
He did not answer immediately.
“Responsibility,” he said at last. “Duty. Choice.”
“Choice,” she echoed. “That is rare.”
He stepped closer, the space between them narrowing until the air itself seemed charged. Selene did not move away. She could feel the pull now, undeniable, a thread drawn tight between instinct and restraint.
“You are afraid,” Aiden said quietly.
“Yes.”
“Of me?”
She shook her head once. “Of myself.”
The admission cost her more than she liked.
His hand lifted slowly, deliberately, giving her time to stop him. When his fingers brushed a loose strand of her hair, her breath caught despite herself. The contact was light, reverent, as though he were touching something fragile rather than lethal.
“You are not a monster,” he said.
Selene laughed softly, bitter and tired. “That is a matter of perspective.”
“Then consider mine,” Aiden replied. “Monsters do not hesitate. They do not doubt. They do not bleed energy because they refuse to become what others demand.”
Her pulse thundered in her ears. For a moment, centuries of armor threatened to c***k.
She stepped back abruptly, breaking the spell.
“This is a mistake,” she said. “Whatever this is.”
Aiden lowered his hand, but his gaze remained steady. “Then say the word, and I will leave.”
She opened her mouth.
No word came.
Silence answered instead.
A knock sounded at the door, sharp and unwelcome.
Aiden turned, tension coiling instantly. “Enter.”
Rowan stepped inside, his expression grim. “Scouts returned.”
“And?” Aiden asked.
“They found signs of a larger movement,” Rowan said, eyes flicking briefly to Selene. “Not just assassins. War parties. Vampiric. Coordinated.”
Selene’s chest tightened. “They are accelerating,” she said. “That means the court has made a decision.”
Aiden’s jaw set. “About you.”
“About the balance,” Selene corrected. “I am merely the excuse.”
Rowan frowned. “Then we have a problem.”
“Yes,” Selene said quietly. “You do.”
Rowan bristled. “We?”
Aiden did not hesitate. “We.”
The word landed with finality.
Rowan studied his Alpha for a long moment, then nodded once. “I will inform the council.”
When he left, the chamber felt smaller, heavier.
“They will not stop,” Selene said. “Not now.”
“Neither will we,” Aiden replied.
She turned back to the window, watching the moon climb higher. The curse stirred again, restless and aware. It did not fight the pull she felt toward him. If anything, it responded to it.
Dangerously.
“You should send me away,” she said. “Before this becomes something neither of us can control.”
Aiden came to stand beside her once more. “You assume control is the goal.”
She looked at him sharply.
His gaze softened, just slightly. “Some forces exist whether we name them or not.”
Selene closed her eyes briefly, steadying herself. When she opened them, resolve had replaced hesitation.
“Then listen carefully,” she said. “If I stay, blood will be spilled. Secrets will surface. And the line between enemy and ally will blur beyond recognition.”
Aiden inclined his head. “It already has.”
Their eyes met again, and this time neither looked away.
Outside, the moon bore silent witness as fate tightened its grip.
And somewhere beyond the forest, ancient powers began to stir, drawn by blood, by bone, and by a connection neither vampire nor wolf had intended to forge.
- Writer
