Chapter 2 Sounds of fighting

Sneaking Out

"Selene, wait!" Lila called, running after her friend into the darkness of the forbidden forest. "You can't just walk into werewolf territory alone!"

Selene stopped and turned around. The red glow of her pendant lit up her face in the darkness. Her silver eyes seemed to shimmer with a new light.

"I'm not alone anymore," Selene smiled. "You're here now."

Lila crossed her arms. "That's not what I meant and you know it. We need to go back to the castle before anyone sees we're gone."

But Selene wasn't listening. That strange pull was still pulling at her, like an invisible string wrapped around her heart, drawing her deeper into the woods. The howl had stopped, but she could feel something-or someone-waiting for her.

"Don't you ever get tired of all the rules, Lila?" Selene asked suddenly. "Don't do this, don't go there, marry this vampire, never talk to werewolves... I've spent 200 years following every rule. For once, I want to do something different."

Lila's expression relaxed. "I understand, but this is dangerous. These trees belong to the Silverclaw Pack. If they catch us-"

"They won't," Selene said firmly. "I'm fast, and you're even faster. We'll just look around a little, and then we'll go back. Please? Just this once?"

Lila sighed deeply. "Fine. But just for an hour. And at the first sign of trouble, we run. Promise?"

"Promise!" Selene grinned, feeling more excited than she had in decades. She reached out and squeezed Lila's hand. "You're the best friend a vampire princess could ask for."

Together, they moved deeper into the forest. The trees grew higher and closer together, their branches reaching out like gnarled fingers above their heads. Moonlight filtered through the leaves, making patterns on the forest floor.

"The pendant," Lila whispered. "It's still shining. What do you think it means?"

Selene touched the gem at her throat. "I don't know. It's never done this before. But it started right after I had that dream about the wolf with golden eyes."

"A wolf with golden eyes?" Lila repeated, her voice oddly sharp. "You didn't mention that part earlier."

"I didn't get a chance to tell you everything," Selene said. "In my dream, there was a dog that turned into a man. He had these amazing golden eyes, and he wore a silver claw band. He said he'd been waiting for me."

Lila stopped walking. "Selene, that sounds like-"

A twig snapped close, making both vampires freeze. They waited, not even breathing, as vampires didn't need to breathe all the time.

"Probably just a rabbit," Selene whispered after a minute of quiet.

But Lila didn't look convinced. "We should go back."

"Not yet," Selene begged. "We've barely explored at all."

Just then, a voice seemed to float on the wind: Selene...

Selene's head snapped up. "Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Lila asked, looking around uncomfortably.

Selene... find me...

"That!" Selene said. "Someone's calling my name!"

Lila's eyes widened. "I don't hear anything. Selene, this is getting weird. Let's go back."

But Selene couldn't go back now. The voice was calling to her, and her pendant was pulling her forward, getting warmer with each step she took toward the heart of the forest.

"Just a little farther," she said, moving ahead.

They came to a small stream that cut through the trees. The water shone in the moonlight, looking like liquid silver. Selene knelt beside it, suddenly thirsty. She cupped her hands and took a sip. The water tasted sweeter than anything she'd ever had before.

"Try this, Lila," she said. "It's amazing."

But when she turned around, Lila wasn't there.

"Lila?" Selene called, keeping her voice low. "Where are you?"

No answer.

Selene stood up, suddenly nervous. Had Lila gone back to the castle? Or had something happened to her?

She's safe, the voice whispered. Come to me, Selene...

The pendant tugged harder, almost burning hot now. Selene found herself following the stream, deeper into werewolf territory. The trees here were ancient, their trunks bigger than Selene could wrap her arms around.

After walking for what felt like hours but was probably only minutes, she came to a small opening. In the middle stood a giant oak tree, its branches reaching toward the stars. At the base of the tree was a pool of water, exactly round and still as glass.

Look into the pool, Selene...

She knelt at the edge of the pool and peered into its depths. At first, she saw only her own reflection-pale skin, silver eyes, black hair with red streaks. But then the water rippled, though there was no wind, and her image changed.

Now she saw a new face looking back at her-a woman with white-blonde hair and violet eyes. The woman's lips moved, but Selene couldn't hear what she was saying.

"Who are you?" Selene whispered.

The water rippled again, and now she saw a wolf with jet-black fur and golden eyes-the wolf from her dream. As she watched, the wolf threw back its head and howled.

And this time, Selene heard an answering howl in the real forest around her.

She jumped to her feet, heart racing. That howl had been close-too close.

"Lila?" Selene called out, louder now. "Lila, where are you? We need to go!"

Silence.

Then came the sound of twigs breaking and leaves stirring. Something big was moving through the trees, coming straight toward the clearing.

Selene's fangs extended automatically, and she backed up against the giant oak tree. Vampires were fast and strong, but they were no match for werewolves on a full moon. And while tonight wasn't a full moon, it was close enough to make any monster dangerous.

The sounds grew louder. Whatever was coming wasn't trying to be quiet anymore.

Selene looked around desperately for somewhere to hide or run, but the clearing offered no cover. The pool of water was too small to jump into, and climbing the oak tree would only trap her.

Then, from the darkness on the far side of the clearing, a pair of golden eyes appeared.

Selene's breath caught in her throat. The eyes from her dream!

Slowly, a huge wolf stepped into the moonlight. Its fur was jet-black, exactly like in her image in the pool. And its eyes-those impossible golden eyes-were fixed directly on her.

The wolf was huge, at least twice the size of a normal wolf. This had to be a werewolf, and not just any werewolf. Based on its size, this was an Alpha.

Selene pressed herself harder against the tree trunk. She should run. She should use her vampire speed and flee back to the house as fast as possible.

But she couldn't move. Those golden eyes held her in place, and her pendant was now burning so hot that it should have been painful-yet somehow, it wasn't.

The wolf took another step toward her, then another. Selene's heart pounded so hard she was sure the wolf could hear it.

When it was just a few feet away, the wolf stopped. It tilted its head to one side, studying her with a knowledge that no normal animal should possess.

And then, to Selene's surprise, the wolf began to change.

Its body changed and reformed, bones cracking and fur receding, until a man stood before her-tall and muscular, with jet-black hair and those same golden eyes that now seemed even more striking in his human face.

He wore simple clothes-dark pants and an open vest that showed his chest, covered in scars from countless fights. Around his wrist was the silver claw band she had seen in her dream.

For a long moment, they just stared at each other. Then the man spoke, his deep voice sending shivers down Selene's spine.

"Princess Selene Nocturne," he said. "Heir to the Crimson Court. What are you doing in my territory?"

Selene straightened her back, trying to look brave despite her fear. "How do you know who I am?"

The man's lips curled into something between a smile and a snarl. "I've known who you are for a very long time. The question is-do you know who I am?"

Before Selene could answer, the man took a step closer. Her pendant flared with red light at the same moment a golden glow seemed to emerge from his silver claw bracelet.

"My name is Kael Silverclaw," he said. "Alpha of the Lycans. And you, Princess, are my fated mate."

Selene's world twisted. Fated mate? That was impossible! Vampires and werewolves were enemies, not mates!

"You're lying," she whispered.

Kael shook his head slowly. "Your blood calls to mine. You felt it too-that's why you came looking for me tonight."

"I didn't come looking for you," Selene argued, but even as she said it, she knew it wasn't entirely true. Something had called her here.

"Then why are you in my forest, Princess?" Kael asked, taking another step toward her. He was close enough now that she could feel the heat coming from his body.

Selene opened her mouth to answer, but before she could speak, a scream tore through the night-a scream she recognized.

"Lila!" Selene gasped, pushing past Kael and running toward the sound. "Lila's in trouble!"

Kael grabbed her arm, stopping her. "Wait! There are guards out tonight. If they find you-"

"Let go of me!" Selene demanded. "That's my friend!"

Another scream, closer this time, followed by growls and the Kael cursed under his breath. "Stay behind me," he ordered, then shifted back into his wolf form in one fluid move.

Before Selene could argue, the massive black wolf bounded into the forest toward the sounds of fight, leaving her with an impossible choice-follow a werewolf Alpha who claimed she was his mate, or run back to the safety of the vampire castle.

The ring at her throat pulsed once, twice, then grew painfully hot against her skin.

And Selene made her choice.