Chapter 4 Fated Enemies

Selene ran all the way back to the vampire castle, her heart beating faster than her feet. The werewolf's golden eyes still burned in her mind. His words echoed in her ears.

Fated mate.

What did that even mean? Vampires and werewolves had been enemies for hundreds of years. They fought, they killed each other. They didn't mate!

But she couldn't deny the strange pull she'd felt when their eyes met in the forest. It was like an unseen string tugging at her heart, drawing her toward him despite everything she knew about werewolves.

"It's not possible," she whispered to herself as she slipped through a side door of the castle. "It's just some werewolf trick."

The halls of the Crimson Court were quiet this late at night. Selene moved quietly, not wanting to explain to anyone why she had been outside the castle walls. Especially not her uncle Darius.

Just as she reached the door to her room, a voice spoke from the dark.

"Where have you been, niece?"

Selene froze. Lord Darius stepped into the moonlight coming through a nearby window. His silver hair gleamed, and his red eyes seemed to see right through her.

"I... I needed some fresh air," Selene said. It wasn't exactly a lie.

Darius raised an eyebrow. "Alone? Without guards? When you know how dangerous the night can be?"

"I can protect myself," Selene said, raising her chin. "I am not a child."

"No," Darius agreed, his voice strangely sad. "You are far more important than that. You are the future of our family."

He came closer, and Selene noticed he was holding something in his hand. A small silver dagger with a diamond in the handle.

"Take this," he said, offering it to her. "It belonged to your mother. I had planned to give it to you on your birthday, but..." He paused. "I think perhaps you should have it now."

Selene took the dagger, startled. Darius rarely spoke of her parents or gave her gifts without reason.

"Thank you," she said.

"Be careful, Selene," Darius said, his eyes fierce. "Not everything is as it seems in our world. Remember where your interests lie."

With that cryptic warning, he turned and fled down the dark hallway, leaving Selene confused and worried. Did he know where she had been? Did he guess what had happened in the forest?

Sleep did not come easy that night. Every time Selene closed her eyes, she saw the face of the werewolf alpha, Kael Silverclaw.

"You felt it too. The pull. The connection."

His words haunted her because they were true. She had felt something. Something strong and strange that she couldn't explain.

Morning came, and with it a knock at her door. It was Lila, her auburn hair wild as if she had been running.

"There you are!" Lila said, rushing in without waiting for an introduction. "I was so scared when I couldn't find you last night! Where did you go?"

Selene paused. She usually told Lila everything, but something held her back this time.

"Just for a walk," she said. "I needed to think about... about Uncle Darius telling me I need to choose a mate."

Lila sat on the edge of Selene's bed, her green eyes bright with interest. "Did anything interesting happen on this walk?"

Something about the way Lila asked the question made Selene pause. It felt too eager, too knowing.

"No," Selene lied. "Nothing at all."

Lila looked disappointed but quickly smiled again. "Well, you missed all the excitement! There's news that werewolves killed some of our border guards last night. Lord Darius is angry. There's talk of war!"

Selene's blood ran cold. "War? But there's been peace-well, a truce at least-for years!"

"Not anymore," Lila said, and Selene couldn't help noticing that her friend didn't seem upset by this news. "Lord Darius has called a meeting with the werewolf master. They're meeting today at sunset, at the old temple in neutral territory."

"Kael is coming here?" Selene said without thinking.

Lila's eyes narrowed. "Kael? You mean Alpha Silverclaw? How do you know his name?"

Selene noticed her mistake too late. "I... I've heard the guards mention him."

"Hmm," Lila said, not looking convinced. "Well, yes, he's coming. And Lord Darius wants you there as heir to the vampire throne."

Panic fluttered in Selene's chest. See Kael again? With Darius watching? What if Kael said something about their meeting? What if he claimed her as his mate in front of everyone?

"I can't go," Selene said quickly.

"You have to," Lila urged. "Lord Darius was very clear. He said this meeting will shape the future of vampires and werewolves for generations. You need to be there."

Hours later, Selene sat beside her uncle in the old temple, her hands clenched tightly in her lap. The ruby pendant at her throat felt warm, almost hot.

The doors swung open, and the beasts entered. Kael led them, tall and proud, his golden eyes quickly finding hers across the room.

The moment their eyes met, a noticeable shimmer of crimson and gold light flickered between them. Everyone gasped.

"What is the meaning of this?" Lord Darius commanded, rising from his seat.

Kael stepped forward, his eyes never leaving Selene's. "It means what I suspected is true. Princess Selene is my fated mate."

The room exploded in shouts and growls. Vampires called for Selene's head, saying she had betrayed her kind. Werewolves moved protectively around their boss.

"Silence!" Darius roared, and the room fell quiet. He turned to Selene, his red eyes burning. "Is this true? Have you met this... wolf... before today?"

Selene couldn't lie, not with everyone watching. "Yes," she whispered. "In the forest."

"And did you feel this connection he speaks of?" Darius asked.

Before Selene could answer, the temple doors burst open again. A figure dressed in black ran in, blood streaming from a wound in their side.

"We're under attack!" the vampire guard gasped before falling.

Chaos broke out as everyone reached for guns. Suddenly, the temple walls shook, and part of the roof crashed down, separating vampires from werewolves. Selene found herself cut off from both groups, alone in a small area of the temple with only one other person.

Kael.

He moved toward her, his golden eyes sparkling in the dust and darkness.

"Stay back!" Selene warned, pulling out the silver knife her uncle had given her.

"I'm not going to hurt you," Kael said, holding up his hands. "I would never hurt my mate."

"I am not your mate!" Selene cried. "I'm a vampire princess. You're a werewolf alpha. We're friends!"

"Are we?" Kael asked softly. "Then why can I feel your fear right now? Why can I feel your heartbeat? Why do I know, without you saying a word, that you haven't slept since we met because you can't stop thinking about me?"

Selene lowered the knife slightly, shocked. "How do you know that?"

"Because I felt it too," Kael said. "That's what being fated mates means. We're connected. Two halves of one whole."

He took another step toward her. "You don't have to be afraid of me, Selene."

As he said her name, the ruby pendant at her throat flared with heat and light. At the same moment, the silver claw band on Kael's wrist glowed golden.

They both stared at their glowing rings, then at each other in shock.

Before either could speak, a low laugh echoed through the building. They turned to see a hooded person standing in a doorway that hadn't been there before.

"The vampire princess and the werewolf alpha," the figure said, in the same neither-male-nor-female voice Selene had heard in the forest. "Together at last."

"Who are you?" Kael demanded, moving protectively in front of Selene despite her previous threat with the dagger.

The figure pulled back its hood, showing a face that shifted and changed like smoke, never settling on one form.

"I am the one who's been waiting for you both," it said. "For centuries. The one who knows what you truly are, Selene Nocturne."

"What do you mean?" Selene asked, her voice shaking. "What am I?"

The figure smiled, and the sight sent chills down Selene's spine.

"Not what you think you are," it said. "Not vampire. Not princess. Not even a Nocturne at all."