Chapter 4 The Moon's Eclipse

The sky bled black.

Not a cloud, not a storm but something older. Hungrier. The moon, once her silent guardian, wept fire, its light warped and bleeding across the heavens. The balance was breaking.

Selene, now fully awakened, bore the mark of both bloodlines. And for that, she was hunted. Werewolves called her an abomination. Vampires called her a threat. Even the shadows whispered warnings as she passed.

Only Kael stood beside her.

Branded a traitor, hunted by his own pack, he stayed. For her.

Their journey led them to the edges of reality, where time curled like mist, and breath turned to silence. There, in the ruins of forgotten stars, lived the Oracle of Veyra a blind seer who saw the world not with eyes, but with truth.

"To destroy Valrick," she murmured, voice thin as spider thread, "you must become what was never meant to be. Do not choose one. Become both."

Beneath the eclipsed moon, in a pool of ancient silver, Selene performed the forbidden rite. Blood of wolf and vampire fused within her, burning like holy fire through her veins.

She rose from the water, glowing with moonlight, her body trembling under the weight of power.

The panther roared.

The sky cracked open.

But Kael was gone.

Taken.

His scent vanished. His bond severed.

And then... Valrick's voice drifted on the wind, soft as ash:

"Choose, Selene. The world... or him."

She fell to her knees.

And for the first time... she didn't know the answer.