The moment Selene stepped through the Veil, the air changed.
It wasn't air at all, it was alive. Each breath shimmered with whispers, thick with mist that glowed faintly like veins of silver beneath the skin of the world. Shadows moved between the trees, but they didn't feel hostile… just curious. Watching. Waiting.
The ground beneath her boots pulsed once, as if recognizing her, and the mark on her wrist burned faintly in reply.
She turned slowly, her senses heightened, eyes tracing the alien beauty of this realm. The trees were crystalline, roots like molten glass, branches etched with faint runes that glimmered when her heart beat faster. It wasn't the mortal world anymore. It was the Realm Between, where bloodlines and forgotten pacts lingered like ghosts.
Selene's breath shuddered out. "Where are we?" she whispered.
Kael's voice came from behind her, steady but laced with warning. "The Veil of Shadows. No human or wolf survives long here unless they belong."
"Belong?" she repeated, her voice trembling.
Darius answered, his tone softer, eyes reflecting the same eerie glow of the realm. "Unless the land calls to your blood."
And then, all three of their marks flared in unison.
The reaction was violent, Selene stumbled, clutching her wrist as the sigil burned like fire under her skin. The alphas mirrored her agony, both gripping their forearms, their growls echoing through the silver woods.
Something ancient had awakened.
Before Selene could ask what was happening, the forest responded, a low hum rolled through the ground, then dozens of eyes blinked open within the shadows. Red, gold, silver, violet. Not human. Not wolf.
The creatures stepped forward.
Vampires first, elegant, deadly, their pale skin catching the light like porcelain. Then came the hybrids, wolf and vampire both, their scent sharp with violence and grief. Beyond them, fae-like beings with horns and faintly glowing eyes formed a silent semicircle, whispering in an ancient tongue.
"Welcome home, Child of Blood," one of them murmured, their voice rippling through the air.
Selene froze. "What, what did you call me?"
Kael's head snapped toward the creature. His tone was cold, lethal. "What? "
The being tilted its head. "She bears the blood of the First Mother. The one who bridged the divide between realms. You should know this, Alpha of the North."
Darius's jaw tightened. "Impossible. That bloodline was wiped out before the first pack was born."
The creature smiled. "Was it?"
The forest trembled. Selene's pulse hammered in her chest. She didn't understand, but something inside her, something deep, primal, did. The visions from her nightmares, the whispers in her dreams… they weren't dreams at all. They were memories.
She saw flashes, an ancient battlefield drenched in red mist, two kings kneeling before a woman wreathed in light and shadow. Her voice was the sound of thunder and sorrow. The bond will bind what the gods divided.
Selene gasped and staggered backward, her hand flying to her chest.
Kael caught her before she fell. His touch steadied her, even as his own pulse thundered. "Selene, look at me."
Her eyes found his. "Kael, I think I've been here before."
The words hit him like a strike.
Before he could respond, a ripple of dark smoke coalesced a few paces away…Lyra. Her entrance was silent, graceful, her expression unreadable. She wore a cloak of midnight silk, her eyes glowing faintly violet.
"Of course you have," she said softly, voice dripping with both sympathy and venom. "This place answers to you, Selene. You're part of it."
Selene straightened weakly. "What are you talking about?"
Lyra stepped closer, her gaze flicking briefly, almost painfully….to Kael. "The triple bond is no accident. It was forged long before you were born. And if you don't undo it, it will consume all three of you."
Darius bristled. "Undo it? How?"
Lyra smiled thinly. "Through the Blood Trial. Beyond the Cavern of Echos lies the altar where the First Mother's essence sleeps. It demands a sacrifice, one heart willingly offered, one truth willingly spoken, and one soul willingly lost."
Selene's stomach turned. "That sounds like death."
Lyra's eyes lingered on her. "It is."
The tension between them crackled like lightning. Kael stepped forward, his voice low and dangerous. "You're enjoying this."
Lyra's lips curved faintly, though her eyes softened, just for him. "I'm enjoying watching destiny play its game. You think you can defy it? Even your ancestors couldn't."
There was a pause, thick, heavy, suffocating. Then Kael turned to Selene.
"Whatever this place wants, it's not taking you."
"Kael…"
"No." His tone was steel. "We'll find another way."
Lyra's smirk faded. "There is no other way."
But before another word could be said, the earth itself reacted. The sky darkened, clouds bleeding black ink. The forest howled, every creature dropping to one knee as something ancient stirred beneath the ground.
Selene felt her mark pulse like a heartbeat.
Then she screamed.
Energy exploded outward, blinding light tearing through the trees. Kael lunged for her, but the force threw him back. Darius tried to reach her too, his eyes glowing gold, fangs flashing, but the power seared through him like molten fire.
Selene floated inches above the ground, her hair streaming in a whirlwind of light and shadow. Her voice was layered, hers and another's, echoing with divine resonance.
"The blood calls home."
The creatures bowed low. Even Lyra took a step back, eyes wide with awe and… fear.
Selene's eyes snapped open, glowing like molten silver. "They're waking up," she whispered.
"Who?" Kael rasped, forcing himself to his feet.
But before she could answer, a deafening crack split the air. The Veil behind them shattered like glass, and from the rift spilled shadows with eyes of flame, guardians of the old gods, beings of judgment.
Lyra's voice was a whisper of panic. "No. It's too soon."
Kael grabbed Selene's hand, dragging her backward. "Run!"
The ground broke open, and from beneath it, black vines of smoke surged upward, grabbing at them. Darius slashed through one with his claws, the smoke sizzling where it met his skin. "They're not going to stop!"
"Then neither do we!" Kael barked.
Selene's chest heaved. Her body burned, her mark thrumming with power. "There's a portal ahead, do you see it?" she shouted, pointing to a swirl of violet mist pulsing like a heartbeat between two crystal trees.
Lyra's gaze flicked toward it, eyes narrowing. "That leads to the Realm of the Fallen. You don't know what waits there."
Kael turned on her. "Then tell me, what's worse? The shadows behind us or the truth ahead?"
For once, Lyra didn't have an answer.
Selene's grip on Kael tightened. "We have to go now."
Darius looked between them, torn between fury and loyalty. But then, the shadows screamed, and the decision was made.
The three of them ran.
The world around them fractured, trees bending inward, the sky bleeding light. The closer they got to the portal, the stronger Selene's pulse grew until the entire forest seemed to move with her.
Just before they reached it, Lyra's voice echoed behind them, soft, almost broken.
"Be careful what you awaken, Selene. Blood remembers what the mind forgets."
Then they crossed.
The moment they did, everything went silent.
No wind. No heartbeat. Just darkness, and then a rush of colors, a thousand whispers, and then…
Selene's knees hit the ground. She gasped, chest heaving, as the new realm unfolded before her, vast, obsidian plains under a blood-red sky, castles of bone and crystal jutting from the horizon. In the distance, she saw winged creatures circling the towers, their roars echoing across the landscape.
Kael landed beside her, blood streaking down his temple, eyes blazing with feral intensity. Darius followed, his claws extended, scanning the surroundings.
Selene's lips trembled. "Where are we?"
Kael's gaze lifted to the horizon, where a massive sigil glowed faintly against the sky, one that matched the mark on Selene's wrist.
He swallowed hard. "We're in the Realm of the Fallen…" His voice dropped, haunted. "…where even gods come to die."
The wind shifted, and a voice, soft, feminine, ancient, whispered through the air.
Welcome home, Daughter of Blood.
Selene's eyes widened, her body locking up as the mark on her wrist flared like wildfire, so bright it hurt to look at.
Kael shouted her name,
Darius reached for her,
And the ground beneath them cracked open like the mouth of a beast.
Selene screamed as shadows dragged her down into the glowing fissure, her voice echoing into the endless dark.
The last thing Kael saw was her eyes, glowing silver through the darkness, before she disappeared.
And then…silence.