The first hunter died without ever seeing Kael's face.
The moment they stepped out of the cave, the forest exploded into motion. Silver-laced chains snapped through the air where Kael's head had been a heartbeat before, biting deep into the tree behind him. Bark shattered. Leaves screamed as if alive.
Kael moved on instinct.
The wolf surged forward—not a full shift, but close enough that his muscles burned and his senses sharpened into something brutal and precise. He ducked low, rolled across damp earth, and came up with Lucien's blade already singing in his grip.
The runes flared crimson.
The hunter lunged.
Kael didn't hesitate.
The blade slid cleanly beneath the man's ribs, cutting through armor like paper. The runes drank deep, glowing brighter as blood spilled onto the forest floor. The hunter gasped once, eyes wide in disbelief, before collapsing.
Kael barely registered it.
"Left!" Lucien shouted.
Kael twisted just as another silver chain snapped around his arm, burning where it touched skin. Pain flared—white-hot, vicious—but Kael snarled and yanked hard, dragging the hunter off balance.
Lucien moved like a shadow.
He appeared behind the man without sound, fingers curling around the back of the hunter's skull. There was a sharp crack, efficient and final.
The forest rang with screams now.
Too many.
Kael's heart thundered. "How many?"
"Eight," Lucien said grimly. "Maybe ten."
Kael bared his teeth. "They brought a squad."
"They expected monsters," Lucien replied. "They were right."
An arrow whistled past Kael's ear, grazing his cheek. He felt blood bead but ignored it, lunging toward the archer perched above them on a rock outcrop.
The wolf roared inside him.
Kael leapt.
He shouldn't have been able to make the jump—not wounded, not human—but the bond flared violently, heat surging through his veins like wildfire.
Lucien gasped behind him.
Kael hit the outcrop hard, tackled the archer to the stone, and drove his fist into the man's throat. The archer choked, clawed uselessly, then went limp.
Kael froze.
The air thickened.
Something shifted—deep, ancient, displeased.
Lucien felt it too.
"Kael," he warned. "Careful."
Kael looked down at his hands.
They were shaking.
Not from fear.
From hunger.
The curse pulsed—sharp, demanding, alive.
Kael staggered back, nearly losing his footing as another hunter rushed him. Before Kael could react, a wall of crimson force slammed into the man, throwing him bodily into a tree with bone-shattering force.
Lucien stood below, one hand raised, eyes burning red.
"Do not touch him," Lucien said, voice echoing unnaturally.
The remaining hunters hesitated.
That was their mistake.
The forest turned on them.
Roots burst from the ground, ensnaring legs and weapons alike. Shadows thickened, swallowing movement. Kael moved through it like a ghost, blade flashing, wolf snarling beneath his skin.
Blood soaked the earth.
Screams cut short.
When it was over, the forest was silent again—too silent.
Kael stood in the clearing, chest heaving, hands slick with blood that wasn't all his own. The silver chain still burned around his arm, embedded too deeply to pull free without tearing flesh.
Lucien approached slowly.
"Kael," he said softly.
Kael didn't respond.
The wolf was too close now—pressing against his skin, teeth bared, eyes blazing with a feral, merciless light.
Lucien reached out.
Kael snarled.
Lucien froze.
"It's me," Lucien said quietly. "You're safe."
Safe.
The word scraped against something raw inside Kael.
"They're never going to stop," Kael said hoarsely. "You know that, don't you?"
Lucien nodded once. "Yes."
Kael laughed—a broken, sharp sound. "Then why does the curse want me to choose?"
Lucien swallowed. "Because it feeds on resistance."
Kael's vision blurred.
The Blood Moon rose in his mind—red, enormous, watching.
Choose.
Kael dropped to one knee with a strangled gasp.
Lucien was there instantly, gripping his shoulders. "Kael. Look at me."
Kael fought to focus.
Lucien's eyes were no longer just crimson—they glowed, reflecting something older, something that had watched centuries rise and fall.
"I need you to listen," Lucien said. "If you lose control here, the curse will mark this place. The Council will feel it."
Kael clenched his fists. "Then what do I do?"
Lucien's voice softened. "Anchor."
Kael laughed weakly. "You said that was dangerous."
"It is," Lucien agreed. "But losing you is worse."
Lucien pulled Kael closer, pressing their foreheads together.
The bond exploded.
Heat, memory, longing—everything slammed into Kael at once. He saw flashes not his own: Lucien standing alone beneath countless Blood Moons, bodies at his feet, the curse tightening every time he refused to submit.
He saw Lucien choose solitude again and again.
Until now.
Kael's breath shuddered. "You were alone."
Lucien didn't deny it.
Kael's hands curled into Lucien's coat. "I won't be."
The wolf settled.
Not gone—but controlled.
Lucien exhaled shakily, relief flickering across his face. "Good."
Kael sagged against him, exhaustion crashing down all at once. "I hate this curse."
Lucien let out a quiet, humorless laugh. "So do I."
They didn't move for a long moment.
Then—
A slow clap echoed through the trees.
Lucien stiffened instantly, shoving Kael behind him.
A figure stepped into the clearing, boots crunching over blood-soaked leaves.
Crimson cloak.
Pale smile.
"Well done," the vampire said lightly. "Most don't survive their first coordinated hunt."
Kael growled. "You."
Lucien's voice was ice. "Cassian."
Cassian inclined his head. "Former colleague."
Kael glanced between them. "Council?"
"High Council," Cassian corrected pleasantly. "And here on official business."
Lucien's jaw tightened. "You already observed. Leave."
Cassian's gaze slid to Kael, lingering. "We observed more than you realize."
Kael felt it then—the sharp, invasive pressure of magic brushing against his mind.
Lucien stepped forward instantly. "Touch him again and I will end you."
Cassian chuckled. "You already chose him over the Council once. Will you do it again?"
Lucien didn't hesitate. "Yes."
The forest seemed to inhale.
Cassian's smile faded slightly. "Then you understand what comes next."
Kael swallowed. "What does he mean?"
Lucien didn't look away from Cassian. "They'll accelerate the Blood Moon."
Kael's heart dropped. "You said it wasn't time."
Cassian's eyes gleamed. "Time is a suggestion."
He stepped back into the shadows. "Three nights, Lucien."
Then his gaze locked onto Kael. "Choose wisely, wolf."
And he was gone.
The clearing felt colder without him.
Kael turned slowly. "Three nights."
Lucien nodded. "Yes."
Kael laughed, breathless. "You really know how to make things dramatic."
Lucien reached out, brushing blood from Kael's cheek with surprising tenderness. "If we survive this," he said quietly, "I'll tell you everything."
Kael met his gaze. "That's not a promise you make lightly."
Lucien's eyes burned. "Neither is choosing you."
Above them, clouds parted—
and the Blood Moon began to rise.