MARKED BY THE ALPHA'S HATE

Darius moved like a ghost through the trees, faster than shadow, his boots barely touching the forest floor. But the farther he followed Selene's scent, the more his instincts pulled against him.

Something was wrong.

He smelled her, yes her blood, her power but also something old, buried deep beneath the earth. The stench of old magic. Sacred. Cursed.

He slowed, scanning the trees. There was no wind. No birdsong. Just silence thick enough to choke on.

Then he saw her.

Selene stood alone in a clearing, hand against the ground, her hair tangled with leaves. She looked… haunted. Not afraid, but hollowed out, as if something had been taken or broken open inside her.

Darius stepped into the light.

She turned.

For a moment, neither of them spoke.

Then her voice came, steady despite the weight in it. How long have you been watching?

Long enough, he said. You felt it, didn't you? The memory."

Selene nodded once. This is where they tried to kill her. My mother. This soil drank her blood.

Darius's jaw clenched. Victor didn't want anyone to find this place.

No, she said. He wanted to erase it.

He moved closer. What did you see?

"Not enough," she murmured. Just flashes. Screaming. A circle of elders. A child is being hidden.

Darius's expression darkened. "You."

"Yes."

A silence passed between them tense, but no longer hostile.

Then Selene looked at him, really looked. You knew. Didn't you?

He didn't lie. I knew something. Not all of it. Victor kept me in the dark too.

Except when he needed you to kill me.

Darius flinched.

Selene crossed her arms. Why didn't you?

I don't know, he said, voice low. Maybe I should've. Maybe it would've been easier. Cleaner."

But you didn't.

No.

She took a step toward him. So now what, Darius? You drag me back in chains? Finish the job you were given?

He met her gaze. "No."

"Then why are you here?"

"Because I can't stay on his leash anymore. And because the closer I get to you, the more I realize... I don't want to be the weapon they made me."

Selene's breath caught.

There was something dangerous in his eyes, yes—but also something raw. Unhidden.

She didn't trust him. Not fully. But part of her wanted to.

So she asked the question she hadn't dared to ask until now.

Who was your mother?

Darius blinked.

No one's ever asked me that.

I'm asking now.

He looked away. "I don't know. Victor never said. Only that she died giving birth to me. And that her blood was weak."

Selene studied him. "He raised you to believe you were less."

No, Darius said bitterly. "He raised me to believe I was born to kill."

Back at the estate…

Victor stood before the council table, his face carved from stone.

We have a problem," he said, voice calm but taut. Selene has accessed the old grounds. The Moonblood seal is awake. And Darius has gone silent.

The remaining council members exchanged wary looks.

Should we send the Blackfangs? Asked one.

Victor shook his head. No. Not yet. If she activates the mark, brute force won't be enough.

A silence followed.

Then Lady Mirell, the oldest among them, leaned forward. She must never reach the temple.

Victor nodded slowly. Which is why we'll burn the forest first.

Back in the clearing…

Selene sat on a fallen tree, watching the stars break through the thinning clouds.

Darius knelt by the stream, washing blood from his hands. He hadn't said what it was from. She didn't ask.

I keep seeing her, Selene said softly. My mother. Not clearly, just… pieces. Her voice. Her touch.

Darius looked over. And the woman at the river? You believe she was her sister?

Selene nodded. She said she had forgotten. That they buried her too.

Moonbloods didn't just vanish, Darius said. They were erased. The bloodline made the others afraid.

She met his eyes. Because of the mark?

He stood. Because of what the mark can awaken.

She drew in a breath. You've seen it, haven't you?

Darius nodded. Once. As a child. Victor let one live long enough to shift fully. She didn't turn into a wolf.

What then?

A shadow, he said. Something between fire and smoke. She burned the Earth just by standing on it.

Selene's pulse jumped.

Darius walked toward her. You have to be careful. If it awakens before you're ready, it could consume you.

Then help me control it.

He paused.

I don't know how.

She reached up and touched the locket at her throat. Then help me find someone who does.

Darius didn't move for a long time. Then finally, he nodded. "There's one place. The old Temple of Ashes. The Moonbloods once trained there. But getting to it means crossing through pack territory."

She stood. "Then let's move before they know we're gone."

Far north, in a ruined shrine…

The boy with silver eyes stood before a flickering flame. The Watcher.

Behind him, Neris lay bound in a circle of salt, her eyes shut, lips chanting silently.

She's begun," the boy said.

A taller figure emerged from the smoke, face obscured by a hood. "Then the others will come. And the real hunt begins."

Will she survive it?

The hooded one didn't answer.

Instead, they dropped something into the fire: a scrap of red cloth.

Selene's cloak.

Back in the woods, at dawn…

Darius led the way, guiding Selene through hidden paths known only to high-ranking wolves. They moved in silence, fast and low, until they reached a ridge overlooking the valley below.

Smoke curled in the distance.

Selene inhaled sharply. "What is that?"

Victor's warning, Darius said grimly. He's burning the forest behind us. Trying to trap us in.

A howl pierced the air.

Then another.

Selene turned. They found us.

Darius pushed her forward. Run.