MARKED BY THE ALPHA'S HATE

The night was not quiet.

Even though the stars burned cold above them and the trees stood in rigid silence, Selene felt the tremor beneath her feet. The bond hummed with unease, vibrating faintly through her chest like a warning bell she couldn't silence.

They'd moved quickly. Neris had conjured a veil of illusion to mask their scent and passage, leading them through an overgrown trail that barely counted as a path. Darius walked ahead, tense and silent. His limp had worsened, but he didn't complain not that he ever would. He kept scanning the trees, jaw clenched, as if expecting the Obsidian to peel out of the shadows at any moment.

It had reformed. She could feel it. Deep in her bones, in the twitch of her fingers around the hilt of the blade strapped to her back. The thing was alive again. She didn't know how, but she knew.

Neris, walking behind her, spoke softly. "You're trembling."

"I'm not afraid," Selene said, her voice too sharp.

"I didn't say you were."

She didn't reply. She didn't want to admit the truth. That she was afraid not of dying, but of what was changing inside her. The sword hadn't just answered her when she'd attacked the Obsidian. It had answered something older, something sleeping.

The same thing the creature had sensed.

Moonblood. Chosen.

Chosen for what?

Darius stopped ahead. They'd reached a clearing surrounded by a half-circle of jagged stones. A half-ruined structure stood in the center some kind of ancient outpost swallowed by vines and moss. A crumbling tower, maybe a watchpost from the old wars.

"This will do for now," Darius said, voice low. "We can't go much farther tonight."

Selene wanted to argue, but one look at the tightness in his shoulders stopped her. He was trying to be strong for her. Always had been. But even wolves had limits, and Darius was bleeding.

"I'll get water," she said, dropping her pack near a stone slab.

Darius looked like he wanted to stop her but didn't. He just nodded.

She found a stream a short walk away, icy cold and edged with wild mint. As she filled the flask, her thoughts drifted—too fast and in too many directions.

Her mother's voice in that vision. The pulse of the sword. Neris's warnings.

And the way the Obsidian had spoken to her.

Not just with words—but with knowing. Like it had seen what she hadn't yet. Like it recognized her before she even knew herself.

She heard footsteps behind her but didn't flinch. Darius.

"You should be resting," she said without looking.

"I'm not the one who nearly collapsed."

She turned. He looked tired. Really tired. But his eyes were steady.

"I meant what I said earlier," she told him. "I wasn't going to let it kill you."

His jaw worked, but he said nothing.

Selene stepped closer. "You don't have to protect me from everything."

"Yes," he said, "I do."

She stared at him. Why?

His breath caught. He looked like he was debating something. Then he finally said it.

Because if I lose you, none of this matters.

The words hit harder than she was ready for. Selene blinked. Her heart stuttered.

You're not going to lose me, she said, barely more than a whisper.

You don't know that.

I do,she said. Because I'm not just going to survive this. I'm going to end it.

He looked at her then not just like a soldier or a mate. But like a man seeing something holy and terrifying all at once.

You're changing,he said.

I know.

Does it scare you?

"Everything scares me." She stepped closer, breath misting in the cold. "But not enough to stop."

For a moment, they just stood there, the stream whispering between them.

Then Darius said, "We leave at first light. I know somewhere safe."

"Nowhere's safe anymore."

"No," he said. "But it's a start."

They walked back together.

By the time they reached the clearing, Neris had set a small barrier nothing fancy, just enough to ward off scouts and sniffers. She was seated on a slab of stone, head tilted toward the stars.

"I sent a message," she said without looking at them. "To someone who might help."

"Who?" Darius asked.

"A witch from the Eastern Mire. Old blood. She owes me a favor."

Selene raised a brow. "Do I want to know what kind?"

Neris grinned. "Not unless you want nightmares."

She stood. Her smile faded. "We don't have much time. Victor's already called the bounty."

Darius swore. "How many?"

"All of them. Half the continent's assassins just found out what she is."

Selene's stomach flipped. Why would he do that? If he wants to use me

He's not trying to use you anymore, Neris interrupted. You scared him.

That made Darius pause. Victor doesn't scare easily.

"No. But he understands what's at stake." Neris looked at Selene. "He saw the sword respond to you. That's enough."

"Enough for what?"

"For him to want you dead before the packs figure it out."

A chill slid through Selene.

He wants to kill me,she said slowly, before they know I might be able to stop him.

Exactly.

Darius ran a hand through his hair, pacing. "Then we need to move faster. Find out what the sword unlocks, what she is what she's meant to do."

Neris's eyes flicked to the blade at Selene's side.

"Then I suppose it's time you learned how to use it."

Selene stiffened. "I did use it. Against the Obsidian."

"That was instinct," Neris said. "Useful. But not enough. The sword is a key, yes but it's also a weapon. And it will only fully awaken for one who understands what they're wielding."

Darius frowned. "You want her to train with that thing now? While we're being hunted?"

"There's no better time," Neris said. "They'll come whether she's ready or not."

Selene exhaled. Her body still ached. Her mind was barely holding together.

But she nodded.

"Then show me."

Neris smiled faintly. "At dawn."

Far from the forest, Victor Crane stood on the balcony of a black tower overlooking the sea.

The moon glinted off the water, silver and cold. He wasn't watching the horizon.

He was watching the Obsidian kneel in the center of a blood-marked circle, black mist swirling around it like smoke caught in a storm.

"She hurt you," Victor said, not without curiosity.

The creature said nothing. Its molten eyes flickered.

"Good," Victor murmured. "Pain teaches. Even to things like you."

He turned to Talon, who stood silently at the doorway.

"The bounty's already spreading. But we'll need more than mercenaries."

Talon frowned. "You want to unleash the others?"

Victor smiled slowly. "No. Not yet. Let the wolves fight amongst themselves first. Let them see her as the threat. The sword will do the rest."

"And Darius?"

Victor's smile faded.

"He's a problem," he said. "But he's also her weakness. And I know exactly how to use that."

He stepped closer to the circle.

The Obsidian didn't move.

"You have her scent now," Victor whispered. "You know her blood."

The creature inclined its head, like a dog waiting to be unleashed.

Victor didn't hesitate.

"Then go."

With a burst of smoke and shadow, the Obsidian vanished.

And the hunt began again.