"ALL HAIL SELENA!!!"
The roars of the crowd thundered through the White family's fortress, a crescendo of loyalty and bloodlust that echoed off the castle's towering walls. The automatic gates swung open, their heavy groan swallowed by the deafening cheers.
"ALL HAIL SELENA, SLAYER OF WEREWOLVES!"
The cries surged in waves as her convoy rolled in—battle-scarred vehicles bristling with weapons, brimming with the spoils of war. Silver-tipped artillery gleamed like fangs under the floodlights, a chilling testament to the night's carnage.
From behind the tinted window of her vehicle, Selena caught fragments of hushed conversations weaving through the cheers.
"I heard she took down the beta, the Luna, and the alpha all by herself."
"She's unstoppable!"
Her lips pressed into a thin line as she shut the window, turning to face Aldric, her fiancé. His piercing gaze met hers, laced with equal parts admiration and suspicion.
"You look like absolute hell," he said flatly, his usual sharp tongue unrelenting.
Normally, Selena would have traded an insult, but tonight her mind was elsewhere. Blood caked her combat suit, and beneath her leather shirt, nestled against her stomach, was the secret that could doom her—a werewolf pup.
"Thanks, Aldric," she muttered. "Always uplifting."
How on earth was she going to hide a werewolf pup in hunter territory?
Yeah, pretty dumb plan. She'd have to go to the dog keepers soon.
"Well?" Aldric asked, his tone growing suspicious.
Just great. If her clueless fiancé was already suspecting something, she was so screwed. "Well what?" she said, feigning ignorance.
"You look constipated," he said, smirking.
She pressed a hand to her stomach. "Oh, well, you know me—always feeling shitty," she said nonchalantly.
His smirk widened, his eyes narrowing. "For the first time, you agree with me. That alone tells me something's up."
Selena felt a prickle of unease but masked it with a shrug. "Be my guest. Investigate all you want." She adjusted her thick coat, concealing the pup as the convoy ground to a halt before the castle's chateau entrance.
Her family awaited her on the steps, their expressions ranging from pride to simmering resentment. Her father, Eric White, strode forward, his presence as commanding as his reputation.
Her siblings—Isaac, Nate, and Ethel—stood with their uncle and aunt, Wendy and Tim. None of them looked happy at all. Well, who would be if the adopted bastard child claimed all the glory for the hunt they had gone on together?
"Well done, my dear," he said, his voice booming. His large hand settled on her shoulder, a gesture both possessive and approving.
Selena beamed. "Thank you, Father."
Aldric, ever eager to flaunt, displayed the heads of the wolves she'd killed, drawing gasps and cheers from the crowd.
Behind him, her mother, Gianna, folded her arms, her disapproving gaze piercing. "You just had to shine, didn't you?"
Selena smiled wider, relishing the thinly veiled jealousy in the glares of her siblings and extended family. "What can I say? It's not my fault they're too slow."
"Enough," Eric said, squeezing her shoulder. "Tonight, we feast. Tomorrow, we discuss the next hunt."
Selena nodded, her mind already elsewhere. "Of course, Father."
As she slipped away under the guise of preparation, Gianna wrinkled her nose. "You stink of werewolf. Shower before you poison the air."
Selena didn't respond.
The moment she was away from her probing family and clingy fiancé, She retreated to her quarters, locking the door behind her. The opulent room—draped in rich blacks and purples accented with gold—offered little solace.
Stripping off her coat, she grabbed a dark cloak, securing a dagger at her waist before slipping out the window.
The climb down the steep walls was treacherous, but her movements were fluid, silent. Each leap from battlement to battlement was executed with precision, and soon she vanished into the shadowy streets of the hunter's village.
She reached the dog keeper's shack under the cover of darkness. The dimly lit interior reeked of stale ale and unwashed bodies. The keeper, a squat dwarf with a tangled beard, eyed her warily as she stepped inside.
"Who goes there?"
"I've got a wolf in the wild," she replied in a low voice giving the code. He nodded and opened a hidden door, leading her to his treasure trove of forbidden creatures.
He sighed and pushed opening another concealed door, leading her into a hidden chamber. Shelves lined with jars of forbidden things—fangs, claws, and preserved hearts—gleamed in the faint light.
"What've you brought this time, girl?" he asked, his tone exasperated.
Selena reached beneath her shirt and revealed the trembling pup. Its white fur glinted faintly, its icy eyes wide with fear. The keeper's breath hitched.
"Sweet mother of God… no." His whisper trembled.
She tossed him a pouch of gold. "You'll take it."
He shook his head, retreating. "If your father finds out, I'll be executed!"
Another pouch hit the table.
"I can't—"
A third pouch silenced him. His lips pressed into a grim line as he hesitantly took the pup. "This is madness."
Selena's voice was steel. "I'll bring you gold every day. Care for it."
The keeper sighed, retrieving a chunk of preserved meat for the pup, its soft whimpers cutting through the silence.
"This feels like a death sentence," he muttered.
"No one likes it, but I killed it's family." Selena whispered. Her hands trembled as she turned to leave.
As Selena turned to leave, the werewolf pup shifted, shrinking into the form of a tiny human baby. Its frail body had barely any hair, save for wisps of white atop its head, and its ice-blue eyes glimmered with a strange innocence. The baby giggled softly as the keeper cradled it in his arms, a tender smile on his face.
Selena's gaze hardened, narrowing as she stared at the child—the being fated to become her mortal enemy.
How pathetic, she thought, her fingers twitching at her side. She should have ended it here and now. The thought lingered, dark and tempting, but she clenched her fists, swallowing the impulse.
Without another word, she turned away, her boots crunching against the dirt as the sound of the baby's laughter trailed after her like an unwanted echo.
"Wait," he said suddenly. "Was it the Brown Pack you hunted tonight?"
Selena froze, her shoulders stiff. "Yes. Why?"
The keeper studied the pup, his expression darkening. "Because this isn't a Brown Pack wolf. The white fur—it's a trait of the Ice Wolves, an ancient bloodline as dangerous as your great-grandfather's enemies. They're supposed to be extinct."
"And?" She asked again.
"Nothing much, just that this werewolf has white hair. Brown Pack werewolves have brown hair. White-haired werewolves belong to a very dangerous breed, as extinct as your great-grandfather's first annihilation spree." He repeated like she hadn't heard him the first time.
Selena glanced at the pup, its icy eyes meeting hers. A chill ran down her spine. "Just take care of it," she said, her voice colder than before.
She stepped into the night, her cloak billowing as the village bells began to toll, summoning all to the feast. Behind her, the keeper whispered a prayer under his breath.