Kael followed Selene into the forest, his boots sinking into damp earth with every step. The trees stood tall and close together, their branches twisting like dark fingers against the night sky. The moon was high, but its light barely reached the ground. Shadows ruled this place.
The air felt different here—heavier, colder. It pressed against his skin and slid down his spine like ice. Kael wrapped his arms around himself, but the chill did not fade. It was not just the cold. Something else had changed.
Everything had changed.
His heart beat harder than it ever had before. Not faster—stronger. Each thud felt like it echoed through his chest and into the ground beneath him. His ears picked up sounds he would never have noticed before: leaves brushing together far away, insects crawling under bark, the soft crack of a twig snapping somewhere deep in the woods.
He kept reaching for his neck without meaning to.
The bite burned even now. The skin there felt tight, almost alive. Every time his fingers brushed the mark, a strange warmth spread through his body, followed by a sharp pulse that made his breath catch. He didn't know whether he should be grateful to Selene… or terrified of her.
She walked ahead of him, silent as smoke.
Her feet barely seemed to touch the ground. Even injured, even weakened, she moved like she belonged to the night. Moonlight slipped through the trees and brushed against her dark hair, making it shine with a faint silver glow. Her black coat flowed behind her, torn in places, stained with dirt and old blood.
Kael lifted his camera without thinking.
It was a habit. A reflex. He had done it a thousand times before—raise the camera, frame the shot, capture the truth. The screen flickered, then went black.
He lowered it slowly.
That felt like a message.
This was no longer something he could film and explain later. No clever editing could make sense of this. No audience would believe him. Even if they did… he wasn't sure anyone should know.
He swallowed and cleared his throat.
"About… about that house," he said, his voice sounding too loud in the quiet forest. "I was filming. That's why I was there. I make videos. Old places. Abandoned buildings. Haunted stuff."
Selene did not slow down.
"I wanted proof," Kael continued, words tumbling out now. "Real proof that the supernatural exists. Not stories. Not rumors. Something real."
Selene stopped.
She turned her head just enough for him to see her eyes. In the moonlight, they looked pale and sharp, like polished stone. There was no warmth in them. No comfort.
"You wanted proof," she said calmly. "And now you have more than you can survive."
Kael's mouth opened, but no sound came out.
His hands were shaking. He shoved them into his jacket pockets, but it didn't help. His legs felt weak, like they might give out at any moment.
This was not a story anymore.
This was not content.
This was his life.
They moved again and soon reached a fallen tree, its thick trunk blocking part of the path. Moss covered its bark, and small white mushrooms glowed faintly near its roots. Selene stopped and scanned the forest, her head turning slowly, her eyes narrowing as if she could see through the darkness itself.
Only when she seemed satisfied did she speak.
"That mansion," she said, her voice quieter now, "was not abandoned."
Kael sat down heavily on the tree trunk. His legs ached, and his mind felt full, like it might split open.
"It was a holding place," Selene continued. "A cage. For me."
Kael frowned. "But why? Why would anyone trap you? You killed that thing back there like it was nothing."
A bitter smile touched her lips, quick and sharp.
"Not like nothing," she said. "And not all the time."
She looked away, her gaze drifting to the trees.
"Vampires have enemies," she went on. "More than you can imagine. Werewolves are one of them. Old hatred. Old blood."
Kael leaned forward. "But they were scared of you."
"They should be," she replied. "But fear does not always stop desperation."
She took a slow breath.
"They hunted me for days. I was already injured when they caught me. Silver burns us. Iron weakens us. And the chains in that house…" She paused. "They were carved with spells. Ancient ones. I could not break them."
Kael felt his stomach twist.
"But why you?" he asked. "Why go through all that trouble?"
Selene hesitated.
For the first time, she looked unsure.
"My father," she said finally, "is a ruler. A vampire lord."
Kael blinked. "A… king?"
"Something like that," she answered.
She turned fully now, her face half-lit by moonlight, half lost in shadow.
"He wants to wake something that should never rise again. A demon that sleeps beneath this world. Bound long before humans learned how to write. If it wakes…" Her voice tightened. "Everything burns. Humans. Vampires. Werewolves. All of us."
Kael felt a heavy cold settle in his chest.
"And you don't want that," he said.
"No," Selene said without pause. "I escaped him. I stole information he needed. I was trying to stop him."
Her hands clenched at her sides.
"But the werewolves found me first."
Kael's breathing grew fast and shallow.
"Then why… why did the werewolf bite me?" he asked. "Why not just kill me?"
Selene looked at him for a long moment.
"You were not meant to live," she said softly. "You stepped between us. He bit you because you were in the way."
Kael felt the world tilt.
"And your bite," he whispered, "saved me."
"I did not know it would," she replied. "I thought I was ending your suffering."
She stepped closer now.
"But your body changed. Your wounds closed. Your blood reacted. The mark on your neck glowed."
Her eyes searched his face.
"There is something rare in you. Something old. You became something that should not exist."
Kael shook his head. "So what does that make me?"
Selene's voice dropped to a whisper.
"It makes you a hybrid."
The word hung between them.
"Vampire," she continued, "and werewolf. Together."
Kael laughed weakly. "That's not possible."
"It is now," she said.
Fear flickered in her eyes—not fear of him, but for him.
"You cannot go back," she added. "Your old life is gone."
The forest fell silent.
Too silent.
Selene's head snapped up. Her body went rigid.
She raised a hand.
"Don't move."
Kael's senses flared. He heard it now too—footsteps. Not human. Heavy. Fast. The sound of breathing. Low growls.
Then he saw them.
Eyes glowing yellow between the trees. One pair. Then another. Then more.
"They followed us," Selene muttered. "Run when I say."
A shape burst from the darkness.
It slammed into Kael, knocking the air from his lungs. He hit the ground hard, dirt filling his mouth. Hot breath washed over his face as the werewolf snarled, jaws opening wide.
Kael didn't think.
His body moved.
His hands locked around the creature's head. Strength surged through him—wild and burning. He roared and shoved.
The werewolf flew backward, crashing through brush and leaves.
Kael stared at his hands in shock.
Selene was already moving.
She grabbed another wolf mid-leap and smashed it into a tree. The trunk cracked. The beast collapsed. Another lunged at her and she kicked its jaw with a sharp crack.
Kael ducked as claws swiped past his face. He spun, punched.
His fist connected.
The werewolf stumbled back, howling.
"There are too many!" Selene shouted. "They want me alive!"
More shapes closed in.
Kael stood beside her, chest heaving.
"What do we do?" he asked.
Selene grabbed his arm.
"We escape."
They ran.
Branches whipped at Kael's face. His lungs burned. Behind them, the wolves thundered closer.
Selene pulled him toward a twisted old tree wrapped in thick bushes.
"There's nowhere to go!" Kael shouted.
"Yes there is," she said. "Trust me."
She stepped into the leaves.
The air shimmered.
Purple light tore open the night.
Kael followed.
The world vanished.
Silence fell.
Darkness swallowed them whole.