Chapter 9

The Banquet of Flesh 

Selene glided into Chloe's room with a silver tray, the aroma of roasted lamb and honeyed figs curling through the air. "Eat, darling," she purred, setting the meal on the bedside table. "You'll need your strength." 

Chloe, still trembling from the night's horrors, obeyed. The food was rich, decadent—*too* perfect. Selene watched, her amber eyes unblinking, as Chloe devoured it. 

"Your scratches," Selene murmured, tracing a claw along Chloe's forearm. The cuts from the jungle thorns had already begun to close, the skin knitting together unnaturally fast. "Remarkable, isn't it? How the body heaves to survive?" 

Chloe stared at her healing skin, uneasy. "I... I don't understand." 

Selene smiled. "You will." 

**Mist and Manipulation (PG advisory)**

Steam curled through the bathroom as Chloe stepped under the shower's scalding spray. The water sluiced away the sand and salt, but not the fear. 

Hands emerged from the mist—sleek, clawed—rubbing lavender-scented lather into her back. Chloe spun, her gasp swallowed by the humid air. 

Selene stood there, naked, her tail coiled like a serpent at her feet. "Relax," she said, her voice a velvet command. "Let me take care of you." 

Chloe's resistance crumbled. Tears mingled with the water as she pressed her face into Selene's chest. "Why did it have to be someone like *him*? Someone... dangerous?" 

Selene's claws carded through Chloe's hair. "Shh. You're safe with me." 

The lie hung sweetly between them. 

Selene's lips found hers—a kiss that crackled like live wire, flooding Chloe's veins with heat. She moaned, her hands tangling in Selene's hair as the succubus backed her against the tiled wall. 

Chloe's mouth trailed down Selene's neck, her teeth grazing the pale skin. Lower still, she worshiped Selene's body—nipples pebbling under her tongue, belly quivering beneath her lips. She sank to her knees, her kisses trailing along Selene's thighs, her calves, the arches of her feet. She sucked each toe slowly, savoring the salt and sweat, her tongue swirling in a rhythm that made Selene's tail thrash. 

"The forbidden fruit is yours," Selene breathed, her tail snapping around Chloe's neck, "but you'll have to *work* for it." 

Chloe's hands gripped Selene's hips, her fingers digging into the softness of her ass. A sharp *smack* echoed off the tiles, and Selene hissed, her claws raking the shower wall. 

"*Yes*," Selene whispered, her voice trembling with mock innocence. "Show me how much you want it." 

Chloe's fingers dove between Selene's thighs, frantic and unskilled, but the succubus's tail yanked her hand away. "Not yet," Selene teased, her eyes glowing. "*Patience*." 

Selene led her to the bed, water still clinging to their skin. Chloe's golden hair darkened to a dull brown as she climbed atop Selene, her lips claiming hers with desperate hunger. Selene's thighs fell open, and Chloe's fingers plunged inside her—a wet, squelching rhythm that drew gasps and moans. 

But with every thrust, Chloe's glow dimmed. Her skin paled to the color of ash, her breaths turning shallow. Selene's tail slithered between Chloe's legs, teasing, *taking*, as she drank deep from the girl's fading vitality. 

"S-Selene..." Chloe slurred, her vision blurring. 

"Shh," Selene murmured, cradling her as she collapsed onto the sheets. "Sleep now, little lamb." 

Selene rose, her skin radiant, her tail flicking with satisfaction. She glanced at Chloe's lifeless form—still breathing, but barely—and smiled. 

"Sweet dreams," she whispered, shutting the door softly behind her. 

The dimly lit corridor was silent, save for the faint hum of fluorescent lights flickering overhead. Selene stepped out of the room, her bare feet soft against the cold, tiled floor. Her senses were sharp, her body coiled like a spring, ready for anything. She didn't expect Angus to be waiting for her, but there he was, emerging from the shadows like a predator stalking its prey.

Angus's eyes burned with a mix of rage and desperation, his grip tightening on the axe in his hand. Without a word, he lunged at her, the blade slicing through the air with a deadly whistle. Selene's reflexes were razor-sharp; she sidestepped just in time, the axe missing her by inches and embedding itself into the wall with a resounding *thunk*.

"Angus," she said, her voice calm but laced with warning. "Don't do this."

He didn't listen. With a guttural roar, he yanked the axe free and swung again, this time in a wide arc aimed at her torso. Selene ducked low, her movements fluid and precise, her body twisting like a dancer evading death. The axe grazed the air above her, and she used the momentum to spin away, putting distance between them.

Angus was relentless. He charged again, his swings growing wilder, more desperate. Each strike was powerful but predictable, and Selene dodged them with ease, her eyes never leaving his. She could see the panic setting in, the way his breath came in ragged gasps, the sweat beading on his forehead. He was fighting not just her, but himself.

"You can't win," Selene said, her voice steady. "Put the axe down."

But Angus wasn't listening. His frustration boiled over, and with a snarl, he dropped the axe and reached for the pistol holstered at his side. The movement was swift, almost too fast to follow, but Selene was faster. She lunged forward, her hand snapping out to grab his wrist, but Angus twisted free and fired.

The gunshot echoed like a thunderclap in the confined space. Selene's head snapped back as the bullet tore through her skull, the force of it sending her stumbling a step. For a moment, time seemed to freeze. Angus stared, his chest heaving, his eyes wide with a mix of triumph and horror.

But then Selene straightened. Her head tilted forward, her dark hair falling into her face as the wound began to close, the flesh knitting itself back together with an almost audible *snap*. She looked up, her eyes glowing faintly in the dim light, and Angus's triumph turned to dread.

Before he could fire again, Selene's tail—long, sleek, and whip-like—lashed out, striking his hand with pinpoint accuracy. The pistol flew from his grip, clattering to the floor and skidding out of reach. Angus barely had time to react before Selene was on him. Her movements were a blur, her body a weapon honed to perfection. With a swift, powerful backhand, she struck him across the face, the force of the blow sending him crashing into the wall.

Angus slumped to the floor, dazed but still conscious. He tried to push himself up, but Selene was already there, crouching in front of him. Her tail coiled around his legs, pinning him in place as she reached out and grabbed his chin, forcing him to look at her.

"I love you," she said, her voice soft but firm, her eyes searching his. "That's why I won't kill you."

Angus tried to look away, but her grip was unyielding. His breath hitched, his chest rising and falling rapidly as he struggled to process her words. Selene leaned closer, her face inches from his, her gaze piercing.

"But this will hurt."

Before Angus could respond, her hand snapped out again, this time with enough force to knock him out cold. His head lolled to the side, his body slumping against the wall as unconsciousness claimed him. Selene stayed there for a moment, her hand lingering near his face, her expression unreadable. Then she stood, her tail unwinding from his legs, and turned away, leaving him there in the shadows.

The corridor was silent once more, the only sound the faint hum of the flickering lights. Selene walked away, her footsteps echoing softly, her mind already turning to what came next.

Bonus

****Shortly After****

The cellar door exploded inward, splinters raining down as Caden burst into the villa. His vampiric senses flared—nostrils twitching at the iron tang of blood mingling with the faintest trace of Selene's jasmine perfume. *Gone.* Her presence lingered like a ghost, already miles distant. But another scent clawed at him—sweet, familiar, *dying*. 

He followed the thread of decay to a bedroom at the end of the hall. The door hung askew, hinges twisted. Inside, the air reeked of sweat and spoiled roses. 

Chloe lay sprawled on the bed, her naked body ashen, veins blackened and visible beneath paper-thin skin. Her once-golden hair hung in limp, mud-brown strands, sweat-drenched and clinging to her face. Her lips parted, a whisper escaping: "...*Cad...en...*" 

"Selene did this," he snarled, fists trembling. The mattress creaked as Chloe's hand twitched, too weak to reach for him. Her eyes—faded from summer blue to milky gray—locked onto his, pleading. 

He didn't stay to grieve. 

Caden tore through the villa, shattering a stained-glass window as he leaped into the night. Salt air stung his face, the moon a cold eye overhead. Far down the beach, a silhouette flickered against the horizon: Selene, her figure dissolving into the dark like ink in water. 

*No.* 

Muscles coiled, he erupted forward, his speed blurring the world. Sand geysered in his wake, palm trees bending in the shockwave. In seconds, he was upon her—fingers closing around her arm— 

—and she *dissolved*, her body collapsing into smoke that stank of burnt sulfur. 

Above him, the smoke coalesced. Selene hung in the air, her back arching violently as bone and sinew *ruptured* through flesh. Two jagged wings tore free, dripping black ichor, their membrane leathery and veined like cursed parchment. With a grotesque *snap*, they unfurled, spanning twenty feet—a grotesque parody of an angel's grace. 

"You never learn, Caden," she sneered, her voice echoing with a chorus of whispers. 

He lunged upward, talons raking the air, but she beat her wings once. The downdraft hurled sand into his eyes as she soared higher, skimming the waves like a seabird. No—not a seabird. An *albatross*, omen of storms and doomed voyages. 

Caden plunged into the surf. The water seized him, icy and alive. He dove deep, claws digging into the seabed, and *spun*. 

Muscles bulged, tendons screaming as his body became a weapon. Water churned, frothing into a spiraling vortex that ripped shells and stones from the ocean floor. With a roar, he launched himself skyward, riding the column of water like a missile. 

For a heartbeat, he soared—claws inches from Selene's ankle— 

—then gravity reclaimed him. 

She laughed, the sound sharp as shattered glass. "Pathetic *dog* chasing a storm!" 

He crashed back into the sea, the vortex collapsing around him. When he surfaced, gasping, Selene was a speck against the moon, her wings slicing through clouds. 

Chloe's face flashed in his mind—gray, decaying, *dying*. 

He screamed her name into the void.