Chapter 4

Chapter 4: The Night King's Offer

The moonlight poured like liquid silver across the shattered remains of the forest. Selene stood there, heart pounding in her chest, her hand still trembling from the sparks that had danced across her skin when Valerian touched her. Her instincts screamed at her to run, but something deeper—something ancient—anchored her in place.

The vampire king regarded her, those molten crimson eyes flickering like dying embers. He moved with the grace of a shadow, slow and calculated, yet there was undeniable power coiled within every step he took.

"You came willingly into my land," he said, his voice low, rough velvet. "Did you think I would let you walk away?"

Selene squared her shoulders. "You knew I was coming. The whole forest led me here."

"Fate led you here," he murmured, circling her. "You carry it like a scent, like fire in winter."

A shiver danced down her spine. She turned to face him. "You think you can keep me here like some kind of prisoner? I didn't come to kneel."

He stopped before her, inches away. The air between them grew thick with heat and tension. "No, you didn't. And that's what makes you different."

The blood in her veins hummed. Every cell screamed to retreat, yet she held his gaze, breath quickening. Valerian reached out slowly, brushing a curl from her cheek.

"You don't know what you are yet, do you?"

"An omega," she said, almost defiantly.

He smiled, but it wasn't cruel. It was haunted. "Not just any omega. You are the one prophesied. The one who carries the blood of dawn and the bite of dusk."

Selene took a step back. "I don't believe in prophecies."

"That doesn't make them less true."

She frowned, arms crossed. "Why do you care? What do you want from me?"

Valerian's expression darkened. For a moment, he looked older than time. "I want to live. And only your bond can break the curse."

The words echoed in the clearing.

"What curse?"

He took a deep breath, and for the first time, she saw the cracks beneath the surface. He wasn't just a predator or a king. He was a man—cursed, tormented.

"A thousand years ago, I betrayed the moon goddess. I chose vengeance over fate, war over peace. For that, she cursed me. No sun will ever warm my face. No love will ever bind me. Unless…"

"Unless?"

"Unless the fated omega born under the twin eclipse accepts me—not out of duty, but desire."

Selene laughed, a bitter, startled sound. "You want me to fall in love with you to save your soul?"

"No. I want you to choose me. To crave me. To stay."

Her heart twisted, but she shoved the feeling down. "You don't even know me."

"Not yet. But I will."

And then he turned away, walking back toward the shadows. "Come. You'll be safe within my fortress. There are worse things than me in these woods."

"I never said I was coming with you."

He didn't stop walking. "And yet, you are."

---

The fortress was nothing like she imagined.

Black stone walls coiled up the cliffside, ancient and jagged. Towers loomed over waterfalls that shimmered under moonlight. It was cold, but not empty. Candles flickered in every window. She was ushered in through massive iron gates, flanked by guards in dark armor who bowed silently.

Inside, the castle pulsed with magic. The walls whispered. Her skin prickled.

"This place is alive," she murmured.

Valerian watched her carefully. "It responds to power. To fate. It likes you."

He led her down winding corridors until they reached a chamber carved from obsidian and silver. It was warm, perfumed with something ancient and spiced.

"This will be your room. No one will enter unless you allow it."

She blinked. "You're not going to lock me up?"

He turned to face her. "You're not my prisoner, Selene. You're my prophecy."

And then he was gone.

---

Selene couldn't sleep. Visions haunted her—flashes of the forest, of Valerian's eyes, of flames and blood.

In the dead of night, she wandered.

The castle was a labyrinth, every hallway echoing with secrets. Eventually, she found herself in a grand library. Rows upon rows of dusty tomes stretched into shadows. A book sat open on a pedestal, its pages glowing faintly.

Drawn like a moth, she approached.

"The omega born beneath the dying stars will awaken the king of dusk. She who carries time in her blood and night in her bones shall choose or doom the realms."

She stumbled back.

A creak behind her.

Valerian.

"You found it," he said softly. "The book that has waited a thousand years for you."

Her voice shook. "What does it mean?"

He stepped closer. "That we're bound. Not by chains, but by choice. If you run, I die. If you stay…"

"Then what?"

He stared at her, and for once, he didn't look like a king or a monster.

He looked like a man on the edge.

"Then maybe we both get to live."

---

But far beyond the castle, in a forest where no light touched, something else stirred.

A woman cloaked in shadows, eyes like pits, whispered into a pool of blood.

"The bond has begun. The curse trembles. The omega must die before the choosing."

And the pool rippled with fire.

---

End of Chapter 💛