Chapter 37

Chapter 37: Fever in the Veins

The night bled silver and gold.

Lightning split the sky as if the heavens themselves were cracking beneath the weight of fate. In the heart of the Keep, Selene stood under a fractured moon, her skin flushed with heat she could neither name nor fight. It wasn't just lust—it was need, primal and dangerous, burning like a fever beneath her skin.

Her bond with Valerian had awakened something inside her.

Something neither holy nor cursed—something eternal.

She gripped the cold stone balcony railing, trying to calm the tremors that danced through her veins. The vision of the Beast haunted her. The weight of the prophecy pressed down like a collar around her throat.

If she mated with Valerian—if they consummated the bond—the gate would break.

The world might end.

But if they didn't… something inside her might shatter instead.

"You're burning," came his voice behind her, low and dark.

Selene turned.

Valerian stepped into the moonlight, shirtless, his skin pale as marble, veined with shadows. His eyes glowed crimson, hungry, but his expression was taut with restraint.

"I can feel it too," he whispered. "The pull. The fire. It's in my blood like lightning."

She swallowed. "They said the bond would open the gate. But this… this ache... it won't stop."

He came closer, slow and careful, like a storm on silent wings.

"Do you trust me?" he asked.

"I've always trusted you," she said.

He raised a hand and cupped her cheek, his touch cold and comforting at once. "Then let me help you. Let me take the edge off. Just enough. Without breaking the bond fully."

Selene's breath caught. "Is that possible?"

His smile was dark. "No. But we'll try anyway."

In the hidden chamber beneath the Keep, they lit no candles. The moonlight was enough.

Valerian kissed her like she was the last star left in the sky, and he was made of the night. His mouth devoured her sighs, his hands memorizing every inch of her trembling body. But he held back, trembling with restraint. She could feel it—the war in him.

The need to claim her.

And the love that refused to destroy her.

Her omega instincts howled.

Her scent coated the air like sugar and smoke, and his fangs lengthened with the effort of resisting. His mouth found her neck, hovering just above the place her bond mark would be—where the prophecy would root, where the curse would bloom.

One bite.

One thrust.

One moment.

That was all it would take.

"Don't stop," she breathed. "Please, don't stop."

He groaned, low and broken. "Selene…"

But he did. He stopped.

He pulled away, gasping like a dying man. "Not yet. If I take you now, it's over. You'll be mine—and the Beast will be free."

Selene sat up, hair wild, skin glowing, eyes full of unshed tears. "So what do we do now?"

He stood at the edge of the bed, his chest heaving, blood tears burning behind his eyes.

"We fight fate," he said.

She laughed bitterly. "Can we?"

He met her gaze. "We already are."

Outside, the winds screamed. The stars trembled. And far beneath the Keep, where the ancient gate was chained in silence, a crack formed across the final seal.

The Beast was waking.

And it was listening.