Chapter 39

Chapter 39: A Kiss Before Betrayal

(Continuing directly from Chapter 38 — the Beast has awakened, and fate has demanded a sacrifice. Now, the night before their departure, truths unravel.)

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The castle prepared for war in hushed whispers and tight-lipped stares. Every soul within the Night King's keep felt it—like the sky was holding its breath before a storm, like the world knew it would never be the same again.

Selene stared at her reflection in the tall obsidian mirror. Her collarbone still bore the phantom burn of the bond that should have been completed. A single touch. A single choice. And everything could have changed.

"Don't dress like you're already mourning," came a voice from behind her.

Valerian.

She turned slowly. "Would you rather I wore red? Like a bride or a blade?"

His smile didn't reach his eyes. "Wear what you want. Tonight is ours."

She didn't reply. Instead, she walked up to him and reached for the clasp of his cloak. Her fingers brushed his chest. His heart thundered.

"I hate that we have to leave," she whispered. "I hate that something inside me wants to run straight into the seal and unlock whatever is calling me."

He grabbed her wrist, gently. "And what if that voice isn't calling to you? What if it's pulling you apart from me?"

She met his eyes. "Then why do I still want you more than anything?"

Their lips met with desperation.

This kiss—this moment—was not sweet. It was the storm that broke everything. Hungry, sharp, a clash of fangs and need. Valerian's hands held her like he was afraid she'd disappear. And for the first time since he'd known her, she let herself fall completely into his arms.

Selene tugged him toward the bed.

But just before the edge of surrender, she froze.

There it was again.

The voice.

Closer. Inside her now.

> "Let him fall… and I will rise. You know who you are, little moon."

She jerked away from Valerian, breathless and pale. "I heard it again."

His eyes flared. "What did it say?"

She didn't answer. Not truthfully. "Just… warnings. Nightmares."

Valerian looked unconvinced.

She could feel it growing—the Beast wasn't just waiting behind the gate anymore. It was inside her shadow. Inside the space between her breaths.

And then—

A knock.

Cassian entered without waiting. "The gate has cracked. We have hours."

Valerian's jaw tightened. "Then we leave now."

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They rode through the haunted wood, the wind howling like wolves mourning their dead.

Selene sat behind Valerian on his black steed, her arms wrapped around his waist, her forehead pressed to his spine. And with every gallop, she felt it getting closer: the gate. The Beast. And something else.

Someone was watching them.

They stopped in the forgotten vale—where the moonlight died, and the trees grew black and twisted.

Selene slid from the horse, her boots hitting the earth like a warning drum.

She wasn't the same girl from the village. She wasn't just an omega now. She was the lock and the key. The one the prophecy wanted… and the one it feared.

And suddenly—

A figure emerged from the shadows.

A man.

No… not a man. A vampire. But not Valerian's kind.

His face was marked with ancient runes. His eyes—silver and void—looked straight at Selene.

"Hello, daughter of the lost moon," he said, bowing low. "It's time."

Valerian stepped in front of her, growling. "Who are you?"

"I am the one your ancestors betrayed," the stranger said. "I was the first to carry the Beast. The first to fall in love with fate. And now… your mate will finish what I began."

Selene's breath caught.

"What do you mean?" she whispered.

The man turned his eyes on her. "Your kiss opened the seal, Selene. When you touched him, when you chose love over fear… you made your heart vulnerable. And now, the Beast is almost free."

"No," Valerian snarled. "We haven't completed the bond. She is not yours to curse."

"But she is, my child," the stranger said softly. "Because she carries the same curse that was once mine."

Selene trembled.

And then the stranger bowed again, more solemnly this time.

"One must fall, child. And one must betray."

Then he vanished—into mist and nightmare.

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Selene stared at the place he'd stood, her heart in shreds.

Valerian turned to her. "Selene… what aren't you telling me?"

Her lip trembled. "I don't know how to stop it."

He cupped her cheek. "We will find a way. We'll rewrite this fate."

But even as he kissed her again—soft this time, desperate and warm—Selene knew the truth:

She was the betrayal.

And by the time dawn broke, someone would fall.

And it might be him.

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