Chapter 65
Chapter 65 – The Hounds at the Gate
"You cannot unmake a bond sealed by choice. But you can try—and burn for it."
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The wind shifted at midnight.
It wasn't the way it moved through the trees. It was the silence that followed, unnatural and too deep—like the world itself had drawn in a breath and refused to exhale.
Selene felt it before she heard it.
A growl that rolled up from the forest floor, not from one throat—but many.
"The Hounds," Valerian said grimly, eyes narrowing. "They've found us."
Not just any Hounds.
These were the last remaining enforcers of the old prophecy, summoned by blood rites long thought lost—hybrid creatures bound in iron and shadow, trained to kill omegas and kings alike if they defied the ancient law.
Selene stepped forward, cloak flaring behind her. "Let them come."
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The court erupted in motion.
Nova gathered the children and led them into the inner sanctum, her eyes flashing with magic and fury. Bea stood at Selene's back, two blades drawn, her jaw tight.
"They won't breach the veil," Bea growled. "Not with both of us standing here."
Valerian looked at her. "You've always been more than a protector."
Bea gave a dry smile. "Tell me something I don't know."
Selene's hand tightened around her dagger, the blade humming with the moon-thread enchantment. She glanced at Valerian, and he nodded.
"We end it here."
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The first Hound emerged from the shadows—taller than a man, ribbed in silver bone, its eyes burning like hellfire.
Then another.
And another.
They didn't charge.
They stalked forward, intelligent and calculating.
"We need to draw them into the circle," Selene said. "It's warded. They'll burn the second they cross."
"But they know that," Valerian murmured. "They're waiting for us to make the first move."
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A scream pierced the night.
Nova.
Selene's blood went cold.
Bea was already moving, blades out, slicing through two smaller Hounds that had tried to flank them from behind. Their bodies disintegrated the moment they hit the barrier line.
Valerian summoned the abyssal fire from his palm, searing a path through the underbrush. He turned to Selene, eyes wild.
"Go to her. I'll hold the gate."
"No." Selene shook her head. "We do this together."
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They ran.
Through shadow, through teeth and snarls, through the remnants of prophecy trying to claim their lives again.
Selene reached Nova just as a Hound lunged. Without hesitating, she threw herself over her, slashing upward with her moon-blade.
It met the beast's throat—
And sang.
A high, piercing sound that shattered its bones to dust.
Nova looked up, breathless, then grabbed Selene's wrist. "They're not just trying to kill us. They're here to drag you back."
"Back where?" Selene asked.
Nova's voice trembled. "To the Temple of Echoes. The place where the prophecy was born. Where the first omega was sacrificed."
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Selene stood slowly.
She looked back at the burning battlefield. Valerian was still fighting—his eyes gleaming gold, his power leaking into the air like wildfire.
She made a choice in that moment.
Not to flee.
Not to hide.
But to end it.
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"Tell Valerian," she said to Nova, "to meet me at the Temple. It ends where it began."
Nova caught her arm. "Selene, no—"
But she was already gone.
Into the night.
Into fate.
Into war.
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End of Chapter 65 – Next: Chapter 66, "The First Sacrifice"