*Selene*
All my instincts scream to run.
Not because I'm afraid for me—because I'm afraid of what's coming for *him*.
The moment I feel that presence closing in around us, the air slices sharp, like the pre-storm breath. My hand flails away from Julian's. His warmth stays on my skin like a memory, but the magic is broken.
"What is it?" he asks, sweeping around.
Don't move. I get to my feet slowly, eyes slanting, senses feeling out the darkness along the chapel wall. "We're being watched."
The scent comes to me a moment later. Not human. Not animal. *Vampire.* But one I don't know.
Julian stays beside me, his tone low. "Selene—"
I lay out a hand. "Stay behind me."
A flicker of motion. Shadows shudder, and a figure glides away from the wall like smoke coalesced into flesh.
He appears young, but that is not significant. Vampires do not grow old. His hair is silver-white, not because of his age, but because of a conscious choice. Chic, cropped. His amber eyes glint as he leans in with a teasing grin.
"Well, well," he pronounces slowly. "Selene Marlowe. I assumed the Council held you on shorter leash."
I stiffen. I know him. Not face-to-face, but by rumors.
*Calder.*
Rogue. Sadist. Vampire who survives on anarchy. The kind the Council tries to say doesn't exist.
"Back off, Calder," I warn.
He tilts his head to one side. "Why would I do that when you've brought me such a. tempting diversion?" His gaze drifts to Julian, hungry and curious. "You always had a weakness for pretty humans.".
I stalk between them, my voice frosty. "Touch him, and I'll pull out your heart."
"Ooh," Calder laughs, clearly delighted. "There's the beast they whisper about. I thought you'd lost your edge for sure."
Julian bristles behind me. I can feel it—the trepidation, the fear seedling. He doesn't even have a notion of how near he is to true harm. This is not a game any longer.
"Get out," I growl.
But Calder's smile widens. "Make me."
I don't waste any time.
In a flash, I've closed the distance between us, my fist planting on his jaw. He takes a step back, laughing, even as blood bursts on his lip.
"Oh, this *is* fun," he says, cleaning at his mouth. "Come on, Selene. Let's see what that accursed blood of yours can do.".
I move faster than he expects, slamming him up against the chapel wall. The stone cracks beneath the impact. He snarls, fangs bared, as he takes his hand from around my throat and pushes me off him. I turn in mid-air, land on my feet, and strike again.
The fight is brutal. Fast. A tempest of claws and teeth and fury.
But I'm stronger.
Because I'm *hungry*.
Because I'm *angry*.
Because he threatened the one individual I can't possibly lose.
I hold him at last, my forearm against his throat, my other hand locked around his chest where his heart thumps. "Say. It. Again."
His eyes flash with something that's not quite fear, not quite admiration. "You're still one of us, Selene. No matter how pretty you play at being human. Eventually… they'll see you the way I do."
I press harder. "You're not one of *me*. And you never will be."
Then I let him go.
He thumps onto the ground, gasping, coughing, but still laughing like a lunatic. "You should've killed me."
"Don't tempt me."
He vanishes in a flash of darkness, retreating like the coward that he is.
And the night grows quiet again.
Except for Julian.
He hasn't made a sound.
When I turn to him, he's staring at me—not in fear, but worse.
Silence.
I clean blood off my lip and try to settle my breathing. "You okay?"
He nods, slowly, but he doesn't take a step forward.
"You're hurt," he says.
"I've had worse."
He looks at the destroyed chapel wall. "What *was* that?"
My throat constricts. "Someone who shouldn't have been here."
"You said his name. Calder?"
I nod.
"And you fought him like… like—"
"Like a monster," I compete with him, voice even. "You don't have to say it."
He moves towards me, hesitant. "I didn't say that."
"You don't have to."
"I just watched you dispatch a supernatural freak of nature," he says. "That's not turning you into a monster. That's turning you into a protector."
I look at him. "Julian… you don't know. I wanted to kill him."
"But you didn't."
"Not because I was kind. Because you were present. Because you were looking. Do you know what that means?"
He pauses for a moment, then: "That you're trying."
Something cracks in me at that. A sound, raw and fragile, passes through my throat, and I turn away.
"I'm trying," I say, my voice almost inaudible. "But I don't know how long I can."
Julian steps closer until he's standing directly in front of me. "Then let me help you."
His hand extended again toward mine. I flinch.
"I don't want to hurt you."
"You won't."
"You don't know that."
He lets out a quiet breath. "I'm not afraid of you, Selene."
"You should be."
We stand there holding the silence for a moment, wind picking up and blowing through leaves along the flagstone path. I need to walk away. I need to run.
Instead, I step closer.
Our foreheads touch, a fragile thread between two impossibilities. His breath warms my skin. Mine is in shallow, uncertain puffs. I can sense the pulse in his neck, strong and alive.
And I need it.
Not just the blood—but *him*. The tenderness. The fire. The realness I've been denied for so long.
"I don't know what this is," I whisper. "But it feels like it's going to kill me."
He lifts my chin with his fingers. "Then let it kill us both."
My lips are against his.
Soft. Tasting. Scared to death.
And yet—destined.
He's coffee and a shot of adrenaline and that unmistakable *Julian* taste. For one moment, the world vanishes.
Then I pull away.
"I can't," I pant. "Not yet."
He nods, not pushing the matter. "I'll wait."
We both know waiting won't protect us.
I leave him there, moonlight bathing him, and disappear into the city. My skin still burning from his touch, my head a whirlwind of need and wariness.
I need answers.
I need control.
And I need to know who sent Calder—because that was no accident.
Someone needs me to lose control.
Someone needs me to be revealed.
And if I'm not careful, Julian won't just be collateral damage.
He'll be the reason I burn.