The night was no longer night.
The sky burned with streaks of molten silver as chains stretched endlessly across the heavens, dragging against the stars like they were scraping bone. Each groan of metal was a hymn of judgment. Each spark that fell became a beast clawing its way into the mortal realm.
Selene staggered, clutching her chest as if she could hold her soul inside with sheer force. Her eyes flickered between their familiar violet and the cold, merciless white of the gods who sought to claim her. The broken oath wasn't just chains—it was a living curse, one that had wrapped itself around her spirit like a predator playing with its prey.
Kael stood before her, his blade dripping with the ichor of the first beast he had slain. His breathing was shallow, his wounds grave, but his back never bent. He was the wall between Selene and the divine executioners.
"Stay with me," he growled, his voice cracked but unyielding. "Don't let them take you."
But the gods were relentless.
The second beast descended from the chains above, this one shaped like a wolf with wings made of moonstone shards. Its body shimmered, half-transparent, as though it existed both in this world and beyond it. Its howl rattled bones and shattered the weapons of weaker warriors nearby. The pack behind them faltered, their courage crumbling under the weight of something no mortal was meant to fight.
Selene's knees buckled, her hands slamming into the earth as the divine voice surged through her again.
"The chains hunt the oath-breaker. The flesh must pay. The soul must yield."
She screamed, her blood glowing beneath her skin like molten silver, veins etching across her arms in unnatural patterns. Every word from the gods seared into her body, reshaping her, claiming her.
Kael dropped to one knee in front of her, gripping her face with blood-soaked hands. "Selene, listen to me. They are not gods. They're cowards hiding behind chains. Look at me. Hear me. You are stronger than them."
Her lips trembled, her fangs elongating, eyes glazing with godlight. "I—Kael, I can't—"
"You can." His forehead pressed against hers, desperate and raw. "Because I won't let you go."
The winged wolf lunged. Kael twisted, dragging Selene against him as he raised his sword. The impact sent him flying back, the bones in his arm shattering with a sickening crack. He hit the ground, coughing blood, but his grip on Selene never loosened.
The beast reared back for another strike.
Selene rose before it could, her body trembling as both her will and the gods fought for control. Her voice split, layered with two tones—hers and the divine.
"You want my soul?" she hissed. "Come rip it from me yourself."
She charged, her blade gleaming with the fractured light of the moon. The wolf met her in a clash that shook the clearing. Sparks of silver and crimson rained as steel met divine flesh. Each strike burned her, every touch of the beast searing her veins, but she pushed forward.
Behind her, the chains writhed, tightening their pull. From their links, more shapes began to form—more hunters sent to drag her into eternal bondage.
The pack screamed her name, some rushing forward despite their terror. They were nothing against the divine, and still, they charged. Not for victory, but because their Alpha had not yet fallen.
Blood sprayed. Bones shattered. The clearing became a massacre.
Through it all, Selene roared, her voice drowning out the gods, if only for a heartbeat.
The chains did not stop. They only grew hungrier.