Selene's POV.
Darkness.
Thick, endless, suffocating darkness. It wrapped around me like a second skin, heavy and cold. I tried to move, but my limbs didn’t respond. I tried to scream, but the sound died in my throat.
Am I dead?
A soft glow appeared in the distance, a warm, gentle light that broke through the void like a single star in an endless sky. I blinked, and the light pulsed softly, calling to me.
With aching steps, I walked toward it.
The shadows began to peel away, and soon I stood in a field of golden grass under a sky painted with soft pastels. A gentle breeze kissed my cheek, and I heard laughter—warm, familiar, healing.
“Santino?” I whispered.
He was there.
My brother stood just ahead of me, kneeling on the grass, laughing as he played with a small boy. The child was barely older than a toddler, cheeks flushed, his silver hair catching the light like moonlit silk. His laughter was a melody I had never heard, and yet I knew it like I’d known it forever.
My breath caught.
Was that… my baby?
My heart clenched painfully in my chest. My knees buckled, and I fell to the grass, covering my mouth as silent sobs shook me. The boy turned toward me, his innocent eyes sparkling with love and joy. Santino looked up too, smiling, his gaze soft and full of pride.
“Come here, Selene,” he called gently, like he used to when we were kids and I’d fallen and scraped my knees. “We’re waiting for you.”
I reached toward them, crawling forward with trembling hands.
But then—everything shattered.
The grass withered beneath me. The sky turned crimson. Laughter became a scream.
“Santino?” I cried, eyes wide.
He was on the ground.
Covered in blood.
His head—gone. His body torn to pieces, clawed by savage wolves. The scent of iron and rot filled the air. The world spun again.
“No. No, please!”
A few feet away, I saw something even worse—a tiny, underdeveloped body. A baby. Limbs barely formed. Blue, lifeless, discarded like trash.
“My baby!” I screamed, crawling toward it, cradling the tiny figure in my arms.
“I’m sorry,” I sobbed. “I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you... I’m so sorry…”
Pain ripped through me—not just in my chest, not just in my heart—but in my soul. I shook, screamed, cried until my throat tore.
And then—
A voice.
Faint. Muffled.
“Selene?”
I heard it through the fog, like someone calling from the other side of the ocean.
“Selene, stay with us.”
The light around me flickered. Something was tugging me. My body twisted, pulled upward. It felt like my bones were breaking apart, my veins freezing over. My skull throbbed, my mind spun, and the pain—
Gods, the pain.
It was everywhere. My skin, my lungs, my womb. Everything ached. My baby. My brother. Dead. Gone. Ripped from me.
I wanted to stay in the dark. I wanted to die.
But something wouldn't let me.
And then—
Light.
Blinding, sterile light. A flashlight was in my face. I gasped, instinctively flinching away, my throat raw as I jolted upright.
The doctor dropped the light in shock.
I was breathing. I was alive.
“You’re awake,” he murmured, stunned. His voice was deep, calm—but there was a flicker of awe in it. “By the stars, she woke up.”
I scanned the room, chest rising and falling rapidly. Five strangers stared back at me, each one distinct—each one not human.
Two women. Two men. And the doctor.
They were… beautiful. Otherworldly.
But their eyes. Their eyes.
Golden. Crimson. Indigo. Glowing slightly even in the well-lit room.
My breath caught.
Vampires.
I pushed myself back, fists clenched weakly. I had no strength, but my instincts screamed at me to be ready.
“Please, calm down,” the blonde woman said quickly, stepping forward with her hands raised. She was stunning—curves, gold hair, confidence radiating off her like heat from a flame. “We’re not here to hurt you.”
“I’m Rachelle,” she said gently. “This is Agatha—” she gestured to a petite, a woman wearing eye glasses but that didn't her beauty “—Spencer,” a hulking man who looked like a wall of muscle with arms crossed, “and Pierce.” The last one was lean, tall, and devastatingly handsome, with a lazy smirk and eyes that gleamed like firelight.
“And the man who checked your vitals is Winston,” she added. “He’s... well, our father, sort of. The one who keeps us alive.”
Before I could respond, another woman entered—elegant, mature, with silver-streaked hair and warm eyes.
“This is Carmella,” Winston said softly. “The mother of our little family.”
I looked between them, my throat tightening.
“What is this place?” I rasped. “Where... where am I?”
Before anyone could answer, a smooth voice came from the open window.
“Aren’t you the one who sent me the message?”
I turned my head sharply.
A man stepped through the window, as if the laws of gravity bowed to him. Midnight-black hair. Ruby eyes that glowed like embers. Taller than anyone else here. The moment our eyes met, I froze.
Him.
I’d only met him once—briefly. A wanderer in the woods, wounded. I had helped him. He’d given me a single enchanted feather in return. “If you ever need me,” he’d said, “just let this go on the wind.”
I had never known his name.
But I had trusted him.
My lips trembled. My eyes burned again.
“Y-you got my message?” I whispered.
He nodded solemnly. “I’m sorry I came late. I was in the human world. By the time the magic reached me, you were already on that table.”
I broke.
Everything poured out of me in a shuddering, guttural scream as I sobbed.
“They killed my brother!” I cried. “They tore him to pieces! And my baby—my child—he’s gone! They opened me up, they cut me open like I was nothing—like I was just—!”
My voice shattered. I collapsed forward, fists beating weakly against the man’s chest as he held me, murmuring soft apologies I couldn’t even hear.
“I lost everything,” I whispered. “I have nothing left…”
He held me tighter.
“Selene,” he said gently, pulling back just enough to look me in the eyes.
“There’s something you need to know… about your brother and your baby…”
