FORCED TO MATE THE WEREWOLF HUNTER

The wind howled like a wounded beast over the scorched tree trunks of Hollowmere. Blackened timbers jutted from the earth like broken teeth, ash curled in the air, and blood stained the dirt where a little human village had once stood.Seraphine Duskbane crouched over a half-burnt human skull, the bone still warm. She dipped two fingers into the blood pooled beside it and smeared a crude symbol across her jaw, three vertical slashes down the cheek, a hunter’s mark. Her fingers were steady. Her heartbeat wasn’t.A full blood Moon glared overhead, painting the ruins crimson.“Tracks end here,” said Dorian Vale, her second-in-command, stepping over the bloody pool with a crossbow slung across his back. “But the scent’s strong as hell. Must’ve shifted mid-fight. It’s fast, but it’s wounded.”Seraphine stood. “It’s a Pureblood.”Dorian nodded grimly. “High-ranking. No feral stink. We caught something big tonight, Commander.”Commander.It still felt foreign in her ears.Less than a week ag

Vaelspire Keep, The Forbidden VaultThe Vault doors groaned open, revealing shelves lined with tomes bound in skin and bone. All the ancient and forbidden books of the old were stored and recorded there. Books with knowledge too ancient, too powerful, and useful to their enemies were stored here.Alaric stepped inside, torch in hand, his eyes scanning until they found the one he needed. It read, Bloodborne Bonds: Curses, Hybrids, and Abominations.He flipped through the pages, stopping when he saw an illustration that made his heart freeze.Born of the Human, Turned to the Beast.‘The humans who played with the black magic, in their quest for the ultimate power, ingested a potion concocted from the depths of darkness that turned their bodies into an abomination. Neither man nor wolf for the rest of eternity. Their blood echoes both, but is claimed by neither.’“Thus, they are cursed to wander the earth with no sense of self. Their sole purpose was in the ripping of bones, splitting of

That night in Seraphine's room, sleep came with violent fits, and each nightmare felt worse than the last.She saw terrible fangs breathing out billows of smoke and fire everywhere. Her siblings were screaming. Her entire village was engulfed in smoke. Arctic blue eyes boring into her soul, bloody claws and grinning fangs slashing and lodging deep into her skin, eliciting a scream as she woke with a shocked gasp, drenched in sweat.A presence hovered in the dark.She grabbed her dagger and spun—Only to find a small envelope sitting on the windowsill, sealed with black wax.She looked around searching for the intruder, spotting no one and nothing out of place, Seraphine opened it.Inside was another letter with three words:“He will betray.” ,,,Vaelspire Keep In The Lower CryptsAlaric stood before a rusted iron door deep beneath the keep. The air tasted like bone dust and dark secrets waiting to be

Seraphine jolted awake from the loud clanging of the watch tower bell. It was a warning signal.Ironhold was about to be under attack.On autopilot, she strapped on her guild armor, putting on her boots, tucking in her silver daggers, and strapping on her weapons belt. With a passing glance at her mirror, she strode out of her quarters to find two burly guards standing at her door, as though they were waiting for her.“High Commander requests your presence, Duskbane.” The first said and turned on his heel without hearing her acquiesce.“Follow us.” The second guard echoed as he joined the first, both striding in the opposite direction of the Calvary where the hunt battalions and their commanders were assembling.No ‘Commander Duskbane’ or even ‘Hunter Duskbane’ Seraphine wondered at their beefy backs and shrugged off the discomfort she felt at their snobbish tones, as she matched their brisk pace.“What's happening out there? Who's attacking us? Is it the Hybrids or the Pure-Breeds?