Chapter 27: Hunt under the White Snow

Silence swallowed the room.

Even Timi had nothing immediate to say.

I was the one who broke it.

“So you used me?”

Her eyes snapped to mine.

“Of course not, Daniel. Can’t you see? Now we can be together. My family will hate me for what I’ve done. They’ll probably disown me eventually.”

There was no fear in her tone.

“Which means I’m free. Just like Juliet freed you.”

Juliet and I exchanged a look. A silent one. Complicated.

Juliet spoke first. “We don’t have time for this. What’s done is done. No use crying over spilled milk. At least now we have a new advantage against the Braves.”

“But how do we clean this mess?” I asked.

Ayara waved her hand dismissively. “Don’t worry, Daniel. The maids will take care of it.”

“Won’t they talk?”

“They dare not. If they do, they risk death. And they know it.”

She looked down at her wrist.

The skin there was smooth. Flawless.

She smiled and held it out to us.

“Look. My scar is gone.”

Not even a line remained.

Timi exhaled slowly. “Juliet. Daniel. Let’s leave her. Ayara, get someone to your bath and get rid of the body. We need to prepare. It’s almost nightfall.”

We walked out, leaving her alone in the silver-lit chamber.

The corridor felt colder now.

“Who told her about the process of becoming a vampire?” Timi asked as we descended the hallway.

“I did,” I replied.

“Of course it was you,” he muttered.

Juliet glanced between us. “But she has to stay in the dark for the rest of her life, right?”

Timi shook his head slightly. “I don’t think so. She’s still part werewolf. That bloodline may shield her from the sun. At least… that’s my theory.”

“A theory?” Juliet asked.

“She’s something that’s never existed before,” he replied. “We’re all guessing.”

We walked in silence after that.

Each of us replaying what had just happened.

Ayara was no longer just a princess.

She was the first hybrid.

The first vampire-wolf.

We reached Timi’s chambers.

Warriors from the previous night were already gathered outside the doors. When they saw us, they bowed deeply.

Their armor still bore scratches from battle. Some had dried blood staining their sleeves.

The air smelled faintly of steel and oil.

As we stepped inside, Juliet’s eyes lifted toward the shattered window.

The cold wind still pushed through the broken frame.

“What happened to the window?” she asked.

Timi and I looked at each other.

Neither of us spoke.

Juliet’s gaze narrowed slightly.

“Let’s get started,” Timi said firmly, walking toward the large strategy table at the center of the room.

Juliet leaned slightly toward me and whispered, “What happened?”

“I threw him off,” I murmured.

She let out a small laugh beneath her breath.

Timi’s eyes flicked toward her. He didn’t need enhanced hearing to know.

He knew.

But he said nothing.

The warriors gathered around the long oak table where maps of the kingdom were spread open. Small carved figures marked battalions and enemy positions.

The memory of the previous night hung heavy between us.

We had met here under torchlight.

The Braves had breached the eastern forests. Entire villages near the border had been burned. Survivors spoke of creatures fighting alongside them—mercenaries who feared neither fang nor claw.

Timi had led the discussion then.

He stood at the head of the table, outlining their formations. The Braves were using wedge assaults—fast strikes meant to overwhelm before retreating.

Juliet had suggested reinforcing the river crossings. “They want us spread thin,” she’d said. “So we stop reacting and start predicting.”

I had argued for striking first.

“If we hit their supply lines at dusk, we weaken them before the full moon. Their wolf units will be strongest then.”

There had been tension even then.

Ayara had been present at that meeting too—silent, listening, absorbing every word.

Now we understood why.

She hadn’t just been worried about the war.

She’d been planning her place in it.

Timi placed both hands on the table now.

“Tonight,” he said, voice steady, “we adjust the strategy.”

The warriors straightened.

“We are no longer just wolves defending a kingdom.”

His eyes flicked briefly toward me. Then toward Juliet.

“And we are no longer just vampires fighting for survival.”

His voice lowered.

“We have something new.”

No one said her name.

But everyone felt it.

The first hybrid.

And whether she would be their greatest weapon—

Or their greatest mistake—

remained to be seen.

Soon after, the warriors were dismissed.

Juliet and I turned toward the door as well, ready to leave.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Timi’s voice stopped us.

Juliet didn’t even turn around. “To prepare ourselves mentally,” she said lightly.

“Very funny,” he replied flatly. “You’re coming with me.”

I frowned. “Where to?”

“Just come.”

There was something in his tone that told me not to argue.

He led us out of his chambers—not toward the main halls, not toward the training grounds, but down a narrow corridor I had never noticed before. The torches thinned as we walked. The stone walls grew colder, rougher.

Then we reached a stairwell.

And we kept going down.

One level.

Then another.

And another.

The air changed the deeper we descended—heavier, damp, carrying the scent of stone that had never seen sunlight.

Finally, we reached a hollow corridor carved into the earth itself. Fire sticks were mounted along the walls, their flames flickering and casting long, restless shadows that danced across the floor.

At the end of the corridor stood iron doors.

Timi pushed them open.

A dungeon.

Inside, several men were chained to the walls. Their clothes, once white, were now stained and dull. Dirt and time had stripped away whatever dignity they once carried.

But they weren’t afraid.

They looked angry.

Defiant.

“Go ahead,” Timi said simply.

Juliet frowned. “What do you mean?”

“We need you both at your strongest,” he replied. “Which means you feed until you can’t feed anymore.”

My gaze lingered on the men.

They stared back at us—not pleading. Not trembling.

Waiting.

“So we just… go for it?” I asked.

“Yeah,” Timi said calmly. “I’ll join you.”

Juliet stepped forward first, studying them like she was measuring distance.

I moved closer too.

But just as I was about to reach for one of them, I stopped.

“I can’t do this.”

Juliet and Timi both paused.

The chained men watched carefully.

“What are you talking about?” Timi asked.

“It doesn’t feel right,” I said. “It’s too easy. There’s no challenge. No instinct in this. It should be a hunt—not whatever this is.”

For a second, there was silence.

Then Juliet laughed softly.

Timi followed.

“Okay,” he said, folding his arms. “So what do you propose?”

I thought for a moment.

Then it came to me.

“Release them into the field. Let them run. We hunt them.”

Timi stared at me.

“You’re really crazy. Do you know that?”

I shrugged.

A slow grin spread across his face.

“But let’s do it anyway.”

—

The guards were summoned.

Under Timi’s orders, ten of the prisoners were unchained. Iron shackles clanged against the dungeon floor as they were removed. The men flexed stiff wrists but said nothing.

They knew.

We all did.

The guards escorted us up and out of the underground corridors, through a side gate of the castle, and into an open field blanketed in snow. The night was sharp and cold. Frost clung to the trees lining the edges of the clearing.

The ten men were brought forward.

At first, they were reluctant to move.

They stood there, breathing heavily, eyes darting between us and the endless stretch of white before them.

They understood what we intended.

“Run,” Timi said simply.

None of them moved.

For a moment, pride held them in place.

Then one broke.

He turned suddenly and sprinted into the snow.

Another followed.

Then another.

Within seconds, all ten were running—boots slipping slightly against the frozen ground as they pushed themselves toward the tree line.

Juliet looked at me.

Timi looked at both of us.

We exchanged a silent understanding.

Then it happened.

Our faces shifted.

Eyes darkened.

Veins surfaced faintly beneath pale skin.

Fangs descended.

The cold air filled my lungs—and then we ran.

The snow barely slowed us. We moved like shadows across white ground, faster than the eye could follow. The distance between hunter and prey closed rapidly.

One man glanced back.

He screamed.

I caught the first easily, tackling him into the snow. The impact sent powder into the air. His heartbeat pounded wildly beneath my grip.

Then I fed.

Warmth spread instantly through me.

Around the field, similar cries echoed.

Juliet moved with precision—silent, efficient.

Timi was brutal, relentless.

One by one, the running figures fell.

The snow that had been untouched and white was no longer clean.

The guards remained at the edge of the field, watching without expression.

By the time it was over, the night was quiet again.