Page 5 of The Blood Moon Hunt

"Power?" Lucien scoffs, his lips curling beneath the pale mask. “They’re just human. Weak. There’s nothing special about any of them.”

The dismissal in his tone grates against my nerves. Typical Lucien. Cold, detached, always so sure of his own superiority. I keep my expression unreadable, but my mind turns over his words.Human. The word used to hold weight, back when warlocks like us were at our prime. Now? It’s an illusion.

The truth is, our power has been fading. For centuries, warlocks like Ronan, Lucien, Adrian, and myself have fought to maintain the facade of strength, of dominance over the mortal realm. But the magic we wield comes at a cost—a terrible one. Every warlock knows it, whether they admit it or not. We burn through souls, using them like kindling to fuel our magic. It’s what gives us the ability to bend reality to our will, to manipulate the elements, to tear the very fabric of existence apart if we choose to.

But that magic is hungry. It takes and takes, and with each soul we consume, it corrupts us a little more. It taints our minds, warping our thoughts, making us more...like them. Feral. Unpredictable. It destroys everything around us, leaves us hollow, rotting from the inside out, and yet we continue to pay the price. We call it power, but it's a curse.

I glance at the other warlocks. Ronan’s barely contained fury, Lucien’s chilling calm, Adrian’s ever-calculating mind. They all know it, too, but they’ve made their peace with it. They’ll burn through their souls until there’s nothing left. They’ll take what they can from this Hunt, claim their prizes, and leave these women ruined in the process.

Because that's what happens. These humans... they will be hunted. Their souls will be claimed, devoured to fuel the warlocks' magic for a little longer. And after the Hunt, they’ll be left empty, hollowed out, marked by the magic that has ravaged them. Ruined for anyone else, for any other man. They’ll return to their lives, but they won’t be the same. They’ll carry the scars of this night, invisible yet ever-present, and no matter what they do, they’ll never feel whole again.

I know all of this. I’ve seen it countless times. And I’ve justified it, over and over, because this is the price of power. This is the game we play. But tonight, as I glance back at Selene, something gnaws at me. Her face, her eyes... there’s more to her than any of the others. There’s a spark inside her that hasn’t been touched by the darkness of this world yet. It makes me wonder if I’m willing to let her be torn apart like the rest.

I can’t afford to think that way. I shouldn’t. The Order is watching, and any sign of hesitation will be seen as weakness.

But Lucien’s words echo in my mind:They’re just human.

Not her, I think, and I swallow down the guilt that threatens to rise. I have to stay focused, play my role. Selene is different, yes. But the Hunt has rules, and I am bound by them as much as anyone else.

Adrian’s gaze sharpens as he turns to me, his eyes narrowing. “You must have felt it too, Damien. There’s more going on here than just the Hunt.”

For a split second, our eyes lock, and I know he’s testing me. He’s looking for a crack in my facade, a sign that I’ve felt what he’s felt. I can feel the suspicion hanging in the air between us, but I keep my tone measured, careful not to give anything away.

“The Order has chosen this year’s participants carefully, as they always do,” I say, deflecting. “If there’s something more, we’ll discover it during the Hunt.”

Adrian studies me for another long moment before nodding, though I can tell he’s not entirely convinced. He’s always been the one to look deeper, to question everything. But for now, he seems satisfied.

“Either way,” Ronan says, breaking the tension with a wicked grin, “it’s about time we get started. The sooner we begin, the sooner we can claim what’s ours.”

Lucien’s cold smile returns. “Indeed. I look forward to seeing who proves themselves this year.”

I glance at the three of them—Ronan’s raw aggression, Lucien’s icy control, Adrian’s quiet calculation—and I know that this year’s Hunt is different. There’s something stirring beneath the surface, something the others haven’t fully grasped yet.

Something about Selene.

I push the thought aside, focusing on the task at hand. The Order is watching. The Hunt must proceed, and I have a role to play.

With a nod to the others, I step forward, preparing to address the crowd.

Chapter

Four

SELENE

The thrum of the music vibrates through my chest as I make my way back to the dance floor. I can still feel the heat from Damien’s touch lingering on my skin, the memory of that moment searing into my mind. My friends are in the middle of the crowd, swaying to the beat, oblivious to the turmoil building inside me.

I try to shake it off, telling myself it was just an intense encounter, but I can’t ignore the pull I feel toward him. As I reach my friends, the air seems to shift. There’s a buzz of excitement in the crowd, and I can’t help but glance up toward the platform. Damien is there, standing with the other three men, all of themstill masked, but their eyes are locked on the room below. Or, more specifically, on me.

I swallow hard, trying to lose myself in the music like everyone else, but my body hums with awareness. Something’s different. Something’s coming.

The music suddenly softens, and a hush falls over the crowd. The shift is so subtle at first that it’s easy to miss, but then I notice—everyone is quiet. The energy in the room changes, becoming thick with tension. I glance at my watch. Five minutes to midnight.

The crowd parts slightly as Damien steps forward, his presence commanding as he stands at the edge of the platform. His voice echoes around the club, amplified by something unseen, and it wraps around me, sending chills down my spine.

“Welcome to the Hunt,” he says, his tone deep and reverberating. The crowd murmurs in response, a mix of excitement and curiosity buzzing through the air.

Damien continues, “This year is special. In one month, the Blood Moon will rise, and with it, we will celebrate the Hunt in a way that has not been done in centuries.”

---