The full moon hung like a polished silver disc in the midnight sky, illuminating Duke Maximilian's territory forest with an ethereal glow. Standing at the forest's edge, Maximilian adjusted his perfectly tailored hunting attire—a bck ensemble that had never seen actual hunting—and tried to appear confident about the night ahead. Beside him, Lord Elias looked far more composed in his equally pristine outfit, though his violet eyes betrayed a hint of amusement at the situation.

  "As the Crimson Protocol dictates, the traditional hunt is a sacred ritual dating back to the earliest days of vampire nobility, approximately forty-seven years ago," Maximilian expined, his schorly tone failing to mask his obvious discomfort. "Historically, it symbolizes the... um... predatory union of noble houses."

  Elias nodded solemnly, though the corner of his mouth twitched. "And what exactly are we hunting, Your Grace?"

  Maximilian blinked. He'd been so focused on memorizing the ceremonial aspects that he hadn't actually considered the practical question. "I believe... traditional game. Whatever that may be."

  "You have no idea, do you?" Elias asked, his voice lilting with barely suppressed ughter.

  "I've read extensively about hunting practices," Maximilian said defensively, adjusting his gsses out of habit. "I simply haven't had occasion to... apply the knowledge."

  The small gathering of vampire nobles waited expectantly at the ceremonial send-off point. Among them, Maximilian's advisor Lord Harrington watched with thinly veiled skepticism, while Elias's handmaid Georgina fussed with his hunting cloak one final time.

  "Remember, Your Grace," Lord Harrington murmured, "tradition dictates you must return with a trophy before dawn or face ceremonial humiliation at the next new moon gathering."

  Maximilian swallowed hard. Books were his comfort zone—hunting wild creatures in the dark was decidedly not. He'd spent the past three nights in his library researching hunting techniques, but the theoretical knowledge felt woefully inadequate as they faced the actual forest.

  "I'm certain we'll manage something impressive," Elias responded smoothly when Maximilian remained silent too long. He offered the gathered nobles his most dazzling smile. "The Duke's strategic mind combined with my... intuition should prove quite effective."

  The ceremonial horn sounded, signaling the beginning of the hunt. As tradition dictated, the nobles would remain at the forest edge while the Duke and his consort ventured alone into the wilderness. Maximilian and Elias exchanged a brief gnce before stepping forward together, the soft glow of moonlight guiding their path as they entered the forest.

  Once safely beyond earshot of the gathering, Elias's composure cracked. "I've never actually been in a forest before," he confessed with a small ugh. "Archduke Orlov considered nature 'unnecessarily organic' and preferred manicured gardens."

  Maximilian felt an unexpected rush of relief. "I haven't either. Not properly." He hesitated, then reached into his inner pocket, withdrawing a small compass. "I, ah... brought this. It's a direction-finding tool. Technically against tradition, but..."

  Elias's eyes widened with genuine curiosity. "What is that strange little box?"

  "It's called a compass," Maximilian expined, watching Elias study the object with childlike wonder. "The needle always points north, so you can find your way."

  "Always?" Elias stared at it, mesmerized by the gently swinging needle. "How does it know which way is north? Is it some kind of blood magic?"

  Maximilian smiled despite himself. "No magic. It's simply drawn to the north. Like... well, think of it as having a preference. The important thing is that it works."

  "Remarkable," Elias whispered, watching the needle swing as Maximilian turned the compass. "Archduke Orlov's court forbids such... things. He says they lead to questioning the natural order."

  "Which is precisely why they're worth preserving," Maximilian replied, a rare spark of passion breaking through his schorly reserve.

  They moved deeper into the forest, Maximilian consulting the compass while Elias peered curiously at their surroundings. The pine-scented air was filled with subtle night sounds—rustling leaves, distant animal calls, the occasional snapping twig.

  "So what exactly are we supposed to hunt?" Elias asked after they'd walked for nearly an hour without any strategic direction.

  "Traditional hunts usually target deer or wild boar," Maximilian expined, his academic knowledge finally proving useful. "Though I believe some northern territories use specialized blood-bears bred for the purpose."

  Elias stopped walking. "Blood-bears? That's a real creature?"

  "Oh yes, fascinating creatures. They're regur bears that have consumed vampire blood, making them more aggressive and—" Maximilian caught himself. "But they're not in this territory," he added quickly, noticing Elias's armed expression.

  "Thank goodness for small mercies," Elias muttered.

  A sudden rustling in the bushes ahead made them both freeze. Maximilian instinctively stepped in front of Elias, his vampire reflexes responding to potential threat despite his schorly demeanor.

  A magnificent stag emerged from the undergrowth, its antlers impressive against the moonlit backdrop. It regarded them with surprising calm, perhaps unaccustomed to predators in the Duke's protected forest.

  "There's our trophy," Elias whispered.

  Maximilian nodded, though he felt a curious reluctance. In theory, he knew exactly how to proceed—vampire speed and strength made hunting almost trivially easy. Yet he hesitated, admiring the creature's dignified stance.

  "You don't want to kill it, do you?" Elias asked softly.

  "It seems... unnecessary," Maximilian admitted. "We don't need the blood or meat, and it's quite a magnificent specimen."

  Elias smiled. "We could just... say we hunted something? Take a fallen antler as proof?"

  "Falsifying hunt results?" Maximilian raised an eyebrow, oddly charmed by the suggestion. "That would be significantly against protocol."

  "Would anyone actually know?"

  "No," Maximilian admitted. "And it would be more interesting to observe rather than destroy it."

  A howl cut through the night, startlingly close. The stag bolted, disappearing into the trees with impressive speed. Maximilian and Elias exchanged armed gnces.

  "Wolves," Maximilian said quietly. "Not entirely unexpected in this forest region."

  "Are they..." Elias hesitated, "...dangerous to vampires?"

  "Not individually, no. But in packs... it's best not to find out." Maximilian checked the compass with increasing concern. "That's odd. The needle keeps shifting."

  More howls joined the first, creating a chorus that seemed to surround them. Even with vampire night vision, the forest suddenly felt oppressively dark, the shadows between trees concealing potential threats.

  "I think we should return to the ceremony site," Elias suggested, his usual composure slipping.

  "Agreed." Maximilian tapped the compass with growing concern. "If I can just figure out which direction we came from..."

  A louder howl, much closer this time, made them both jump. Maximilian dropped the compass, which hit a stone with a sickening crack before tumbling into a small stream.

  "Oh no," he gasped, diving for it. The compass was waterlogged, its needle spinning uselessly. "No, no, no..." He pulled it from the water, frantically trying to dry it.

  "Is it...?" Elias asked.

  "Temporarily unusable," Maximilian said, unwilling to admit it was likely permanently damaged. "But I'm sure I can navigate us back using... the stars."

  Elias looked skeptical. "The stars?"

  "Precisely. If we just..." Maximilian scanned the night sky, searching for familiar consteltions, but the forest canopy obscured much of his view. "This way," he decred with more confidence than he felt, pointing in what he hoped was the direction of the ceremony site.

  An hour ter, they were unquestionably lost. The forest had become a maze of identical-looking trees, each path leading deeper into unfamiliar territory. The wolf howls had grown intermittently closer, then farther, suggesting the pack was on the move.

  "We're walking in circles," Elias finally said as they emerged into a clearing they'd definitely seen before.

  Maximilian sighed, his schorly pride defting. "I miscalcuted. The trees are blocking too much of the sky, and without my compass..."

  "We're lost," Elias transted, but there was no accusation in his tone. "It's actually rather refreshing to discover something you're not expertly knowledgeable about."

  "Being lost in wolf territory is refreshing?" Maximilian asked incredulously.

  "No, that part is terrifying," Elias admitted with a small ugh. "But seeing the composed Duke Maximilian out of his element... there's something almost comforting about it."

  Maximilian adjusted his gsses, unsure how to respond. Before he could formute a suitable reply, the wolf howls suddenly intensified, much closer than before.

  "They're coming this way," Elias whispered.

  Maximilian scanned their surroundings, his mind rapidly cataloging options. "There," he pointed to a massive fallen tree, its upturned roots creating a sheltered hollow. "It's not ideal, but it might hide our scent temporarily."

  They hurried to the fallen giant, squeezing into the earthy hollow beneath its roots. The space was cramped, forcing them to press close together. Maximilian became acutely aware of Elias's proximity in a way that would have been mortifying under normal circumstances.

  "Do you think they'll find us?" Elias whispered, his face mere inches from Maximilian's.

  "Wolves have excellent noses," Maximilian whispered back, falling into his familiar lecturing tone as he often did when nervous. "But all this dirt might mask our scent enough to—"

  He fell silent as shadowy forms loped into the clearing—three massive wolves with silvery fur gleaming in the moonlight. They moved with deliberate purpose, sniffing the air and scanning the clearing with attentive eyes.

  Elias pressed closer to Maximilian, who instinctively put an arm around him. They remained perfectly still, barely breathing as the wolves prowled the clearing. One approached their hiding pce, its snout twitching as it tested the air.

  Maximilian felt Elias tense against him. "It's alright," he found himself whispering, surprised by his own protective instinct. "They'll move on."

  The wolf came closer, its massive paws silent on the forest floor. It was close enough now that Maximilian could see its amber eyes reflecting the moonlight. For a heart-stopping moment, it seemed to look directly at their hiding pce.

  Then, surprisingly, it turned away, rejoining its packmates. After what seemed an eternity, the three wolves loped off into the forest, their silver forms disappearing among the trees.

  "They're gone," Maximilian whispered after several more minutes of silence.

  Neither moved immediately. In the tight confines of their hiding pce, Maximilian became acutely aware that he was still holding Elias close, the consort's head tucked against his shoulder.

  "That was... exhirating," Elias said quietly, making no effort to move away. "Is your territory always this exciting?"

  Maximilian found himself smiling. "Generally, I prefer my excitement confined to rare book discoveries and artifact authentication."

  "How disappointing. And here I was starting to think I might not be completely bored for the next century."

  "Boredom is underrated," Maximilian replied, but there was humor in his voice. "Particurly when the alternative involves wolf packs."

  Elias ughed softly, the sound oddly intimate in their small shelter. "I've never met anyone quite like you," he said after a moment. "At Archduke Orlov's court, everything was about appearances, politics, manipution. No one cared about knowledge for its own sake."

  Maximilian felt an unexpected warmth at the genuine admiration in Elias's voice. "Most vampires think I'm peculiar at best, possibly seditious at worst."

  "You are peculiar," Elias agreed, shifting slightly to look at him. "But in the most fascinating way."

  The moonlight filtering through the roots cast silver patterns across Elias's face, highlighting his features in a way that made Maximilian momentarily forget his usual eloquence. Academic knowledge had never prepared him for moments like this.

  "We should probably..." Maximilian gestured vaguely toward the clearing.

  "Right," Elias nodded, though neither moved immediately.

  When they finally extracted themselves from their hiding pce, the forest seemed different—less threatening somehow. The wolves had moved on, their howls now distant echoes.

  "So," Elias dusted himself off, "we still need a hunting trophy or face 'ceremonial humiliation,' whatever that entails."

  "Traditionally, it involves blood-wine stains on one's favorite formal attire and composition of humiliating poetry to be recited at the next gathering," Maximilian expined with surprising lightness.

  "How dreadful," Elias said with mock horror. "We simply must find something."

  As if on cue, a gleam of white caught Maximilian's eye near the base of a tree. He approached cautiously, then picked up a perfectly formed deer antler, shed naturally and untouched by decay.

  "Would this suffice as proof of our mighty hunting prowess?" he asked, holding it up.

  Elias's face lit up. "It's perfect! We can cim we tracked the mightiest stag in the forest but, being merciful rulers, decided to spare it after it offered tribute."

  "That's absurd," Maximilian said, but he was smiling. "No one would believe a deer willingly surrendered its antler."

  "You'd be surprised what vampire nobles will believe if delivered with sufficient conviction," Elias replied with a knowing look that spoke volumes about his experience in Orlov's court.

  Maximilian studied the broken compass one st time, then regretfully tucked it into his pocket. "Without this, I'm not entirely certain how to find our way back."

  Elias tilted his head, listening. "Do you hear that?"

  Maximilian focused his vampire hearing. Distantly, he could make out the ceremonial horns from the gathering. "The signal to end the hunt. Dawn must be approaching."

  "We can follow the sound," Elias suggested.

  They set off toward the distant horns, no longer concerned with maintaining formal distance or proper protocol. The shared adventure—however unintentional—had shifted something between them.

  "I still can't believe wolves simply ignored us," Elias said as they walked. "I was taught that wild animals would flee from vampire presence."

  "Not all animals react the same way," Maximilian expined. "Some seem to sense what we are, others don't. These wolves might be used to vampires from the territory patrols."

  "Or perhaps they simply didn't consider two lost, unarmed vampires worth the trouble," Elias suggested with a smirk.

  As they neared the forest edge, the sounds of the ceremonial gathering grew louder. Maximilian hesitated, suddenly reluctant to rejoin vampire society with its rigid protocols and expectations.

  "We should compose ourselves," he said, adjusting his hunting attire. "And agree on our hunting story."

  Elias reached out unexpectedly, straightening Maximilian's colr with familiar ease. "Follow my lead on the story," he said with a confidence that Maximilian found himself trusting. "Court performances are my specialty."

  "And getting lost in forests is apparently mine," Maximilian replied dryly.

  Elias ughed, the sound surprisingly genuine. "We complement each other, then."

  As they emerged from the forest, antler trophy held aloft, Maximilian realized with some surprise that it might actually be true. For the first time since the political marriage had been arranged, he found himself genuinely gd that Elias had come into his life—wolf encounters and all.

  The waiting nobles erupted in polite appuse at their return, and Elias unched into an eborately embellished tale of their hunting prowess while Maximilian watched with newfound appreciation. The consort's story was absurd, scientifically impossible, and utterly convincing to the gathered aristocrats.

  It was, Maximilian thought as dawn approached and the ceremony concluded, perhaps the most successful hunt in vampire history—though certainly not for the reasons the tradition intended.