The night was older than silence itself. A red moon hung over the forgotten valley, its light spilling across the ruins of the Crimson Citadel like blood on stone. The wind carried no song—only whispers of things long buried.
Deep within the citadel's heart, sealed behind obsidian doors, a coffin trembled.
A single drop of blood—black and ancient—slid down the stone and touched the sigil carved into the lid. The air cracked. The walls pulsed. The sound of a heartbeat—slow, powerful—echoed through the chambers.
Then his eyes opened.
James Wilson inhaled sharply as centuries of darkness poured out of his lungs. His vision bled crimson before settling into silver. The world smelled of dust and decay, yet beneath it he could sense life—faint, trembling, fearful.
He rose from the coffin, his boots touching the floor with the weight of prophecy.
The last thing he remembered was fire, a war and the face of the one he couldn't save.
Now, silence.
"Welcome back, my lord," came a voice from the shadows.
Hannah johson stepped forward, her cloak whispering like silk. Her pale skin shimmered faintly in the torchlight, her eyes sharp as daggers. She had been waiting for this moment—his return foretold by the Blood Tablets.
"How long?" James voice was deep, worn but commanding.
"One hundred and eighty years since your slumber began," she replied softly. "The world has changed. The wolves have grown bold. The moon's children rise again."
James jaw tightened. "Then the prophecy stirs."
Hannah nodded. "The blood moon returned last night. The Luna Wolf has awakened."
At that name, something flickered in his chest—a sensation he hadn't felt in centuries. Pain. Or perhaps… recognition.
He stepped past her and looked through the cracked window of the citadel.Outside, lightning split the clouds. In the distance, howls tore through the valley. It wasn't the cry of beasts—it was a call of war.
"The world learned nothing," James muttered. "Still slaves to the curse of the gods."
Hannah's expression darkened. "Lord Thomas has been preparing for this. He believes the prophecy can be controlled… bent to our will."
James turned sharply. "He believes too much in power, and too little in fate."
Before she could answer, the floor shook. From the lower halls came the roar of awakening vampires—those who had slept beneath James's lineage, their thirst reawakening with their master.
Hannah whispered, "They feel you. The heir of blood has returned."
James closed his eyes, letting the sound of their cries flow through him. His power reached out instinctively—blood answering blood. The walls bled faintly as crimson veins crept up the stone, glowing softly in the dark.
Then, he stopped it. He would not let the curse consume him again.
"Summon the council," he ordered. "If the Luna Wolf has returned, war is not far behind."
Hannah hesitated. "And what of the prophecy?"
James looked toward the horizon, where the moon burned red above the mountains.
"We find her," he said. "Before the war—and before my father does."
🌕 Far across the valley…
In the heart of Moonvale Forest, a silver-haired woman knelt beside a stream.The moonlight shimmered on her skin, marking her as one of the blessed—the Luna Bloodline.
Chloe Brown washed the blood from her hands, her reflection rippling in the water. The scent of iron and smoke lingered in the air. Behind her, the forest whispered with restless spirits.
She had just returned from the border, where another of her kind had fallen to vampire blades.
Her wolf stirred within her, restless. Kill them all, it whispered.But Chloe ignored it, clutching a pendant shaped like a crescent fang—Martin White's token.
"I'll find the truth," she murmured. "Even if it destroys me."
A howl rose from the east—three short, one long.Gary White's signal.
Chloe stood, eyes glowing faintly gold. The pack was gathering. The Blood Moon had spoken.
She looked up at the burning sky. Somewhere out there, the heir of blood had awakened.
And when they met, prophecy would either end the curse… or begin it anew.