Chapter 30 "Echoes of Blood and Moon"
The Dream That Wasn't His
Cold.
Not the kind that brushed against skin and passed.
This cold stayed.
It settled into bone, into breath, into thought—until even the act of standing felt like defiance against the world itself.
Blue felt it before he understood anything else.
Before sight. Before sound.
Before himself.
He tried to move.
His body responded—but not the way he expected.
He looked down.
Claws.
Large. Scarred. Trembling.
His breath came out in thick clouds of frost as the world slowly pulled itself into focus.
Snow.
Trees.
Smoke.
And then—
Blood.
The scent hit him like a wall.
Sharp. Metallic. Fresh.
Everywhere.
Screams followed.
Not one. Not two.
Dozens.
Layered over each other in a chorus of panic, rage, and death.
Blue's head snapped up.
Across the clearing—
A settlement burned.
Not human.
Not clean.
Stone structures carved from the earth itself. Totems of bone and claw embedded in the ground. Symbols of a pack. Of a clan.
Now reduced to ash and flame.
Figures moved through the chaos.
Werewolves.
Fighting.
Falling.
Dying.
And at the center—
Him.
X.
But not the man Blue knew.
This version of X was colder.
Quieter.
His eyes burned white—bright enough to cut through the firelight. His wings were fully spread, massive and oppressive, casting shadows that swallowed everything around him.
Blood coated him.
Not splattered.
Layered.
Like he had been moving through it for a long time.
He didn't hesitate.
Didn't pause.
Didn't even breathe like someone fighting for survival.
He moved like someone finishing a task.
A werewolf lunged—
X caught it mid-air.
No effort.
No strain.
Just control.
He slammed it into the ground so hard the snow exploded upward, then in one smooth motion—
The blade moved.
The head fell.
Blue felt something inside him twist violently.
He tried to step forward.
He didn't.
His body stepped back instead.
Hiding.
Watching.
The realization hit him like a second blow.
This wasn't just a dream.
This was a memory.
And it wasn't his.
⸻
The Alpha Falls
A massive figure burst through the flames.
Larger than the rest.
Stronger.
Eyes burning with authority and fury.
The Alpha.
Varkuun's father.
He roared—a sound that shook the trees and silenced everything else for a heartbeat.
Then he charged.
The impact when he met X cracked the earth.
Claws collided with steel. Wing met fang. Snow and fire exploded around them as they tore through the battlefield.
For the first time—
X was pushed back.
Blue—no, Varkuun—felt something rise in his chest.
Hope.
He can win…
The Alpha drove X through a stone pillar.
The structure shattered.
"YES…" Varkuun whispered.
The Alpha lunged again—
And X caught him.
Mid-strike.
Perfectly.
Stillness fell.
X's voice cut through it.
"You shouldn't have come south."
No anger.
No hatred.
Just finality.
The Alpha snarled, pushing forward—
X didn't move.
Then—
He did.
Too fast.
A flash of motion.
Steel.
Silence.
The Alpha stood frozen.
Then—
He fell.
His head separated cleanly.
The body followed.
Hope died with him.
⸻
The Witness Who Ran
The rest collapsed after that.
The pack broke.
Some ran.
Some begged.
Some kept fighting.
None survived.
X hunted them all.
Relentless.
Precise.
Complete.
Varkuun's body shook violently as he pressed himself into the shadows of a collapsed wall.
His claws dug into the stone hard enough to crack it.
He couldn't move.
Couldn't breathe.
Couldn't even look away.
All he could do—
Was watch everything he knew disappear.
Tears blurred his vision.
His chest tightened.
His voice came out broken.
"I'll kill you…"
Barely a whisper.
"I'll kill you… I swear it…"
He ran.
Not in battle.
Not in rage.
In fear.
And the memory followed him.
⸻
II. Awakening
Blue shot upright.
A scream tore from his throat before he even realized he was awake.
"NO—!"
His body trembled violently, breath uneven, heart slamming against his ribs like it was trying to escape.
Footsteps pounded down the hallway.
The door burst open.
X was first.
Then Selene.
Then Zak.
Rito. Kin. Gus.
"What happened?!" X demanded, already scanning the room.
Blue struggled to speak.
"I—I saw it…"
Selene stepped closer.
"Saw what?"
Blue's eyes were still wide.
"…him."
Silence.
"…Varkuun."
He swallowed hard.
"I wasn't just watching. I was… inside him. I saw everything. His father… his clan… all of it."
Rito and Kin exchanged a glance.
Subtle.
Quick.
But there.
Nervous.
Gus frowned.
"That's not just a nightmare…"
Blue shook his head.
"No. It wasn't."
He looked at X.
"You killed them. All of them."
Silence filled the room.
Heavy.
Unavoidable.
Rito straightened.
"…Then let them come."
Kin nodded beside her, though his voice was quieter.
"Yeah… we're not afraid."
Selene didn't respond.
She was already looking at X.
Something deeper in her expression.
Measured.
Concerned.
"I need to confirm this," she said quietly.
X didn't argue.
He just nodded.
⸻
III. The Cellar — Truth Through Blood
The air in the cellar was colder than the rest of the house.
Still.
Heavy.
Mira sat where she had been left—chains binding her, eyes hollow from exhaustion and fear.
She looked up as Selene entered.
"…Please—"
Selene didn't acknowledge her plea.
"Stand."
Mira hesitated.
Selene's eyes glowed faintly.
Mira stood.
Shaking.
Selene stepped closer.
"Open your connection."
Mira froze.
"I—I can't—"
Selene placed her hand against her forehead.
"You can."
Magic surged.
Not violent.
Not loud.
But absolute.
The connection snapped open.
⸻
Through the Enemy's Eyes
Selene saw the cavern.
Heard the voices.
Varkuun.
The Moon Witch.
The plan unfolding in detail—
"…the puppet will mirror me exactly…"
"…same strength… same presence…"
"…we take the fae and the human first…"
"…they won't hesitate… they'll come…"
"…we choose where the fight happens…"
"…we control everything…"
The detail was precise.
Intentional.
Layered.
This wasn't a reckless attack.
This was strategy.
Then—
A shift.
Something noticed.
A presence colder than the rest.
The Vampire Queen.
She turned.
Looked directly into Selene.
"…Sister."
The connection shattered.
Mira collapsed.
Selene stepped back slowly.
Breathing steady.
But her eyes—
Sharp.
Focused.
⸻
IV. The Plan
They gathered again.
Not rushed.
Not panicked.
Deliberate.
X stood at the head of the room.
Selene beside him.
Blue across from them.
Rito. Kin. Gus. Zak forming the circle.
Selene spoke first.
"They're not attacking blindly," she said.
"They're building a scenario."
She looked directly at Rito and Kin.
"You two are the targets."
Neither of them spoke.
Rito crossed her arms.
"Good."
Kin exhaled slowly.
"…Then we know where to start."
X stepped forward.
"No. That means you're the center of the trap."
Gus frowned.
"So we flip it."
Selene nodded.
"We let them believe it's working."
Blue's voice was steady now.
"They think I'll chase. That we'll react."
He looked around the room.
"Then we don't."
Zak leaned forward.
"We prepare the ground instead."
Selene continued.
"They want control of the battlefield. Terrain. timing. pressure."
X finished the thought.
"Then we take it from them."
They began laying it out.
Step by step.
Positions.
Movement.
Fallback points.
Magic anchors.
Fae barriers.
Warlock counters.
Hybrid strikes.
Nothing rushed.
Everything considered.
Blue spoke again.
"If the puppet is as strong as him… then we don't treat it like a distraction."
Selene nodded.
"We treat it like the real Alpha."
Kin added quietly,
"And assume the real one is watching."
Rito tightened her grip on her blades.
"Good. Let him watch."
Selene looked around the room.
"One mistake… and they control the fight."
X's voice was calm.
"Then we don't make one."
Silence followed.
Not fear.
Not doubt.
Focus.
But unseen—
Unspoken—
They had only heard part of the plan.
And Varkuun…
Had already accounted for that.
⸻
End of Chapter 30