THE SUN BOUND OMEN
I know something is wrong the moment I open my eyes.
The morning feels too quiet. Not peaceful quiet. The kind that wraps itself around your throat and tells you something is missing. Something important. Something you cannot afford to lose.
I sit up slowly and check my wrist.
Empty.
My stomach drops to my feet.
The Sun Bound Charm is gone.
The golden band that protects my vampire blood from exposing itself. The ancient piece of magic crafted by Serapha herself long before I was born. The charm that keeps sunlight from burning through my veins. The charm that hides the alpha energy that pulses beneath my skin.
It is missing.
And Liam has it.
I feel the truth before I admit it. My memory of last night plays again like a warning bell. The chase. The hunger. The river. The sting of his bolt. The moment I shifted out of alpha form and faded into darkness. The bracelet slipping from my hand when I lost control.
I pull myself out of bed with shaking fingers.
If Liam has it, the danger is not only about him discovering part of me. It is about who might sense the charm once it is exposed. Because that charm does not just protect me.
It calls to those who created it.
Serapha.
Mother of all vampire queens.
The Blood Empress.
I head downstairs, taking slow breaths. My parents are seated at the dining table. My father is reading through old territorial maps. My mother is slicing fruit but her movements are too careful. Too sharp.
She knows.
She senses it.
I open my mouth to speak but my father looks up first.
"You shifted last night."
It is not a question. It is a truth thrown across the room like a stone.
I swallow hard. "I did not mean to. The hunger. It was too strong."
Mother stands. Her eyes run across my neck, my arms, my wrist. She sees it instantly.
"Liora," she whispers. "Where is your charm."
I feel tears prick the corners of my eyes. "I lost it."
Her breath catches. She closes her eyes for a moment as if she is fighting the urge to scream. "You cannot lose that charm. You cannot. Do you understand what this means."
I do. I understand too well.
Father rises slowly. His voice holds no anger. Only fear. Fear I have never heard from him before.
"Tell us everything. From the moment the hunger started."
So I do. I tell them about the hunger that tore through me like fire. How I sneaked out. How my alpha form pulled itself free like a storm. How I ran through the forest with no thought except survival. How Liam chased me without knowing it was me. How he cornered me. How I escaped only because the Heartseal Talisman forced me back into human shape just in time.
Then I tell them the part that makes my mother grip the back of a chair.
"I dropped the charm. Liam picked it up. He showed it to me this morning. When I asked for it, he told me he lost it again."
Mother gasps like someone punched the air from her chest.
Father curses softly under his breath.
"Liam," he mutters. "Hunter blood. Of all people who could find it."
My mother does not sit. She whispers something in a language older than any human tongue. Something soft and sharp and filled with dread.
I hate that sound.
"Mom," I ask quietly. "The seer told me something yesterday. Before all of this happened."
They both look at me at once.
I take a breath.
"She said I am the key to an old prophecy. She said my bloodline wakes a power tied to the Sun Bound Charm. And she said someone is coming for it."
My parents freeze. The entire room feels like it stops breathing.
Father steps toward me first. "What name did she give."
I hesitate. The name burns under my tongue.
"Queen Serapha."
The silence that follows feels like the world is holding its breath.
My mother stumbles back a little. Her hand goes to her mouth. Her eyes widen with something I have never seen from her.
Fear. Deep fear.
"Where did you hear that name," she whispers.
"From the seer," I answer. "Why. Who is she really."
My mother closes her eyes. For a long moment she says nothing. Then she sits down slowly as if she can no longer trust her legs.
"Liora. Serapha is my mother."
My breath collapses in my throat.
"What."
"She is your grandmother," my mother says quietly. "The queen of the pure blood vampire clans. The ruler we abandoned to keep you safe. The moment she senses the charm is gone, she will come for it. And once she finds it, she will sense you through it."
The room spins around me.
My grandmother.
The Blood Empress.
Queen of the night world.
The one coming for the charm.
I try to speak but no sound comes out. My father places a hand on my shoulder, steady but not comforting.
"Liora. This is not a normal threat. If Serapha finds you, she will try to take you."
I flinch. "Take me for what."
"Power," my mother whispers. "You are the only known hybrid with both alpha strength and pure blood vampire magic. Your existence fulfills an old prophecy. One that Serapha has been waiting to complete for centuries."
My heart pounds fast. Too fast.
"So what do we do."
Father looks toward the window. His voice goes low. "First thing. We must retrieve that charm before it draws anyone else."
Before he finishes speaking, a scent hits my senses.
Familiar.
Warm.
Human.
Hunter.
Liam.
He is outside.
Watching.
My pulse spikes with panic.
"Liora," my father says. "Do not move."
But I cannot help it. I walk to the window and push the curtain aside just enough.
Liam stands near the trees at the edge of our property. His eyes scan the house. His posture is tense. Focused. Searching.
He came here. He tracked me home.
He is looking for answers.
He is looking for me.
He is looking for that charm.
Mother steps behind me. "He cannot see you like this. You are still unstable. Stay away from that boy. Liora, do you understand."
I understand completely.
He came here for the truth.
But the truth will destroy us both.
My father moves toward the door with silent steps. "I will handle him."
My chest tightens. "Do not hurt him."
"Liora," Father says in a firm voice. "The boy is dangerous. He comes from a bloodline trained to hunt people like you."
"I know," I whisper. "But he does not know what I am. He is confused. He is not here to kill anybody."
Father studies me for a moment. His eyes soften just a little.
"You care about him."
It is not a question.
My lips part. No sound comes.
That is answer enough.
He sighs. "I will handle him without violence. But you stay inside."
I watch through the window as my father steps out.
Liam straightens instantly. His hand moves to the side of his jacket, ready to reach for whatever weapon hunters carry.
My breath catches.
Father stops a few feet away from him.
"Liam," he says in a calm tone. "Can I help you."
Liam hesitates. "I am sorry to disturb you sir. I just needed to ask Liora something important."
"She is not available."
Liam looks past him. His eyes search the windows again. The air around him buzzes with suspicion.
"I found something that belongs to her," he says.
My heart jumps.
"The bracelet. I picked it up yesterday but I lost it again. I need to ask her where she last had it because I think someone else may have taken it."
Someone else.
He is not lying. He also does not realize how much danger he is in. Every vampire scout within three miles can sense the charm by now.
Father steps closer.
"Liam. If you found something dangerous, stay away from it. And stay away from my daughter."
Liam's jaw tightens. "With respect sir. I am not trying to cause trouble. I just want to make sure she is safe."
Mother steps beside me quietly. She whispers near my ear.
"Listen to his heartbeat. He is telling the truth."
I do. His heartbeat is steady. Determined. Protective.
It hurts more than it should.
Father lowers his voice. "Go home Liam. Do not come here again unless you are invited by me or my wife."
Liam hesitates. Then he nods once and turns away.
But as he walks off, his eyes lift to the window.
And they meet mine.
He freezes.
I freeze.
He sees me.
Not clearly. Not fully. But enough.
Enough to know I am hiding.
He lifts his hand just a little. Not a wave. A silent question.
Are you alright.
I step back from the window before I can answer.
Mother pulls the curtain shut. "Do not let him into your heart Liora. Hunters destroy what they fear."
But I already know the truth.
He does not fear me.
He fears what he does not understand.
And now he senses something is wrong.
Father returns inside and locks the door. His expression is tight.
"We must move, now. Someone powerful is drawing near. I can feel the shift in the shadows."
Mother nods. "Serapha's scouts are awake."
I feel the air thicken. The house no longer feels like home.
It feels like a countdown.
I turn to my parents.
"What do we do now."
Mother holds my hands. "We protect you. We get the charm back. And we prepare for what is coming."
"What exactly is coming," I whisper.
They look at each other.
Father speaks first.
"A war the clans have been waiting for."
Mother adds the words that freeze my blood.
"And you Liora. You stand at the center of it."