The storm over the ridge had passed, leaving the world soaked in red dawn.Mist crawled across the ruins, wrapping the trees in silence.
Quinn and Xin stood side by side, still breathing hard from the battle in the Blood Chamber. Between them, the ground was marked with a strange symbol — the joined sigils of blood and moon.
Taron prowled nearby, his dark fur dripping with rain. "We shouldn't stay here," he said. "If the vampires sense what happened, they'll send hunters."
Quinn wiped the blood from his blade. "They already have."
Xin turned sharply. "How do you know?"
He looked at the horizon, his crimson eyes narrowing. "Because my father plans for every disobedience. And Kael Orin never misses his prey."
🩸 At the Crimson Citadel
Kael knelt before Lord Virel, his armor slick with rain.Virel stood beside the throne of bones, one hand resting on the haft of his crimson spear.
"You summoned me, my lord?"
Virel's voice was low and cold. "The Blood Chamber has awakened."
Kael's head snapped up. "Impossible. The seals were bound by moonlight—"
"Broken," Virel interrupted. "And my son was there when it happened."
Kael's jaw tightened. "Quinn?"
Virel's eyes gleamed red. "He has betrayed his blood. He walks with the wolves now."
Kael clenched his fist, his fangs flashing. "Then I'll end him myself."
Virel's smile was thin, cruel. "Bring me his heart… and the Luna Wolf's head. The Blood God demands both."
Kael bowed deeply, shadows curling around him. "As you command."
As he left the hall, Selica emerged from the shadows, her face pale with dread. "You're sending him after Quinn? He'll kill him."
Virel turned slowly. "If fate decrees my son's death, let it come by loyal hands."
Selica stepped closer, defiance trembling in her voice. "And what if the prophecy isn't about destruction? What if it's about redemption?"
Virel's gaze burned into her. "Redemption is a luxury for mortals. We are gods in exile — and I will see our glory restored."
🌕 Moonvale Ridge – Near the Frostwood Border
The trio had taken shelter inside a hollowed tree, its roots forming a natural den against the chill.Quinn sat apart from the others, his blades laid beside him, eyes lost in thought.
Xin watched him silently. There was something different about the vampire heir — something not entirely cruel, not entirely broken.
"Why did you help me?" she asked suddenly.
Quinn looked up, startled by the softness in her voice. "Because you remind me of what I used to be."
Xin frowned. "A killer?"
He shook his head. "A believer."
For a moment, neither spoke. The silence between them carried a strange warmth, fragile but real.
Taron broke it with a low growl. "Don't forget what he is, Xin. His kind killed Lupus."
Xin's gaze fell to the ground. "I haven't forgotten."
Quinn's voice was calm. "Neither have I."
Taron bared his fangs. "Then why are you here?"
Quinn met his eyes without flinching. "Because the Blood God will rise, and neither your pack nor my house will survive it. Whether you trust me or not… I'm the only one who knows how to stop him."
Xin's silver eyes met his crimson ones. "Then you'll prove it. If you betray us—"
"I won't," he said softly. "Not to them."
🩸 Nightfall
Later that night, as the moon rose again, a figure watched from the trees.Kael Orin — cloaked in shadow, his eyes burning with fury and grief.
He saw them — Quinn beside the Luna Wolf, the heir of blood walking with the enemy.
"Fool," Kael muttered. "You've chosen your grave."
He lifted his hand, and the mist responded — shaping itself into pale specters, the Blood Wraiths, silent assassins bound to his will.
"Follow them," he whispered. "When dawn breaks… kill the wolf first."
The wraiths dissolved into the fog, vanishing into the night.
Kael's expression softened for just a second — a ghost of pain flickering through his eyes. "You should have stayed dead, old friend."
🌑 Deep Within the Citadel
Selica crept into the Crimson Archives, a lantern in one hand and an old scroll in the other.She unrolled it, revealing faded words written in blood and silver.
"When the heir bleeds for the moon, the curse trembles.When the Luna mourns for blood, the god awakens."
Her breath caught. "It's not about destruction… it's about grief."
A whisper echoed behind her."Reading forbidden texts, are we?"
She turned — and froze.Virel stood in the doorway, his face half-lit by the crimson glow.
"I warned you," he said softly. "Curiosity kills faster than sunlight."
Selica clutched the scroll. "You can't stop what's already begun. The prophecy chose them."
Virel's smile faded. "Then I will rewrite it in their blood."
🌕 Back at the Frostwood
The wind howled through the trees as Quinn woke from uneasy dreams. His heart pounded — not from fear, but from something older, deeper.
Xin was outside, sitting beneath the pale moonlight. Her white hair shimmered like frost.He approached quietly.
"Can't sleep?" he asked.
She shook her head. "The moon feels… different tonight. It's heavier. Sadder."
Quinn looked up at it, the same unease crawling through his chest. "It knows. The Blood God stirs, and even the sky mourns."
She turned to him. "You speak as if the moon were alive."
He smiled faintly. "Maybe it is. Maybe it's the only thing that still listens."
Their eyes met, and for a heartbeat, the world seemed to fall away — blood and moonlight blending, enemies forgetting the centuries between them.
Then, somewhere in the forest, a whisper broke the peace.
"Found you."
Xin's eyes widened. "Kael."