Building a coalition of supernatural species was exactly as difficult as Cain predicted.
Vampires were willing to cooperate—the First Generation had made it clear that Cain's word was law, and Cain supported the coalition. But other species were more skeptical.
"Why should werewolves die protecting vampires?" one alpha demanded during a coalition meeting. "You've hunted us for centuries. Treated us like animals. Now you want our help?"
"The entity doesn't discriminate," Wei countered—she'd become Adrian's liaison to werewolf packs globally. "It will consume werewolves just as readily as vampires. This isn't about protecting vampires. It's about species survival."
"Easy for you to say. Your pack is allied with vampires. You've drunk their Kool-Aid."
"I've seen what vampires can be when they choose cooperation over domination," Wei shot back. "Adrian Chen has healed hundreds of vampires, strengthened bloodlines, prevented suffering. Kieran Ashford has defended the Accord for centuries. If we can't trust them, who can we trust?"
The debates continued for weeks. Some species joined readily—witches understood the threat, having their own ancient memories of the entity. Demons were more pragmatic, recognizing that being consumed by an ancient predator was bad for business. Even some fae agreed to help, though their motivations remained inscrutable as always.
But unity remained elusive. Too many old grudges, too much history of conflict, too little trust.
"We need a demonstration," Cain said finally. "Something that shows what we're facing. That makes the threat real, not theoretical."
"The entity is still dormant," Adrian pointed out. "How do we demonstrate something that hasn't fully emerged?"
"We find one of its tendrils. The probes it's been sending out to test the world." Cain pulled up a map covered with markers. "There have been incidents—supernatural beings vanishing without trace, places where magic suddenly fails, reports of shadows that move wrong. The entity is touching our world, preparing for full emergence. If we can capture and study one of these tendrils, we can show skeptical species exactly what we're facing."
"Capturing part of an entity that consumes supernatural beings," Kieran said flatly. "That sounds suicidal."
"It is. Which is why I'll do it personally, with Adrian's help."
"Absolutely not," Kieran said immediately. "Adrian is not going anywhere near this thing."
"Adrian is the only one who can sense it properly," Cain countered. "His ancient soul remembers its signature. Without him, we're blind."
"Then I'm going too," Kieran said, his tone brooking no argument.
They chose a site in Romania—an old forest where three werewolves had vanished in the past month. Local packs had investigated but found nothing, which was itself suspicious. Werewolves didn't just disappear.
The team consisted of Cain, Adrian, Kieran, Wei's best tracker, and two First Generation vampires—enough power to handle most threats, but small enough to move quickly.
The forest was ancient, predating human settlement. Trees that had stood for thousands of years created a canopy so thick that sunlight barely penetrated. Perfect vampire territory, but also perfect territory for something that hunted in darkness.
"I can feel it," Adrian said, his ancient soul responding to the entity's presence. "It's been here recently. The trace is fresh."
They followed Adrian's guidance deeper into the forest, until they reached a clearing where the trees had died. Not recently—the decay was wrong, accelerated, as if life force had been drained from the plants themselves.
"This is a feeding site," Cain said quietly. "The entity consumed something here. Something with enough supernatural energy to kill everything in a hundred-foot radius."
Wei's tracker examined the ground. "Three werewolves. They came here together, probably hunting the same trail we're following. They..." He paused, his expression troubled. "They just ended. No bodies, no blood, no signs of struggle. They were here one moment and gone the next."
"Consumed," Adrian said, memories of Seth's time flooding his consciousness. "The entity doesn't kill—it absorbs. Everything they were, everything they'd ever be, just... eaten."
A shadow moved at the edge of the clearing. Not a normal shadow—this one moved against the light, writhed like it was alive, emanated hunger that made every supernatural sense scream danger.
"Tendril," Cain warned. "Don't let it touch you. It will try to consume your life force."
The shadow lunged at Adrian—of course it did, drawn to his ancient soul like a moth to flame. Kieran intercepted it, his sword slashing through the darkness.
The blade passed through without resistance, as if cutting air.
"Physical weapons don't work," Cain said, his hands glowing with power Adrian didn't recognize. "It's not physical matter—it's condensed hunger given form. You need to fight it with life force, with the very thing it wants to consume."
Cain thrust his hands forward, and golden light exploded from his palms. The tendril recoiled, writhing, but didn't disperse.
"Adrian," Cain commanded, "your blood. Use it like you do for healing, but reversed. Feed it your energy until it becomes solid enough to capture."
"That's insane—"
"It's necessary. Trust me."
Adrian bit his wrist, his ancient blood welling up—thicker, darker, more potent than normal vampire blood. He let it drip into the air, and the tendril immediately lunged for it, drawn irresistibly to the concentrated life force.
As it fed, something remarkable happened. The shadow became more solid, more defined, taking on physical properties as it gorged itself on Adrian's blood.
"Now!" Cain shouted.
Wei's tracker threw a container—spelled by witches, inscribed with binding symbols. It trapped the now-solid tendril, containing it.
The forest fell silent.
"Did it work?" Wei asked.
"Yes." Cain examined the container, where the tendril writhed, trying to escape. "We have a sample. Proof of what we're facing. This should convince even the most skeptical species that the threat is real."
"How much of Adrian's blood did it consume?" Kieran asked, supporting Adrian who'd gone pale from the blood loss.
"Too much," Adrian admitted. "I can feel it—the entity knows about me now. By feeding it my blood, I've made myself even more of a target."
"But we have what we need," Cain said. "A demonstration. Evidence. A way to unite the supernatural world."
They returned to Shanghai with their prize, exhausted but successful. The container was placed under heavy guard—multiple species contributing to its security, already an example of the cooperation they needed.
The demonstration was scheduled for one week later, at the same Swiss castle where the supernatural council met. Every species would send representatives. Every community would witness what they faced.
"This is it," Elena said as they prepared. "This is our chance to unite everyone before the entity fully emerges. If we fail, if species choose to face this threat individually..."
"We all die," Adrian finished. "I know. No pressure."