Chapter 6
676 Words
The Story Written in Blood
The wind howled across the mountain peaks.
Below them, endless forests stretched toward the horizon.
Above them, the moon hung full and bright.
Isabella stood beside Lucian Nightshade, waiting.
The Lycan King had promised answers.
For the first time since her exile, she was finally close to understanding why her life had suddenly become a nightmare.
And why complete strangers wanted her dead.
Lucian remained silent for several moments.
His golden eyes remained fixed on the distant horizon.
As though he were looking not at the world before him...
But at the world that once existed.
Finally, he spoke.
"It began nearly seven hundred years ago."
His voice was calm.
Controlled.
Yet beneath it Isabella sensed something dangerous.
Old wounds.
Old hatred.
Old grief.
"There was a time before Alphas ruled the packs."
Isabella listened carefully.
"The Lycans were the original rulers."
She frowned.
"Lycans and werewolves aren't the same?"
Lucian's expression hardened.
"No."
His answer came immediately.
"A werewolf is descended from the first wolves."
He pointed toward the forests below.
"A Lycan is descended from the Moon Goddess herself."
The statement sounded ridiculous.
Impossible.
Yet somehow she knew he wasn't lying.
"The first Lycans possessed extraordinary abilities. Greater strength. Greater speed. Greater healing."
His gaze shifted toward her.
"And royal blood carried something even more valuable."
"What?"
"The ability to command moon energy."
A chill ran through Isabella.
The silver power she experienced inside the mountain.
The glowing symbols.
The strange visions.
Suddenly they made more sense.
"The royal family united every kingdom."
Lucian continued.
"For centuries there was peace."
"Then what happened?"
His jaw tightened.
"Greed."
The answer came with such bitterness that Isabella instantly understood.
Someone had betrayed them.
Just as she had been betrayed.
Lucian continued walking.
She followed.
"The royal family possessed a source of power known as the Lunar Heart."
"The Lunar Heart?"
"The Moon Goddess gifted it to the first Queen."
His voice lowered.
"It made the royal bloodline nearly impossible to destroy."
Isabella frowned.
"If they were so powerful, how did they fall?"
Lucian stopped.
For the first time since she met him, genuine anger appeared in his eyes.
The sight was terrifying.
Because it wasn't ordinary anger.
It felt like standing beside a volcano.
"Because someone they trusted opened the gates."
The words hit Isabella harder than expected.
Because she understood.
Betrayal.
The most dangerous weapon in existence.
Not claws.
Not swords.
Trust.
"An alliance of warlords attacked the capital."
Lucian's voice became colder.
"They murdered thousands."
The wind seemed to strengthen around them.
As though nature itself remembered.
"The palace burned for seven days."
Images flashed through Isabella's mind.
Fire.
Blood.
Screaming.
Death.
The same images from her dreams.
She staggered slightly.
Lucian immediately noticed.
Again.
Always noticing.
"You're seeing fragments."
She nodded.
"What happened to the queen?"
Silence.
For several seconds he didn't answer.
When he finally spoke, his voice was almost gentle.
"She died protecting her daughter."
The words sent an unexpected ache through Isabella's chest.
"Did the child survive?"
Lucian looked directly into her eyes.
"You already know the answer."
The realization struck.
The child.
The prophecy.
The heir.
Her.
The mountain suddenly felt colder.
Much colder.
"I'm descended from her."
Lucian nodded.
"You are the final royal heir."
The statement should have felt exciting.
Instead it felt terrifying.
Because if she truly carried the bloodline...
Then every enemy that destroyed her family might still be searching for her.
As though reading her thoughts, Lucian spoke.
"They are."
Her heart stopped.
"What?"
"The enemies who destroyed your ancestors."
His voice remained calm.
Too calm.
"They never stopped hunting."
Fear crawled up her spine.
"But they thought the bloodline was extinct."
"They did."
A dark smile appeared.
"Until you awakened the mountain."
The implications were horrifying.
The moment she entered the ancient sanctuary...
The moment the symbols recognized her...
The world learned she existed.
Every enemy.
Every rival.
Every monster.
Now knew.
She was alive.
And suddenly being rejected by Damien seemed insignificant compared to what was coming.
- Writer
