CHAPTER FOUR - Into The Nightbound Clan
1216 Words
The gates of the Nightbound stronghold rose from the mountains like black fangs.
Lyra froze, as Kael dragged her through the hard bridge.
Thousands of glowing eyes turned towards her.
Vampires. Werewolves. Creatures.
And they felt the mark on her.
For once, Lyra felt the mark was a blessing, because whoever saw her, had fear and hate in their eyes.
Fear of becoming Kael’s mate, the Nightbound weapon.
Hate of her being a human.
The world changed the moment Lyra crossed the boundary.
Black stone towers with carved runes that glowed crimson and silver, symbols of blood, moon, and domination.
This is not a village.
This is a stronghold.
Kael walked beside her, in his monstrous form, and also shape-shifted to his human form.
As the iron gates of the Nightbound clan cracked open, thousands of eyes turned towards her.
Vampires -Pale and elegant, with a glowing crimson look.
Werewolfs -Tall, scarred, and coiled with lethal power.
And beings that were neither -hybrids with claws, fangs, and eyes like the living darkness.
Within five minutes, whispers spread like wildfire through the Nightbound.
“That’s her…”
" The Moon-marked..”
" The Alpha claimed a human?..”
Amidst trying to enter the palace, a tall vampire woman stepped forward, with her long silver hair, flowing like liquid moonlight.
Her eyes seemed crumpled and, at the same time, beautiful.
Seraphine Noctryx - Vampire
Kael's half sister.
Welcome brother, she said with a smile.
The smile was cut short, when she saw the human girl, Lyra.
She didn't just see her, but the mark
Seraphine studied her like prey, with hate in her eye…
She thought for once why her brother chose to mark her…”A HUMAN?.."
‘The mark is real,’ Seraphine said with a cold, dangerous tone, but not as dangerous as the Alpha's.
" DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU HAVE DONE, BROTHER?..”
Keal's voice was low, dangerous, and without emotion. “You have no right to question me”.... “She's under my protection”...
The word ‘under my protection’ made the guards murmur. With one dangerous look from Kael, they all went mute, pretending not to mind their business.
Just as the agreement was beginning to go too far, a massive figure stepped from the shadows beside the entrance - muscular, tattooed, with eyes glowing gold
Darius Blackvein-Beta (Vampire -Werewolf Hybrid).
He greeted the Alpha, then turned his gaze towards Lyra.
After studying her for a while, he told Kael.
“There's something wrong with her" Darius growled. “Her blood smells…. ancient.."
Lyra swallowed hard, looking so confused, mixed with curiosity and fear.
Just when things were about to turn negatively towards Lyra… A small, hooded figure was led forward by two guards.
Her eyes were white. Blind.
Nyra Moonveil-Werewolf seer.
She lifted her gaze towards her and gasped.
“The moon has returned.."
“The girl is not human….."
“She is Moon-Bound"
Fear swept the whole place, of course, except for Kael…. Nothing scares him.
That's the reason why he is called in other clans, the Nightbound weapon.
" What does that mean?” He demanded, attoratively.
Nyra trembled for a while… “She carries the forgotten moon….the power your bloodline was cursed to guard.”
Everywhere went dark, with silence….All eyes were staring at Lyra.
Kael took her into the palace and assigned a maid to her. Kate-Vampire, weak.
Lyra resisted going with her.
He spoke with a low, controlled edge, ‘Don't worry, Kate will take good care of you, and trust me, no one will harm you…I promise’
The sheer authority in the Alpha's voice caught Kate off guard. Despite the distraction of a stone being thrown toward Lyra, Kate appeared reluctant to make eye contact or acknowledge the Alpha's presence.”
It's part of the palace rules…. Servants must know their place.
But Lyra was there to change everything.
Kael in annoyance had to ask his inner self, “You didn't have to aff the promising part, I don't keep promises"
His inner self laughed and said, “She's our Luna." You can be hard on others, but not on our mate.
The word mate made Kael growl with anger..
“I am Kael Noctryx, you don't keep on controlling me to do things against my own will"
“But you know I'm not the cause. The curse made sure of that, and only Lyra can break the curse since she carries the forgotten moon, which was why I was attracted to her….
Kael, being calm, asked, " Now she's here, does that mean the curse is broken?”....
His inner self was silent for a while….. “We have to mate with h….”
Kael interrupted immediately, " WHAT?”...The sound of his voice was so heavy that the bronze sword that was hanging on the wall fell and broke into pieces.
His inner vampire continued," We have to mate with her, her blood, mixed with ours, will break the curse and will make us more powerful….But this is now the fun part….
‘What?’ Kael asked like tho he wasn't concerned, but he had no choice. He couldn't control his inner self… The curse made sure of that.
“Our BOND with the moonbound human will only strengthen from here.”
Kael sighed.
>>>>>>>>>>>>
Kate took her to the royal physician to tend to her wound. And the maid took her to her chambers, already assigned to her by Kael.
After washing up…Kate brought in some new clothes for her to change into.
" Am Lyra” Seeking to ease the tension, Lira stepped forward and introduced herself to initiate a conversation.
Kate didn't respond….
Lyra introduced herself again, thinking Kate did not hear her…But Kate did not respond…
" Why aren't you answering me?” Lyra asked…..
Because we are not allowed to talk, except when given permission by the Alpha.
“See there are far too many arbitrary rules in this Clan”, Lyra remarked, her voice dripping with sarcasm.”...
The work was finally finished. Kate told her she needed to get some rest before dawn arrived.
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Chris and Eira are seen wandering in the woods, searching for Lyra…
They traced her blood scent, and it led them to the Night Bound boundary.
They stood from afar, wondering if they could do the unthinkable by crossing
Crossing the boundary, without the approval of the clan leader, or the Alpha, will mean war to the Legion clan…The Nightbound clan was no place to mess with.
“This might be a trap" Eira broke the silence.
“If Lyra's blood scent brought us this far, then we will have to continue the search into the Night Bound clan" Chris replied faintly, with his voice low…
“But you know this might declare war between the Nightbound clan and the Legion Clan. We lost a lot of men in our last battle… And the Legion clan will not take the risk of going to another war with the Nightbound “ Eira said with a tone of fear and disgrace.
“Agreed. Let's stand down until dawn. We will reassess the situation and determine our next steps then." Chris replied after much thinking.
TO BE CONTINUED
- Writer
