Blood and moonlight

Chapter nine : The Alpha in the Mist

Darius had followed her. He wasn’t supposed to—not that far. Not into the ruins. Not into the woods where the air tasted like secrets and things that should’ve been buried.

But Ava wasn’t normal. She wasn’t predictable. And tonight… something about her had changed.

The air was still humming when he climbed down from the tree. The mark she found—it wasn’t just old. It was forbidden. And the way her body responded to it?

He ran a hand down his face, sweat gathering at his temple despite the cold. She didn’t just touch the symbol. She activated it.

He’d been sent to monitor her, not get involved. But how could he stay quiet now?

He turned, ready to head back—then froze.

A figure stepped out of the fog, like it had been born from the mist. Tall. Calm. Power curling off his shoulders like smoke. His eyes flickered, not glowing, but deep—too deep.

The man moved with the kind of confidence that only came from bloodline. Dominance. Something primal lived in the way he carried himself. Darius felt it instantly.

Alpha.

But that wasn’t what made Darius’s blood run cold.

It was the face.

He knew that face.

“No way…”

The man passed by, boots silent on the forest floor. Darius held his breath, tucked behind an ancient tree, trying to be nothing.

But his mind raced.

That’s not just an Alpha. That’s Achi Karsen.

They’d trained together in the northern hills under the ancient order. Quiet, brilliant, unreadable Achi. Darius remembered the way Achi always stood a little too still. How he never lost a fight. How his eyes always looked like they were watching more than they let on.

Achi had vanished three years ago. Rumor was, he’d gone rogue. Or worse—been taken.

But this? This wasn’t just survival. This was transformation.

Achi Karsen was a vampire.

And Darius had no explanation for it.

He waited until the man vanished into the trees, his scent lingering like ash and lightning, before sprinting back through the woods. The closer he got to the coven, the more his chest tightened. His thoughts tangled. His breath kept catching.

When he arrived at the hidden library, Lord Elias was already waiting.

“Well?” Elias didn’t look up from the scroll in his hand. “You followed her again.”

“Yes,” Darius rasped.

“Did she meet anyone?”

“I don’t know what she met. Or—who.”

Elias finally looked up. His eyes sharp, impatient.

Darius stepped forward. “She’s changing. I saw her eyes—something isn’t right. She touched an ancient mark and something… happened. She doesn’t even know it.”

Elias narrowed his gaze. “And?”

“And I saw someone else.”

“Who?”

Darius hesitated. Then—“Achi Karsen.”

Elias went still.

“The Alpha?” His voice dropped low. “That’s impossible.”

“He’s not just an Alpha anymore. He’s something else. I don’t know what he’s become—but it’s not human. It’s not just wolf. And it’s not only vampire.”

Silence. Thick. Drowning.

Darius swallowed hard. “What’s happening to her? To him? Why are they drawn together?”

Elias turned slowly, walking to the far bookshelf. He reached high and pulled out a sealed, dust-covered book.

He opened it. Pages older than memory.

Symbols just like the one Ava touched stared back at them.

“This,” Elias said, barely above a whisper, “is a prophecy I hoped we buried forever.”