THE FORBIDDEN ALPHA

CHAPTER EIGHT

PROPHECY REVEALED

I have never been this frightened in my entire life.

My grandmother, or rather the ancient Blood Empress, took my blood. I keep imagining what she could possibly need it for, and none of my thoughts lead anywhere good.

"I want you to send a message to the vampire territory," my father ordered the werewolf messengers. "A message to their queen. If my daughter's blood is not returned within the next twenty-four hours, we are ready to start a war."

Great.

A war between werewolves and vampires.

And I am standing right at the center of it all, knowing I am both.

"Liora is not safe here anymore," I heard my mother say from the dining room.

"She's under my protection," my father replied firmly. "I won't let anything happen to her."

"What's really going on?" I asked, my voice shaking. I could feel it, the truth was being hidden from me. I knew the outline of the story, but not the details, not the parts that mattered.

"Liora, I need you to stop going to school for now," my dad said, his tone leaving no room for argument.

"But I..."

"You are not permitted to leave werewolf territory or step out of this house without my permission or an escort," he repeated.

"But Dad, I have promotional exams tomorrow," I said, tears filling my eyes.

"Do I make myself clear?"

I nodded as the tears streamed down my face.

Then I heard it.

"The war is not about wolves and vampires."

The voice was faint, like a whisper carried on the wind.

"Did you hear that?" I asked immediately, turning to my parents.

"What did you hear, Liora?" my mother asked.

"The war is not about wolves and vampires," I repeated.

They exchanged shocked glances.

"Oh no," my mother said, her voice breaking. "This can't be happening. I thought I had averted this years ago."

Her fangs slid out as her eyes darkened.

"Mom, I would really feel less of the headache pounding in my head if someone just told me what is actually going on," I said angrily, tears spilling freely now. "Because I didn't ask for any of this."

She looked at me with deep concern.

"I'm so sorry, my child," my mother said softly, tears in her eyes.

"I think it's time we told her everything," my father said quietly.

Finally.

"Sit down, dear," my mother said.

I sat as she began to tell me the story of how she left the vampire territory.

"I am full-blooded," my mother began.

"My mother is a fatal vampire, the Blood Empress, and my father was a powerful vampire as well. My mother committed terrible deeds. She tried to use me to cover up her crimes, just as she used her other children. But I refused. I refused to become that monster."

She paused, looking straight at me.

"My mother has lived for over five hundred years. She uses her children's blood to keep herself alive and young."

My throat tightened. This sounded like something out of a nightmare, yet here I was, trapped inside it.

"She enforced a curfew," my mother continued. "Everyone had to submit a bottle of their blood to her by midnight. No one dared disobey. As long as she has your blood, she can control you, monitor you, and awaken the vampire within you. Not just any vampire, but the hungry part, the brutal part, just like herself. Then she uses you to achieve her goals."

"What goal?" I interrupted.

"She has always had one specific goal, though she never fully revealed it," my mother said. "But one thing I know for certain is that she despises humans. She hates their scent."

My chest tightened as fresh tears filled my eyes.

"So why did you leave the vampire territory?" I asked.

"As long as I stayed there, I had to submit my blood," she replied. "She used it to force us to feast on humans. I couldn't continue living like that. I didn't want to become her, no matter how much she tried to convince me it was our destiny. I ran away, hid in werewolf territory, and that's where I found your father. We discovered we were mates."

"So?" I asked quietly.

"So, Liora," my father said gravely, "as long as she has your blood, you are not safe."

"She can track you anywhere in the world," my mother added fearfully. "She can activate your dormant vampire abilities. She can send creatures or shadows after you. Liora… you are not safe."

"She can also awaken ancient spells tied to the Blood Empress bloodline," Elder Mirena said as she stepped forward.

"Oh, Elder Mirena, thank goodness you're here," my mother pleaded. "My home is falling apart."

"The Prophecy of the Bloodbound Heir," Elder Mirena said.

My mother stiffened.

"What did you say?" she asked coldly, like someone reliving a nightmare.

"This prophecy has been hidden for generations," Elder Mirena continued. "Known only to elders and royal bloodlines."

She recited it calmly, like a nursery rhyme:

"A child will be born of moon and blood,

Raised under the wolf but claimed by the night.

Her heart will carry mercy,

Her veins will carry ruin.

When the Sun-Bound Charm is broken or lost,

And the blood of the child is taken by the Empress,

The veil between clans will thin,

And the old war will breathe again."

"But… I thought that was just a myth," my mother whispered in fear.

"Elder Mirena, how can we stop this prophecy?" my father asked calmly.

"The Bloodbound Heir will face three choices," Elder Mirena said. "And only one will save the world."

My parents and I exchanged terrified glances.

"What three choices do I have?" I finally asked.

"If she kneels to the Blood Empress, vampires will rule eternally.

If she rejects both blood and moon, the world will burn in endless war.

If she unites blood and moon willingly, she will become something no clan can control. But..."

"But?" I interrupted, hoping for some kind of happy ending.

"The heir will awaken fully only when hunted by the one destined to kill her," Elder Mirena continued, "and protected by the one destined to love her. When both stand at her side, the fate of all realms will be sealed."

"The bracelet suppresses Liora's vampire side," my mother added shakily. "The pendant anchors her wolf loyalty. Without both, Liora will slowly lose control."

"The war did not begin when Queen Serapha entered your home," Elder Mirena said solemnly. "It began the moment Liora was born."

She bowed to my father and turned toward the door.

"And one more thing," she said, pausing.

"Your daughter's bracelet is with a rogue, someone with no wolf yet. Get it before Serapha does."

She met my father's eyes, bowed once more, and walked away.