Chapter four
1115 Words
The forest had never felt so silent.
Elena stood beneath the ancient trees, staring at the strange symbol glowing faintly on her wrist. The mark had appeared again, brighter than before, pulsing like it had a heartbeat of its own.
Adrian stood a few steps away, watching her carefully.
“You need to come with me,” he said.
Elena looked up. “Where?”
“Somewhere they can't find you.”
“Who?”
Adrian hesitated.
“The vampires.”
Her stomach tightened.
After everything Lucian had told her, Elena knew she could no longer pretend that the strange events surrounding her were coincidences.
But there was something Adrian still wasn't telling her.
“You knew about the mark,” she said.
Adrian's expression changed.
“I've seen it before.”
“Where?”
“On someone who died because of it.”
Elena stared at him.
“What does that mean?”
Before Adrian could answer, a howl echoed through the forest.
Then another.
Adrian immediately stepped in front of Elena.
“They found us.”
Branches moved in the darkness.
Elena's breathing became faster.
Three figures appeared between the trees. Their eyes reflected the moonlight, and their movements were unnaturally quick.
Adrian's hands clenched.
“Stay behind me.”
One of the strangers smiled.
“We aren't here for you, wolf.”
His eyes moved toward Elena.
“We've come for the Moonborn.”
Elena froze.
“The what?”
The vampire smiled.
“You really don't know who you are?”
Adrian suddenly attacked.
The forest erupted into chaos.
Elena stumbled backward as Adrian fought the three vampires. He moved faster than any human could, dodging their attacks and knocking one of them against a tree.
But another vampire rushed toward Elena.
She raised her hand instinctively.
A powerful flash of silver light exploded from her palm.
The vampire was thrown backward.
Everyone stopped.
Even Adrian stared at Elena.
Elena looked at her own hand in disbelief.
“I... I didn't do that.”
The vampire on the ground looked terrified.
“She has awakened.”
Then he disappeared into the darkness.
Adrian turned toward Elena.
“We have to leave. Now.”
---
They traveled until they reached an abandoned stone house hidden deep within the mountains.
Inside, the walls were covered with old symbols.
Elena slowly walked around the room.
“What is this place?”
“It belonged to my family,” Adrian answered.
“Your family?”
Adrian nodded.
“My ancestors protected people connected to the Moonborn bloodline.”
Elena looked at him.
“So you've known about me all this time?”
“Not you specifically.”
“Then what did you know?”
Adrian sighed.
“A prophecy.”
He walked toward an old wooden table and opened a small box.
Inside was a yellowed piece of parchment.
He carefully unfolded it.
Elena stepped closer.
“What does it say?”
Adrian looked at her before reading.
“On the night when the moon turns red, a child born from two supernatural bloodlines will rise.”
Elena's eyes widened.
“Two bloodlines?”
“Vampire and werewolf.”
She stepped backward.
“That can't be me.”
Adrian said nothing.
Elena looked at him.
“You're a werewolf.”
“Yes.”
“And Lucian is a vampire.”
Adrian's expression hardened.
“Yes.”
A terrible realization slowly formed in Elena's mind.
“Then why are they all interested in me?”
Adrian pointed to the final part of the prophecy.
“Because the Moonborn will possess the power to destroy the one who has ruled the vampires for generations.”
“Who?”
Adrian's voice became quieter.
“Lucian isn't the one you should fear.”
Elena swallowed.
“Then who?”
“His king.”
The room suddenly felt colder.
“The Vampire King.”
Adrian continued.
“He has spent years trying to prevent the prophecy from coming true. Anyone connected to it becomes a target.”
Elena looked down at the mark on her wrist.
“So my whole life...”
“May have been planned before you were even born.”
A tear formed in Elena's eye.
“I don't want this.”
Adrian stepped closer but stopped before touching her.
“You didn't choose it.”
“Then why me?”
“Sometimes destiny chooses people who never asked for it.”
Elena looked into his eyes.
“And what happens now?”
Adrian looked toward the window.
Outside, the moon had begun to change.
A faint red glow appeared around its edges.
Adrian's expression suddenly changed.
“The Blood Moon.”
Elena walked toward the window.
The moon slowly turned crimson.
Her mark began glowing intensely.
Then she heard a voice.
Not Adrian's.
Not Lucian's.
A voice inside her mind.
Find the one who carries the other half.
Elena grabbed her head.
“Adrian!”
He rushed toward her.
“What is it?”
“I heard someone.”
“Who?”
“I don't know.”
The room shook.
The candles went out.
Then Elena's eyes briefly flashed silver.
Adrian stared at her.
“What did you see?”
Elena slowly looked at him.
“A girl.”
“What girl?”
“She was standing in front of a burning house.”
Adrian's face became pale.
“What did she look like?”
Elena closed her eyes, trying to remember.
“She looked like me.”
Adrian went completely still.
Then a sound came from outside.
A slow clap.
Adrian turned toward the door.
Lucian stood in the darkness.
Elena stepped backward.
“You.”
Lucian looked at her mark.
“I knew the awakening would begin eventually.”
Adrian moved between them.
“Leave.”
Lucian ignored him.
“Elena, you have been searching for answers.”
“I don't trust you.”
“You shouldn't.”
Lucian's expression was strangely serious.
“But there is something you need to know.”
“What?”
Lucian looked toward the red moon.
“The prophecy isn't about destroying the Vampire King.”
Elena frowned.
“Then what is it about?”
Lucian's eyes met hers.
“It is about choosing who will live when the supernatural world falls.”
The wind suddenly swept through the trees.
Adrian's voice became cold.
“What have you done?”
Lucian smiled faintly.
“Nothing.”
He looked at Elena.
“Not yet.”
Then he disappeared into the darkness.
Elena stared after him.
For the first time, she understood something terrifying.
The Blood Moon wasn't the beginning of her destiny.
It was the beginning of a war.
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