The Blood Curse
1182 Words
Lily Harper lasted exactly six hours before threatening to stab Marcus.
Again.
Not because he deserved it.
Okay, maybe a little because he deserved it.
But mostly because the Alpha had completely lost his mind.
"Marcus."
No response.
Lily sighed.
She opened the bathroom door.
Marcus stood directly outside.
Like a very large, very muscular, extremely dangerous security guard.
His golden eyes immediately scanned her from head to toe.
Checking for injuries.
Threats.
Potential assassination attempts.
Or possibly aggressive shampoo bottles.
At this point, she honestly couldn't tell.
"Have you been standing there this entire time?"
"Yes."
Lily stared.
"Why?"
Marcus looked genuinely confused by the question.
"As protection."
"It's a bathroom."
"People die in bathrooms."
"Normal people don't."
"Wolves do."
"Marcus."
"Yes."
"That's insane."
"No."
"It absolutely is."
"No."
Lily groaned and walked away.
Behind her came familiar footsteps.
Of course.
Because apparently the Alpha King of North America had abandoned ruling an empire to become her personal bodyguard.
Three days had passed since the Blood Ring.
Three very weird days.
The changes in Marcus were impossible to ignore.
The golden mark on his shoulder glowed faintly beneath his skin.
And ever since then, something inside him had shifted.
His power had increased dramatically.
Pack members lowered their eyes the moment he entered a room.
Even older Alphas who visited the estate instinctively submitted.
But the most obvious change wasn't strength.
It was obsession.
Not possessive obsession.
Protective obsession.
The difference mattered.
Marcus checked her meals for poison.
Inspected her bedroom every night.
Patrolled the mansion personally.
Twice.
One night she'd sneezed.
The next morning three doctors had arrived.
Another time she mentioned feeling cold.
Marcus ordered an entire heating system replaced.
The mansion staff had started placing bets on what ridiculous thing he'd do next.
Lily secretly participated.
Her money was currently on "builds a bunker."
—
Unfortunately, someone else's life had become significantly worse.
Jace Nightshade was dying.
Slowly.
Painfully.
And deservedly.
The black mark had spread.
Dark veins crawled across his skin like cracks in broken glass.
Every day they grew larger.
Every day he looked weaker.
By the seventh day, the Blood Curse finally demanded payment.
Lily found him kneeling outside the estate gates.
Rain poured from the sky.
Jace looked terrible.
His normally pale skin had become gray.
The black cracks now reached his throat.
Smoke drifted from several of them.
Actual smoke.
The smell reminded Lily of burning wood.
Burning flesh.
Burning houses.
The memory hit instantly.
Fire.
Her father.
The screams.
Jace raised his head.
Silver eyes filled with humiliation.
And desperation.
"Lily."
His voice sounded raw.
Painful.
She felt nothing.
Or at least she tried to.
"You need blood."
Not a question.
A fact.
Jace nodded once.
The movement looked difficult.
Every breath seemed to hurt.
Lily crossed her arms.
"And if I don't give it to you?"
Silence.
Then—
"I burn."
A cold satisfaction settled inside her chest.
Interesting.
The universe occasionally had a sense of humor after all.
Jace slowly extended his hand.
Not demanding.
Not commanding.
Begging.
The sight shocked her more than she wanted to admit.
Because this was Jace Nightshade.
The man who manipulated everyone.
The man who engineered lies.
The man who watched her life like a chessboard.
And now he was kneeling.
Broken.
Dependent.
Powerless.
"Please."
The word barely emerged.
Lily laughed.
Not kindly.
"Really?"
Jace closed his eyes.
She stepped closer.
Rain soaked her clothes.
Neither noticed.
"You burned down my home."
His jaw tightened.
"You helped kill my father."
Silence.
"You lied to me."
More silence.
Then Lily kicked his outstretched hand aside.
Hard.
Jace didn't react.
Didn't defend himself.
Didn't argue.
The humiliation was complete.
For several long seconds nobody spoke.
Then Lily crouched.
Looking directly into his eyes.
"If I let you burn..."
Her voice lowered.
"Would anyone miss you?"
Pain flickered across his face.
Not physical pain.
Something deeper.
Regret perhaps.
Or maybe loneliness.
Lily didn't care.
Or tried not to.
Unfortunately, she wasn't Marcus.
She couldn't separate justice from mercy quite that cleanly.
Eventually she sighed.
"Damn it."
Jace looked up.
Hope appeared.
Tiny.
Fragile.
Pathetic.
"I'll give you one drop."
Relief flooded his expression.
Then vanished immediately.
Because Lily smiled.
And that smile never meant anything good.
"After you pay."
Jace frowned.
"What do you want?"
"The truth."
His expression darkened.
Which told her she was asking the right question.
"What truth?"
Lily leaned closer.
"What are you hiding?"
Rain hammered against stone.
The silence stretched.
Then Jace laughed.
Weakly.
"Of course."
"Talk."
For several seconds he said nothing.
Then he looked toward the dark horizon.
And finally spoke.
"The vampires are moving."
Every muscle in Lily's body tightened.
"What vampires?"
"All of them."
The answer wasn't reassuring.
Jace's eyes became serious.
Completely serious.
"The Vampire Prince is gathering an army."
Marcus appeared behind Lily.
Silent as death.
Naturally.
The Alpha had somehow sensed trouble from half a continent away.
Jace looked annoyed.
Marcus looked murderous.
Business as usual.
"The Prince wants Lunar Blood."
Jace continued.
"Not just yours."
Lily frowned.
"What does that mean?"
The Rogue's expression darkened.
"There used to be many."
A chill ran down her spine.
"Many what?"
"Moonbloods."
The word echoed heavily.
Ancient.
Forgotten.
"Most are dead."
Marcus's jaw tightened.
Jace continued.
"The vampires hunted them for centuries."
Lily's stomach dropped.
"Why?"
"Because Lunar Blood can evolve them."
The silence that followed felt enormous.
Marcus spoke first.
"How many remain?"
Jace looked directly at Lily.
"Possibly one."
Her.
The realization hit hard.
The last.
The final survivor.
No pressure.
Marcus immediately shifted into Alpha mode.
Cold.
Decisive.
Dangerously efficient.
"We leave tonight."
Lily blinked.
"Leave where?"
"Canada."
Of course.
"Canada?"
"A safe house."
Marcus's voice carried absolute certainty.
"No pack politics."
"No vampires."
"No outsiders."
Jace laughed.
"Good luck with that."
Marcus ignored him.
Which was probably wise.
Within hours preparations began.
Vehicles.
Supplies.
Guards.
Routes.
Backup routes.
Backup routes for the backup routes.
Marcus apparently prepared for travel the same way governments prepared for war.
By midnight the convoy rolled out.
Three SUVs.
Eight elite wolves.
One very overprotective Alpha.
Lily sat in the passenger seat.
Marcus drove.
Naturally.
Nobody else was apparently trusted enough.
The highway stretched endlessly before them.
Dark forests.
Empty roads.
Cold moonlight.
For the first time in days, Lily almost relaxed.
Almost.
Then Marcus's phone vibrated.
A secure message.
His expression changed instantly.
The shift was subtle.
But terrifying.
Because Marcus Blackwood rarely looked surprised.
"What happened?"
He didn't answer immediately.
Instead he read the message twice.
Then a third time.
His jaw hardened.
A dangerous silence filled the vehicle.
Finally he handed her the screen.
One encrypted line appeared.
From his Beta.
There is a traitor. The vampires already know the safe house coordinates.
Lily's stomach dropped.
Marcus tightened his grip on the steering wheel.
Outside, the convoy continued north through the darkness.
Unaware.
Unprepared.
Hunted.
Several vehicles behind them, one of the drivers quietly reached up to the rearview mirror.
His fingers removed a small wolf-pack emblem.
Then replaced it with a black silver-edged bat.
- Writer
