CHAPTER 8 : The Ravens of the Crimson Mountains
1023 Words
The crimson mountains rose like jagged fangs, their peaks glowing faintly under the blood-red moon. Storm clouds gathered around them in slow, twisting spirals, as if drawn by the unrest brewing within the Ravyn Clan’s fortress.
Inside the towering stone structure, torch flames snapped angrily, reacting to the demon tension that crackled in the air. Warriors stood in strict formation along the walls—horns polished, wings folded tightly against their backs, weapons gleaming. None dared relax.
For tonight, their Lord’s temper was … unpredictable.
On the raised platform at the center of the hall sat Lord Vaelor Ravyn, the head of the Ravyn Demon Clan and one of the few demons who had ever stood toe-to-toe with Alpha Kaelith.
Tall and sharp-featured, Vaelor wore deep silver armor etched with ancient runes. Shadows curled faintly around his boots as if drawn to him. His eyes bright molten orange were fixed on the large obsidian doors at the far end of the hall.
He was waiting.
Impatient.
And annoyed.
A low growl rumbled in his chest. “If my scout does not walk through that door in the next breath, I will drag him back myself.”
“Calm yourself, Vaelor,” came a smooth voice beside him.
General Shyra—his oldest commander—stood with arms folded, her black wings arching elegantly behind her. “Your anger shakes the hall.”
Vaelor shot her a sharp look.
“It should. Kaelith’s aura hit our borders like a hurricane. When an Alpha Demon releases that kind of power, something has happened. Something dangerous.”
Shyra lifted a brow.
“You mean you’re afraid.”
He glared.
“I do not fear Kaelith.”
“That’s a lie,” she said with a smirk.
Vaelor looked away, jaw clenching.
He did fear Kaelith.
Every demon in the realm did.
Because Kaelith was not just an Alpha.
He was the Alpha.
Cold. Calculating. Merciless.
A ruler who had shed his heart centuries ago.
And Vaelor—despite his pride—had seen that heartlessness firsthand.
— Years ago —
Vaelor remembered the day Kaelith turned on him during a failed alliance negotiation. There had been no warning. No emotion. No anger.
Kaelith had simply said:
“Move against me again, and I will erase your clan from existence.”
His aura alone had knocked Vaelor to his knees.
Since that day, Vaelor had sworn two things:
1. Never underestimate Kaelith.
2. Never allow him to gain more power than he already had.
Tonight, both vows felt dangerously threatened.
The obsidian doors finally burst open, and a trembling scout stumbled inside, panting and pale. His clothes were torn, and scorch marks licked up his left arm as if something had tried to burn him.
Vaelor stood slowly.
“You are late.”
The scout dropped to one knee, head bowed.
“My lord… forgive me. The Alpha Demon’s aura nearly crushed my lungs. I had to crawl past the border line.”
Shyra and the generals exchanged uneasy glances.
Vaelor stepped closer. His voice lowered to a dangerous rumble.
“Tell me what you saw.”
The scout swallowed hard.
“I saw… Kaelith. Fully awakened.”
Even the torches flickered.
Shyra frowned.
“He hasn’t fully awakened in over a hundred years. Not even during the rebellion.”
Vaelor’s eyes narrowed.
“What triggered it?”
The scout’s voice cracked.
“A human, my lord.”
A dead silence fell over the hall.
Then—
“A what?”
“Impossible!”
“No human has entered the realm in decades!”
Vaelor raised his hand, silencing the chaos.
“Continue.”
The scout’s hands shook.
“I saw a human omega—small, terrified, fragile—but alive. Standing before Kaelith.”
Shyra blinked in disbelief.
“A human omega? In the Alpha Demon’s throne room?”
“Yes, my lady.”
Vaelor’s voice dropped.
“And Kaelith…?”
The scout looked up, fear shining in his eyes.
“Kaelith protected him. His shadows wrapped around the omega. His aura—his full aura—reacted to the human.”
A slow, heavy breath escaped the hall.
One of the generals stepped forward.
“Maybe Kaelith was interrogating him.”
The scout shook his head.
“No. My lord… he marked the human.”
The hall erupted into chaos.
“Marked?!”
“That’s a lie!”
“A human cannot carry a demon mark!”
Shyra’s wings snapped open.
“If Kaelith marked a human—”
Vaelor finished the sentence for her:
“—then he has chosen him.”
A cold dread crawled through the room.
General Tyrak slammed his fist into the table.
“This is absurd! Kaelith hates humans!”
Shyra spoke quietly, but firmly.
“Hate does not stop destiny.”
Vaelor closed his eyes briefly, processing everything.
He had feared this.
He had warned the clans about this.
Because Kaelith bonding with anyone demon or not was dangerous.
But bonding with an omega?
A human omega?
Unthinkable.
Vaelor turned to the scout.
“How did you confirm the marking?”
The scout hesitated.
“There was… a glow on the human’s wrist. Kaelith placed his shadow upon it. And the aura… it expanded when the omega cried.”
Vaelor froze.
Kaelith’s aura responded to the omega’s fear.
That was not domination.
That was instinct.
Bonding instinct.
Shyra whispered, horrified:
“No… it can’t be.”
Vaelor stepped back from the table and exhaled slowly, hands curling into fists.
“Kaelith has found something he should never possess.”
Tyrak growled.
“Then we must act.”
Shyra nodded.
“If the bond completes, Kaelith will become untouchable.”
Vaelor’s eyes darkened with decision.
“Prepare every warrior. Summon the allied clans.”
He looked up toward the crimson sky, where thunder cracked violently across the mountains.
“We move before Kaelith claims the omega fully.”
His voice dropped to a chilling whisper.
“If we delay…”
He turned, cloak sweeping behind him like a shadow.
“…the demon realm will belong to him alone.”
- Writer
