Beneath the Crescent Mark

Chapter seven

They trained until late in the afternoon, the warehouse growing dim as shadows stretched across the concrete floor. Ravyn’s body ached in places she didn’t know could ache, but there was something satisfying about the exhaustion. For the first time since her mark had appeared, she felt like she had some measure of control.

“That’s enough for today,” Eryx said, tossing her a towel. “You’re pushing too hard. Your body needs time to adjust.”

Ravyn wiped sweat from her face, still breathing hard from their last exercise. Her vampire speed was becoming more natural, less jarring. She could move across the mats now without stumbling, could gauge her strength enough to hold back when sparring with her father.

“I feel like I’m finally starting to understand my own body again,” she said, sitting on the edge of the training mat.

“Good. But remember, this is just the beginning. Your werewolf abilities will manifest differently, and when they do—”

Ravyn’s phone buzzed, interrupting him. She pulled it from her bag, expecting maybe Marissa or one of her friends checking in after yesterday’s weird birthday party exit.

It was Cassian.

*I know you probably don’t want to hear from me right now, but we need to talk. Can we meet tomorrow night? Please. There are things you need to know.*

She stared at the message, her stomach knotting. Part of her wanted to delete it, to pretend the last two years hadn’t happened. But another part—the part that remembered how it felt when he kissed her, how safe she’d always felt in his arms—wanted to believe there was an explanation that could make this all make sense.

“Who is it?” Eryx asked, noticing her expression.

“Cassian.” She held up the phone. “He wants to meet tomorrow night. Says there are things I need to know.”

Eryx’s jaw tightened. “Ravyn—”

“Before I even think about responding,” she interrupted, “I need you to answer something for me.” She stood, facing her father fully. “What exactly makes me such a threat to them? To anyone? I just want to live a normal life. I want to go to college, maybe become a teacher like my great-great-grandmother. I don’t want to be part of some supernatural war.”

“Your very existence threatens the natural order,” Eryx began. “For centuries, the three races have maintained a delicate balance. Vampires rule through hierarchy and fear. Werewolves follow pack structure and instinct. Humans live in ignorance, protected by the werewolves.”

“I still don’t see how that makes me—”

“You can’t be controlled by any of them,” Eryx said firmly. “Vampire lords can compel other vampires, even humans if they get around the werewolves. But your hybrid blood makes you immune. Werewolf alphas can command their pack members through dominance and biology. But your human side gives you free will they can’t override.”

He paused, making sure she was following. “But it goes deeper than that. Because you carry all three bloodlines, you have protections that others don’t. Werewolves can kill vampires with their bite. Werewolves become vulnerable during a full moon. But due to you being all three races, you could be immune to all of it. You can outrun werewolves, resist vampire compulsion, and potentially live forever while being immune to every weapon each race has developed against the others.”

Eryx’s expression grew uncertain. “Of course, this might all be wrong. Your human side might make you vulnerable in ways we don’t understand. Since you’re the first of your kind, not a lot is known for certain. If the old legacies are correct, then you’ll be the most powerful being any of our kinds have ever seen. But if they’re wrong…” He trailed off.

Ravyn frowned. “So I can’t be hypnotized, can’t be poisoned by vampire bites, and can outrun werewolves. That seems like a good thing.”

“It is. But it also means you’re unpredictable. You could walk into a vampire court and be completely immune to their influence. You could stand before a werewolf alpha and refuse their commands without consequences.” Eryx leaned forward. “Do you understand what that means?”

“That I’m… free?”

“That you could have the ability to bring all races together or to destroy them. And potentially be unstoppable.”

He paused, his expression growing more serious. “There’s something else. Your involvement with Cassian—with a vampire—it’s affecting the mate bond. Being close to vampire energy can dim the connection, cause confusion about where to find each other. It’s one of the reasons the vampires wanted someone embedded in your life before your awakening.”

“So they’re not just trying to manipulate me emotionally,” Ravyn said, understanding dawning. “They’re actively interfering with the mate bond.”

“Exactly. The longer you stay close to Cassian, the harder it becomes for your mate to track you. But it works both ways—it also makes it harder for you to sense him clearly.”

“Cassian being around potentially keeps me on their side,” Ravyn finished. “Never having the chance to even meet my mate.”

“The vampires want to keep you close, to make you loyal to their cause through emotional manipulation if they can’t use compulsion. The werewolves want to protect you, to claim you through the mate bond and ensure you’re fighting for their side.”

“And the humans?”

“Don’t know you exist. Which is probably for the best, because if they did…” Eryx shook his head. “Fear makes people do terrible things.”

Ravyn stared at her phone, Cassian’s message still glowing on the screen. “So there’s no scenario where I just get to be normal.”

“I’m afraid not. The moment your mark appeared, the moment your abilities awakened, you became a player in a game that’s been going on for centuries.”

“What if I refuse to play?”

“Then the game continues around you, and you become a prize to be won rather than a player.” Eryx’s expression softened. “That’s why I’m training you. Not to make you a weapon, but to give you the strength to choose your own path.”

Ravyn looked at her phone again, then back at her father. “If I meet with Cassian, if I hear what he has to say… what should I be watching for?”

“Manipulation. Half-truths disguised as confessions. Emotional appeals designed to make you feel sorry for him or grateful for his protection.” Eryx paused. “But also… genuine emotion. It’s possible his feelings are real, even if they started as a mission.”

“How will I know the difference?”

“Trust your instincts. Your human side gives you something vampires have lost—the ability to truly empathize, to read emotional truth. If he’s lying to you, if he’s still following orders, some part of you will sense it.”

The double heartbeat pulsed in her chest, reminding her that somewhere out there, her supposed mate was still getting closer. The pull was stronger now, more insistent.

“What about the mate bond?” she asked. “If I meet with Cassian, if I try to make things work with him, what happens to…”

“To your mate?” Eryx’s expression grew serious. “The longer you resist the bond, the stronger it becomes. And if your mate discovers you’re with someone else, especially a vampire…”

“He’ll try to fight for me.”

Ravyn felt trapped between impossible choices. Give Cassian a chance and risk her unknown mate’s wrath. Accept the mate bond and potentially start a war with the vampires. Reject both and possibly trigger conflicts with everyone.

“There has to be another way,” she said.

“Maybe,” Eryx said. “But first, you need to be strong enough to survive long enough to find it.”

She looked at her phone one more time, then made a decision.

*Tomorrow night. But we meet somewhere public. And Cassian? If you lie to me again, we’re done. Forever.*

She hit send before she could change her mind.

“You’re going to meet with him,” Eryx observed.

“I need to hear his side. I need to know if any of what we had was real.” She stood, shouldering her bag. “But I’m going in with my eyes open this time.”

“Good. Just remember—whatever he tells you, whatever promises he makes, his father still controls him. And his father sees you as a tool to be used, not a person to be protected.”

As they left the warehouse, the double heartbeat pulsed again, stronger than ever. Somewhere in the growing darkness, her mate was out there. Waiting. Getting closer.

And tomorrow night, she would sit across from the boy she’d loved for two years and try to figure out what was real and what was just another lie in a web of deception that seemed to grow more tangled by the hour.

The only thing she knew for certain was that whatever happened next, she wouldn’t be the same naive girl who’d woken up yesterday morning thinking the biggest decision she’d have to make was what college to attend.

That girl was gone forever.

And in her place was someone who was just beginning to understand how much power—and how much danger—came with being something that was never supposed to exist.