Moonblade

Chapter 2 Blood In The Obsidian Fang

The scream did not belong to a wolf.

It was higher. Shorter. Cut off too quickly.

Human.

I was already moving before the echo died.

My body dropped low, blade drawn, senses widening until I could feel every vibration in the floorboards beneath my boots. Kaelen was behind me, his presence a blazing heat against my spine, his wolf pushing against the surface, restless and ready.

The scent hit me a second later.

Blood.

Fresh.

And beneath it—

Rot.

My stomach tightened. Vampire.

“They’re inside,” I whispered.

Kaelen swore under his breath. His hand brushed the wall beside him, claws already extending, bone cracking softly as his wolf surged forward beneath his skin. “That’s impossible. The wards—”

“Are broken,” I finished.

Or betrayed.

The Council had taught me everything about vampires. How they moved. How they hunted. How they killed. They did not rush. They infiltrated. They waited until their prey felt safe.

Then they fed.

Another scream tore through the packhouse, closer now. Male. One of the warriors.

Cut off by a wet tearing sound.

Kaelen’s control snapped.

He surged forward, muscles stretching, spine twisting violently as his wolf forced its way free. Bones cracked and reformed, skin splitting as thick black fur erupted across his body. His human scream became a snarl, deep and thunderous, vibrating through the walls.

The Alpha heir stood before me now in full wolf form—massive, towering, easily the size of a horse. His gold eyes burned like molten metal in the dark.

Power rolled off him in suffocating waves.

Alpha.

Mine.

The bond flared, almost dropping me to my knees.

I swallowed it down.

Focus. Kill. Survive.

A blur moved at the end of the corridor.

Too fast for a wolf.

Too silent for a human.

I moved.

My blade met flesh with a wet crack as I slammed into the creature mid-stride, driving it into the wall. Its body was cold beneath my hand, unnaturally cold, like frozen meat. Pale skin stretched tight across sharp bones. Black veins spider-webbed beneath the surface.

Its eyes snapped open.

Crimson.

Vampire.

It hissed, fangs extending, breath rancid with death. Its claws tore toward my throat, faster than any wolf could react.

I twisted sideways.

Its claws grazed my shoulder, slicing through leather and skin. Pain flared, hot and immediate.

I didn’t hesitate.

My dagger plunged beneath its jaw and into its brain.

The vampire spasmed violently, shrieking, its fingers digging into my arms hard enough to bruise. Its strength rivaled an Alpha’s.

Then it went still.

Dead weight collapsed against me.

I shoved it aside.

Kaelen stared, chest heaving, nostrils flaring as he scented the corpse.

He knew.

“They breached the inner walls,” I said quietly. “They came for you.”

His lips peeled back from his fangs in a silent snarl.

Another scent drifted toward us.

More.

Three.

No—four.

I stepped in front of him automatically.

Protect.

The instinct wasn’t trained.

It was instinct.

A vampire dropped from the ceiling behind us.

Kaelen reacted instantly.

His jaws closed around its torso with a bone-crushing snap, teeth tearing through flesh and spine. Blood sprayed across the walls, black and foul. The creature shrieked, clawing at his face, but he shook once—violent, final.

The body tore in half.

He dropped the pieces.

Even knowing his strength, the brutality of it tightened something deep inside my chest.

Another lunged from the shadows.

I met it head-on, ducking beneath its claws, driving both daggers into its ribs. It howled, slamming me backward into the wall hard enough to crack stone. My vision blurred.

It was stronger than the others.

Older.

Its mouth opened wide—

Kaelen hit it from the side.

His full weight crushed it into the floor. Bone shattered beneath the impact. He tore its throat open, ripping flesh away until its head lolled at an unnatural angle.

Silence fell.

Broken only by breathing.

Mine.

His.

And the distant sounds of fighting elsewhere in the packhouse.

I wiped black blood from my blade.

“They’re testing defenses,” I said.

Kaelen shifted back, bones snapping into human form. He didn’t bother dressing. Blood streaked his chest, dripping down his abdomen.

He looked like war.

“They’ve never breached this far before,” he growled. “Not even during the last war.”

“They didn’t come for your pack,” I said.

His eyes lifted to mine.

“They came for you.”

Understanding flickered across his face.

Fear followed.

Not fear for himself.

For his pack.

“For my father,” he said.

The Alpha King was dying.

Weak.

Vulnerable.

If he died before Kaelen officially claimed the throne, the Obsidian Fang Pack would fracture.

And the Crimson Court would step into the chaos.

A howl erupted outside.

Not pain.

Warning.

Kaelen’s head snapped toward the sound.

“They’re inside the King’s wing.”

Too close.

I grabbed his arm before he could move.

“Wait.”

He stiffened beneath my touch.

The bond flared violently.

Electric.

Dangerous.

His eyes dropped to where my fingers gripped his skin.

Neither of us spoke.

Eight years ago, he had rejected me.

Now his body reacted to mine like the rejection had never happened.

I released him.

“They want you to run toward him,” I said. “They want you exposed.”

His jaw tightened.

“They’ll kill him.”

“Yes,” I said calmly. “Unless we kill them first.”

His wolf surged beneath his skin again, restless.

“Stay behind me,” I said.

He barked a harsh laugh.

“I’m the Alpha heir.”

“And you’re their target.”

Silence.

Then—

He nodded once.

Trust.

It shouldn’t have mattered.

But it did.

We moved through the corridors together, silent and lethal. Bodies littered the floor—wolves in human form, throats torn open, eyes frozen in shock. The scent of death thickened with every step.

A young warrior lay against the wall, barely older than me. His chest was open, ribs exposed.

Fed on.

My fingers tightened around my blades.

This was not war.

This was slaughter.

A vampire stepped from the King’s chamber doorway.

Older than the others.

Stronger.

Its hair was white as bone, its skin stretched thin across sharp features. Its red eyes locked onto Kaelen immediately.

Recognition.

It smiled.

“There you are,” it whispered.

Kaelen stepped forward.

I blocked him instantly.

The vampire’s smile widened.

“The Moon’s daughter,” it said, voice smooth and ancient.

Ice slid down my spine.

It knew me.

Impossible.

“You were not expected,” it continued softly.

My grip tightened.

“Neither were you.”

It moved faster than sight.

I barely raised my blade in time.

Its claws slammed into me, throwing me across the hall. My back hit stone hard enough to crack it. Pain exploded through my spine.

It was stronger.

Much stronger.

Ancient.

Kaelen roared and shifted mid-air, wolf exploding outward. He slammed into the vampire, driving it backward through the chamber doors.

I forced myself up.

Pain didn’t matter.

Nothing mattered except survival.

Except him.

Inside the chamber, the Alpha King lay on the bed, unmoving. Pale. Weak.

Dying.

The vampire recovered instantly, throwing Kaelen across the room like he weighed nothing. His massive body crashed into the far wall.

The vampire turned toward the King.

“No—” Kaelen snarled, trying to stand.

I moved.

My blade cut across the vampire’s throat.

Black blood spilled.

It laughed.

“You cannot kill me, child.”

Its hand closed around my throat.

Cold.

Unbreakable.

It lifted me effortlessly.

My feet left the ground.

Air vanished from my lungs.

Its red eyes studied my face.

“The Moon Goddess hides her secrets well.”

My vision darkened.

My fingers loosened.

Not like this.

Not weak.

Not helpless.

The bond exploded inside my chest.

Heat flooded my veins.

Strength surged where there had been none.

I drove my dagger upward—into its eye.

It screamed.

Its grip loosened.

I dropped, gasping.

Kaelen hit it from behind, jaws crushing its shoulder. Bone cracked. It shrieked, twisting violently, slamming him into the ground again.

I grabbed the fallen sword beside the King’s bed.

Silver.

Forged for wolves.

Deadly to vampires.

I drove it through the creature’s spine.

It froze.

Screamed.

Then went still.

Dead.

Silence fell.

My chest heaved.

Kaelen shifted back, breathing hard, blood covering his body.

Our eyes met.

Alive.

Both of us.

For now.

Behind us, the Alpha King stirred weakly.

“Kaelen…”

His voice was barely audible.

Kaelen rushed to his side.

“I’m here, Father.”

The old Alpha’s eyes moved past him.

To me.

Recognition flickered.

Fear.

And something else.

Understanding.

“The Council…” he whispered. “They’ve chosen…”

His body convulsed.

Blood spilled from his mouth.

Kaelen grabbed him.

“No—stay with me!”

But I could already see it.

Death.

Coming.

The Alpha King’s eyes locked onto mine one final time.

“The war… has begun…”

His chest rose once.

Twice.

Then stopped.

Kaelen froze.

The bond pulsed violently between us.

Outside, wolves began to howl.

Not warning.

Not anger.

Grief.

The Alpha King was dead.

And now—

Kaelen Draven was Alpha.

And every enemy in the world would come for him.

I tightened my grip on my blade.

I had been sent to protect him.

And I would drown the world in blood before I let him die.