MOONLIGHT FATE

CHAPTER FIVE

LUCIAN’S POV

The forest had grown quiet again too quiet. I stood among the ruins of the ancient sanctuary as dust slowly settled around me. Broken stone covered the floor, part of the ceiling had collapsed, and the ancient runes carved into the walls were fading. My vampires lay scattered across the chamber; some had been ripped apart, some had been crushed beneath the falling stone, others had died at the jaw of the creature, the Moon Guardian. I looked down at one of the bodies near my feet; his throat had been torn open and the air still smelled faintly of blood. I stepped over the corpse and brushed the dust from my coat. The girl was gone, the wolf had taken her and the moon guardian had come to protect her.

I lifted my burning eyes to the shattered ceiling, where pale moonlight still glowed faintly over the forest. A slow smile touched my lips. “So it is true, the Stone is finally awakened." I had searched for it for centuries. Most vampires believed the Moonstone was nothing more than a myth, an old story witches told to frighten foolish immortals, but I had never believed that, I had lived long enough to understand one simple truth, the oldest stories are usually the most truthful. I was not always the man I am today, five centuries ago I was only a soldier, a human soldier. The war I fought in has long been forgotten, kings rose and empires fell while I killed for men who believed they ruled the world, they were wrong. I learned the truth the night I died or rather the night I was reborn. A vampire found me dying on a battlefield, my body was broken, blood filled my lungs, I still remember how brightly the moon shone that night as it watched over the field. My creator offered me a choice “die as a forgotten soldier or live forever”, I chose immortality and I've never regretted the choice I made. Over the centuries, I have learned many things, humans are weak, Kings are temporary but power is eternal, that is why I have spent centuries searching for the moonstone.

According to ancient texts, the relic existed long before the vampire race itself, it was created by the Moon Goddess . A stone powerful enough to changed the balance between every supernatural race, who ever controls it, wields unimaginable power, strong enough to reshape the world, enough to rule the night, but finding it was never simple.

Hunters and witches destroyed most records of the Stone centuries ago, they feared what would happen if vampires discovered it, they were wise to fear. For centuries, the stone remained nothing more than a rumor until three months ago, that was when everything changed.

One of my spies brought me a strange report from a small village far beyond vampire territory. At first it sounded ridiculous, a young woman had been seen walking through the forest during a full moon, animals trailing behind her even the wind bending around her presence. Under Normal circumstances, I would have ignored such foolish tales, but one detail stood out,

a hunter claimed he saw a silver light glowing from her chest during the blood moon. That single detail changed everything, secrets like that cannot be allowed to spread so I sent my soldiers to erase the village the report came from. Every witness, Every voice. Silence is the only way to protect power. But I underestimated one thing: “timing” I was not fast enough, the news must have spread because Caius was here searching for the same stone

"Silver light."The exact color described in the ancient writings, the moment I read the full report, I knew what it meant, the stone I have been searching for, still I needed proof so I sent the three weakest vampires ahead of my strongest soldiers on purpose. It was a rule I learned long ago, back when I was still a human soldier, never send your strongest fighters first, send your weakest. If they succeed, the mission ends quietly, if they fail their failure reveals the truth. They return shaking like men who had stared into death itself, fear like that can not be faked and that was proof enough for me. So I gathered my army and marched towards the sanctuary, the moment we entered, everything became clear.

silver light flooded the ancient chamber, she stood at the center of the sanctuary. The stone glowed through her chest as if a piece of the moon had been buried inside her heart. The power radiating from her was immense, my

vampires felt it immediately, some of them hesitated but I did not.

"Bring her to me," I ordered calmly. My soldiers obeyed right away but the moment they stepped closer, the ground began to shake, the entire sanctuary trembled violently, stone cracked beneath our feet and dust poured from the ceiling, the forest exploded outside, my vampires froze when the beast entered. For a moment, even I stood still because I recognized it the beast “the moon guardian”

I stepped carefully across the shattered floor of the sanctuary, studying the deep marks left behind by its claws. “The moon guardian,” For centuries, many had dismissed the creatures as nothing more than a legend. But I had spent centuries studying those stories, gathering every scrap of knowledge I could find. According to the oldest legends, the moon goddess created the Guardian and bound it to the stone. It appears only for the one she chooses and tonight, I saw the truth with my own eyes. The creature had not attacked the girl, it had bowed to her and that simply mean the stone had chosen her. Aurelia was its vessel. I stood still for a moment, letting the realization settle in my mind. One of the surviving vampires approached cautiously, his voice trembling. "My lord… What are your orders?” Fear filled his voice, good. Fear keeps soldiers obedient, "Send scouts into the forest," I ordered. "Find the wolf and find the girl." He bowed instantly. "Yes, my lord."

I glanced back at the sky, the Blood Moon burned brightly above the forest. "The Stone has awakened," I whispered. Soon the witches, the hunters, and wolf packs would begin searching for the girl, they would believe they could protect her or control her but they were already late, none of them had what I possessed, years of patience and experience. I step towards the broken entrance, crushed stone cracking beneath my boots. For centuries, I had been waiting for the Moonstone to reveal itself again and now it had. Fate had placed it directly in my path, the girl who carried it had been revealed “Aurelia” I repeated quietly. That was the name the wolf had spoken, the wolf who dared to challenge me. Wolves are interesting creatures, loyal, predictable and very easy to manipulate.

He may believe he saved her tonight, the moon guardian might believe it protected its vessel but they both misunderstand one simple truth, no one escapes forever. A slow smile spread across my face as I looked into the darkness where they had fled. Somewhere out there, the wolf was running and somewhere out there the girl believed she was safe, I almost laughed.

Let them run, fear makes prey careless and eventually all prey get tired. My eyes glowed faintly beneath the Blood Moon “run while you can,” I murmured quietly “because when I find you, the Moonstone will finally be mine.”