IMMORTAL: THE ALPHA KING'S GOLDEN BLOOD

CHAPTER- 2

FREYAH

Six vampires burst into the room where Gillian—no, Archie—and I stood. My heart lurched, panic clawing at my chest as I instinctively gripped the pendant resting against my skin.

In a flash, heat ignited from the center of my chest, spreading like wildfire through my veins and down to my hands. The air crackled with energy as my fangs slid free and razor-sharp claws curved from my fingertips.

I spun toward the four wolves, and before my eyes, their bodies convulsed and shifted, their bones cracking, muscles stretching, fur rippling beneath the moon’s unseen pull.

In seconds, they stood tall in their true forms: werewolves. One cloaked in light brown fur, another in deep mahogany, the third a ghostly white-gray, and the last dark as a storm. Their eyes blazed, blue and gold intertwining like lightning and fire, ready to face the monsters that had come for us.

“Kill them,” I snapped, voice sharp as a blade. “They’re vampires—murderers who prey on the innocent and spread nothing but darkness.”

“Yes, my lady,” one answered, bowing his head. “But you must go. Take Prince Gillian to safety. We’ll handle them.”

“Be careful,” I warned, my voice softer now but urgent. I stepped closer to Gillian, gripped his hand until I felt his pulse, brushed the pendant at my throat, and shut my eyes, calling for whatever strength I had left.

When I opened my eyes, I found myself inside a vast room. Everything felt achingly familiar, the soft hue of the curtains, the faint scent lingering in the air, even the silence that seemed to hum with forgotten memories.

I gently adjusted Gillian’s body on the bed, making sure he was comfortable, then rose and made my way toward the living room.

But before I could reach the center, a voice called out, gentle, yet heavy with longing. I froze. Slowly, I turned around, and a sudden ache gripped my chest so tightly it stole my breath.

I didn’t know the man before me. And yet… every part of me longed to run into his arms.

“Freyah, I’m so glad you finally came home,” he said, his voice warm but tinged with hurt. “I thought you’d forgotten us completely.”

“Um… I’ve just been busy,” I managed to reply, forcing calm into my voice even as my pulse raced. But why did it feel this way? I couldn’t tell him the truth, that I didn’t know who he was.

Or maybe… my heart simply refused to believe it.

“Come on,” he said with a soft smile. “You’re just in time, dinner’s ready. Everyone’s waiting in the dining room.”

Everyone? The word echoed in my head, heavy with questions. Who was he talking about? Were there others in this house… and if so, who were they to me?

“Freyah, let’s go. They’re probably getting impatient,” he urged gently, stepping closer. His hand brushed against my arm, warm, grounding, too real to be a dream.

“Come on,” he added, his smile deepening. “I’m sure Daddy will be thrilled to see you… especially Mommy Kathryn.”

He guided me toward a nearby door, his touch light but steady. And as we walked, an inexplicable warmth bloomed in my chest, something that felt like memory, or maybe… home.

As we walked, he spoke again, and with every word, it was as if echoes of a forgotten life stirred faintly inside me.

“What happened, anyway? Your staff said you suddenly filed for emergency leave, but you didn’t even tell us. Mommy Kathryn’s been worried sick about you, and good thing my wife, even with her pregnancy, has been keeping her company.”

I swallowed hard, forcing down the tightness in my throat. “S-sorry… I’ve just been really busy. That’s why it took me so long to come home.” The words felt heavy, each one a lie pressing against my chest.

He smiled, his hand landing softly on my shoulder. “It’s alright. Just make sure to tell us next time, okay? You know how everyone worries about you.” His tone lightened, his eyes glinting with mischief. “By the way, how are you and Archie? He hasn’t shown up lately either. We were starting to think you two might be hiding out together somewhere… or maybe you had already got married without telling us?”

I forced a small smile, though my thoughts were a tangled mess. “N-no, nothing like that happened. The truth is… he’s sick. That’s actually one of the reasons I filed for emergency leave.”

He nodded slowly, a flicker of concern softening his expression. “That explains why I couldn’t reach him on his phone.” He paused, his voice lowering. “How is he now?”

“He… he hasn’t recovered yet,” I said quietly, each word feeling heavier than the last. “That’s why it took me a while to come home.”

The lie slid from my lips like glass, fragile, dangerous. Every word cut deeper, leaving an ache in my chest that refused to fade.

I had to find the woman he called our mother. Maybe then I’d understand who these people really were. But no matter how hard I tried to remember, the faces he spoke of refused to form, just faint silhouettes drifting at the edge of my fading memory.

“Forget what I said,” he murmured with a small smile as he opened the door. “What matters is that you’re here now.”

The moment we stepped inside, I was enveloped by warmth, the soft glow of golden lights, the mouthwatering scent of freshly cooked food wafting from the long dining table. Seven faces turned toward me, five adults and two restless children, their eyes lighting up the instant they saw me.

Then, almost in unison, they all rose from their seats. For a heartbeat, no one spoke. Then two of them, an older man and woman, moved toward me, their expressions trembling with emotion. Before I could even step back, their arms were around me, tight, warm, real.

Their embrace carried a weight I couldn’t name… but my heart recognized it instantly. Daddy. Mommy Kathryn.

“My child, I miss you so much!” Mommy’s voice broke between sobs. “Where have you been? Why did it take you so long to come home?”

I froze, words caught in my throat. I didn’t remember her, not her voice, not her face, yet her embrace felt achingly familiar, like the warmth of a home I’d been searching for all my life.

Slowly, I wrapped my arms around her, holding on as if I could fill the empty spaces in my memory with her touch. And before I knew it, tears spilled down my cheeks, silent, uncontrollable.

At that moment, the ache between us spoke louder than words… a longing that had waited a lifetime for this one fragile, perfect reunion.

“My child, you and your mom can catch up later,” the man said, his tone a perfect balance of warmth and command. “Let’s eat first. The kids have been starving for a while now.”

“O-okay, Daddy,” I murmured, nodding as I tried to steady the nervous thudding in my chest.

“Hubby,” the pregnant woman chimed in with a playful smile. “Did you go out to pick up Freyah? No wonder you took so long outside.”

He chuckled, eyes glinting with amusement. “No, my little munchkin. We met in the living room. It seems our youngest wanted to surprise us. That’s why she didn’t tell anyone she was coming home.”

Laughter rippled through the room, light and familiar. I forced a small smile, but my heartfelt heart was heavy with confusion. Their words, so casual, so filled with affection, echoed in my mind like fragments of a forgotten song. Familiar… yet just beyond reach.

Once again, a woman spoke, her tone calm but laced with maturity, perhaps older than the rest, “Troy said, changing the subject for a bit. Now that Freyah’s finally here, we’ll be heading home soon. Classes start in a few days, and the kids still don’t have their school supplies. I’d rather handle it myself than leave everything to their nanny. We’ll just visit every weekend.”

Troy nodded, a small smile tugging at his lips. “Whatever you think is best, Ate Leannedra.”

I stayed silent, simply listening, as an outsider to a conversation that should have felt familiar. Their voices blended into a soft hum, but the names they spoke stirred something inside me… faint echoes of a life I couldn’t quite remember. It was like trying to grasp a dream that slipped through my fingers each time I reached for it.

Even the food on the table felt hauntingly familiar, the scent, the colors, the warmth of it all. It was as if I had sat here before, laughed here before… and yet, I couldn’t recall when. Still, I forced myself to sit still. I wasn’t hungry. I never truly was. Vampires didn’t crave food, only blood. I ate merely to keep up the illusion of normalcy.

“My child,” my mother said gently, her eyes soft with concern, “Could you stay for a while? Don’t go back to work just yet.”

Her voice wrapped around me like a thread pulling at something deep within my chest, an ache, sharp and tender, that I couldn’t explain.

“Y-yes, Mommy. I’ll stay here for a few days,” I answered softly, forcing a small smile. But deep inside, a storm brewed. I needed to find my other self, the shadow that lived within me, to understand why my memories of them had vanished.

I still remember the night Archie died… the scent of blood in the air, the cold whisper of the Vampire King as he told me the truth, that my parents were the reason Archie had sacrificed his life. After that, everything went blank. Every face, every laugh, every trace of family, erased. And now, here they were before me: people who felt achingly familiar to my heart, yet blurred and distant in my mind.

But another thought gnawed at me, something darker. Why did it feel like I had no control over what was happening? Archie and I kept appearing in that room without warning, as if something, or someone, was pulling the strings. Shouldn’t I be the one deciding where we go?

If we stayed here any longer, the Lazarus clan would eventually find us. And when they did, they wouldn’t hesitate. They’d s*******r everyone in this mansion, my family included.