Chapter 7: Blades in the Dark
The wind howled as if mourning what was about to come.
Ethan stood on the rooftop of the Alpha Estate, the city of Blackridge stretched below him, its skyline shimmering with unnatural stillness. The moon was high, casting silver light across the land—but none of it reached the growing shadows inside him.
He should've seen it sooner.
Luca was gone.
And the note? It wasn't a farewell. It was a warning.
Ethan clenched the paper again in his fist.
"Forgive me."
Forgive what, Luca?
The betrayal echoed deeper than Ethan wanted to admit. Luca had been his closest friend. His shield during war games, his second in command, his brother when no one else could understand the pressure of being royal-blooded.
But now he was a ghost in Ethan's past—and worse, likely working with enemies that wanted Ethan dead.
Or worse… turned.
---
Inside the estate's war chamber, Ethan paced before Eli and three lieutenants from the inner circle.
"There are rumors," Eli said carefully. "Movement near the Western Ridge. A camp has formed. Not wolves. Not vamps. Something else."
Ethan's jaw clenched. "He's there."
"You're sure?"
"He left just before the seal stirred. He knew something. He planned something. I need to find him."
The council exchanged glances, hesitant. One finally spoke.
"If Luca's betrayed us, Ethan, you know what must be done."
Silence.
Ethan turned away, voice tight. "I'm not ready to kill my brother."
---
That night, Ava met him by the cliff's edge again, her cloak fluttering in the wind like dark wings.
"You're angry," she said.
Ethan didn't respond.
She stepped closer, her violet eyes catching the moonlight. "Talk to me."
He looked at her, something burning behind his eyes. "How do I trust anyone now?"
Ava tilted her head. "You trust me."
"Do I?"
She stiffened slightly, but didn't look away.
"I want to," Ethan whispered. "God, I want to. But everyone close to me either dies or turns on me."
She stepped even closer. "Then take the risk."
Before he could speak, she kissed him.
But this time it wasn't desperate.
It was slow. Deep.
Like two souls trying to anchor each other in the middle of a hurricane.
Ethan pulled her tighter, her scent flooding his senses, their marks glowing so hot they burned through fabric.
But then—
Pain.
Like knives under his ribs.
He staggered back, gasping. "Wha—?"
Ava clutched her own chest. Her knees buckled. "The mark—"
Their soul-bond glowed black for a second, pulsing erratically.
Then it faded.
Ethan rushed to her. "Ava!"
She shook her head, breathing hard. "It's been… tampered with."
Ethan froze. "What?"
Ava met his eyes. "Someone's trying to sever it from the outside."
And that's when Ethan knew—
Luca didn't just betray him. He was targeting the bond itself.
---
They rode out that night on two black motorcycles, Ava behind Ethan, her arms tight around his waist. The air was thick with tension, and the roads blurred past in streaks of silver and red.
They reached the Western Ridge just before midnight. The forest was dense, silent—too silent.
Ethan dismounted, sniffing the air.
"Blood. Steel. Ash."
Ava's voice was low. "Trap."
Too late.
A howl split the trees—not wolf, not beast, but human and wrong.
Figures emerged from the shadows, cloaked in bone-white armor, faces hidden by red war paint. A mix of outcast werewolves and blood-thirst cultists.
And in the center of them—Luca.
Ethan's heart stopped.
He stepped forward. "You're working with them?"
Luca removed his hood. His eyes were rimmed with something unnatural—black veins, crawling toward his pupils.
"I'm doing what you wouldn't," Luca said coldly. "Ending the war. Ending her."
Ava hissed, fangs flashing.
"You don't know what you're unleashing," Ethan said.
Luca's smile was ice. "I know exactly what I'm doing. I'm breaking the bond. And then I'm breaking you."
He raised a hand—and the enemy attacked.
---
The battle exploded.
Wolves transformed mid-air, slamming into Ethan and Ava.
Ethan dodged a claw, pulled two silver blades from his belt, and slashed in a blur of motion. His wolf surged to the surface, strength amplifying. He moved like lightning, blood splattering against the trees.
Ava vanished into shadow—then reappeared behind two cultists, snapping one's neck and tearing through the other with a crimson blade. Her movements were fluid death.
A silver net shot through the air—Luca's trap.
It wrapped around Ava, hissing as it tightened. She screamed, fire lacing her skin.
"AVA!" Ethan roared.
He charged at Luca, blades spinning.
But Luca was ready.
Their weapons clashed. Steel met fang. Old friendship turned blood feud.
"You were my brother!" Ethan shouted.
"And you were weak!" Luca snarled, knocking Ethan back. "You chose her over us. Over everything!"
Ava collapsed to the ground, the net melting into her skin. Her hand reached toward Ethan. "Don't… let them… break it…"
Ethan's mark pulsed again—blazing red.
He unleashed a howl so powerful it cracked nearby trees.
His eyes turned gold.
Not amber. Not wolf.
Royal. Alpha King's heir.
Power exploded from him.
Cultists flew back. The air shook.
Luca stumbled, shocked.
Ethan's blades flew from his hands and embedded into two of the enemy. He rushed toward Ava, ripping the net off, hands burning in the process.
Ava gasped, weak but alive. "You… found it."
Ethan cradled her. "Found what?"
"Your truth."
---
By sunrise, the ridge was ash and blood.
The cultists fled.
Luca… was gone again.
But not before leaving a trail—a map etched in ash. Ava found it beside the net's remains.
Five dots.
One seal broken.
One being awakened.
And in bold ink at the center: "THE SECOND OPENS IN 7 DAYS"