Chapter 9: The Blood Temple's Secret
The road to the Temple of Red Water was one no sane person dared travel.
Winding through cursed forests, across old war zones from the Vampire-Wolf Wars, it was said the path consumed the minds of men and drank the souls of the guilty.
But Ethan wasn't afraid. Not anymore.
Not with Ava dying beside him.
---
The Price of the Wound
Ava lay against the side of the armored SUV Mathias had loaned them. Her skin was colder now. The curse from the Crimson Order's blade had settled deep, poisoning not her body—but her soul.
Ethan drove with white knuckles, eyes burning, fury building with every mile.
"She's slipping," Mathias warned from the backseat, fingers hovering over a map that bled red ink on its own. "Once we reach the Temple, the seal's power might restore her—if we survive."
Ethan didn't respond. He just pressed the accelerator harder.
---
Arrival at the Edge
They reached the outskirts of the Temple at dusk.
The Temple of Red Water was built into the base of a cliff, jagged stone towers rising like thorns from the earth. Rivers of actual red water flowed in channels around it—blood, enchanted and preserved by old magic.
Two colossal statues flanked the entrance—half-wolf, half-human creatures with hollow eyes.
"It's beautiful," Ava whispered weakly, "in a terrifying way."
Ethan helped her out of the car. She leaned on him. The mark on his wrist throbbed, reacting to the Temple's magic.
"This is it," Mathias said. "But the Crimson Order won't just let you walk in."
"They'll have to try and stop me," Ethan growled.
---
The Crimson Order's Test
The moment they stepped through the blood-lit archway, shadows moved.
Ten robed figures emerged from the darkness—each wearing a mask carved from bone, each holding a silver glaive stained with vampire blood.
"You carry a cursed mark, boy." One of them stepped forward, taller than the rest. His voice echoed unnaturally.
"I carry the Alpha King's blood," Ethan snapped. "And the right to unseal what your kind has buried."
"You think blood gives you permission?" the man said. "Blood is debt."
Then he raised his hand—and the Order attacked.
---
Blood and Bond
Steel clashed in the hallway of stone.
Ethan was a blur of power now—his sword glowing gold, eyes shining. He moved not like a boy, but like a king born in war.
He dodged the first three strikes, spun, and cut through two guards with a single swing. Blood splashed the walls.
Ava, despite her pain, summoned blood-blades from her palms, weaving them in deadly spirals. But her body was weakening—her movements slower.
She collapsed mid-fight.
"AVA!"
Ethan's control snapped.
Power exploded from him—not just gold anymore, but something darker, more ancient. His eyes flared white for the first time.
The ground split beneath him. Stone cracked. The guards froze—terrified.
Even Mathias stepped back. "That power… it's not Alpha. It's older."
The remaining Crimson guards dropped their weapons.
The leader bowed slowly. "You… you carry the blood of the Firstborn."
"What?" Ethan asked, chest heaving.
"Not just Ulric. Your bloodline traces back to the original union—Lycan and Vampire. Alpha and Shade. You are the Key."
---
The Second Seal
They entered the sanctum.
The Second Seal hovered in a blood-crystal sphere above a pedestal surrounded by ancient runes.
Mathias spoke reverently. "This was placed here during the first war. It keeps balance between the Vampire Courts and the Alpha Bloodlines."
Ethan stepped forward, but his mark burned violently. Ava gasped, falling again.
He caught her. "Stay with me."
She opened her eyes. "You have to break the seal."
"If I do—everything changes."
"Then change everything."
He turned back to the seal. Reached out.
The moment his palm touched the crystal—visions surged through his mind.
A world on fire. Packs slaughtering one another. A black sun rising.
And Ava… screaming.
He staggered back.
"I saw the future," he whispered. "If I break this… I become something else. Not Alpha. Not human."
"Then choose who you'll become," Ava said, rising beside him. Her voice was weak, but her eyes fierce.
Together, they reached for the seal.
---
Betrayal Comes Again
Just before they touched it—
A voice rang through the chamber.
"Don't."
They turned.
Luca.
His hair was longer now, darker. His aura was… wrong. Twisted. There were veins of black magic across his arms.
And beside him—a woman cloaked in gold, her face hidden, but her magic blinding.
"You break that seal, Ethan, and you unleash them," Luca said. "The forgotten ones. The ones your father died to keep buried."
"You betrayed us," Ethan said, voice trembling.
"I saved you," Luca growled. "And now I'll save the world. Even if I have to kill you."
Ava stepped forward, blood dripping from her fingers. "You'll die trying."
Then all hell broke loose.
---
The Temple War
Lightning erupted from Luca's palms. Ethan's blade met it head-on. Magic shattered stone.
The cloaked woman summoned serpents of golden fire. Mathias chanted counter-spells.
Ava flung daggers of blood into Luca's shield, forcing him back.
The chamber shook.
Then—Ethan dropped his blade and roared. Not a human sound—but a wolf's howl, pure and commanding.
His form shimmered. Muscles expanded. Power laced his bones.
He wasn't shifting into a wolf.
He was becoming something in between.
A hybrid. A creature of prophecy.
With one punch, he shattered Luca's shield.
With one roar, he forced the woman to her knees.
Ava looked at him in awe.
"Ethan…"
He turned to the seal, bleeding, burning, pulsing.
And he broke it.
---
What Was Unleashed
Silence followed.
The seal cracked like glass.
Red mist poured from it—then black.
The temple walls shivered. Ancient voices screamed in languages long dead.
Ethan fell to his knees. Ava rushed to him, eyes wide.
Then the mist coalesced into a shape.
Something not quite real. Not quite dead.
It looked down on them all—and smiled.
"The third seal awaits."
Then it vanished.
Mathias fell back, face white.
"What… what did you release?"
Ethan stood, trembling.
"I don't know. But it knows me."
He looked at Ava. Then at Luca, who crawled away, defeated.
And he made a vow.
"No more running. No more hiding. I'll end this war."