The clouds swallowed the moon.
Darkness descended upon the forest once more.
The clearing became silent except for the dripping of blood from the dead beasts.
Damian remained still.
His crimson eyes were locked onto the young woman.
The strange scent coming from her grew stronger every second.
Not because it was increasing...
but because Damian's senses were adapting.
His awakening was still incomplete.
Every minute his senses became sharper.
More refined.
More dangerous.
The woman noticed his gaze.
Her heartbeat accelerated.
Thump.
Thump.
Thump.
Damian could hear it clearly.
Yet something else mixed with the sound.
A strange rhythm.
As if another heartbeat existed beneath the first one.
Sirius stepped forward.
"Who are you?"
The woman hesitated.
The older warrior answered first.
"My name is Garrick."
He pointed at the younger man.
"My son, Rowan."
Then toward the woman.
"And her name is Elara."
Silas narrowed his eyes.
"Family?"
Garrick shook his head.
"No."
That answer immediately made Silas suspicious.
Three people.
Running together.
Risking their lives together.
Yet not family?
The executioner crossed his arms.
"And why exactly are you travelling through Darkheart territory at midnight while being chased by corrupted beasts?"
No answer came immediately.
The silence itself was suspicious.
Sirius' eyes became colder.
"Answer."
Garrick swallowed.
"We cannot."
The clearing instantly became dangerous.
Silas smiled.
But it wasn't a pleasant smile.
It was the smile that appeared before someone died.
"Wrong answer."
The older warrior stiffened.
"We truly cannot."
Sirius remained calm.
"Then perhaps we should bring you to Darkheart Castle."
Garrick's face changed.
Fear appeared.
Real fear.
Damian noticed immediately.
Interesting.
The man wasn't afraid of death.
But he feared Darkheart.
Or perhaps what Darkheart could discover.
The prince slowly stepped forward.
The humans immediately became tense.
Damian ignored them.
His eyes remained on Elara.
The woman stood still.
Unlike the others.
She was afraid...
but she wasn't panicking.
Her silver-gray eyes met his gaze directly.
Most mortals couldn't do that.
Not when facing a creature like Damian.
Not when facing a royal vampire.
The prince lowered his head slightly.
"Look at me."
Elara frowned.
But obeyed.
Their eyes met.
Silence followed.
For a few moments nobody spoke.
Then Damian asked...
"What are you?"
The question shocked everyone.
Even Sirius.
Elara's expression changed.
Only slightly.
But Damian saw it.
She knew something.
The prince's eyes narrowed.
"You aren't human."
The woman slowly lowered her gaze.
"Neither are you."
Silas laughed.
"Hahaha."
His laughter echoed through the forest.
"She has courage."
The woman ignored him.
Damian however smiled slightly.
Not because of her answer.
Because she wasn't wrong.
He wasn't human.
Not even close.
The prince walked around her slowly.
Studying.
Observing.
The scent grew clearer.
It wasn't human.
It wasn't vampire.
Not werewolf.
Not beast.
Something else.
Something ancient.
Then...
he froze.
For a brief second...
he sensed it.
The exact same feeling.
The same one he felt when the silver-eyed figure appeared.
His pupils contracted.
Not identical.
But related.
Very related.
Elara immediately noticed his reaction.
And that alone confirmed his suspicion.
She knew.
Not everything.
But something.
"Interesting."
The woman became nervous.
Damian stopped before her.
"Tell me."
"I don't know what you're talking about."
The answer came too quickly.
Too naturally.
A prepared lie.
The prince smiled.
And somehow...
that smile frightened her more than his monstrous form.
"You do."
Silence.
The wind blew through the clearing.
The dead beasts remained motionless.
The moon finally emerged from clouds again.
Silver light fell across Damian's white fur.
The sight was almost divine.
And terrifying.
Sirius observed everything.
The prince had noticed something.
That much was obvious.
The executioner trusted Damian's instincts.
Especially tonight.
His awakening was revealing things none of them fully understood.
Then suddenly
Damian's ears twitched.
He turned toward the north.
Everyone became alert.
"What is it?" Sirius asked.
The prince remained silent.
His senses stretched through the forest.
Something moved.
Fast.
Very fast.
And large.
A moment later
Sirius also sensed it too.
His expression hardened.
Silas stopped smiling.
"Well."
His hand moved toward his sword.
"That's not good."
The humans looked confused.
Then...
they heard it.
BOOM.
The ground trembled.
Far away.
But approaching.
Another impact followed.
BOOM.
BOOM.
Birds exploded from the trees.
The forest became chaotic.
Animals fled.
Even predators ran.
Damian's eyes narrowed.
Something was coming.
And everything else feared it.
The scent reached him.
Rot.
Blood.
Madness.
The prince immediately understood.
The beasts from before weren't hunting these people.
They had been running too.
Running from something stronger.
Much stronger.
The realization made even Sirius grim.
Then...
a roar echoed through the forest.
A monstrous roar.
Ancient.
Violent.
The humans paled instantly.
Garrick whispered...
"No..."
Silas looked at him.
"You know what that is?"
The older warrior slowly nodded.
And the answer he gave changed the atmosphere entirely.
"We thought it was dead."
Another roar shook the forest.
Closer now.
Much closer.
Sirius stepped before Damian.
Instinctively.
Protectively.
The prince almost laughed.
Almost.
Then Garrick continued.
His voice trembling.
"It hunts bloodlines."
Silence.
"What?" Silas asked.
The warrior stared into the darkness.
"It appears once every few centuries."
"The Blood Eater."
Even Sirius frowned.
He had never heard that name.
Yet Garrick wasn't lying.
Fear like that couldn't be faked.
Then...
Elara spoke.
For the first time since Damian questioned her.
And her words made everyone's blood run cold.
"It's here for him."
The clearing became silent.
Damian slowly looked toward her.
She was staring directly at him.
"No."
She corrected herself.
Her face had become pale.
Terrified.
"The moment he awakened..."
Her voice shook.
"...it awakened too."
Far away
another roar echoed.
This time so loud that trees shook.
And for the first time since his transformation
Damian smiled.
Not because of danger.
Not because of confidence.
But because something inside him welcomed the challenge.
The wolf.
The prince.
The monster.
All three wanted to know
what exactly was coming for him.