Adrian POV
There were very few beings old enough to remember things that had been erased from history.
Michel was one of them.
"I'll be there."
An hour later....
Drek, Elisa, Mike and I stood before a massive cave hidden deep within vampire territory.
Ancient guards watched us from the shadows.
The air itself felt old.
Heavy.
As though centuries lingered within the stone.
Inside the cave sat a man draped entirely in black.
His face hidden beneath dark cloth.
Michel.
One of the oldest vampires still alive.
Mike handed him the photographs.
The portrait.
The Celestial Mark.
Astraevor Palace.
The moment Michel saw them—
He froze.
Complete silence filled the cave.
Then slowly...
He looked up.
"For centuries..."
His voice was barely a whisper.
"I believed this was nothing more than a legend."
His eyes remained fixed on the photographs.
"A story passed down by those too old to separate truth from myth."
"But if these photographs are real..."
His fingers tightened around the portrait.
"Then the legend is real too."
My jaw tightened.
"What legend?"
Michel closed his eyes.
Then finally began speaking.
........ ......
"Centuries ago, before the wars between vampires and werewolves became endless..."
"There stood a palace."
"Astraevor Palace."
"It belonged to Princess Lunaria."
"The White Wolf Princess."
The cave fell silent.
"They said she was blessed by the Moon Goddess herself."
"Wherever she went, happiness followed."
"Flowers bloomed beneath her footsteps."
"Wounded wolves healed beneath her touch."
"She was loved by her people."
"Protected by her kingdom."
"And desired by countless Alphas."
"But she loved none of them."
His voice softened.
"Until she met him."
A strange silence settled over the cave.
"A vampire named Vaelor."
"He was wounded."
"Running from hunters."
"Lunaria found him dying in the forest."
"She should have left him."
"She should have walked away."
"But Lunaria never saw monsters."
"Only people."
"So she saved him."
A sad smile touched Michel's lips.
"She hid him inside a secret cave."
"Treated his wounds."
"Visited him every night."
Days became months.
Months became years.
Friendship became trust.
Trust became love.
And love became everything.
"They dreamed of a future together."
"A future where vampires and werewolves didn't hate each other."
"A future where they could simply exist."
"They wanted forever."
For a brief moment Michel's voice carried warmth.
Then it vanished.
"But fate is cruel."
Years passed.
Lunaria remained happy.
Yet a shadow slowly entered her heart.
One day she would grow old.
One day she would die.
One day she would leave Vaelor behind.
The thought terrified her.
So she prayed.
Night after night.
Year after year.
She prayed beneath the moon.
Not for power.
Not for glory.
Only for time.
More time with the man she loved.
And one night...
The Moon Goddess answered.
"She gifted Lunaria the Selenathyx."
A strange silence filled the cave.
"The Stone of Immortality."
"The Goddess blessed her."
"And promised that her child would change history."
A child.
Elisa exchanged a glance with Mike.
Michel lowered his gaze.
"But Lunaria didn't know she was pregnant."
"When she learned the truth, she was overjoyed."
"She laughed."
"She cried."
"She thanked the Moon Goddess."
"And then she ran to tell the man she loved."
His voice darkened.
"But Vaelor had already chosen."
The cave grew cold.
"His clan feared the Selenathyx."
"They feared immortal werewolves."
"They feared the child she carried."
"They convinced him that Lunaria had to die."
Silence.
Heavy.
Painful.
"She arrived just in time to hear them planning her murder."
Michel's voice became quieter.
"Her father wasn't innocent either."
Everyone froze.
"He wanted the Selenathyx."
"He wanted its power."
"He was willing to sacrifice his own daughter."
Shock filled the room.
"Lunaria heard everything."
"The man she loved."
"The father she trusted."
Both had betrayed her.
"So she ran."
"Alone."
"Pregnant."
"Heartbroken."
She disappeared into the wilderness.
Months passed.
Then years.
No one found her.
Not the werewolves.
Not the vampires.
Not her family.
Not Vaelor.
She became a ghost.
A story.
A shadow.
Then one day...
Michel's eyes darkened.
"They found her."
The cave fell silent.
"The vampires found her first."
"The same man she once loved struck the killing blow."
Elisa inhaled sharply.
"And the child?" Drek asked quietly.
Michel slowly shook his head.
"No one ever found the child."
"The Selenathyx vanished."
"The child vanished."
"Astraevor Palace vanished."
Everything disappeared.
As though history itself had swallowed the truth.
Silence filled the cave.
For a long moment, Michel simply stared at the photographs.
Then he spoke again.
"I spent centuries believing this story was only a myth."
"A warning."
"A fairy tale told to young vampires."
His gaze lingered on Lunaria's portrait.
"But these photographs..."
"The palace."
"The Celestial Mark."
His voice lowered.
"They shouldn't exist."
"And yet they do."
For the first time, uncertainty entered his voice.
"Which means Princess Lunaria was real."
"Astraevor Palace was real."
"And somewhere..."
His eyes darkened.
"The answers may still exist."
The cave fell silent.
Heavy.
Painful.
No one spoke for several moments.
Michel's gaze remained fixed on the photographs.
On Lunaria.
On Astraevor Palace.
On the Celestial Mark.
Then he spoke.
"If the child survived..."
"And if the Selenathyx still exists..."
His fingers slowly curled into a fist.
"Then both must be found."
The cave grew quiet.
"What happens if they are?" Drek asked.
For a long moment Michel said nothing.
Then he slowly stood.
The shadows seemed to gather around him.
His face remained hidden beneath the black cloth.
Yet the hatred in his voice was unmistakable.
"Then history will repeat itself."
The air inside the cave turned heavy.
"The wars will begin again."
"Clans will burn."
"Blood will flood the earth."
Silence.
Michel's gaze remained fixed on the photographs.
On Lunaria.
On Astraevor Palace.
On the Celestial Mark.
Then he spoke again.
"If the child still lives..."
"If the Selenathyx really exists..."
His voice was deadly calm.
"The Selenathyx should never have existed."
"It was a mistake."
"A gift that threatened the balance between our worlds."
His hand tightened into a fist.
"For centuries, vampires have survived because that power remained buried."
"If it awakens..."
"If someone claims it..."
"Then vampires will be the first to fall."
His eyes flashed beneath the shadows.
"And I will never allow that to happen."
The temperature inside the cave seemed to drop.
"If the Selenathyx still exists..."
"I will destroy it."
His voice became a cold promise.
"And if Lunaria's child still lives..."
"I will do what should have been done centuries ago."
The meaning was unmistakable.
Elisa stiffened.
Drek's expression darkened.
Mike remained silent.
Michel slowly looked toward the darkness beyond the cave.
As if staring into the past.
Or perhaps into a future only he could see.
Silence.
Absolute silence.
No one spoke.
No one moved.
And for the first time since hearing the legend, the story no longer felt like history.
It felt like the beginning of something far more dangerous.