Adrian's POV
I stood frozen where I was.
The music still echoed through the grand ballroom.
Laughter drifted through the air.
Couples danced beneath glittering chandeliers, their smiles untouched by the storm raging inside me.
To everyone else...
It was just another Halloween party.
But all I could see...
Was Eira walking away.
The pain in her eyes replayed over and over inside my mind, each memory cutting deeper than the last.
What have I done?
I never wanted to speak to her like that.
Never wanted to see that look on her face.
Yet the moment I saw Jake standing beside her...
Everything I'd spent centuries burying shattered.
The way he looked at her.
The way he stood so close.
The way his hand brushed against hers.
The way he made her smile.
Every second tested the control I had spent centuries mastering.
A ruthless instinct rose from somewhere deep inside me—
Ancient.
Savage.
Terrifying.
It demanded only one thing.
Keep her away from him.
Possessiveness.
Jealousy.
Emotions I had convinced myself had died long ago.
Yet tonight...
They had returned without mercy.
I despised them.
More than that...
I despised myself for letting them control me.
She deserved an explanation.
Not my anger.
Not my coldness.
Not the pain I had caused her.
I wanted to go after her.
To apologize.
To tell her none of it was her fault.
To tell her she would never have to face anything alone.
That I would protect her...
Even from myself.
But my feet refused to move.
For the first time in centuries...
I didn't know what to do.
"Adrian."
Victoria's voice broke through my thoughts as her fingers curled possessively around my arm.
I didn't even look at her.
"Let go."
She smiled as though she hadn't heard me.
"The party has barely started."
"You've only just arrived."
Her hand slid farther up my sleeve.
"You can't possibly be leaving already."
I pulled my arm away with one sharp movement.
"I said..."
"Let go."
For the first time that evening...
Her smile faltered.
She followed my gaze toward the ballroom entrance.
Toward the place where Eira had disappeared.
Realization slowly spread across her face.
Then came a knowing smile.
"So that's it."
"It really is about her."
I remained silent.
Victoria let out a soft, mocking laugh.
"I don't understand."
"What do you even see in a girl like her?"
"First she spent weeks trying to get your attention..."
"And now she's following Jake."
"She changes sides rather quickly, doesn't she?"
The air around us grew colder.
The candles nearest us flickered.
A thin layer of frost quietly crept across the crystal glasses resting on the nearby table.
She noticed.
I saw the unease flash through her eyes.
But she continued anyway.
"Maybe that's just who she is."
"The kind of girl who enjoys making men fight over her."
Silence.
Heavy.
Absolute.
Slowly...
I turned to face her.
Every trace of amusement vanished from Victoria's expression.
There was no anger on my face.
No hatred.
No raised voice.
Only a terrifying calm.
Somehow...
That frightened her far more.
I took one slow step toward her.
My voice remained steady.
"There are many things in this world that I can tolerate."
A pause.
"You..."
"I tolerate."
Another step.
"Your arrogance..."
"I tolerate."
Another.
"Your endless games..."
"I tolerate."
I looked directly into her eyes.
"But if you ever speak about her like that again..."
My voice dropped to a whisper.
"So help me..."
"I'll make sure you spend the rest of your life wishing someone had stopped me before I did."
Victoria's face drained of color.
She instinctively stepped backward.
For the first time since I'd known her...
She looked genuinely afraid.
I didn't wait for a response.
She wasn't worth another second of my time.
The moment I stepped outside, the cold night air struck my face.
The music faded behind me until only silence remained.
I closed my eyes.
Find her.
Every instinct inside me reached into the darkness.
The scent of damp earth.
Ancient pine.
Rain-soaked leaves.
The waterfall.
Blood...
My heart lurched.
Then—
Her.
Faint.
Fragile.
Unmistakable.
Relief lasted only a heartbeat.
The scent of blood was growing stronger.
Far stronger than before.
My eyes snapped open.
"Eira..."
Her name escaped my lips like a prayer.
The wind suddenly died.
A strange ripple of ancient power swept through the forest, carrying with it a pressure so old that even the night seemed to shudder.
I slowly lifted my gaze toward the sky.
The moon...
Its silver light was fading.
Crimson spread across its surface like blood staining white silk.
A chill ran through my entire body.
"No..."
My voice was barely a whisper.
"It can't be..."
Not tonight.
Not after all these centuries.
Without another thought...
I vanished into the darkness, chasing the fading scent of the girl who had somehow become the center of my immortal existence.
Jake's POV
The party was in full swing.
Music pulsed through the grand ballroom.
Laughter echoed beneath the glowing chandeliers as students danced, joked, and celebrated without a care in the world.
For a brief moment...
It almost felt like an ordinary Halloween night.
As if monsters, prophecies, and ancient wars didn't exist.
I picked up two glasses of juice from the refreshment table.
One for me.
One for Eira.
A small smile found its way onto my face.
Maybe...
Despite everything that had happened...
We could still salvage the rest of the evening.
I started weaving through the crowd.
Then I saw her.
Eira was standing with Victoria and Adrian.
Even from a distance...
Something felt wrong.
The air around them seemed unnaturally tense.
Eira's smile was gone.
She looked...
Hurt.
My pace quickened.
Before I could reach them—
My phone vibrated sharply in my pocket.
I frowned as I glanced at the screen.
Elder Rowan.
He never called unless it was an emergency.
A cold feeling settled in my chest.
I answered immediately.
"What happened?"
His voice was strained.
"Alpha..."
"The Stone has begun responding."
My expression hardened.
"What?"
"The Red Moon is nearly complete."
"The ancient seals are weakening."
"It hasn't awakened yet..."
"But it will."
"Soon."
"Its aura is gathering near the old forest beside the college."
"We need you here immediately."
My grip tightened around the phone.
The Stone.
For centuries, it had existed only as a legend.
A power hidden from everyone.
A power I had searched for endlessly.
And now...
It was finally within my reach.
After centuries of searching...
I couldn't let this chance slip away.
Not now.
Not when the answer I had been chasing for so long was finally awakening.
The Stone's power...
Immortality.
The strength to end the existence of every vampire.
For centuries, they had walked through the shadows.
They had survived.
They had escaped.
But not anymore.
With the Stone...
There would be no hiding.
No escape.
No vampire would remain standing when I was finished.
Are you certain?"
My voice was low.
Elder Rowan answered immediately.
"Yes."
"The energy is unmistakable."
"If we're too late..."
"We may lose our only chance."
Silence.
Then my eyes moved across the ballroom.
Back to Eira.
Duty...
Or her.
For a moment...
I wanted to stay.
I wanted to know why she looked so hurt.
I wanted to ask what happened between her and Adrian.
But the Stone...
The one thing I had spent centuries searching for...
Was calling.
A sharp ache settled in my chest.
"I'll be there."
The call ended.
For a long moment...
I simply stood there.
Every instinct told me to stay.
To ask if she was alright.
A small reminder of the peaceful moment I had hoped for.
But peace could wait.
The Stone could not.
I walked toward her.
"Eira..."
She looked at me.
There was sadness in her eyes.
A sadness I couldn't understand.
I handed her one of the glasses.
"I'm sorry."
"I have to go."
"I'll be back as soon as I can."
I wanted to tell her more.
About the Stone.
About what this moment meant.
But I couldn't.
Not yet.
I wanted to stay.
Just one more minute.
Just one more conversation.
But every passing heartbeat brought the Red Moon closer to its peak.
With one last look at her...
I turned away.
The crowd swallowed me whole.
The music faded behind me as I left the ballroom.
The moment I stepped outside...
The cold night air touched my face.
The scent of the forest reached me.
And somewhere beneath the crimson sky...
The Stone was waiting.
After centuries of searching...
I was finally going to find it.
Without another second to lose...
I sprinted toward the old forest.
Far above the trees...
The moon continued turning crimson.
And somewhere in the darkness...
Destiny waited for us all.
Adrian's POV
The forest swallowed every sound except the whisper of the wind.
I raced through the darkness faster than any human eye could follow.
Trees blurred into shadows.
Branches shattered behind me.
The cold night air cut against my face.
But I didn't slow down.
Not for a single moment.
"Eira..."
No answer.
I stopped suddenly.
Silence.
I closed my eyes.
Find her.
Every instinct inside me reached into the darkness.
The scent of damp earth.
Ancient trees.
Rain-soaked leaves.
The rushing waterfall.
Then...
Wolves.
Their scent was everywhere.
Fresh.
Countless.
They had covered the entire forest.
It overwhelmed every other trace.
I forced my senses deeper.
Past the wolves.
Past the wind.
Past the strange ancient energy filling the forest.
Then...
Her.
Faint.
Fragile.
Unmistakable.
My eyes opened instantly.
"Eira..."
Without another thought...
I vanished deeper into the darkness.
The Red Moon hung above the forest, painting everything beneath it in crimson light.
Then—
A howl shattered the silence.
One.
Then another.
Dozens answered from every direction.
My eyes narrowed.
"Werewolves..."
They were close.
I moved faster.
The closer I got...
The stronger her scent became.
My entire body tensed.
"Eira!"
I burst into the clearing.
The waterfall crashed beneath the crimson moonlight.
Beside it stood an enormous old rock, silent and unmoving.
At its base...
She lay on the ground.
For the first time in centuries...
Fear entered my mind.
Not fear of death.
Not fear of enemies.
Fear of losing her.
I was beside her instantly, carefully lifting her into my arms.
"Eira!"
Her body trembled violently.
An unbearable heat radiated from her skin.
"Look at me."
"Please..."
Slowly...
Her fingers weakly gripped my coat.
Then her eyes opened.
I froze.
They were no longer the eyes I knew.
They glowed crimson.
Not reflecting the Red Moon...
But shining from within.
"It hurts..."
Her voice trembled.
"My heart..."
"It feels like it's burning..."
A crimson aura surrounded her.
With every painful moment...
The light beneath her hands grew brighter.
It wasn't coming from the moon.
It wasn't coming from the forest.
It was coming...
From inside her.
The air trembled.
The wind circled the clearing.
The waterfall roared louder.
Yet the massive rock beside us remained silent.
Unmoving.
As though it were only a witness.
"Eira..."
I placed my hands over hers.
"You're in pain..."
Carefully...
I moved her hands away.
The moment I did—
The crimson light exploded outward.
Ancient power swept through the clearing.
The trees bent.
The ground shook.
The river churned.
The strap of her gown slipped from her shoulder.
And then...
I saw it.
A crescent-shaped mark.
My entire body went still.
No...
It couldn't be.
The Silverpine Royal Crest.
The same mark I had seen in Princess Lunaria's portrait.
The mark belonging only to the lost royal bloodline.
My mind refused to accept what my eyes were seeing.
The princess's daughter...
Eira.
The girl I had been searching for.
The girl who carried the answer to the prophecy.
The same girl who carried the power I was supposed to destroy.
Impossible.
My thoughts collided.
The mission.
The prophecy.
The stone.
Eira.
Everything I believed suddenly became uncertain.
I had expected to find a threat.
A danger.
Something I could destroy before it awakened.
I never expected...
It would be her.
The one person I was never prepared to face.
For the first time...
I questioned the very mission I had sworn to complete.
I slowly looked into her glowing crimson eyes.
Confusion.
Shock.
Disbelief.
Fear of the truth.
All of it overwhelmed me.
"The princess's daughter..."
My voice was barely a whisper.
"It was you..."
The crimson aura around Eira erupted with terrifying force.
Scarlet light consumed the clearing.
The wind stopped.
The waterfall became silent.
Even the wolves stopped howling.
The entire forest seemed to bow before the ancient power awakening within her.
Then...
Deep beneath the earth...
Something answered.
A forgotten presence stirred.
The stone.
The prophecy.
The lost bloodline.
Everything was connected.
I held Eira closer, unable to look away from the impossible truth before me.
The girl I was meant to stop...
Was the girl I had sworn to protect.
The girl I had been searching for...
Was the one person I never wanted to find.
The Red Moon had risen.
The royal bloodline had awakened.
And the prophecy...
Had finally begun.