Adrian's POV
The Silverpine mark.
My eyes remained fixed on the glowing crescent beneath her shoulder.
No...
It couldn't be.
The princess's daughter.
Eira.
And the power within her...
Selenthayx.
The Stone of Immortality.
The impossible truth crashed through my mind, shattering everything I had believed.
Suddenly, everything connected.
Astraevor Palace.
The day Eira had crossed the threshold of the hidden palace—somewhere no ordinary human should ever have been able to enter.
The ancient gates hadn't rejected her.
They had welcomed her.
Her crimson eyes.
None of it had been a coincidence.
It had always been Selenthayx.
The Stone of Immortality had been inside her all along.
Every mystery. Every impossible event. Every question I'd failed to answer...
The answer had been standing before me the entire time, hidden behind the smile of a girl who had never known the truth herself.
Finally, it all made sense.
Everything I believed...
Everything I thought I knew...
Had changed in a single moment.
"Adrian..."
Her trembling voice pulled me back.
"It hurts..."
"My heart..."
"It feels like it's burning..."
She clutched her chest as the crimson aura surrounding her pulsed with terrifying force.
I tightened my hold around her.
"I'm here."
"You're safe."
I placed my hand gently over hers, pouring ancient vampire energy into her, desperate to ease the agony consuming her.
Nothing.
The crimson light only grew brighter.
Stronger.
It wasn't hurting her.
It was awakening.
Selenthayx...
Was awakening.
Then—
A deafening howl shattered the silence.
One.
Then another.
Dozens more answered from every direction.
The forest trembled beneath the haunting chorus.
The scent of werewolves flooded the clearing.
Fresh.
Countless.
Dangerously close.
My eyes snapped toward the darkness.
They had felt it.
Selenthayx.
And they were coming for it.
They were coming for her.
I looked down at Eira.
She was barely conscious, her breathing shallow and uneven. Crimson light pulsed beneath her skin with every heartbeat.
Without hesitation, I slipped off my long black coat and wrapped it around her trembling body. I pulled the high collar up, shielding her face from every watching eye, then covered the glowing Silverpine mark beneath her shoulder.
The crimson light disappeared beneath the black fabric.
"No one will see you."
"I won't let them."
Slowly, I lifted my gaze.
Golden eyes stared back at me from the darkness.
One pair.
Then another.
Then dozens more.
They watched from towering rocks, behind ancient trees, and between the shadows of the branches.
Low growls echoed through the clearing.
The entire forest had surrounded us.
I gently lowered Eira behind me, shielding her with my body.
They weren't watching me.
They were watching her.
A cold fury settled deep within me.
"They're not touching you."
"Not while I still stand."
"I'll protect you."
A low growl rolled through the clearing.
Then another.
The pack began to close in.
The forest itself seemed to hold its breath.
Then—
The first wolf lunged.
I vanished.
A thunderous impact exploded across the clearing as my fist crashed into its jaw, sending the beast hurtling through two ancient trees.
Before its body struck the ground, another wolf descended from above.
I caught it by the throat.
One sharp twist.
A sickening crack echoed through the night.
I released it without a second thought.
A third wolf rushed toward me, claws extended.
Without turning, I seized its arm, used its momentum against it, and hurled it into a massive boulder.
The stone exploded into fragments.
The wolves didn't stop.
Neither did I.
Another charged.
Then two more.
Claws.
Fangs.
Growls.
The forest became a storm of violence beneath the crimson moon.
Every beast that came for me fell.
But none reached Eira.
Not one.
As long as I stood between them...
She was untouchable.
Then—
A deeper howl echoed across the mountains.
Another answered.
Then another.
My expression hardened.
More packs.
Far more than I'd expected.
Their scent spread through the forest until it overwhelmed everything around us. They were no longer simply surrounding us.
They had sealed every path of escape.
For centuries, Selenthayx had been feared—a power capable of changing the balance between vampires and werewolves.
I'd always believed it needed to be destroyed.
But now...
The impossible truth stood before me.
Selenthayx wasn't hidden beneath ancient ruins.
It wasn't lost in some forgotten corner of the world.
It was inside her.
Inside Eira.
The very power I had once wanted to erase had become the power I would now protect with my life.
They weren't coming for Selenthayx alone.
They were coming for her.
And I would never allow them to take her.
I turned toward the roaring waterfall.
The cliff.
Our only escape.
Without another moment's hesitation, I lifted Eira into my arms.
Even through the pain, her fingers weakly gripped my coat.
I held her close, shielding her beneath the black fabric.
Another chorus of furious howls erupted behind me.
The wolves charged.
Too late.
I stepped to the edge of the cliff.
For a single, silent moment, the world stood still.
The crimson moon reflected across the rushing water below.
Eira's fragile presence was the only thing I could focus on.
Then—
I jumped.
The freezing river swallowed us as we disappeared beneath the crashing waterfall, leaving nothing behind but the enraged howls of the werewolves echoing through the night.
Jake's POV
I could feel it.
Selenthayx.
Its ancient power pulsed through the forest like a living heartbeat.
It was close.
So close.
After all this time, I had finally found it.
"Move."
My voice cut through the darkness.
My pack surged forward, racing beside me through the ancient trees.
Every instinct inside me screamed the same word.
Closer.
Closer.
Selenthayx was calling to me.
Its power grew stronger with every step.
Tonight, everything would change.
Tonight, Selenthayx would finally belong to me.
Then—
I stopped.
The wolves behind me nearly collided with one another.
Silence.
The connection...
It was gone.
My eyes narrowed.
No.
Impossible.
I closed my eyes, reaching for that ancient power.
Searching.
Waiting.
Nothing.
The presence that had filled the forest moments ago had disappeared completely.
"Where did you go?"
Only moments ago, Selenthayx had been calling to me.
Now there was nothing.
No aura.
No presence.
No trace.
I opened my eyes.
"Find it."
My command echoed through the forest.
"Search every direction."
"We do not lose it now."
My pack scattered.
I moved forward, following the final trace left behind.
Until—
I reached the cliff.
And stopped.
The clearing below was silent.
Too silent.
Bodies covered the ground.
Dead werewolves.
Broken.
Crushed.
Some had shattered necks. Others had been thrown into trees with enough force to split the trunks.
My expression changed.
This wasn't a battle.
This was a warning.
Someone had stood here...
And no one had survived.
A warrior from my pack stepped forward slowly.
"Alpha..."
His eyes moved across the destruction.
"Who could do this?"
"How could anyone kill so many of our members?"
"So mercilessly..."
I didn't answer.
My attention moved across the battlefield.
Then I felt it.
A heartbeat.
Weak.
Fading.
I dropped beside one of the fallen wolves.
He was still alive.
Barely.
I grabbed the front of his torn shirt.
"Open your eyes."
His gaze slowly found mine.
"Tell me what happened."
His lips trembled.
"Where is she?"
Silence.
My grip tightened.
"The girl."
"The one carrying Selenthayx."
My voice became colder.
"Who is she?"
"Where did they take her?"
The wolf tried to speak.
Blood escaped his mouth.
"Answer me."
My eyes hardened.
"Who reached Selenthayx before us?"
The dying wolf lifted his trembling hand.
Slowly, he pointed toward the waterfall.
His lips moved.
One final word.
"Va..."
His arm fell.
The light disappeared from his eyes.
Dead.
For a moment, the entire forest was silent.
Then—
I caught the scent.
A scent I knew all too well.
Vampire.
My jaw clenched.
Adrian.
A cold smile touched my lips.
"So..."
"It was you."
My voice carried through the darkness.
"You found her first."
A thunderous howl tore from my chest.
The mountains shook.
Every wolf in the forest answered.
I looked toward the waterfall, my golden eyes burning beneath the crimson moon.
"Adrian..."
"You stood between me and Selenthayx."
A pause.
"You took her away."
My claws slowly extended.
"You have no idea what you've done."
I turned toward my pack.
"Listen carefully."
My voice became a command.
"From this moment forward, the girl is our priority."
"Find Adrian."
"Find her."
"Find Selenthayx."
"Search every river."
"Every cave."
"Every mountain."
"Every place they could hide."
"I don't care if it takes days."
"I don't care if it takes years."
"They will not disappear forever."
The wolves lowered their heads.
Then vanished into the darkness.
I remained at the edge of the cliff, my eyes fixed on the raging waterfall.
Selenthayx was not lost.
It was not a legend.
It was alive.
And somewhere beyond that waterfall was the girl who carried it—the girl whose name I did not know, yet whose existence could decide the fate of us all.
For the first time, I was no longer hunting a stone.
I was hunting the person who carried it.
And I would find her.
No matter how long it took.