Night had not yet fallen.
And yet...
Damian already felt restless.
The conversation with Lucian lingered like poison that refused to leave the blood.
Not because Damian feared him.
He did not.
Fear was not something Damian entertained easily.
But Lucian's words carried an unpleasant weight.
You are not the only one being awakened.
Those words irritated him.
Because they implied weakness.
Dependence.
A role inside someone else's design.
And Damian hated roles.
He stood inside the western balcony of Darkheart Castle, one hand resting against the cold stone rail.
Below him...
the kingdom breathed.
Dark roofs.
Tall towers.
Smoke rising from distant homes.
The city looked peaceful from above.
Almost beautiful.
But Damian knew better.
Peace was a mask civilization wore when it lacked the strength for war.
He lifted the glass in his hand and drank.
Whiskey burned down his throat.
Good.
He welcomed the sensation.
Behind him, footsteps approached.
Soft.
Measured.
He did not turn.
"Speak."
Brahm bowed.
"Your highness."
Damian continued watching the city.
"You have that face."
Brahm blinked.
"My face, your highness?"
"The one that says you are carrying news you dislike."
The butler sighed faintly.
"Prince Damian is observant as always."
Damian smirked.
"And?"
Brahm hesitated.
"Lord Lucian remains within the castle."
That made Damian glance sideways.
"He still waits?"
"Yes."
"How patient."
"He requested permission to remain until your highness makes a decision regarding further discussion."
Damian looked away again.
Interesting.
Most nobles rushed.
They begged.
They pressured.
Lucian did none of that.
Which made him dangerous.
Not because of strength.
But because patient people rarely moved without purpose.
"Where is he?"
"The eastern guest wing."
"Guarded?"
"Lightly."
Damian swirled the whiskey.
"He trusts us."
Brahm carefully answered:
"Or he trusts himself."
That made Damian laugh.
"Hahaha…"
The sound echoed quietly through the balcony.
"I like him more already."
Then...
his laughter stopped.
Abruptly.
His fingers tightened around the glass.
CRACK.
Brahm's expression changed.
"Your highness?"
Damian ignored him.
Something was wrong.
No...
not wrong.
Pulling.
A strange sensation crawled beneath his skin.
His pulse became heavier.
The air felt thicker.
He looked toward the sky.
The sun had not fully disappeared.
And yet...
he could already feel the moon.
Calling.
His eyes narrowed.
Too early.
His awakening should not react like this.
Not during daylight.
Not before full rise.
His heartbeat quickened.
THUMP.
THUMP.
THUMP.
Then...
pain.
A sharp pulse exploded through his spine.
Damian's expression twisted.
The glass shattered.
Whiskey and blood spilled together.
Brahm stepped forward immediately.
"Your highness!"
Damian raised a hand.
"Don't."
His voice came lower than normal.
Rougher.
He looked at his bleeding palm.
The wound should have healed already.
But it did not.
Not immediately.
That...
concerned him.
Then he heard another voice.
Calm.
From behind.
"You feel it too."
Damian turned.
Lucian stood near the balcony entrance.
Unannounced.
Unbothered.
Brahm instantly stepped between them.
"How dare you approach without..."
Damian interrupted.
"Leave us."
Brahm hesitated.
"But..."
"That is an order."
The butler bowed reluctantly.
"As you wish."
He departed.
Leaving them alone.
For several moments neither spoke.
Wind passed between them.
Then Damian said...
"You move quietly."
Lucian approached slowly.
"I move honestly."
Damian snorted.
"That sounds like a lie."
Lucian almost smiled.
"Most truths do."
Damian watched him carefully.
"You knew this would happen."
Lucian looked toward Damian's injured hand.
"I suspected."
"And yet you said nothing."
"You would not have listened."
That annoyed Damian.
"You assume much."
Lucian met his gaze.
"You dislike warnings."
Silence.
Damian hated that he was correct.
The pain struck again.
Stronger.
He gritted his teeth.
Lucian observed carefully.
"No full moon."
"No night."
"And still your blood reacts."
Damian's voice sharpened.
"If you know something, say it."
Lucian looked toward the distant horizon.
Then finally spoke.
"Hybrid awakenings follow rhythm."
Damian stayed silent.
Lucian continued.
"Moon."
"Blood."
"Predatory cycle."
"But yours…"
His eyes shifted toward Damian.
"…is behaving independently."
Damian crossed his arms.
"So?"
"So that should not happen."
The wind strengthened.
Lucian's voice lowered.
"Something is pulling your wolf forward."
Damian felt irritation rise.
"You speak as if I'm diseased."
"No."
Lucian answered calmly.
"I speak as if you are being altered."
That word sat badly.
Altered.
Damian stepped closer.
The air between them tightened.
"And who are you to judge what I am?"
Lucian did not retreat.
"I am not judging."
A pause.
"I am worried."
Damian laughed softly.
"For me?"
"No."
The answer came instantly.
"For what follows you."
Silence.
Then...
pain exploded again.
This time Damian dropped to one knee.
CRACK.
The balcony floor fractured beneath him.
His breathing became uneven.
Lucian's eyes narrowed.
Too fast.
Far too fast.
Damian looked down.
His fingers...
were changing.
Nails extending.
Skin tightening.
Bones shifting beneath flesh.
His pupils narrowed violently.
Brahm's voice sounded from behind the doors.
"YOUR HIGHNESS!..."
"DON'T ENTER!"
Damian roared.
The doors froze.
His voice had changed.
Deeper.
Wild.
Lucian stepped forward.
"Control your breathing."
Damian glared.
"Don't command me."
"You'll lose control."
"I said..."
His voice broke into a growl.
Lucian crouched slightly.
"Listen."
The prince's eyes burned crimson.
"Your body is fighting two instincts."
Pain twisted through Damian's back.
He gritted his teeth.
"Wolf and vampire?"
Lucian shook his head.
"No."
That answer froze him.
Lucian's voice became grave.
"Something else."
The balcony temperature dropped.
Then...
a whisper.
So faint it almost sounded imagined.
Wake.
Damian froze.
Lucian's expression changed.
He heard nothing.
But Damian did.
Again...
Wake.
The prince's heartbeat accelerated violently.
His claws extended further.
His breathing became ragged.
And suddenly...
Sirius arrived.
The doors burst open.
He entered instantly, followed by two Executioners.
One glance.
That was enough.
His expression hardened.
"Everyone out."
The guards obeyed immediately.
Lucian remained.
Sirius looked at him.
"I said everyone."
Lucian answered:
"He needs stability."
Sirius's crimson eyes sharpened.
"And I know how to provide it."
The pressure between them grew.
Old.
Predatory.
Damian felt it despite the pain.
Interesting.
Sirius disliked this man.
Not politically.
Instinctively.
Lucian finally stepped back.
"As you wish."
He left.
But before disappearing...
he looked once at Damian.
And said quietly:
"You heard it again."
Then he was gone.
That sentence made Sirius pause.
He turned toward Damian.
The prince was still kneeling.
Claws visible.
Eyes unstable.
"What did he mean?"
Damian remained silent.
The whisper returned.
Wake.
His vision blurred.
Then...
something happened.
The shadows beneath the balcony moved.
Not from wind.
Not from sunlight.
Moved.
Sirius saw it.
His expression darkened immediately.
"…no."
The shadows stretched toward Damian like living smoke.
Sirius stepped forward instantly.
"Look at me."
Damian struggled.
His breathing worsened.
"Sirius…"
"Look at me."
The commander grabbed his shoulder.
Firm.
Controlled.
"Focus."
The shadows recoiled slightly.
Then Sirius said something unexpected.
"Do you remember your first hunt?"
Damian blinked.
"What?"
"Answer."
The prince struggled to breathe.
"…forest…"
"Continue."
"Winter…"
Sirius's grip tightened.
"You chased what?"
Damian swallowed.
"A stag."
"Did you catch it?"
"Yes."
"How?"
Damian's pulse slowed slightly.
"I waited…"
The shadows weakened.
"I listened…"
Sirius nodded.
"Good."
"You are hunter before beast."
Another breath.
"You choose when to bite."
The pain lessened.
The claws stopped growing.
Sirius continued...
"You are Damian Rake."
"Not instinct."
"Not curse."
"Not hunger."
The prince's breathing gradually steadied.
The shadows finally withdrew.
And silence returned.
Long silence.
Damian slowly stood.
His fingers returned to normal.
Sweat covered his forehead.
Sirius watched him carefully.
Too carefully.
"You heard something."
Damian looked away.
"That isn't your concern."
Sirius's expression hardened.
"It becomes my concern when the castle reacts."
Damian frowned.
"The castle?"
Sirius looked toward the floor.
The cracks remained.
But not only cracks.
Dark marks spread through the stone.
Like burned veins.
And they had appeared the moment the whisper came.
Sirius looked back at him.
"That" he said coldly, "should not exist."
Far away...
deep beneath western ruins...
Venenum opened his golden eyes.
He smiled slowly.
Not because Damian suffered.
Because something else had answered.
And Venenum finally understood.
"…so it found him."
The cave trembled.
Even the Poison God looked uneasy.
"Interesting…"
For the first time in centuries...
he was not certain who had moved first.
And that uncertainty…
made even a god cautious.