The night of the blood moon arrived like a silent predator, its crimson glow staining the sky and casting the world in hues of rust and fire. The castle's spires seemed to bleed against the heavens, their jagged silhouettes clawing at the swollen moon.
Asis stood on the balcony, her fingers gripping the railing as she watched the eerie light wash over the mountains. The air hummed with ancient magic, thick and heady, like the breath of a waking god.
Behind her, the doors slid open with a whisper. She didn't need to turn to know it was Vlad. His presence was a chill down her spine, a shadow that clung even in the absence of light.
"It's time," he murmured, his voice smooth as poisoned silk.
She turned slowly. He was dressed in black, his golden hair gleaming like a crown under the bloody moonlight. His violet eyes burned with an intensity that made her pulse stutter—not with fear, but with something far more dangerous. Anticipation.
"Time for what?" she asked, though she already knew.
Vlad smiled, slow and knowing. "To claim what's been denied to you for too long."
The castle's heart was a cavernous hall, its walls carved with runes that pulsed like living veins. A circle of black candles flickered in the center, their flames unnaturally still despite the draft. At its core lay a shallow basin filled with dark liquid blood, Asis realized with a jolt.
Vlad guided her forward, his hand resting lightly on the small of her back. "Tonight, the veil between life and death is thin," he said. "The blood moon magnifies all magic, especially the kind that lingers in your veins."
She swallowed hard. "What exactly are you proposing?"
He turned to face her fully, his gaze searing. "Immortality, Asis. Not as a Lycan's pet, not as a witch hiding in the shadows. As my equal. As something more."
The offer hung between them, heavy and intoxicating. Power. Eternal life. Freedom from the fragility of her human shell.
For a heartbeat, she wavered.
Then she remembered.
Ayaan's laugh. The way his eyes crinkled at the corners when he teased her. The warmth of his hand in hers.
Harald's growl, rough with desperation. "You'll live to hate me. That's enough."
She stepped back. "No."
Vlad's smile didn't falter, but his eyes darkened. "No?"
"I won't become like you," she said, her voice steady despite the tremor in her hands. "I won't trade my soul for power."
A beat of silence. Then Vlad laughed, low and mocking. "Oh, Asis. You already have."
Before she could react, he seized her wrist and dragged a dagger across her palm. Blood welled, crimson and gleaming. She gasped, but Vlad didn't release her. Instead, he pressed her bleeding hand against his chest, over the still, dead heart beneath.
"The ritual has already begun," he whispered. "Your blood is in my veins. Your magic is mine to wield. You can't take it back."
Her breath came in short, panicked bursts. She yanked her hand free, but it was too late. The candles flared, their flames turning black. The runes on the walls glowed like embers.
And outside, the blood moon reached its zenith.
*****
The forest trembled under the weight of the Alpha King's fury.
Harald Dyre stood at the edge of the wards surrounding Vlad's castle, his golden eyes burning with barely restrained rage. The magic here was thick, a suffocating barrier that repelled all who dared approach.
Anders wiped blood from his lip, panting. "The wards are reinforced with the Luna Queen's blood, Your Majesty. We can't break through."
Harald snarled, his claws unsheathing. "Then we tear them apart."
He shifted, his Lycan form erupting in a burst of muscle and fur. With a roar that shook the earth, he lunged at the invisible barrier. The magic crackled, resisting—but for the first time, it wavered.
Somewhere inside that castle, Asis's power pulsed in answer.
And Harald would burn the world down to reach her.
*****
Back in the ritual chamber, Asis stumbled away from Vlad, her bloodied hand pressed to her chest. The room spun, the magic thick enough to choke on.
Vlad watched her, his expression unreadable. "You feel it, don't you?" he murmured. "The bond forming between us. The power."
She did. It slithered under her skin, foreign and intoxicating. But beneath it, something else stirred—a flicker of gold, of warmth.
Harald.
He was here. He was close.
Vlad's smile turned sharp. "Ah. The beast has come for his mate." He stepped closer, his voice dropping to a whisper. "But tell me, Asis—when he sees what you've become, do you think he'll still want you?"
The question struck like a blade.
Outside, the castle shook as Harald's howl split the night.
And Asis made her choice.
*****
The castle trembled as Harald Dyre's enraged howl shook the very foundations of Vlad's fortress. The ancient stones groaned under the assault, dust raining from the vaulted ceilings as the wards flickered like dying embers.
Asis staggered, her palm still bleeding where Vlad had cut her. The metallic scent of her blood mixed with the cloying incense of the ritual chamber made her head spin. The magic in the air was thick, oppressive—like drowning in honey.
Vlad's lips curled into a smirk as he watched her struggle. "Hear that?" he murmured, tilting his head toward the distant snarls and crashes beyond the walls. "He has come to claim you." He stepped closer, his fingers brushing a strand of hair from her face. "But he's too late."
She slapped his hand away, her breath coming in sharp gasps. "No."
"Oh, but he is." Vlad's violet eyes gleamed. "I know he'll tear through every vampire in this castle to reach you. I know he'll bleed, and break, and beg before this night is over." His voice dropped to a whisper. "And I know the moment he sees what you've become, he'll recoil in horror."
Asis's stomach twisted.
Outside, another deafening crash echoed, closer this time. The wards were weakening.
*****