Adrian's POV
The hall was thick with smoke from the torches, and thicker still with the stench of expectation. Every eye on me glowed red in the dim light of the council chamber. My people, my court, my guards, they all leaned forward as though my very breath would decide their survival.
I sat on the throne carved from obsidian, the cold stone seeping through my bones.
Lucien stood at my side like a shadow with teeth, smug, his lips curved in the faintest suggestion of a smile. He thrived in moments like these, when blood was demanded, when war was on the table.
"Your silence is weakness, my lord," one of the elders rasped. "The wolves grow bold. Their king mocks us. Do you mean to let their insults pass unanswered?"
Murmurs rippled through the court. The weight of their voices pressed against me. They wanted blood. They wanted fire. And I, Adrian Duskbane, King of Vampires was expected to give it to them.
But my chest felt like a cage. Damien's face lingered there, his voice, low, guttural, and warm, still thrummed in my veins. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw him. And that was the problem. The more I thought of him, the more I betrayed my people. The more I weakened myself.
I tightened my grip on the armrest until the black marble cracked beneath my hand.
Lucien's voice cut through the air, sharp and venomous. "The wolves laugh at us. They think us cowards. One strike, my king, and they will tremble. One strike to remind them who rules the night."
The council erupted in agreement. Their hunger fed his words, and his words fed their hunger. I sat still, battling myself in silence.
If I said no, if I refused, I would appear weak.
Already suspicion stirred in Lucien's eyes. He had seen too much, suspected too much. And if I hesitated any longer, he might dare to move against me.
But if I said yes… I would wound Damien. I would cut into him with a blade sharper than any forged of steel.
I swallowed the ache.
"Prepare the army," I said at last. The words left me tasting ash. "We strike the Blackthorn lands by nightfall."
Lucien's eyes gleamed, a predator's delight. "As you command, my king."
The council cheered, relieved, invigorated. They had what they wanted, blood. What they didn't know was that it cost me everything.
I dismissed them with a wave, but their excitement lingered like smoke in my lungs. When the chamber emptied, I was left with silence. A silence too heavy to bear.
I pressed my palms into my face and sat there, motionless, fighting the urge to scream.
Forgive me, Damien.
Midnight – The Raid (This will be narrated in third persons pov)
The moon was fat and pale, spilling light across the Blackthorn forests. The villages nestled in its shadows slept soundly, the howl of wolves in the distance nothing more than a lullaby for children.
And then the night tore open.
Vampires swept down from the skies like shadows with wings. Cloaks unfurled, blades gleamed, and in an instant, the peaceful villages were drenched in screams.
Thatched roofs caught fire, smoke twisting into the air. Mothers dragged children into the woods, only to be cut down. Wolves, startled from their slumber, scrambled half-shifted, trying to defend their homes, but they were unprepared. The vampires were merciless, striking with precision, their blades slicing fur through flesh.
Blood stained the earth black beneath the moonlight.
As the villages burned, the army surged forward, pushing toward the heart of Blackthorn territory, the castle itself. Bells tolled desperately from the watchtowers, but they rang too late.
Inside the kingdom's walls, chaos erupted. Guards scrambled to armor themselves, women and children huddled in hidden cellars. Smoke seeped through cracks in the stone walls, fire licking the horizon.
The vampires were a storm of death.
Damien's POV
I woke to the smell of smoke before the sound reached me. Acrid, suffocating, it clawed down my throat. My eyes snapped open, the darkness of my chamber lit by the orange glow of fire outside my windows.
The door burst open, one of my messengers stumbling in, breathless. "My king! The vampires, they—"
His words choked to silence. Steel flashed, and his throat opened before he could finish.
He fell at my feet, eyes wide in shock, blood spilling into my rug.
Behind him stood Lucien.
I didn't think. I didn't breathe. Rage swallowed me whole.
I shifted in an instant. Bones cracked, muscles stretched, fur erupted along my skin. My claws tore free, fangs splitting my jaw. My wolf form burst forth in all its fury, the room trembling beneath the weight of my growl.
Lucien only smiled, sword gleaming in his hand.
"You're predictable," he sneered.
I lunged. Claws clashed with steel. The sound shrieked through the chamber, sparks scattering across the stone floor. I swiped, slashing the air, missing his throat by inches.
He spun, blade hissing, slicing a shallow cut across my side. Pain flared hot, but it only fueled me.
From the corner of my eye, smoke thickened. Screams pierced the night, louder now, desperate. My people were burning, dying and here was their murderer, grinning at me with bloodlust in his eyes.
I roared and drove him back. My claws shredded his cloak, tearing into the flesh of his arm. He hissed, but his blade answered fast, striking sparks off my claws as I caught the steel. He kicked me hard in the ribs, but I barely staggered.
I wanted his head.
I slammed him against the wall, claws closing around his throat. His sword clattered to the floor. My jaws snapped inches from his face, teeth bared. One push, one rip, and it would be over.
But then he laughed.
"We only follow orders," he rasped, his voice broken by my grip. "Your precious Adrian gave the command."
The words hit harder than any blade.
I froze. My chest tightened, my claws trembling against his skin. Adrian? No. He wouldn't, he couldn't. Yet the fire outside, the blood, the screams, all of it was undeniable.
My heart stuttered, disbelief warring with fury.
That moment of hesitation was all Lucien needed.
His hand slipped to his belt. Steel flashed, a dagger, small but deadly. Before I could react, pain exploded at my waist. He shoved the blade deep, twisting. Poison burned through me instantly, black fire flooding my veins.
I roared, collapsing to the floor, claws scraping stone. My breath came ragged, blood pooling beneath me. The world tilted, spinning, fading.
Lucien stood over me, his grin cruel, his eyes alight with triumph.
"Guess we vampires truly rule the night now," he mocked.
And then, with a flourish, he leapt through the window, leaving me broken, gasping, bleeding into the dark.
Lucien's POV
The night air was cool on my face as I landed on the courtyard stones. I whistled, sharp and piercing. The signal.
From the shadows, the vampires pulled back, retreating from the burning wreckage they had created. Villages smoldered, screams faded into silence. Smoke rose to the heavens like an offering.
Victory tasted sweet on my tongue.
We returned to the castle in silence, but the triumph in their eyes matched mine. Tonight, we had broken the wolves. Tonight, we had crippled their king.
I strode into Adrian's chamber, blood still drying on my blade.
"My king," I said with a bow. "It is done. The wolves are no more. Blackthorn belongs to us."
Adrian's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean no more? I ordered a strike, Lucien, a warning, not conquest."
I let my smile widen, cruel and slow. "It went further than expected. As we speak, their king bleeds out. I personally saw to it."
Adrian's face drained of color. He took one sharp step forward, fury crackling in his voice. "You what?"
"I stabbed him myself. Poisoned steel. By now, Damien is dead."
The fury in Adrian's eyes exploded. He grabbed me by the collar and slammed me against the wall, fangs bared inches from my throat.
"You dare?" His voice was thunder. "I gave no such command!"
I raised my hands in feigned surrender, masking my satisfaction. "Forgive me, my king. You weren't clear. I only did what I thought best for our people."
His grip trembled, rage and grief warring in his gaze. For a moment, I thought he might tear my head from my shoulders. But then he shoved me away, snarling.
"Leave me. Now. And tell no one to disturb me."
I bowed low, hiding my grin. "As you command."
When the door shut behind me, I allowed the smile to bloom.
The wedge had been driven. The kings would never recover.