CHAPTER 19
The air in the room was already heavy. The silence pressed down like the lingering stench of old blood seeping into the walls. Vlad's great hall looked even more threatening under the dim light falling across the stone floor. Scattered around were a handful of young werewolves some wounded, some still trying to process the news Ethan had brought.
Vlad stood in the center of the room, his face twisted in a rare, unrestrained fury. After a brief, tense stillness, he took a deep breath. A red glint flickered in his eyes. His fingers trembled, bones cracking audibly. His claws extended, razor-sharp teeth pushed past his lips. His frame expanded, muscles swelling with raw power. The leader's terrifying true form began to surface as his voice rose, echoing through the hall like a thunderclap:
— "Prepare yourselves."
Everyone flinched.
Vlad's voice hardened further, his burning eyes shifting toward the dark corner of the hall.
— "Vampires… they're here!"
Suddenly, movement stirred near the doorway. A cold wind slipped inside. Heavy, deliberate footsteps approached not hostile, but heavy with presence.
Out of the darkness stepped a tall man with a pale, solemn face. His eyes were dark as the night itself, yet there was no savagery in them only an ancient exhaustion. Behind him, several figures emerged, silent, their synchronized steps eerily calm.
Vlad's claws sharpened further as he stepped forward, ready to unleash a howl that would shake the hall when
— "Stop."
The voice cut through the room like a blade. Cold. Clear. Commanding.
It was Edric, the leader of the vampires.
The young werewolves in the hall shrank back nervously. Some of their eyes reflected the weight of the "eternal enemy" tales they had grown up hearing. Vlad's eyes still burned, his teeth still bared, but for a brief moment, there was a pause.
Edric stepped fully inside, stopping in the center of the room. His gaze locked with Vlad's. His voice lowered, but it still carried enough force to fill the hall.
— "We didn't come here to fight, Vlad."
Vlad narrowed his eyes. The anger in him hadn't cooled.
— "What nonsense are you spewing, Edric? No vampire who sets foot here ever comes with peaceful intent!"
Edric inhaled deeply, his gaze drifting across the room, briefly resting on each face present. The vampires behind him remained silent, but there was no tension in their eyes.
— "My son, Lucius, and his group…" Edric spoke slowly. "They crossed paths with your son's group. And they told us something. They said… he has returned."
In the back, Ethan and his group listened in silence. The weight of those words spread through the hall like a dark fog. Vlad's breathing quickened, but Edric continued:
— "Yes… they said he has returned. But Vlad… didn't we both see him die with our own eyes? How can this be?"
The room froze. Some frowned in disbelief. Others whispered to one another. Because these two leaders were speaking of a rare, shared piece of history one that bound the bloody past of vampires and werewolves together. Long ago, long before anyone present was born, the two of them had once fought side by side against the same enemy.
Vlad's claws were still out, but his voice trembled for just a heartbeat.
— "I saw it with my own eyes, Edric. I was certain he was dead. His blood was spilled… and that cursed creature vanished."
A shadow passed over Edric's expression.
— "But he's returned. Not just the same accursed thing… but with a new body."
Vlad ground his teeth, fury igniting again.
— "Damn it!" he roared. "If this is true… then we have to relearn how to stop him. Because what we thought we knew… means nothing now!"