Chapter Seven: Shadows in the Vein

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• Shattered Vows, Silent Fire    Returning home!

  When Zev pulled into the long, winding driveway of Ashara’s wooden mansion, an unsettling silence wrapped around the place like fog on a winter’s morning. The house stood still—too still. Not a single bird chirped, not a leaf stirred.Ashara was clinging to him like a second skin, her fingers curled tightly into the fabric of his shirt as if letting go meant falling apart completely.“Ashara,” Zev whispered, brushing a kiss against her forehead, “we’re home.”She didn’t move. Her gaze was fixed on the front doors, her heart pounding like a war drum in her chest.As they stepped inside, the silence deepened. Zev’s voice broke it like a crack of thunder.“Kael!” he called out.No answer.“Uncle Kael!” he tried again, louder.Footsteps echoed from the hallway, and one of the housemaids appeared at the edge of the staircase. Her face was pale, nervous.“Sir…” she spoke softly, wringing her hands. “Alpha Kael left the mansion in the afternoon. We don’t know where he went or when he’ll retu

• Shattered Vows, Silent Fire    Zev- Ashara ( the river side)

  Ashara sat stiffly in the passenger seat of Zev’s jeep, her arms wrapped tightly around herself as the trees passed them by in a blur. But she wasn’t seeing them. Her mind was somewhere else—home. Or rather, the storm waiting for her there.Her father’s face kept flashing in her memory. The rage in his eyes. The silence that screamed louder than any scolding. The way his hands had trembled when he’d slapped her—out of fear, not cruelty. And the way she had fallen into the dirt like she was nothing.Her throat tightened. Her eyes burned.“Hey,” Zev’s voice cut gently through her thoughts. His hand briefly left the steering wheel to rest on her knee. “You’ve gone completely silent since we left.”Ashara forced a tight smile, one that didn’t reach her eyes. “I’m fine.”“You’re lying,” Zev said softly, his hand still warm against her. “And you’re terrible at it.”She didn’t respond. Her gaze fell to her lap.Zev sighed and slowed the jeep, pulling off the road into a quiet, shaded clearin

• Shattered Vows, Silent Fire    Ashara’s fear

  The morning sun poured in through the tall windows of Ranan’s mansion, casting warm golden streaks across the polished floor of the dining hall. The clinking of silverware was unusually soft, the air heavy with a silence that felt more like tension than calm. Ashara sat at the edge of the long table, her eyes fixed on the untouched breakfast on her plate.She hadn’t touched a single bite.Zev sat beside her, stealing glances at her pale face. She hadn’t said much since she woke up. Her lips trembled, her eyes were swollen from crying all night, and her fingers fidgeted with the hem of the oversized shirt she wore—his shirt. She looked like a child who knew she’d broken something that couldn’t be fixed.Across the table, Ranan and his wife watched her quietly.“Ashara,” Ranan’s voice finally broke the silence. Calm, deep, but grave. “You need to eat something.”Ashara lifted her head, her lips parted as if she might respond, but the words got stuck somewhere in her throat. Her eyes met

• Shattered Vows, Silent Fire    Mother- Son!

  The moonlight cut through the thick fog as Luca weaved deeper into the jungle, his breath silent, movements fluid. The forest here was darker than any other part of their land—twisted trees arched overhead like ancient guardians, and the air shimmered with a chill not born of cold but of emotion.Then he heard it.The low rumble of the waterfall.His steps slowed as he approached, eyes scanning the shadows that danced in the moonlight. And then he saw her—sitting on a moss-covered rock near the edge, wrapped in her cloak, still as the stone she sat upon.His mother.Her long silver hair shimmered in the faint light, cascading down her back like a frozen river. She didn’t turn when he approached. She didn’t need to.Luca knelt beside her without a word, the sound of water crashing below them echoing in the space between heartbeats. Slowly, gently, he wrapped an arm around her slender frame and pulled her close to him.She didn’t resist.She let her head rest against his chest, her hand

• Shattered Vows, Silent Fire    Carlos wife!

  The fire in the hearth crackled behind her, but Carlos’s wife stood frozen in place, staring at the door that had just slammed shut behind her husband. His footsteps had faded into the darkness of the hallway, but the echo of his glare—sharp, unforgiving—still burned in her chest like acid.She had only said it because she was worried.Because she had seen the way Luca’s golden eyes followed the girl—the werewolf girl, Kael’s daughter. Ashara.“He’s attracted to her because of her blood,” she had whispered, her voice laced with something between fear and jealousy.But the moment the words left her lips, Carlos had turned. His ancient eyes—cold as glacier stone, wise beyond time—had pinned her in place. He didn’t shout. He didn’t curse. He didn’t strike her with words or hands. But the silence that followed his stare screamed louder than fury.The conversation ended right there.Now she stood alone in the grand hall of their forest-bound mansion, her arms wrapped around herself despite

• Shattered Vows, Silent Fire    The biggest truth!

  Carlos stood up from beneath the ancient tree, his body tense, eyes distant as the memory of Alara’s voice echoed through his mind. The wind stirred his dark coat as he vanished in a blur—faster than any beast, silent as a shadow—racing through the woods. The forest parted for him like it remembered who he was, who he had been, and what had been stolen from him in silence and sacrifice.His mansion came into view, hidden deep within the thickets of wild forest where even sunlight feared to enter. The tall gothic structure stood proud and cold, framed by frost-covered pines and thick mist swirling like ghosts around its stone base. Its towering spires sliced into the sky, black against a silver moon. This was the home of the vampires who bore the name of Carlos—the purebloods, the unaging, the untouchable.In the backyard, carved out with towering hedges and ancient marble columns, five figures moved like whispers under the veil of night. The vampires didn’t sleep—they hadn’t in centur