CHAPTER 14: THE BLOOD SEAL

CHAPTER 14: THE BLOOD SEAL

The heat was unbearable.

I woke up with a strange pressure in my chest, as if something heavy was placed over it. My breathing was uneven, and for a few seconds, I couldn't remember where I was.

Then everything came rushing back.

The villa.

The strange man.

His sharp nails against my neck.

The enormous gray wolf.

Steele.

I immediately touched my neck.

The scar was still there.

Except it didn't look like a scar anymore.

I got out of bed and walked towards the mirror. The mark on my neck had become more visible overnight. Thin, dark lines formed an unfamiliar symbol on my skin. It looked ancient, almost like a language I had never seen before.

"What the hell are you?"

I stared at my reflection.

For a moment, I thought my eyes had changed.

They looked darker.

Almost red.

I blinked and they returned to normal.

I stepped away from the mirror.

"Okay. I'm officially losing my mind."

After everything I had witnessed, I wasn't even sure what was considered normal anymore.

I quickly dressed and picked up my phone.

There were several missed calls.

Kane.

And one unknown number.

I stared at it for a moment before answering.

"Hello?"

Silence.

"Who is this?"

I heard breathing from the other end.

Slow.

Calm.

Then a man's voice spoke.

"Stay away from Steele."

My brows furrowed.

"Who are you?"

"You're asking the wrong questions, Detective."

The call ended.

I stared at the phone.

Whoever he was, he knew Steele.

And apparently, he knew me.

That was enough reason to make me curious.

---

When I arrived at headquarters, Kane was already waiting for me.

"You look terrible," he said.

"Good morning to you too."

"I'm serious, Amber. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

"You disappeared yesterday. Your phone was left at home, and then I couldn't reach you."

"I was dealing with something."

"Something?"

"Personal."

Kane stared at me, obviously wanting to ask more questions.

Fortunately, he decided not to.

"Fine. But we have something."

He handed me a folder.

I opened it and immediately recognized the photographs.

The two students.

Their bodies had been found several miles away from Mansfield.

"Let me guess," I said. "Still no explanation of how they got there?"

"Exactly."

He pointed at the report.

"The medical examiner found something strange."

"What?"

"There are almost no visible wounds. But there was massive internal damage."

I stared at the photographs.

That didn't sound human.

Or at least, not completely human.

"Anything else?"

Kane shook his head.

"That's all we have."

I closed the folder.

"Take me to the morgue."

He looked confused.

"Why?"

"I want to see the bodies."

---

The morgue was cold.

Too cold.

The medical examiner pulled the sheet away, revealing one of the students.

I studied the body carefully.

Nothing unusual.

Until I saw his neck.

There was a mark.

Three thin lines crossed by a strange curved pattern.

My heart skipped.

It looked almost identical to the mark on my neck.

"What is that?" I asked.

"We don't know," the medical examiner answered. "It wasn't mentioned in the initial report."

I leaned closer.

The moment I did, my neck started burning.

I immediately stepped back.

Kane noticed.

"Amber?"

"I'm fine."

"You suddenly look pale."

"I'm fine, Kane."

I covered the student's body again.

Something was happening.

And I had a feeling that my mark was connected to those two students.

I just didn't know how.

---

I called Steele.

He answered after the third ring.

"What happened?"

No greeting.

No unnecessary words.

Just his usual cold voice.

"I found something."

"What?"

"A mark."

Silence.

"A mark where?"

"On one of the students."

He didn't answer.

"Steele?"

"Where did you see it?"

"On his neck."

Another silence.

Then his voice became serious.

"Amber, leave the headquarters."

I frowned.

"Why?"

"Just do it."

"No."

"Amber."

"You said you would help me. If you know something, tell me."

He exhaled.

"Did you find anything else?"

"I have the same mark."

Silence.

This time, I knew I had caught his attention.

"You have what?"

"A mark on my neck. It appeared after the vampire attacked me."

"Who saw it?"

"No one."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"Did the vampire scratch you?"

"Yes."

His voice suddenly became colder.

"Don't go anywhere."

"Why?"

"I'll come to you."

"I can come to you."

"No."

I rolled my eyes.

"You really love giving orders."

"Amber."

"Fine. Where are you?"

"Come to my residence."

"Okay."

I ended the call.

Kane was staring at me.

"Was that him?"

"Yes."

"Are you two working together now?"

I smiled.

"Something like that."

---

Steele's residence was quiet.

It was surrounded by trees, far from the city. The moment I stepped inside, I felt the strange heaviness in the air.

I looked around.

There were several portraits hanging on the walls.

Then I saw her.

Anna.

I stopped.

The woman in the painting had my face.

Not similar.

Not almost identical.

Exactly the same.

I slowly approached the portrait.

"She really looks like me."

Steele stood several feet behind me.

"Yes."

"Who painted this?"

"Someone who knew her."

"When?"

"Long ago."

I looked at him.

"How long ago?"

He didn't answer.

"You're avoiding my questions again."

"You're asking too many questions."

"That's my job."

He gave me a cold look.

Then his eyes moved toward my neck.

"What happened to the mark?"

"The vampire scratched me."

His expression immediately changed.

"Did he bite you?"

"No."

"Did his blood enter your wound?"

"I don't know."

"Did he say anything?"

I remembered his words.

I'm a monster that will soon live inside you.

"He said something strange."

"What?"

I looked at Steele.

"He said he would soon live inside me."

Steele's expression became darker.

He stepped closer.

"Let me see it."

I hesitated before moving my hair aside.

His eyes narrowed as he examined the mark.

"This isn't a normal injury."

"I figured that out."

"It's a blood seal."

"A blood seal?"

He nodded.

"A vampire blood seal."

My stomach tightened.

"What does it do?"

"It allows them to track someone."

"So they can find me?"

"Yes."

"Why would they want to track me?"

"I don't know."

"You're lying."

He looked at me.

"I don't know why they want you."

"But you know something."

His jaw tightened.

"The vampires have been gone for centuries. At least, that's what I believed."

"Until now."

"Until now."

I folded my arms.

"So this Black Shadow you mentioned..."

His eyes narrowed.

"How do you know about them?"

"Stan."

He sighed.

"Of course."

"Are they the ones who attacked me?"

"I don't know."

"But you think they are."

He remained silent.

That was enough of an answer.

"Why would they care about me?"

Steele looked toward Anna's portrait.

"Because of her."

I felt my chest tighten.

"Anna?"

"Maybe."

"You're not making sense."

"The problem isn't that you look like Anna."

He turned toward me.

"The problem is that someone else believes you are."

I froze.

"What does that mean?"

Before he could answer, something crashed outside.

Steele immediately turned toward the window.

His eyes flashed gold.

"Stay here."

"What happened?"

He didn't answer.

He walked toward the door.

I followed him.

"Steele."

He stopped.

"Whatever happens, don't leave this house."

"That's not exactly reassuring."

He turned toward me.

His expression was different.

There was something in his eyes that I had never seen before.

Fear.

"Amber, listen carefully."

I nodded.

"If you hear someone calling your name..."

He paused.

"Don't answer."

A chill traveled down my spine.

"Why?"

"Because it might not be me."

Then the lights suddenly went out.

The entire house fell into darkness.

I heard something outside.

Footsteps.

Slow.

Dragging across the ground.

Then a woman's voice echoed from somewhere beyond the window.

"Amber..."

My blood froze.

I knew that voice.

I had heard it in my dreams.

I had heard it twenty-two years ago.

My mother's voice.

"Amber..."

I looked at Steele.

He was completely still.

His eyes were glowing gold in the darkness.

"Don't answer," he whispered.

The voice came again.

This time, closer.

"Amber..."

I held my breath.

Then I heard another voice.

A man's voice.

"Steele."

His expression changed.

I had never seen him look this terrified before.

The voice outside laughed softly.

"Did you really think we wouldn't find her?"

Steele moved in front of me.

"Stay behind me."

I swallowed.

"Who is that?"

His eyes remained fixed on the darkness outside.

"The past."

And suddenly, I realized something.

Maybe my parents' deaths weren't the only thing from twenty-two years ago that had returned.

Maybe the people responsible had finally found me.