24. The Old Blood Secret.

Adrian’s POV

The heavy oak doors closed behind us with a low, final thud, shutting out the world.

The manor smelled of age ... a mix of old wood, leather, and something faintly metallic, like blood long dried on stone. Electric bulbs flickered along the walls.

Matthew walked ahead, silent, his long coat brushing the floor. Even after all these years, he moved like someone who’d seen too much and survived more than most.

Caleb shot me a look, one eyebrow raised. He knows something, it said. I nodded back. Of course Matthew knew something ... he always did. The question was how much.

We followed him down the narrow hall into his study. Books were stacked in uneven towers, scrolls lay half-opened across the desk, and the faint glow of runes shimmered on the walls. The energy here was ancient .... the kind of power that made the wolf in me bow its head without being told.

Matthew gestured for us to sit. “I assume this isn’t a social visit.”

“No,” I said, taking the chair across from him. “We saw something today. Something that shouldn’t exist.”

Caleb remained standing beside me, arms crossed. “We killed a vampire in broad daylight.”

The air went still. Matthew’s expression didn’t flicker, but I saw the faint twitch in his jaw. “Daylight?”

“Yes,” Caleb said firmly. “He fought under the sun, Matthew. Not for a second or two ...minutes. He bled, he burned, but he didn’t die until I ripped his heart out.”

Matthew exhaled slowly and turned his gaze toward the window, where the first thin lines of morning were starting to break through the clouds. “So… it’s begun.”

My stomach tightened. “You know what this is.”

“I feared it,” he said quietly. “But I didn’t think it would return this soon.”

Caleb frowned. “Return? What do you mean return? This isn’t new?”

Matthew’s eyes met mine .... heavy with something between guilt and memory. “Centuries ago, before your fathers became Alphas… there was a time when the vampires tried to challenge nature itself.”

---

Matthew’s POV

Their faces were young, sharp, defiant ....Adrian with his quiet power, Caleb with his fire. Both of them had their fathers’ strength and their mothers’ temper. I remembered when their fathers sat where they did now, the same fear in their eyes, the same disbelief.

“They called it The Daylight Rebellion,” I began. “The vampires grew tired of being confined to the night. Their queen ....Lilith, before she vanished ...ordered her witches to create a potion that could shield them from the sun.”

Caleb’s eyebrows shot up. “Wait .... vampires had witches?”

I gave a small nod. “They still do. They always did. Some witches were cursed, some bribed, some willingly served. Magic doesn’t care who uses it ... only what it’s used for. The potion they brewed was meant to make the vampires untouchable.”

Adrian leaned forward slightly, his voice quiet but sharp. “And it worked?”

“For a time,” I said. “It made them immune to sunlight ....but only for a few hours. It came at a cost. Every dose required the life of a pure-blood werewolf. Their hearts were ground into the brew to bind the power.”

Caleb hissed under his breath. “That’s sick.”

“It was war,” I said simply. “They didn’t care what it cost, only what it gave. For nearly a decade, we fought them ... vampires who walked in daylight, immune to fire, immune to fear. Packs fell. Cities were emptied. And then…”

I paused, remembering the night like it was yesterday ... the stench of ash, the sound of screams, the blood moon high in the sky.

“Your fathers found the witch behind it all. They destroyed her and her cauldron, and they thought the secret of the potion died with her. But I warned them then ... power like that doesn’t disappear. It waits.”

Adrian’s eyes darkened. “And now it’s back.”

“Yes.” I nodded grimly. “Someone found the formula. They’ve remade the potion.”

---

Caleb’s POV

I felt my stomach twist as his words sank in.

A potion made from werewolf hearts.

My fists clenched unconsciously. The image burned in my head ...vampires draining our kind not just for blood, but for magic. It made me sick.

“How long,” I asked quietly, “before they start making more?”

Matthew looked at me. “If the one you fought today was already using it, then they’ve perfected the formula. That means it’s not in testing ...it’s in circulation.”

“Meaning there are more of them,” Adrian muttered. His tone wasn’t just serious .... it was dangerous. The kind that made even the air hesitate. “We need to track whoever’s making this.”

Matthew raised a hand. “You can’t track what doesn’t want to be found. The witches who make this potion are bound by blood and shadow. If you go after them without protection, you’ll die before you even smell their trail.”

I took a step closer to him. “Then what do you suggest we do? Sit and wait until the vampires start tanning on beaches?”

Adrian shot me a sharp look, but I didn’t care. The thought of vampires walking freely in daylight made my skin crawl.

Matthew’s gaze softened just a little. “No, Caleb. You prepare. You strengthen your packs, fortify your bonds. And you…” He turned to Adrian. “…must complete the ritual.”

---

Adrian’s POV

I stiffened. “Matthew—”

“You know what must be done,” he interrupted calmly. “You and your Luna were chosen to perform the lunar rite before the eclipse.”

“She’s not my Luna,” I said firmly.

Matthew’s eyes narrowed slightly. “And yet, the council believes otherwise.”

“The council believes what benefits their control,” I snapped. “You of all people should know that.”

He sighed softly, the sound heavy and tired. “Adrian, I’m not speaking as the council’s adviser. I’m speaking as someone who’s seen what happens when the Alpha of Alphas refuses balance. The lunar ritual isn’t just tradition .... it’s the spell that keeps the veil between night and day intact. If you don’t perform it, that barrier weakens. And when it breaks, the vampires will take everything.”

I felt the words hit deep ...a cold reminder of the power I carried and the weight that came with it. The Alpha of Alphas. The chosen of the Lunar God. And yet, every path the council pushed me toward felt like a trap.

Caleb spoke before I could. “What happens if he doesn’t?”

Matthew’s voice dropped low. “The Lunar Eclipse will unleash chaos. The vampires’ magic will strengthen. Their blood will resist the moon’s pull. And your kind....” He looked at us both. “...will lose your connection to the light.”

That silence again. Thick. Suffocating.

I turned away from him, staring at the flickering candle on his desk. “And you think binding myself to Lucy will fix that?”

“I think the ritual is your protection,” he said. “And she may not be your fated mate, Adrian, but she and you can try, she's connected somehow to the lunar god . That’s no coincidence.”

My fists tightened at my sides. “So you want me to force something that isn’t real?”

He met my gaze. “Sometimes destiny isn’t what feels right, but what must be done.”

---

Caleb’s POV

The tension between them was like a storm .... I could feel it crackling in the air. Adrian hated being told what to do, especially when it came to the council, but Matthew wasn’t wrong. The Eclipse was coming, and if the vampires were already walking under the sun, we were running out of time.

I cleared my throat. “So what do we do for now?”

Matthew turned his attention to me. “You watch. You wait. You find out how many vampires have taken this potion. And if you catch one again, bring him to me alive.”

“Alive?” I frowned. “Easier said than done.”

“Then learn restraint,” he said flatly. “We can’t fight an enemy we don’t understand.”

Adrian’s gaze softened a little. “We’ll find out where it came from.”

“Good.” Matthew leaned back in his chair. “Because if this potion spreads, the next war won’t happen under the moon. It’ll happen in daylight, and no shadow will be safe for either side.”

---

Adrian’s POV

As we left his study, the air felt heavier .... like the walls themselves knew what had just been said. Caleb walked a few steps ahead, muttering something under his breath about vampires and potions.

But my mind was elsewhere.

On the seer’s prophecy.

On the council’s threats.

On Lucy.

And on the Eclipse.

If Matthew was right, then the balance of the world ... the fragile line between light and dark ....rested on a ritual I wasn’t even sure I believed in.

I didn’t want a forced Luna.

I didn’t want to be the council’s weapon.

But I also couldn’t watch the world burn.

When we stepped out of the manor, dawn had started bleeding through the trees, pale and gold. For the first time in a long while, the sunlight didn’t feel like warmth. It felt like a countdown.

---

Caleb’s POV

As we got into the car, I glanced at Adrian.

He looked calm ....too calm.

That kind of calm only meant one thing.

He was planning something.

I didn’t ask what. I just gripped the steering wheel and started the engine.

Because whatever was coming next, I knew one thing for sure ... the vampires weren’t the only ones evolving.