All Chapters of Ashes Of Desire: Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

By morning, Bloodmoon Estate no longer felt like home. It felt like a fortress waiting for an attack. Armed guards stood at every entrance. Security teams patrolled the outer grounds, while the estate’s internal surveillance system had been placed on maximum alert. Every vehicle entering or leaving was searched. Every communication channel was being monitored. No one knew who had breached the estate’s system. That was what frightened Julian the most. An enemy outside could be seen. An enemy inside could already be standing beside you. Vance stood inside the command room, staring at the security screens. Three hours. That was how long they had been searching. Three hours, and they had found nothing. No footprints. No forced entry. No unfamiliar vehicles. Nothing. It was almost as if the person responsible had never been there. “Run the access logs again,” Vance ordered. One of the technicians looked up. “We’ve already run them six times.” “Then run them seven.” The t

The moment Julian stepped into the master suite, he knew something was wrong. Not because the room looked different. It didn’t. The fire still burned low in the marble hearth. The curtains remained drawn against the pale morning light. Maya’s coat was still draped over the chair beside the window. Everything appeared exactly as it had when they left. Too exactly. Julian stopped. Maya, walking behind him, nearly collided with his back. “What is it?” He raised one hand. Silence. She listened. Nothing. Then the secure landline on the desk rang. Once. Twice. Three times. Neither of them moved. The line was isolated from the estate’s main communications system. It couldn’t be reached through ordinary channels. Julian crossed the room slowly. Maya’s hand moved toward the weapon beneath her jacket. He picked up the receiver. “Who is this?” Static answered him. Then a distorted voice. “You dismantled the board.” Julian’s expression hardened.

The archive door remained sealed. Maya stood motionless, staring at the figure emerging from between the ancient shelves. The emergency light above them flickered. Once. Twice. Then steadied. Julian raised his weapon. “Show your face.” The figure didn’t move. A dark coat. Black gloves. A silver mask covering the upper half of the face. Maya’s pulse accelerated. “Who are you?” The stranger tilted his head. “You’ve spent years asking the wrong question.” Julian stepped in front of Maya. “Last warning.” The stranger laughed softly. “You still think every problem can be solved by threatening it.” Julian’s jaw tightened. “Take off the mask.” Instead, the stranger lifted one hand. A small device appeared between his fingers. Maya recognized it immediately. “A detonator.” Julian’s eyes narrowed. “For what?” “The archive.” Maya looked around. There were hundreds of documents surrounding them. Ancient contracts. Bloodline records.

Darkness swallowed Bloodmoon. Not the ordinary darkness of night. This was complete. Every light disappeared at once. The emergency systems failed. The security monitors went black. Even the faint blue indicators along the underground corridors vanished. For several seconds, no one moved. Then Maya heard Julian. “Maya?” “I’m here.” His hand found hers in the darkness. His grip was firm. Steady. Protective without being controlling. Vance’s voice came through the dead comms as a whisper. “Everyone stay where you are.” Clara answered from somewhere nearby. “I can’t access the network.” “Neither can I.” Julian looked toward the dead terminal. “The entire estate has been cut off.” Maya still held her father’s recording device. Her mind raced. The Blackwood family was never meant to rule Bloodmoon. They had spent generations believing Julian was the rightful Alpha. If her father’s words were true, everything they knew about the pack’s his

The image on the screen moved. Maya froze. For several seconds, nobody spoke. The man standing beside her father in the old photograph was no longer a photograph. He was breathing. Watching. Waiting. His face appeared older than it had in the picture, but there was no mistaking him. The same sharp cheekbones. The same dark eyes. The same silver threaded through his black hair. Adrian stared at the screen as though he had seen a ghost. “No,” he whispered. Maya turned toward him. “You know him.” Adrian swallowed. “I know who he is.” Julian, his shoulder bleeding beneath his torn shirt, stepped closer to Maya. “Then tell us.” The man on the screen smiled. Not warmly. Not cruelly. Almost knowingly. “You’ve finally opened the throne.” His voice filled the chamber. Maya’s heartbeat accelerated. “Who are you?” The man’s gaze settled directly on her. “I am Cassian Vale.” Adrian’s face drained of color. “The first king of Bloodmoon.” Sile