Blackwood Churches 소설 & 이야기

Far beyond her temporary student apartment on Blackwood Lane lay the Blackwood Sanctuary. It was a sprawling, hidden estate tucked away in the deep, mist-heavy pine forests just outside the borders of the St. Jude crest. Protected by iron gates and decades of carefully bought privacy, the stone manor house was a relic of the late 19th century, completely cut off from the modern grid. It was a place where time stood completely still, preserved in candlelight, ancient library stacks, and dark velvet. The Coven of Three As they packed up Maya's art supplies, Elena gently detailed exactly who was waiting for them behind those iron gates. Her

He led us through another corridor, down a sweeping staircase, and finally to a set of glass doors that opened onto the terrace Christine had mentioned. Through the glass, I could see a small gathering,no more than ten people, arranged in two short rows of chairs facing an altar of sorts, constructed from what appeared to be the same stone as the house itself. Alexander Blackwood stood beside it, his back to me, talking to an older man who must be the officiant. Even from behind, his presence was commanding,tall and broad-shouldered in a perfectly tailored black suit, his posture radiating the confident authority of a man accustomed to bending the world to his will.

"He's demanding audience, Alpha. Says he has a proposition that might prevent... unpleasantness." Unpleasantness. Such a delicate word for the kind of territorial war that could paint these mountains red with supernatural blood. I found Blackwood waiting in the courtyard like he owned it, flanked by three wolves who moved with the particular swagger of creatures who'd never learned proper respect for established territory. He looked older than I remembered—gray threading through dark hair, lines around his eyes that spoke of years spent in exile—but his amber gaze held the same calculating intelligence that had made him dangerous three decades ago.

​The Blackwood estate in the city was no longer a monument to power; it was a mausoleum of failing ambition. The grand library, once a room where billion-dollar mergers were whispered into existence over crystal tumblers of scotch, was now thick with the stale smell of expensive cigars and the bitter rot of defeat.

My pregnant wife, alone, in a city crawling with enemies, under my name and face plastered across headlines as a wanted murderer. And she left the house without backup. I opened my mouth to issue another command but— “Boss, we’re here,” Thaddeus murmured, slowing the car. We’d reached where it all started— Not just a grave. Not just a name carved in stone. But the very root of every Blackwood sin. The estate. The first Blackwood’s house. The true Blackwood estate. Thaddeus slowed the SUV to a stop just in front of the towering iron gates, rusted but still standing, like sentinels too proud to fall.

LUCIAN The court was louder than usual. Sharp, restless and tensed voices carried across the marble floor. Word of Ramond Blackwood’s death had reached every corner of the capital before morning bells. Ramond had lived forty years, long enough to serve the crown faithfully and also long enough to bury too many of his own. He was one of the few Blackwoods who had remained in the ministry since youth. Most had been forced out, worn down, or buried beside my parents two decades ago.