Challenge Bloodlines Novels & Stories

he says. "I know," I say. He hands the knife back to me, handle first. "Keep it," he says. "Next time, aim for the throat." Outside, the moon is rising—two days from full, heavy and pregnant with light. But in the portrait room, surrounded by the faces of women who had not been allowed to choose, I feel something shift. The bloodline is not a curse, I realize. It is a question. And for the first time, I am ready to answer it on my own terms.

When the last offering had been made. I tightened my grip on my own dagger. The metal was ice-cold. The pain as it sliced through my flesh burned hot. I drew the blade firmly across my palm. The First Bloodline. The ancient, noble blood flowing through my veins surged from the wound. Holding my hand above the very center of the altar where the others' blood had gathered, I slowly curled my fingers into a fist. Drop by drop... My blood fell. The instant the first crimson drop touched the others, sharp hissing sounds filled the air. The runes blazed as though they had gone mad. A dense mist poured from every glowing carving.

Damon came forward with a guard who was holding a tray. On the tray, there was a dagger and a stone. It was time for the Bloodline Ritual. Stopping beside us, Damon lifted the dagger from both hands and presented that to Nicholus, "You will now do the Bloodline Ritual. After this, your bloodline and legacy will be bound together. This ritual will be your promise to your people that you'll always rule with justice." Taking the dagger from Damon, Nicholus slid off its cover and placed it in the tray. The metal glinted in the moonlight. Lifting his hand, Nicholus slid the sharp blade across his palm. Crimson liquid oozed out.

Bienley smiled at their sons and stared at Justin. "Can you imagine that Justin? You can have a child with Cullen and Dalton's blood...yours and Zack's blood. The dream I wanted to have is given to you. You will carry Zack's child inside your body...that child will grow inside you until you can bring him/her out of the world. You will watch Zack's child grow and you will hear and feel the heartbeat that would eternally bind you and Zack for a lifetime" Bienley continued to explain.

What unseen hand had placed Jace into this lineage? Then there was the Chevre. Damon Chevre, the only son, the dark spark igniting old wars. The man who killed Alice Grey—a blow aimed to sever the fragile alliance between the Chevre and the Bishop families. The blood feud that followed marked a new chapter. Damon’s death at the hands of Jace Grey was more than vengeance—it was a statement. Jace, the outsider turned keystone, had become a pivotal force—both protector and avenger. Not just a Grey by name, but a shadow lurking between them all, holding pieces of a future no one could yet see.

“Now.” In the living room Damian had pulled out a whiteboard. Like this was some kind of war room. “Obasi wants the company,” Damian said. “He swapped babies twenty-eight years ago. Me and… someone else.” Marcus went completely still. “DNA test tomorrow,” Damian continued. “All of us. And the baby when it’s born.” Zara’s stomach flipped. “You think—” “I think Obasi wouldn’t be this desperate unless the bloodline was wrong,” Damian said.

Her eyes widened slightly at the sight of Rowan, nostrils flaring at the clear triad scent rolling off us. “Vale,” she said, voice measured. “Voss. The stories didn’t exaggerate. The pup carries both your lines cleanly. No… external taint.” I met her gaze directly. The old fear that once would have made me shrink was gone. “There is no external claim. Draven’s serum failed. The heir is ours. Any alliance acknowledges that reality.” Lira inclined her head, but her betas shifted uneasily. “Draven’s remnants are whispering. Offering favors to anyone who challenges the bloodline. We came to see truth for ourselves.”

The forest, the wolf murmured. Darius nodded slowly. “The curse awakens when the royal bloodline grows too proud, and we all know you are so adamant about doing the needful.” Silence filled the room in that instant. Finally, Kaelen asked, “What stops it?” Darius looked directly at him. “There is only one solution.” Kaelen didn’t like the sound of that. Darius continued. “The Alpha heir must unite the bloodline with the one race we rejected.” Kaelen already knew where this was going.

He paused. “The ritual requires three bloodlines,” Antonio said. “The Moretti line, which you’ve protected. The Russo line, which is yours. And the third line, which you still don’t know about. Without all three, the ritual fails. And without the ritual, I’m just an old man who’s been planning for decades with nothing to show for it.” “What’s the third bloodline?” Dante asked. “You’ll find out,” Antonio said, “when it’s too late to stop it.”

I want to take it, but I know I will be in the way of her receiving the help she needs. "I thought you said she was O positive?" Bethany shouts, pulling the blood-filled tubes from Daliah's arms, not caring that they are still leaking. It mixes with the blood on the floor, and I take a step away from the sight. Blood has never bothered me, but the idea that it is coming from my mate has my face draining of color and my stomach twisting in fear. "I said it was complicated! She has a specific bloodline that doesn't fucking exist anymore, and you said she'd die if I didn't give you an answer!" I shout back at her, continuing to step away from the growing blood puddle at my feet.