Chapter 1 The storm's whisper

The air snapped with the tang of blood, a bitter sting in Lucien Blackthorn's nose as he stood in the filth of the underworld's forgotten alley. Rain lashed his face, soaking his black leather coat, but he barely felt it. His wolf clawed at his chest, a feral thing begging to break free, to chase the scent that haunted him...wildflowers and starlight, sharp and sweet, like a memory he couldn't shake. She was here. After three years of lies, curses, and visions, Amara Voss stood before him, alive, defiant, and impossible.

"You think you can hide from me?" His voice was a low growl, rough as gravel, each word laced with the Alpha's command that made wolves kneel and humans break. His silver eyes burned in the dark, catching the flicker of lightning that split the sky. Mud sucked at his boots, and the storm's howl swallowed the distant screams of the supernatural underworld,a city of witches, and wolves, where power was blood and betrayal was currency.

Amara didn't flinch. Her dark hair clung to her face, wet and wild, framing eyes green as the moon's edge, sharp enough to cut. She stood tall, her worn cloak dripping, her chin lifted like she was daring him to strike.

"I didn't hide, Lucien," she said, her voice steady, slicing through the wind's roar. "I ran. There's a difference."

His fists clenched, claws pricking his palms, drawing blood that mixed with the rain. Ran. The word burned, a betrayal sharper than any blade. Three years ago, she'd been his,chosen by the Moon Oracle, bound by a dark contract to bear his heirs. He'd felt her then, the pull of her, stronger than any Alpha bond, her scent a drug he couldn't quit. And then she was gone, vanished with the newborns, leaving him with nothing but visions and a madness no one believed. His guards forgot her name. Her records dissolved like ash. Everyone said she was a curse, a hallucination woven by dark magic to break him. But here she was, real as the storm, and his wolf howled, claiming her still.

"Ran?" he spat, stepping closer, his boots splashing in the mud. The alley was narrow, its brick walls slick with grime, neon signs flickering in the distance,Bloodhaven, Crimson Den,their glow barely piercing the storm's fury.

"You stole my children, Amara. You think I'd let that go?"

Her eyes flashed, a spark of something,guilt, fear, defiance. She took a step back, her cloak shifting, and Lucien's breath caught. A child stood beside her, a boy no older than three, his small hand clutching hers. Silver eyes,Lucien's eyes stared up at him, wide and wary, framed by dark hair plastered to a pale face. The boy's coat was too big, swallowing his thin frame, but those eyes... They were a mirror, a punch to Lucien's gut.

"Who is he?" Lucien's voice dropped, softer now, but no less dangerous. Lightning cracked again, illuminating two more children behind her,triplets, their faces pale under hoods, their gazes too old, too knowing for their years. A girl with wild curls, her green eyes like Amara's, and another boy, thin as a shadow, his gray eyes fixed on the sky. Lucien's heart stuttered, a raw, aching thing. His children. He knew it in his bones, in the way his wolf surged, protective, possessive, claiming them as pack.

Amara's hand tightened on the boy's, her knuckles white.

"You don't understand, Lucien," she said, her voice low, trembling at the edges. "You can't. Not yet."

"Then make me understand!"

he roared, his Alpha command surging, a force that rippled through the air, bending the storm itself. Humans would have collapsed, wolves would've bared their throats, but Amara stood tall, her gaze unflinching, and that defiance ignited something in him,fury, yes, but also a hunger he couldn't name. No one resisted him. No one. Not his lieutenants, not the vampire lords, not the witches who whispered his name in fear. Yet here she was, a woman who should've been nothing,a surrogate, a tool staring him down like she was his equal.

The boy whimpered, a small sound that cut through Lucien's rage. Those silver eyes his son's eyes were afraid, and it twisted something in his chest, a pang he hadn't felt in years. Not since he'd clawed his way to power, built his empire on blood and fear. He took a step closer, slower now, his claws retracting, his voice softer.

"What's his name?"

Amara's lips parted, but she hesitated, her gaze flickering to the boy.

"Kael," she said finally, the word heavy, like it cost her something. "His name is Kael."

Kael. The name settled in Lucien's chest, a weight and a warmth. He looked at the other two, the girl and the boy, their small forms huddled against Amara.

"And them?"

"Lira," Amara said, nodding to the girl, whose curls bounced as she peeked at him, her green eyes wary but curious.

"And Soren." The thin boy didn't look at him, his gray eyes still in the sky, as if he saw something Lucien couldn't.

"Kael, Lira, Soren," Lucien repeated, tasting their names, feeling them anchor him. His children. His heirs. But why were they here, in this filthy alley, running from him? Why did Amara look at him like he was the threat?

"Lucien, please," Amara said, her voice cracking, a plea that hit him harder than any command. "If you take us back, it'll destroy everything. Not just us. The whole underworld."

He froze, her words sinking in. Destroy the underworld? His empire, his pack, the fragile balance he'd bled to maintain?

"What are you talking about?" he demanded, his voice low, dangerous again. "What did you do, Amara?"

Her eyes glistened, tears mixing with the rain, but before she could answer, Kael tugged her hand, his small voice sharp.

"Mama, he's angry. Like in my dreams."

Lucien's blood ran cold. Dreams? What did the boy know? He knelt, ignoring the mud soaking his knees, and met Kael's gaze.

"What dreams, kid?" His voice was softer than he meant, but the boy's fear,his fear,gnawed at him.

Kael's silver eyes widened, and he shrank back, clutching Amara's cloak.

"You... you hurt people," he whispered. "I saw it. When I touched Mama."

Lucien's jaw tightened, a chill creeping up his spine. Touched her? What was this? He looked at Amara, her face pale, her lips pressed tight.

"What's he talking about?" he asked, his voice a growl.

"What's wrong with him?"

"Nothing's wrong,"

Amara snapped, her defiance flaring. She pulled Kael closer, her arm around Lira and Soren, a mother wolf protecting her cubs.

"They're special, Lucien. More than you know. And that's why we can't go with you."

Special. The word hung in the air, heavy with secrets. Lucien stood, his wolf pacing inside him, restless, hungry for answers. He remembered her, three years ago, in his mansion's ritual chamber. The Moon Oracle's light, her trembling under the moonlight, the contract's magic binding them. She'd been chosen, the only one to pass the Oracle's tests, her blood pure, untouched by wolf or witch. But she'd resisted his command even then, her will a fire he couldn't extinguish. And now, this,children with powers, secrets she wouldn't share.

"Tell me," he said, stepping closer, his voice low, a lover's threat. "What are they? What are you?"

Her breath hitched, and for a moment, he thought she'd answer. Her eyes searched his, green and deep, and he felt it again,that pull, that need to keep her close, to claim her in ways an Alpha shouldn't. His wolf growled, possessive, and he hated how much he wanted her, even now, after her betrayal.

But the storm roared louder, and the ground trembled beneath them. A shadow moved at the alley's mouth, too fast, too wrong. Lucien's instincts screamed, his wolf snarling. Danger. Death. The shadow's eyes glowed red, not wolf, not vampire, but something older, hungrier. Its form flickered, half-flesh, half-smoke, claws glinting like obsidian.

"Run," Lucien snarled, shoving Amara behind him. She stumbled, clutching the triplets, but her eyes locked on his, wide with fear,not for herself, but for him. It infuriated him, that fear, that she thought he couldn't protect them.

"Lucien, no!" she shouted, her voice raw. "You don't know what it is!"

"I don't care," he growled, his claws extending, long and lethal.

"Go, now!" He faced the creature, its red eyes boring into him, its screech a claw in his mind. The triplets' cries echoed behind him, Kael's voice sharp,

"Mama, it's bad!"

The creature lunged, faster than anything Lucien had fought, its claws slashing. He dodged, his wolf's speed saving him, and struck back, his claws tearing through flesh that wasn't flesh. It screeched again, a sound that rattled his bones, and the storm swallowed them all. Amara's scream pierced the chaos, and Lucien turned, heart pounding, to see her and the triplets vanishing into the rain, their forms blurring in the dark.

"Amara!" he bellowed, his voice a roar that shook the alley. The creature struck again, its claws raking his side, and pain seared through him, hot and blinding. He fell to his knees, blood mixing with the mud, his vision swimming. The last thing he saw was Kael's silver eyes, staring back from the darkness, a silent plea that broke him.