Chapter One - Infiltration
Storm's Pov
The night was usually quiet and peaceful, but the woods were way more quiet.
It was not the peaceful type but the kind that wraps around your spine and whispers that something dangerous was lying in wait. That kind of quiet.
I stood in the center of the clearing, surrounded by my handpicked unit. Eight vampires, all trained to be ruthless killers and easily controlled for the task ahead.
They all stood, polished to perfection, like obsidian blades made to glint just once before they cut.
We didn’t speak unless we had to, not tonight. It wasn’t about speeches or toasts and war declaration. It was about blood.
The Veylin Keep loomed just ahead, standing grand, ancient and decadent in the way only old werewolf royalty could be. It had ornate towers, layered stone, guarded gates that spoke of how well it was structured to be the perfect fortress.
But tonight, it was the perfect grave.
The royals inside thought themselves untouchable. They weren’t. And what we are about to do would make certain of it.
I turned toward the others, slowly, letting my gaze rest on each face. No sign of fear or doubt etched on any of their faces. I didn’t want hesitation on this mission. I wanted ghosts.
“Remember,” I said, my voice as low as a whisper. “This has to be quiet. We go in and do what is expected of us. And then we leave, without a trace of us being here in the first place.”
A few gave slight nods but most didn’t move and that was fine.
“We get in. Kill everyone with Veylin blood. No mercy, no witnesses and certainly no names.”
I glanced at one of the vampires, a small smile tugging on my lips before turning back toward the edge of the trees, where the keep’s back gate stood cloaked in vines and shadow. A door only the inside informant knew about.
By now, he should have received the signal and left the gate open for us. I signaled and then we moved. Quietly slipping through the woods and towards the gate. The night air buzzed with tension and I could feel how on edge we all were.
This was an important mission, probably the most important. It was the moment were the vampires would finally tilt the scale of power in our favor. And no slip up would be tolerated.
When we reached the old wooden gate, I knocked. Two sharp taps as the signal.
We waited patiently but nothing. I knocked again and still nothing.
Behind me, my brother, Vren’s voice came out in a hiss. “Why isn’t it opening?”
I narrowed my eyes and looked back, suspicion already building. He should have been waiting for us. He knew the plan down to the breath.
“Why isn't he answering?” I muttered, almost to myself. “Did something go wrong?”
“Did they find out about our plan?” someone else asked.
“Maybe,” I said quietly. “Or maybe we’re walking into a godsdamned trap.” I stepped back, hand sliding toward the dagger at my side. The others already tensing.
Then—Click. The lock turned.
The wooden gate creaked open with slow resistance. My grip on the dagger loosened but only slightly.
And standing behind the door wasn’t a guard. Not our contact. It was a girl.
A small, pale looking girl. Delicate in a way that didn’t belong in a war.
She looked no older than fifteen, barefoot, wearing a simple dress like she’d wandered out of a storybook and straight into an execution.
The rest of the unit drew their weapons instinctively. Fangs glinted in the dim light, fingers curling around hilts.
But she didn’t run, she didn’t even scream. She just… looked at us, confusion written all over her face. Her dark eyes locked onto mine and stayed there. Fragile, unafraid.
I stepped forward slowly and she still didn't flinch, she just stared.
She should’ve run at the first sight of danger but something about how calm she was got to me. Was she naive or just clueless?
“You’re not the maid,” I said, crouching slightly.
Her lips parted. “They... They're busy. I—I heard a knock and opened. Are you delivery?"
Gods, her voice. It was pure music. Soft, thin. She sounded like a song that had already been sung too many times.
She was trembling, but not the way people did when they were about to bolt. No, this girl was trying to stay.
I don’t know what made me do it, but I lifted my hand and brushed her hair out of her face. Her skin was warm, human warm. But her scent was wrong.
It didn’t smell like fear, or guilt. Or even confusion.
It smelled like moonlight and old forgotten things.
My chest clenched for reasons I didn’t like. There was something about her, something ancient humming beneath her skin.
But she wasn't the threat, not tonight.
I reached into my coat and pulled out a silver ring, etched with my family’s crest, the stone dark red in the moonlight.
It happened on impulse and I thought to myself that I wouldn't care about it in a few minutes.
I pressed it into her hand. And whispered. “Keep it. Might save your life one day.”
She looked up at me like she didn’t understand and
I didn’t wait for her to. “Can my friends and I come in?"
She gave a small nod and peeled her eyes off me, returning it to the ring.
I stood and flicked my fingers. The unit moved past us like shadows unspooling into the keep. I was the last one through, walking into the place calmly.
For a split second, I looked over my shoulder and she was still there, still staring at the ring in her hands.
She was a witness and I could’ve killed her. I should have. Instead, I winked and then I vanished into the castle like a whisper.
I soon rejoined my team, slipping through the stairs like gust of wind and splitting into groups to carry out our orders.
The first few kills were effortless. Few guards were patrolling the upper halls and our blades came quickly, slicing off vital parts of the neck and leaving them dead before their hearts could catch up to their throats.
We spilled into the castle like smoke, finding the the royals asleep in their beds. Velvet silk sheets covering their bodies.
Their rooms were decorated with moon carved furniture, old crest candles flickering.
How poetic. I thought, that they would die with their teeth unbarred.
One tried to fight, an elder Beta. He barely got his claws out before we moved swiftly and split him in half.
As soon as his blood spilled, a scream tore through the air, a woman. She shifted mid sprint down the corridor.
“Light it,” I ordered.