The forest was a blur of green and brown as Torfyn ran. His powerful wolf form, fueled by grief and rage, was now running on empty. A deep, gnawing hunger cramped his stomach, and his muscles screamed with exhaustion. He had to stop.

He found a small clearing with a fallen log and collapsed against it, shifting back to his human form with a gasp. The pain of his grandfather’s loss hit him fresh, a physical ache in his chest. He took a deep, shuddering breath, trying to calm his racing heart, and closed his eyes.

Crunch.

The sound was faint, far away. The movement of a foot on a dry leaf. But to Torfyn’s sharpened senses, it was as clear as a shout. He froze, listening. More footsteps. Muffled voices. And the scent… a cold, metallic scent that made his lip curl in instinctual hatred.

Vampires. The same ones who destroyed my home.

He exhaled slowly, his breath misting in the cool air. When he opened his eyes, the sorrow was gone, replaced by a cold, calculating fury. I know these woods better than anyone. Let’s pay them back.

---

“Spread out!” a vampire hissed to his companions. “Don’t let him escape. Go all out. Master Arlong is injured by the wolf poison, so he can’t help us. Be thorough!”

“According to the master, he went this way,” another said. “Come on, fast!”

They pushed through the undergrowth and finally spotted him—the young werewolf, seemingly exhausted, resting on a fallen tree.

“There he is! Catch him!”

As if startled, Torfyn’s eyes went wide. He jumped up and bolted deeper into the woods. The vampires gave chase, their laughter cruel and confident.

They didn’t see the carefully concealed pit until it was too late. Three of the lead vampires crashed through the canopy of leaves and branches, their screams cut short as they were impaled on the sharpened wooden stakes below.

The remaining pursuers skidded to a halt, their confidence shattered. “What treachery is this?!” one yelled.

Torfyn didn’t stop running. He slid behind a large oak, hooked a finger—now tipped with a sharp claw—around a nearly invisible wire, and sliced through it.

Thwip-thwip-thwip!

A hail of arrows, rigged to a bent sapling, shot out from the trees, cutting through half of the remaining vampires. Chaos erupted.

Then, Torfyn stopped. He turned to face them. His eyes began to glow a fierce gold. Hair sprouted along his arms and face, his hands and feet elongating into deadly claws. He was a terrifying hybrid of man and wolf. He threw his head back and unleashed a howl that shook the very leaves on the trees.

High in the branches above, a figure dressed in a violet cloak watched, unseen.

Torfyn took a deep breath and moved. He was so fast he became a golden streak. One of the vampires standing at the back simply… vanished. The others stared, confused, until his head tumbled from his shoulders and his body crumpled to the ground.

Torfyn used the terrain, his home, as his weapon. He would appear from behind a tree, strike, and vanish again, taking them out one by one.

One larger vampire, more skilled than the rest, finally tracked his movement. “Enough of this hiding!” he roared, confronting Torfyn directly. “Fight me, beast!”

The vampire conjured a bow and arrow made of shimmering, solidified blood. He fired rapidly, uncontrollably. Torfyn dodged most, but one arrow found its mark, impaling his thigh. Another grazed his arm.

A cold, paralyzing numbness instantly spread from the wounds. Vampire blood, Torfyn realized with dread. His leg gave way, and his arm hung uselessly at his side.

The vampire smiled, walking closer. “You were fighting like the filthy werewolf that you are. Pathetic. Now, I will take you to my master.”

As the vampire reached for him, a symbol—a crescent moon—glowed brightly on Torfyn’s forehead and palm. From the symbols, blades of pure, concentrated moonlight shot out, slicing through the air and cutting down every remaining vampire except the one who had spoken.

Before the stunned vampire could react, Torfyn was behind him. In a final, brutal act, his wolfish jaws clamped down on the vampire’s neck and tore it out.

Gasping, the paralysis taking full hold, Torfyn saw one last vampire, who had been hiding, turn and flee into the woods. He tried to give chase, but his body failed him, and he collapsed.

The figure in the violet cloak dropped silently from the tree, landing in front of him. The hood fell back, revealing a man with brown hair and golden eyes—werewolf eyes.

Torfyn stared, shocked. “Who…?”

“Yes,” the man said, his voice calm. “I am a werewolf.”

“Why are you here?” Torfyn managed to ask, his words slurring.

“To take you.”

“Where to?”

“You will find out.”

The man produced a syringe filled with a silvery liquid. “This is a silver solution. It won’t kill you. Just knock you out for a time.”

Torfyn’s consciousness faded, a dozen questions dying on his lips as the world went black. The violet-cloaked man lifted him effortlessly and vanished into the shadows.

---

Amanda walked through the eerie silence of an abandoned village, the moon her only light. “How do I find her, Mother?” she whispered to the night. “I have no clue where the Blood Queen is.”

A shadow moved. Then another. People? she thought with a spark of hope. “Excuse me?” she called out. “May I ask? Where can I find the Bl—”

Ten vampires emerged from the ruins, surrounding her. One grabbed her arm, his grip like iron. “Finally found you. The master will be very happy.”

Amanda was confused. “Why are you attacking me? We are all vampires, no?”

One of them laughed. “Girl, we don’t have that kind of sympathy. We’re here to capture you. You’re important for our Dark Lo—”

“Shut up, you fool!” another snapped. Then he turned to Amanda. “We captured your mother. We won’t let you or her go.”

Amanda’s blood ran cold. “You did that? Where is my mother?!”

Two others grabbed her, and dark, viscous blood magic snaked around her wrists, forming tight cuffs.

“You will never see her,” the vampire taunted.

Rage, hot and pure, erupted within her. I have to escape. Now. Her eyes glowed a blinding crimson. Thorny vines, forged from her own blood, burst from her wrists, shattering the magical cuffs and forcing her captors to recoil. In the confusion, she turned and ran into the dark woods faster than any of them could follow.

“After her!” the leader yelled. “Follow the blood trail!”

He was right. Her palms were bleeding from forcing the thorns out, leaving a clear trail on the forest floor.

Amanda ran until she skidded to a stop at the edge of a steep cliff. There was nowhere left to run. The vampires fanned out, blocking her retreat. “Nowhere to run now!” one of them jeered.

Amanda turned. Her red eyes glowed like hellfire. She clenched her bleeding fists tightly. Every drop of blood that had fallen from her hands rose into the air, forming a swirling, crimson cloud around the vampires.

In the distance, another violet-cloaked figure watched.

Amanda simply snapped her fingers.

The blood cloud solidified into a thousand sharp thorns and shot inward. Vampires screamed as they were pierced. Some tried to raise blood shields, but her magic was superior, shattering their defenses with ease.

When it was over, only one vampire remained, shielded behind the bodies of his comrades. He formed a bullet of hardened blood and fired, hitting Amanda in the leg. She cried out and fell to one knee.

The vampire approached, smirking, ready to cuff her again. “Now, you’re—”

Amanda moved in a flash. She grabbed him, her fangs sinking deep into his neck. She drank until he was dry, her leg wound knitting itself closed as his power flowed into her.

She dropped the desiccated body, panting, horrified by her own actions.

The violet-cloaked figure appeared before her. “Who are you?” Amanda asked, scrambling back.

The figure lowered its hood, revealing a woman with pale skin and piercing red eyes—a vampire.

“You must come with me,” the woman said calmly.

Terrified, Amanda tried to run, but a wave of overwhelming tiredness washed over her, and she fell into unconsciousness. The woman pulled her hood up and vanished with Amanda in her arms.

---

Liang Wei walked aimlessly through the unfamiliar forest, his heart heavy. Where am I? Where do I go to find Mei? To save the world? The task felt impossible.

He decided to follow the sun. It led him to a river where he drank deeply, the cool water clearing his head. If I follow the river, I’ll find people. A village. I can find answers there.

He began his journey downstream, unaware that a violet-cloaked figure was tracking him from a distance.

At dusk, he suddenly stopped. He was surrounded.

“Is it him?” one vampire asked.

Another checked a pulsating, blood-red compass. “Yes. The master’s tracker is perfect. I’m sure. Capture him!”

Chains of blood shot toward Wei. Instead of panicking, he analyzed them. “Hmm,” he murmured. “This is a unique magic, only for vampires, I think. I saw your master using one too. Interesting.”

With swift hand gestures, he summoned a wall of water from the nearby damp air, blocking the chains. From the wall, shurikens of ice shot out, cutting down two vampires. The others blocked with shields of blood.

Wei turned and ran, his mind racing. So they’re the ones who took Mei. They want us both. Mother mentioned a Dark Lord. They need our magic for something.

A wall of clotted blood erupted from the ground in front of him, blocking his path. A vampire grinned. “I can make walls, too, you know!”

Tentacles of blood shot from the wall, one wrapping tightly around Wei’s ankle. As he struggled, the vampire taunted him. “You’re vulnerable now! You’ll be captured, just like your sister!”

Clotted blood, Wei realized mid-panic. If I heat it up, it melts!

He formed a sword of fire in his hand, slicing through the tentacles. He then launched a fireball at the wall itself, and it melted into a steaming, harmless puddle.

Wei turned to face his pursuers, his blue eyes glowing with power. Ten fireballs materialized in the air around him. “Leave me alone!” he yelled, and sent them flying. The vampires were engulfed, burning to ash.

Exhausted, Wei leaned against a tree, catching his breath. The violet-cloaked figure nearby tensed, about to move.

Suddenly, a familiar blood-net shot out from the shadows, ensnaring him completely. Alice stepped into view, her face a mask of fury, one arm missing. “You are more troublesome to deal with than I thought. But now you are captured. Ha ha ha!”

“Where is my sister?!” Wei shouted, struggling against the net. “Give her to me!”

Alice grinned. “Don’t worry, she is with me. Mei! Come here!”

Liang Mei stepped out from behind a tree. Her eyes were cold and empty, her face dark.

“Mei! Mei!” Wei cried. “I came to save you!”

Mei’s voice was flat, devoid of emotion. “You couldn’t save Mother. And you will never save me. But she can save us, brother. Come join us.”

Alice smiled cruelly.

Wei was devastated. “What are you saying, Mei? She killed our mother!”

“So what?” Mei replied. “She was weak. That’s why she lost.”

Wei turned to Alice, tears of anger in his eyes. “What did you do to her?!”

As Alice opened her mouth to answer, the ground cracked. A glowing, magical dome surrounded Wei. Chains of pure energy erupted from the earth, binding both Alice and Mei tightly.

The blood net around Wei dissolved. The violet-cloaked figure, a woman with intense blue eyes, stood beside him and touched his neck, making him slump into unconsciousness.

Alice struggled against her bonds. “So it was you… a servant of her!”

The woman’s voice was icy. “You defied her. You, and all the Twelve, will pay for this.”

“You can’t bind me forever, you witch!” Alice screamed. “I will find you and this boy and pay you back!”

The woman pulled a small tracking device from Alice’s cloak and crushed it in her hand. “See you then,” she said flatly, and vanished with Wei.

The magical dome and chains disappeared. Alice seethed with rage. She turned to Mei. “All of this is because of your brother.”

Mei’s eyes held a dark promise. “I will kill my brother with my own hands.”

---

Alice and Mei returned to a dark, mysterious cave. Inside, eleven other black-hooded figures with glowing red eyes awaited them, including Ron and Arlong, who was still pale from the wolf poison.

Arlong let out a weak, mocking laugh. “So… you lost your arm? Ha! Against a witch, at that… ha ha ha!”

The other vampires chuckled. Alice shot back with equal venom, “At least I didn’t poison myself and fall ill.”

A commanding figure stepped forward from the shadows, his presence silencing them all. “Enough!” his voice boomed. “We have a greater purpose than your squabbles.” He looked at Mei. “So, you brought back one of the twins. And we have the blood of all three. It is time to complete our plan. At the solar eclipse, we will proceed and bring back our lord and savior.”

“The Queen knows,” Alice warned. “She will interfere. We all know if she enters the fray, the twelve of us don’t stand a chance.”

The leader nodded grimly. “I know. We must find a way to distract her. When our lord returns, we will have our old power restored. No one, not even the Queen, will be able to stand against us. But until then, we must proceed with extreme caution. The awakening has begun.”