South Wing HallwayThe corridor shook. Hard.Wall lamps flickered. Two paintings crashed to the floor.Guards sprinted, weapon raised, voices trembling.“He’s coming up the east hall!”“Block the south wing—we can't let me take the the girl!”“No! FALL BACK—he’s heading straight for—”A deafening BOOM cut them off. Stone buckled outward, dust filling the air.Footsteps echoed. Heavy. Predatory. Growing closer.The guards formed a shaky line, shields raised.Then he appeared.Diego.Chains dragged behind him like metal serpents. Blood streaked his arms. Claws clicked against stone. His eyes—crimson embers burning—locked on them.He didn’t stop. He didn’t slow. He didn’t blink.He spoke, guttural, strangled:“Move.”No one moved.So Diego did.A guard swung first. Diego vanished in a blur; the air snapped. The guard hit the floor, dead before the sound of his crushed throat reached the others.Two more lunged. Diego shoved one through a door—CRASH—and pinned the second to the wall with

Deep Cave It had been seven days.Seven days since Lewis carved the deal into his shoulder.Seven days since the child was stolen.Seven days since Lucian vowed to wipe out the Monaghan bloodline.Inside the cold cave, Lucian worked in silence.Steel rang with every stroke as he sharpened a long, curved silver blade—the same blade he once wielded beside a man he now hated.He strapped on a silver-lined gauntlet.Checked wooden stakes.Secured the throwing knives on his thigh.His face was grim.Determined.Grieving.“This time,” he muttered, sliding a blade into its sheath,“none of you walk away alive.”He turned toward the exit—BOOOOOOOM!!!The cave floor lurched violently. Stones rained down like hail. Dust filled the air.Lucian grabbed the wall, eyes widening.“What the—?”Another tremor blasted the underground tunnels—deeper, heavier, older, like something buried for centuries had just awakened.The cavern HOWLED.Not wind.Not beasts.Vampires.Hundreds.Their shrieks echoed

The Chase That Shakes the MansionLeo ran.Not just ran—flew through the corridors, Claire’s tiny arms locked around his neck, her sobs burning hot against his skin.Behind them—behind everything—came the sound:THUD.CRACK.WRAAAAAAAAAHHH—!!Diego wasn’t chasing them.He was hunting them.Marble exploded under his claws as he burst through a wall, molten-gold eyes blazing like two miniature suns.“CLAAAAAIRE!!”His roar shook dust from the ceiling and rattled every bone in Leo’s body.Leo didn’t look back.He couldn’t.He skidded around a corner—slid under a collapsing chandelier—leapt over a shattered banister—every breath a scream inside his lungs.But Diego didn’t dodge obstacles.He destroyed everything in his path.He came through walls.Through stone.Through the flesh of any vampire foolish enough to cross his path.Leo gasped for air.Claire screamed again——and Diego’s answering roar shook paintings from their frames.Leo whispered, voice cracking:“Hold on, Claire… I w

The figure stepped fully into the room.Tall.Elegantly dressed.His presence bending the air itself, as if the mansion exhaled in fear.No footsteps.No heartbeat.No scent.Just… silence.Rhett’s grip tightened on his blade.Lucian steadied his stance.Leo shielded Claire again, pulling her slightly behind him.And Diego—still on his knees—went rigid, instincts screaming.The Unknown Man smiled faintly.“Relax,” he murmured. “If I wished to kill you… you would already be gone.”No one relaxed.---His gaze drifted over the group like a cold breeze.“Rhett Kael,” he said without looking at him, “still hiding guilt behind discipline.”Rhett flinched.Lucian stiffened.“Lucian Hale,” the man continued, “still trying to balance revenge with righteousness. A foolish line to walk.”Lucian’s jaw clenched.Finally, his eyes settled on Diego.“Ah. The hybrid.”He crouched, bringing his face level with Diego’s.Up close, the Unknown Man’s eyes were wrong.Empty.Bottomless.Too old.“Do you k

The crimson light swallowed the hallway.A scream—Leo’s.A roar—Diego’s.A sharp intake of breath—Claire’s.Then—BOOOOOM!!!The blast detonated, consuming everything in a violent wave of destructive force.Stone cracked.Torchlight shattered.Shadows burned white.And when the light finally faded—Silence.A thick fog of dust and smoke rolled through the ruined corridor.---Leo Didn’t MoveHe lay curled around Claire, back arched, arms locked tight.Smoke drifted from him.His clothes were shredded.His skin was scorched.He wasn’t breathing.Claire shook him weakly, tears dripping onto his cheek.“Uncle Leo…? Uncle Leo… please…”He didn’t answer.He didn’t even twitch.---Diego SnapsA single sound tore through the quiet.A breath.A trembling, choking breath——from Diego.He stared at Leo’s unmoving body.At the burned imprint of Dominic’s attack scorching the ground.At Claire sobbing into Leo’s chest.And something inside Diego…broke.Not the way Dominic wanted.Not the way ev