The Betrayal of Blood (Patreon)

The ancient ruins whispered with the wind’s cold breath, their stones damp with the sorrow of forgotten souls. Laura, the immortal predator, had hunted these lands for centuries. Her beauty was a lure, her hunger insatiable. But on this night, the hunter had become the hunted.

She felt it before she saw it, a presence lurking in the darkness, a heartbeat steady and fearless. Then, the searing agony struck her chest. A wooden stake, sharp and unforgiving, plunged deep into her heart.

Laura gasped, crimson spilling from her lips. Her fingers trembled as she grasped the stake, disbelief contorting her once-alluring face. How? How could this have happened? Her enemies were mere mortals, fragile and weak. None had ever come this close.

Then, she saw him, Lucien. The man she had once turned, the fledgling she had trained, standing in the shadows with firelight dancing in his vengeful eyes.

"You taught me well, my queen," he whispered, his voice dripping with venom. "But you forgot one thing, loyalty is only as eternal as the one who holds it."

Laura staggered, her legs weakening as the cursed wood drained her strength. She fought to stay standing, to defy the inevitable. But her body betrayed her. Slowly, she sank to her knees, her vision darkening.

Lucien stepped forward, his boots echoing against the stone. He knelt beside her, brushing a bloodied strand of hair from her pale face. "Goodnight, my love," he murmured before pushing the stake deeper, twisting it.

Laura’s last breath was a soft, shuddering sigh as the eternal night swallowed her whole.