Alaric sat in the quiet of his study, deep in thought as he stared out of the window at the garden, the moonlight casting a pale glow over the manicured landscape. The weight of recent events weighed heavily on him—the curse on Lucy, the departure of his family to the Frozen Forest, and the ever-growing complexities of the vampire and werewolf alliances. But his mind was fixated on something else. His father's bloodline.
Alaric's powers had already grown tremendously since he first began to tap into his mother's side of the bloodline. But his father's side, the side of his heritage that held untold power, was still dormant. He needed to unlock it—fully. And for that, he knew exactly where he needed to go.
He called for Gilbert, his loyal servant. Gilbert arrived promptly, his presence as steadfast as ever, though there was a slight concern in his eyes as he noticed the contemplative expression on Alaric's face.
