AN: This is the appearance of Diana
AN: Also this chapter is right before we get into the action so sit tight.
POV Daniel
I stood inside my hut—my temporary home for now. The tint walls were thin, letting the cold night air seep through the cracks. Outside, I could hear the sounds of my warriors moving about the camp.
"Is it done?" I asked without turning.
One of my men stood behind me.
"Yes, Clan head. Everything is prepared."
I nodded slowly. With a small wave of my hand, I dismissed him.
He bowed his head and stepped outside.
After a moment, I followed.
The night was dark, illuminated only by the moon and the fires scattered across the camp.
Around the clearing, my warriors were busy. Some sharpened their swords against rough stones. Others sparred in small mock fights, their movements quick and aggressive. A few sat around the largest fire, drinking and chanting as they raised their cups toward the sky.
I walked over and joined them.
"To the goddess of the moon!" one of them shouted.
"To Indau!" another added.
They all raised their cups.
"To Indau!" the group roared.
To most outsiders, Indau—the Hollow—was a curse.
To us?
She was a blessing.
She gave us the ability to become something greater. Something stronger. Something dangerous.
On the full moon, we became predators.
Creatures stronger than any normal man.
And we cherished that gift with every part of our being.
The men began howling toward the sky, their voices echoing through the forest.
Normally the sound was loud.
Tonight it was deafening.
Because of the moonlight rings.
All of them belonged to me now.
I had taken them from beneath my mother's control.
Every single one.
And there were no more.
All the black kyanite was gone.
Without it, no new rings could be made.
Which meant the power of the pack rested entirely in my hands.
I stepped away from the fire as the howling continued behind me.
My men were celebrating.
But I had something more important to do.
I walked through the forest until I reached the cave I had ordered my warriors to prepare.
Two guards stood at the entrance.
They stepped aside when they saw me.
Inside, the cave was dimly lit by torches.
At the center of the chamber sat a large stone bowl filled with blood.
Fresh blood.
I glanced to the side of the cave.
A severed werewolf head sat on a wooden slab.
One of the fools who stayed loyal to my mother and sister.
I spat on the ground.
"Idiots."
They believed in visions.
Dreams and Destiny.
Stupid women, I thought.
I believed in power.
Power was something you could see. Something you could hold.
Not something that appeared while you were sleeping.
I walked over and grabbed the head by the hair.
Without hesitation, I tossed it into the bowl of blood.
The liquid immediately began to bubble.
Slowly… the head sank beneath the surface until it disappeared completely.
A few seconds passed.
Then I heard her voice.
"Are you ready?"
I turned.
Standing behind me was a woman.
She was Beautiful.
She wore strange, old clothing from a time long forgotten. Her black hair flowed over her shoulders, and her dark brown eyes glowed faintly in the torchlight.
"Yes," I said calmly.
"My warriors are ready. Tonight we attack the village and take it back from my foolish mother and sister."
She scoffed.
"I do not care about your mother or your sister," she said coldly.
"And I certainly do not care about your family drama."
Her eyes narrowed.
"I care about one thing."
" you doing your job."
"And you will never be challenged as clan head again."
She stepped closer.
"Bring me the head of Nero Tone."
I smiled slightly.
Nero Tone.
The hybrid.
Half werewolf and half vampire.
Apparently, this was the same man my sister claimed to see in her visions.
But I refused to believe that some outsider could walk into my land and suddenly become our savior.
This was my clan.
My territory.
My power.
And I would not let anyone take it from me.
"I understand why I want him dead," I said slowly.
"But what exactly did this man do to you?"
Her eyes locked onto mine.
Suddenly—
Every torch in the cave exploded with flame.
The heat surged instantly.
It felt like I had been thrown into the depths of hell itself.
My skin burned.
My lungs struggled to breathe.
Her voice echoed through the cave.
"It is not your place to question me."
"You are not my equal."
"You are my tool."
The flames intensified.
"Your job is simple," she continued.
"Kill him."
"That is why I gave you the stake."
Suddenly the flames died down.
The heat vanished.
I dropped to one knee, breathing heavily.
"I… understand," I muttered through gritted teeth.
She smiled.
"Oh, I know you do, Daniel."
Her voice grew colder.
"Because if you fail me…"
Her eyes darkened.
"I will see you after death."
"And I promise you… I will make you wish you could die again."
Then she vanished.
The cave fell silent.
I exhaled slowly.
"Fucking witches…"
Reaching into my cloak, I pulled out the weapon she had given me.
A wooden stake.
But not just any stake.
White oak.
The only thing capable of killing an Original, and of course Nero Tone.
I stared at it and smiled.
"Oh, don't worry," I said quietly.
"He will die."
POV Diana
Ever since Nero arrived… my life has felt different.
For years I dreamed about him.
At one point, I even started believing my brother.
That I was crazy.
That my visions were nothing more than dreams.
Then the day came.
The day my mother sensed something powerful entering our rainforest.
Something dangerous.
So she used her magic.
And forced the full moon to appear early.
Our entire village transformed into our wolf forms to defend ourselves.
I loved my wolf form.
Truly loved it.
One of the only things my brother and I ever agreed on was that the werewolf curse was actually a blessing.
The wind rushing through your fur as you run through the forest.
The strength in your muscles.
The thrill of a hunt.
The taste of blood after a successful kill.
It was intoxicating.
But I also knew something had to change.
Our traditions were… brutal.
We still killed each other just to trigger the curse.
I remembered my coming-of-age ceremony clearly.
I was thirteen years old.
Twelve of us were sent into the forest.
Six boys.
Six girls.
We were told only six could return.
The rest had to die.
I still remembered him.
Mosa.
I remembered the moment I drove the sword through his chest.
The moment the light left his eyes.
I remembered his mother's scream when I returned carrying his head.
My father was proud that day.
He said I had proven myself strong.
But my mother saw the truth.
That night I cried in her arms until I fell asleep.
After that day… I became one of the strongest warriors in the clan.
Only my brother was stronger.
And now that same brother had sent us a message.
Micah was never meant to succeed.
Daniel knew we would capture him.
He knew we would read his mind.
The message wasn't for us.
It was for Nero.
Jamine explained everything he saw inside Micah's memories.
"Nero Tone," Daniel said inside the vision.
"I possess the only weapon capable of killing you."
He raised a white oak stake.
"Now… I will drive this stake through your heart and watch you burn to ash."
"But you have a choice…"
" You can stay in my village and hide behind my sister and mother."
"And me and my warriors will come, and kill all those who oppose my rule."
He smiled coldly.
"Or.. ."
Then he paused.
"Actually…"
"I prefer the first one."
That was the end of the message.
Nero rubbed his temples.
"Okay seriously," he said. "Why the hell does he want to kill me?"
He looked around the room.
"I mean I get that he doesn't believe your visions and all that… but killing me."
"What does he gain from that"
" It is because of me," my mother said calmly.
"Wait, mother—" I started.
She raised her hand, stopping me.
"My daughter saw another vision."
She looked at Nero.
"In that vision… you wore our tribal paint."
"And the mark of the clan head."
The room went quiet.
"I told my son of this, thinking he would understand."
"But he was always a stubborn boy, just like his father."
The mark of the clan head was a sacred tattoo given only to the leader of the Poldark clan.
Nero suddenly smiled.
"Well… finally."
My mother chuckled.
"You already knew, didn't you?"
He shrugged.
"It wasn't hard to figure out."
"You brought me here to be your quote on quote savior.'"
He gestured toward Diana.
"And marrying your daughter is part of that plan."
"The unification ritual."
Everyone froze.
"How do you know about that?" I asked.
Nero gave me a lazy smile.
"I've been around a long time, pretty lady."
I rolled my eyes.
Then he looked directly at me.
"So…"
"When's the wedding?"
POV Nero
I honestly couldn't believe these people.
Though… I couldn't really blame them.
Most of them wanted freedom from the curse.
At least that's what Diana told me.
Some warriors actually liked transforming.
And she was one of them.
In my short time here, I've come to find out something.
Diana was strange.
In a good way.
She was quiet but also loud if that makes sense.
And I respected people who could handle themselves.
And she definitely could.
I fought her once—without using any powers—and she almost beat me.
The woman was no joke.
Now I hadn't fallen head over heels for her…
I'd known her for a week.
And I'd lived far too long to be fooled by a beautiful woman.
I wasn't that dense.
Still…
Something inside me told me she was genuine.
Later I learned the truth about something else too.
The "can't lie to your partner" thing?
Total nonsense.
It wasn't the bond.
Diana was just a brutally honest person.
If she didn't like someone, she told them.
If she wanted someone dead…
They were probably already dead.
I leaned back in a chair tossing a knife into the air and catching it repeatedly.
Jamine sat next to me reading a thick book Lalo had given him.
"So," I said casually.
"You gonna be my best man?"
You know I gotta have one of my buds up there.
He didn't even look up.
"Your almost 200 calling an 18 year old your best man", He said
" And weren't you the one saying you should make sure she's the one before marrying her?"
I caught the knife and sighed.
"You know… the last Bennett who ignored me when I was talking to him I poisned."
Jamine slowly looked up.
"Well where have I heard this before."
"Great-great-great grandpa Benny." he said
I smiled fondly.
"Ah, Benny."
"Funny thing is… after I became a hybrid we actually became good friends."
Jamine raised an eyebrow.
"I find that very hard to believe."
"Believe what you want, kid."
I stood up and grabbed two different outfits.
"Alright. Important question."
I held up a black jaguar pelt.
"This one?"
Then I held up another outfit made from bones and skeleton decorations.
"Or this one?"
Jamine stared at both for a moment.
"Jaguar."
I grinned.
"That's why you're my favorite Bennett."
" And don't tell your mom."
Soon the tribal maids came in to paint my body.
Then the tattoo artist arrived.
An old man with arms like a damn bodybuilder.
"Lie down please, clan head " he said calmly.
I did.
He began carving the tattoo into the right side of my chest.
"So I'm guessing I'm not the first man you've done this for," I said.
He chuckled.
"No."
"But you will probably be the last."
"These old bones can't keep doing this"
And its funny becasue a little after he said that
he slipped and punctured my shoulder.
"I am so sorry, clan head!" he said quickly.
I waved him off.
"It's fine."
"Trust me."
"I have had worse umm.."
"Nelso he said, my name is Nelso"
"Yeah I've had worse Nelso"
"And there's no need for the clan head stuff ."
"Just call me Nero"
"Or Mr Tone"
He shook his head.
Yes, Mr Tone, he said
When the tattoo was finished, I looked at it in a polished stone mirror.
It formed a circular symbol like a moon.
"What does it mean?" I asked.
The old man smiled.
"It translates to…"
"The Powerful One."
Oh how fitting, I thought.
Eventually it was time for the ceremony.
I looked at Jamine standing beside me in tribal clothing.
"Hey," I said quietly.
"When you marry that girl… what was her name?"
"Vail," he said.
"Right. Vail."
"Don't have a tribal wedding."
He sighed.
"Just go get married already."
I looked out at the massive crowd gathered around the ceremonial platform.
A giant fire burned behind it.
I exhaled slowly.
"Well, nephew…"
"Time to get married."