The Dawn of Blood [Sequal of The Rise of the Lycans]

Rest In Peace, Vampire King John

Nathan's POV

The morning sun graced the scene as everyone was busy searching the whole building, tending to the injured and seeing our fallen warriors, wolves and vampires. We were exhausted and bruised from fighting the entire night, but as long as we got the leader, Rebekah, and those who escaped. Alpha Kris's team were still chasing after the runaways, and it kept my anxiety high.

I snapped out of my thoughts when I heard heavy footsteps approaching me, "status report?" I asked, keeping my gaze out the window, staring at the peaceful forest under the sun's rays.

"We have twenty injured, twelve died, both werewolves and vampires and no surviving Doves. Liam's team are clearing the road, and Kris's team still hasn't arrived or reported their position. A team is looking into the computers and documents; it looks like the Doves cleared data in the computer to the point it's a new computer with nothing in it. Also, the documents found are nothing important," Sean said. I glanced at him in the corner of my eye and saw him staring out the window.

"The Doves that escaped may have those documents we need and also collected data," I said, then looked out the window. "But do any of those documents shed some light on where the high-class vampires or John's whereabouts are?" I asked, even though I knew the worst would come if we found them. They may be already gone...

Sean shook his head, "Nothing yet, and there's a search team searching the whole building. There must be something because the escaped Doves used a secret passage to get away from us."

"And let's not forget the powerful witch!" We both snapped our gazes over our shoulders, seeing Eleanor, Jasmine, and Maxim approaching us.

"As in?" I asked, turning to face them.

Eleanor sighed, "I see the woman, the witch; we were face to face, and let's just say she knows what she's doing, especially when it comes to magic, and that surprises me. She was young but looked like she had been practising her magic for at least a hundred years because her spells were fast and difficult to other witches but easy for her." She said seriously and folded her arms across her chest; I could tell this witch pissed her off.

"So she must be the one performing the spells for the Doves' weapons and other stuff?" Sean asked.

"I believe even more that she's mixing science and magic as one, like it wasn't taboo to relate science and magic." Eleanor explained, "That witch is a smart little one, and she could be-- No, she is the Doves' greatest asset to their cause."

A growl rumbled in my throat, and Maxim stepped in, "I also believe she may be the next leader for the Doves. Her brains and magic are two great skills that the Doves would value. If they had a crazy vampire like Rebekah as a leader, then it's clear that they would have a genius witch as their next." He said coldly. "Hopefully, those wolves get those runaways. Then we can stop the whole thing before it gets heated."

Suddenly, we heard two heavy steps rushing our way. We looked over to see it was Liam and Alpha Kris. They bowed and were hesitant to stand, but they both had a guilty look when they did, "Alpha King..." Both muttered.

"You lost them!" Maxim snarled, turning his gaze away from them.

Alpha Kris nodded, "I don't know what happened; one minute, we were hot on their tail, and the next, they disappeared. We tried tracking for their scent, but we had nothing, only a cold trail." He said, bowing his head, "Please forgive me, Alpha King, for failing you."

I sighed quietly and shook my head, "there was nothing we could have done." I said, knowing if they had a powerful witch, as the sea witch stated, then it was clear they would have gotten away.

"It's clear she had made their break..." Jasmine quietly whispered, lowering her head.

There was silence in the room, and I knew everyone had the same thought: our enemy had gotten away, and now we must wonder what would happen next. Which supernatural community was next for the Dove hunt? "This building is a search and development for their weapons. They would have another hideaway, but the problem is, where is the main headquarters for the Doves?" I said.

"Alpha King! Alpha King!" Suddenly, my watch radio turned on, "we found the missing vampires on the fourth floor!"

Maxim and I glanced at each other and ran for the stairs without saying a word. As I jumped the stairs, hurrying to the fourth floor, I asked myself if John was okay. Did he fight until this bitter end to be rescued? I also wondered if he would forgive me when I begged for forgiveness. I prayed to the goddess for some reason, asking that he was okay and strong enough to recover and lead what remains of his people.

Storming into the fourth floor, running down the hallway until I reached a gloomy area, my nostrils took in a strong scent of death. My gaze landed on a team surrounding something or maybe someone as one broke the chains hanging on the ceiling. I ran through the crowd; once in the front, my eyes widened in shock at what I saw.

I saw an all-blooded and messed up John; his skin was sickly pale, covered in bruises and deep wounds from his face to his bare chest. I rushed to his side as they slowly and gently landed him on the ground. I placed his head on my lap and noticed some of his bones appeared under his skin. "N-Nate..." I heard his husk-cracked voice; I pushed his midnight-black hair away from his face.

His blood-red eyes were dull; they were half opened and closed, and there were dark bags under his eyes, "John, stay with us," I said gently, shaking him to keep him awake.

"SOMEONE GET US A GOD DAMN BLOOD BAG!" Maxim yelled angrily when he kneed John's other side. "Your Grace!" He softened his tone when he gazed down at John.

A weak smile graced John's dry, cracked lips, "I never thought I'd see you, Maxim... Getting help from vampires..." John said, almost like a mutter.

"For your safety, my Lord, I would do anything..." Maxim muttered, and a soft smile was on his scary face the first time he saw it.

John hummed and closed his eyes, gently shaking him again, "Don't close your eyes, John. You need to keep fighting to see me on my knees begging for your forgiveness. I'm sorry for turning my back on you..." I said.

"I don't blame you... For siding with the w-witches," his breathing back shallow and rough. His eyes were still closed, "how's your new family? Your troublesome princess? You had a son, right?"

"WHERE THE F***ING BLOOD BAG!" Maxim shouted once again.

I chuckled weakly, "They are safe, and I had two more children. Twins, in fact..."

He hummed weakly, "It would have been... Nice to have other... Children to be friends..."

Wait what?

"My Highness, hang in there," Maxim said, grabbing John's hand.

John weakly shook his head, "It's too late for me..." As he said this, blood suddenly started leaving the corners of his lips. My eyes widened and clenched on him, "are the... Are covens safe? Are... The pure... Blood children, at least... Protected..."

Maxim nodded his head, "Yes, they are."

"Here's the blood!" Alexandra yelled as she pushed to the front of the crowd. When her gaze saw John, a quiet gasp left her lips, and her eyes widened. "Your Grace," she gasped as she kneeled beside Maxim and quickly pulled the blood bag from the cooler box.

"A-Alexandra..." John smiled weakly and tilted his head to look at me with his half-opened and half-closed eyes. "N-Nate, I'm-I'm glad you're here... I want to ask for your forgiveness..." I shook my head, "... I sided with my council w-when deciding to rule over the supernatural... I'm glad you sided with the witches to stop me from... Making the biggest mistake in my life..."

"No, John!" I shook my head and pulled him close, "I need to apologize; I should have gone to you about this instead of stabbing you in the back!"

He chuckled weakly, "I would like a drink of whiskey now..." He smiled as his eyes closed, and then he suddenly hummed a tone weakly. "I'm happy to have met you all..." As he said this, his humming softened, and I snapped my gaze at Alexandra as she pierced a needle in him. We saw the blood from the blood flow down the tube, and then head ends to the needle.

Suddenly, the humming stopped, and his smile dropped...