CHAPTER SEVENTY TWO

"Can't you wake him?" Alva asked, her voice sharp with worry, her fingers gripping the banister.

Serena stood near the grand window, staring out into the dark woods, unmoving. She didn't answer.

Alva asked again.

And again.

Nothing.

Frustration clawed at her. "Serena! Can't you hear me?!"

Still, Serena didn't flinch — her eyes remained locked on something distant.

Alva stormed forward and grabbed her arm. "Look at me!" she shouted, then shoved her.

But before her palm could leave Serena's shoulder — the woman vanished into mist.

Whoosh.

A sharp force struck Alva's chest, sending her tumbling backward down the stairs.

She screamed, a sound that echoed through the hollow halls.

"ALVA!"

But before she could crash against the marble steps—something caught her.

No, someone.

A strong arm wrapped around her back, shielding her. Another hand cradled her head. Her fall stopped mid-air like time had slowed down.

Alva sobbed into the stranger's chest, too scared to look up. Her body shook as warm tears streaked her cheeks.

Then a voice spoke behind her ear.

"I've got you."

Her eyes widened.

That voice… she knew that voice.

Slowly, she raised her head.

Her breath caught.

"C-Cody?" she whispered, barely able to form the word.

But the man holding her… wasn't the Cody she knew.

He stood tall, broad-shouldered, with his shirt ripped from the back where two massive black wings had erupted — feathered like a raven, but with veins that shimmered faint blue beneath the surface. His hair was darker now, almost ink-black, falling over one eye that now burned a dual color: one eye a glowing sapphire blue, the other a crimson red.

His skin had a pale shimmer like moonlight, and faint silver veins traced patterns along his arms and neck like mystical tattoos. His cheekbones were sharper, and a faint shadow of fangs peeked behind his lips. His hands — still gentle — were larger, claw-tipped at the ends, yet soft as they cradled her.

He looked like a prince of the night. A warrior of some forgotten, cursed kingdom.

Alva touched his face in awe, her fingers shaking.

"What… happened to you?"

Cody didn't speak right away. He just pulled her to her feet, slow and careful.

From above, Serena's voice rang like a bell. "I knew you would wake soon, Lord of Shadows."

Alva turned, startled. "You knew he would become this?"

Serena nodded solemnly. "He's not just a vampire anymore. When Alice awakened, the Tree's seal broke. Every bloodline within him—wolf, witch, shadow—merged. He is what the Tree feared most: the original blood."

Cody looked down, his voice rough but calm. "I'm sorry you had to see this, Alva."

Alva shook her head. "Don't apologize. You saved me."

She touched his chest. "Even like this… I still see you."

Cody looked into her eyes. "Do you mean that?"

Alva nodded, tears still falling. "You're still mine."

Serena stepped down the stairs slowly. "But if he loses control... the Tree will consume him. Just like it tried to consume Tim."

Alva turned sharply. "Then help him! Don't just stand there like a priestess in a dream!"

Serena bowed her head. "There is no spell for what he is now. Only your voice... and Alice's touch can anchor him."

Suddenly — a small voice echoed from the upper hallway.

"Mommy…?"

Everyone turned.

Alice stood barefoot in her pajamas, her silver hair now faintly glowing.

She looked down at Cody… her eyes wide.

"Daddy?" she said softly.

Cody's monstrous wings slowly folded behind him. His clawed hands lowered. His eyes flickered — red, blue… then brown.

Alva gasped as he knelt on one knee, struggling to breathe, his form shifting back.

Alice rushed into his arms without hesitation.

"Daddy, you're different. But I like your wings," she giggled, resting her head on his shoulder.

Cody let out a breath, full of relief. He buried his face in her little shoulder.

"I missed you, sunshine."

Alva knelt beside them, wrapping them both in her arms.

Serena watched silently, a slight smile forming. "Love tames monsters more than spells ever could."

The night air inside the mansion thickened.

Not from heat.

But from pain.

From silence.

From truths that had no shape, and memories that should never surface.

Cody sat on the edge of the bed, his dark wings folded tight behind his back like shadows trying to behave. Alva rested unconscious in his arms, and Alice had finally curled beside her mother—her silver hair softly glowing under the pale moonlight that streamed through the open curtains.

He stared down at Alva's face.

Her cheeks were stained with tears she hadn't realized she'd cried. And seeing them—

It shattered him.

Not visibly. Not like a man. Monsters don't cry.

But inside… he felt something that he shouldn't feel anymore.

Grief.

Guilt.

And a deep, dangerous fear.

His fingertips trembled against her skin. She's still warm. Her heartbeat echoed gently against his chest.

He wanted to hold her tighter. Wanted to cry with her. But… he couldn't.

I'm not human anymore.

His hands tightened into fists.

All his feelings—his love, his longing, his joy—had begun to flicker like dying stars. The transformation had dulled everything inside him, turning emotion into ash.

He thought of the life he once had. The way he used to laugh. The way he used to touch Alva's hand just to feel something real. The way her lips used to calm the storm in his head.

Now… he wasn't even sure he had a heart left.

Was it lost somewhere? Buried beneath the Tree? Or traded the moment Alice screamed?

He looked down at her again. Her eyelashes fluttered softly in her sleep. And he knew—this woman had given him everything.

Even if he was no longer the Cody she once loved.

Even if he was now something else.

He lowered his head.

"Why am I still afraid I'll stop loving you?" he whispered into the night.

He lifted her gently into his arms again, bridal-style, and walked toward the massive bed in the middle of the room. The bed they once shared as lovers. Now it was a battlefield of choices.

As he placed her gently down, Alice—half-asleep—murmured behind him:

"Aunt Serena?"

Serena raised a brow, stepping closer to Alice.

"Yes, starseed?"

Alice sat up and blinked. "Why do you have the same hair as me?" she asked innocently. "And your eyes shine like mine."

Serena paused. Then smiled gently. "Because we're connected, little one. You carry many truths inside you. As do I."

Cody turned to Serena, his eyes cold now—blue and red flickering like fire and frost. The lines along his face sharpened.

"Touch my daughter," he growled, "and I'll offer you to the Tree myself before I let you use her."

Serena met his gaze without flinching. She smirked.

"I won't," she said calmly. "Not yet."

A moment passed between them—ancient magic pressing against ancient promise.

Cody turned his back on her and carried Alva back to the bed.

Then—with a sudden rush of air, his entire form dissolved into black smoke and ashes, vanishing into the shadows as if swallowed by the night.

But moments later… he reformed.

Quietly.

Behind her.

Alva, though half-asleep, had spoken something in her mind.

"Cody… don't go."

He heard it.

He always heard her.

Cody pulled off his torn shirt silently. His chest—marked with glowing silver veins and etched runes—reflected the moonlight. Alva stirred and opened her eyes, seeing him.

She reached up, her hand brushing his chest.

"You heard me," she said softly.

Cody smiled faintly. "You never stop speaking to me. Even in silence."

Alva sat up, eyes heavy with love and pain. "Then hear this too," she said, placing both hands on his cheeks, forcing him to meet her gaze.

"No matter what you become, no matter what decision you take... please, Cody… don't leave me. I love you. I always will. Even if you disappear into shadows—I'll find you."

Her voice cracked.

A tear slipped from her eyes.

Cody's breath caught.

He turned his face away. "You don't know what I've done, Alva. You don't deserve the weight I carry."

"I don't care," she whispered, dragging him close. "Let me see. I want to meet the other Cody—the one you're hiding."

He shook his head, jaw clenched. "That Cody should be forgotten. He's cruel. He's—"

"He's mine," Alva interrupted.

Then—before he could reply—she leaned in and kissed his neck.

A low, guttural sigh left his mouth. His entire form trembled.

Her touch had always been his weakness. Her love, his undoing.

She dragged his neck closer to her face, forehead pressed against his.

"I love every part of you," she said, "Even the ones that scare you."

One final tear rolled from her cheek and dropped onto his chest—right over the fading place where his tattoo once burned.

Cody closed his eyes.

Then…

He gave in.