CHAPTER 109: THE VAMPIRE’S GAMBIT

Dmitri POV

The scream that tore from my throat echoed through the falling cave as Marcus’s magic ripped through my chest like liquid fire. I hit the ground hard, blood pooling beneath me, but I forced myself to stay aware. Lily needed me. The children needed me.

"Dmitri!" Lily cried out, her voice breaking as she reached toward me. But another wave of wild magic crashed between us, turning the air solid for a moment before dissolving into sparks.

I’d been fighting Marcus’s creatures for three days straight, using every vampire trick I knew to stay alive. My kind didn’t usually work with werewolves, but everything changed when the Reality Storms started tearing apart our world. Now supernatural enemies had to become friends, or we’d all die together.

"The vampire’s injured," Marcus laughed from his three flickering forms. "How touching that the bloodsucker thinks he can save the day."

Pain shot through my ribs as I fought to sit up. Being a vampire meant I healed fast, but Marcus’s dark magic fought against my natural healing. Still, I’d survived worse. Much worse.

"Stay down, Dmitri," Caleb growled, his werewolf eyes glowing with fear. "You’re bleeding too much."

"I’m fine," I lied, wiping blood from my mouth. The truth was, I felt weaker than I had in ages. Marcus’s power was draining all of us, but I had an idea. A bad, desperate idea that might save everyone.

Or destroy the woman I’d grown to care about more than my own undead life. Elder Iris helped me stand, her old hands surprisingly strong. "What are you thinking, young vampire? I can see plans brewing in your eyes."

I looked at Lily, who was trying so hard to calm the chaotic magic spinning around us. Her reality-anchor skills were incredible, but they weren’t enough. Not against Marcus and his machine. She was fighting a war with a knife when she needed a sword.

"There’s something I haven’t told you all," I said, my voice hoarse from pain. "Something about vampire magic that could change everything."

"Now’s not the time for secrets," Aiden snapped, positioning himself protectively in front of his mate.

"Actually, it’s the perfect time." I took a shaky breath, knowing my next words would horrify everyone. "I can turn Lily into a vampire. Not fully - a mix. She’d keep her werewolf powers but gain vampire strength and immortality."

The cave went dead silent except for the sparking of unstable magic.

"Are you insane?" Brock snarled, his hands clenched. "Vampires and werewolves can’t mix. It’s impossible."

"Not impossible," I said, meeting each of their shocked stares. "Difficult, dangerous, and generally deadly. But not impossible. I’ve seen it done once before, two hundred years ago."

Caleb stepped forward, his scholarly mind already working through the consequences. "What would it do to her reality-anchor abilities?"

This was the part I’d been dreading. "It would increase them by at least ten times. Vampire magic enhances whatever supernatural powers already exist. Lily could stabilize reality across entire cities instead of just small places."

"But?" Elder Iris urged, because she could tell there was more.

"But the transformation would be agony beyond belief. Her body would be torn apart and remade at a cellular level. Most people die from the pain alone, even if the magic works perfectly."

Lily finally spoke, her voice steady despite the chaos around us. "What are the real odds of survival?"

I couldn’t lie to her. "One in fifty. Maybe one in a hundred."

"Absolutely not," Caleb said instantly. "I won’t let you kill my mate with some vampire experiment."

"She’s not your mate anymore if Marcus gets her," I shot back. "His machine will take every drop of her power and leave her an empty shell. At least this way, she has a chance."

The cave shuddered as Marcus’s laughing grew louder. "Forty-five minutes now, little anchor. Decide quickly, or I’ll start with the smallest kid."

Baby Emma’s cries pierced the air as reality twisted around her tiny body. Lily immediately reached out with her powers, managing to create a small pocket of stability. But the effort left her breathing and pale.

"I can’t protect them much longer," she whispered. "My abilities aren’t strong enough."

"The vampire transformation would make you strong enough," I said softly. "Strong enough to stop Marcus forever. Strong enough to save everyone."

"It would also make her a monster," Brock growled.

"I’m already a monster," I answered. "But I use my monster nature to protect people instead of hurt them. Lily could do the same."

Elder Iris studied me with those old eyes. "Why are you really suggesting this, vampire? What do you gain?"

The question hit harder than I expected. "Nothing. I gain nothing. I might even lose the only person who’s looked at me like I’m more than just a bloodsucking monster."

Lily’s eyes widened at my statement.

"You care about her," Caleb realized.

"More than I should," I admitted. "More than is smart for someone like me. But that’s exactly why you should trust my assessment. I wouldn’t risk her life unless it was the only way to save it."

The wild magic pressed closer to our small safe zone. The children crowded together, fear bright in their young eyes. Time was running out, and we all knew it.

"Explain the process," Lily said softly.

"Lily, no—" Caleb started.

"Explain it," she repeated firmly.

I met her eyes, seeing the determination that had drawn me to her from the beginning. "I would need to drain most of your blood while simultaneously replacing it with my own. The vampire magic would fight with your werewolf and anchor abilities, trying to remake you totally. If you’re strong enough to survive the war going inside your body, you’d emerge as something entirely new."

"How long would it take?"

"Three hours of change. Then another day to settle."

"We don’t have that long," Aiden pointed out.

"We do if someone else goes to face Marcus first," I said. "Buy time while Lily transforms."

Caleb shook his head fiercely. "You’re asking me to watch my mate die a slow, agonizing death."

"I’m asking you to give her the power to save our world."

Marcus’s voice repeated again: "Thirty minutes, my dear. I’m getting impatient."

Lily looked at each of us in turn, then at the scared children depending on her protection. I could see the moment she made her choice, even before she spoke.

"Do it," she said.

"Lily, please—" Caleb begged.

"If I die, at least I die trying to save them. If I become something new, maybe I can actually win this fight."

She turned to me, trust and fear warring in her eyes. "Promise me something, Dmitri."

"Anything."

"If the transformation goes wrong... if I become something evil... you’ll stop me."

The request felt like a stake through my heart. "Lily..."

"Promise me."

I nodded slowly. "I promise."

She took a shaky breath and moved toward me. "Then let’s save the world."

But as I prepared for the most dangerous magical working of my long life, Marcus’s laughter suddenly stopped. In the eerie quiet that followed, his voice came again, different now. Pleased.

"Actually, my dear host, I’ve changed my mind. You see, I’ve just learned something wonderful. You don’t need to come to me at all."

Ice formed in my stomach as understanding hit.

"Your unborn child," Marcus continued with deadly pleasure, "carries anchor abilities even stronger than yours. And unlike you, a baby’s power can be changed from birth. Molded into exactly what I need."

Lily’s hand flew to her stomach, her face going white with fear.

"So here’s my new offer," Marcus said. "You have fifteen minutes to bring me that child, or I’ll take it myself. And trust me, little omega, you don’t want to see how I extract babies from their moms."