Chapter 103 – Blood Pact
The SUV stopped in front of Sofía's mansion.
The engine was still vibrating when the front door burst open.
"Titus!"
Sofía ran down the steps two at a time, her hair flying behind her, caring about nothing else.
Titus barely had time to set foot on the ground when she already had him by the arm.
"Are you okay? What happened? Why weren't you answering—?"
She stopped dead.
Her eyes slowly moved behind him.
Two figures.
Crimson red hair, like still flames in the evening light. Eyes the same shade, deep, watching without blinking. Too still. Too silent.
Sofía narrowed her eyes.
The air shifted.
Without a word, she pulled Titus aside.
"Come here."
She moved him a few steps away. Far enough to talk without them hearing… or so she thought.
"Who are they?" she asked, her voice low but sharp.
Titus blinked. "I… uh…"
"Seriously?" Sofía crossed her arms, her gaze hardening. "Seriously, Titus?"
Her tone rose just slightly.
"Isn't it enough with all the ones you already have? Now you're bringing two more?"
Blood rushed to Titus's cheeks instantly.
"No, no, no! It's not what you think—I didn't—they're not—I didn't bring them—"
His words got tangled. As always.
"That's not it…"
Sofía watched him in silence. Evaluating him. Then she let out a frustrated sigh.
"Sure."
Pause.
Her eyes went back to the two girls. Who were still there. Motionless. Watching. Unbothered.
As if none of this affected them. As if they already knew how this conversation would end.
Titus swallowed. "Where's your mom?" he blurted out. "I need to talk to her."
Sofía raised an eyebrow. "My mom?"
She looked at him suspiciously. "Convenient change of subject."
But before she could add anything else—
"It's not a change of subject."
The voice was soft. Clear. Cold.
They both turned.
One of the sisters had spoken. Her red eyes weren't on Sofía. They were fixed on the mansion, as if she could see through the walls.
"It's a necessity," she continued. "And we don't have much time."
The other sister stepped forward. The movement was slight, but the air seemed to grow heavier.
"The pact must be made now."
Silence.
Sofía frowned. "What pact?"
Titus felt a chill run through him. It wasn't fear. It was something else. That feeling that the ground beneath his feet wasn't as solid anymore.
For the first time in a long while…
He didn't feel like he was in control of the situation.
The two girls looked at him at the same time. And spoke almost in unison:
"Blood pact."
---
The words hung in the air. Heavy. Ancient. Impossible to ignore.
Sofía's eyes darted between Titus and the sisters. "Blood pact? What are you talking about?"
The sister who had spoken first—Xue, the one with a slightly sharper edge to her features—tilted her head. "You know what we are. What he is. What's coming."
Sofía's jaw tightened. "I know enough."
"Then you know this is not a request," the other sister—Jin—said quietly. "It is a necessity. The King needs his guard. Not borrowed. Not temporary. His."
Titus raised a hand, trying to slow the momentum. "Wait—wait. No one said anything about a blood pact. I don't even know what that means."
Xue's red eyes fixed on him. "It means we belong to you. Not to the Duchess. Not to any clan. To you. Our lives, our loyalty, our blood."
"And you will need us," Jin added, her voice softer but no less firm. "What you awakened tonight—it was heard. The howl was not only ours. Others are coming."
Sofía stepped in front of Titus, blocking them. "He's not making any pact without understanding what it means. And certainly not tonight."
Xue did not move. "The Duchess already knows. She is waiting inside. She will explain."
Titus looked at Sofía. She was rigid, her hand gripping his arm, her expression a mixture of fear and fury.
"Let's go inside," he said quietly. "We'll hear what she has to say."
Sofía didn't move for a moment. Then she exhaled sharply and loosened her grip. "Fine. But I'm staying."
"I wouldn't have it any other way," Titus said.
---
They entered the mansion together.
The Duchess was waiting in the main hall, standing before the massive fireplace, its flames casting long shadows across the marble floor. Her posture was regal, but her eyes—when she turned to face them—held something Titus hadn't seen before. Respect. Or perhaps recognition.
"Titus," she said, her voice carrying the weight of centuries. "I see they have already spoken."
"They mentioned a blood pact," Titus said. "I want to know what it means. All of it."
The Duchess inclined her head. "A blood pact is the oldest bond among our kind. It is not a promise. It is not an alliance. It is a merging of fates. Those who enter it are bound to you—not by contract, but by essence. Their strength becomes yours. Their instincts will align with yours. They will sense your danger before you do."
She paused, letting the words settle.
"In return, you carry them. Their survival, their loyalty, their purpose—it all rests on you. If you fall, they fall. If you rise, they rise with you."
Titus felt the weight of her words pressing against his chest. "And if I don't do it?"
The Duchess smiled—a thin, knowing expression. "Then they return to my service. But they will always know they were meant for another. And when the enemies come—and they will come—you will face them without a shield that was offered to you freely."
Sofía stepped forward. "Mother, you can't force this on him."
The Duchess's gaze did not waver. "I am not forcing anything. The pact requires his consent. His blood. His will." She looked back at Titus. "But I am telling you the truth, because you deserve to know it: the twins you already trust, Bruno and Cristal, were given to you for the same purpose. The bond you have with them is the foundation of what you are becoming. Xue and Jin are not here by accident. They were chosen long ago to guard the one who would carry the blood."
Titus stared at her. "You mean… this was planned?"
"Everything was planned," the Duchess said simply. "The question is not whether you accept the pact. The question is whether you will finally see what has been placed in your path for a reason."
Silence filled the hall.
Titus looked at Xue and Jin. They stood still, waiting, their red eyes calm, expectant.
He looked at Sofía. She was tense, her hands clenched at her sides, but she didn't speak.
He looked at the Duchess. Her face was unreadable, patient, as if she already knew what his answer would be.
"What do I have to do?" Titus asked.
The Duchess's smile deepened. "Bare your wrist. Let them taste your blood. And speak the words they will give you."
---
They moved to the ritual chamber.
It was smaller than the one in Sofía's mansion, but no less ancient. The walls were lined with carved runes, and the floor bore the faint traces of old ceremonies—scorch marks, faded stains, symbols worn smooth by centuries of use.
Xue and Jin stood before Titus. They removed their jackets in unison, revealing the pale skin of their forearms, where faint silver scars traced patterns that matched the runes on the walls.
"This is not like the transformation," Xue said quietly. "You are not giving us power. You are binding us to you. Your blood will mark us. Your scent will become our compass. Your heartbeat will be the rhythm we follow."
Jin extended her arm, palm up. "It is a gift we offer freely. But it is a weight you will carry."
Titus looked at Sofia one last time. She was pale, her lips pressed together, but she nodded once.
He took a breath. Then he raised his wrist to his mouth.
His fangs extended—a brief, sharp pain—and he bit down.
The blood that welled up was gold.
Xue and Jin knelt at the same moment, their arms outstretched, their eyes fixed on the glowing drops that fell from his skin.
"Take," Titus said, his voice steadier than he expected. "Take my blood. Take my name. Take what I am."
He pressed his bleeding wrist against Xue's palm. The blood sizzled against her skin, but she did not flinch. Then he moved to Jin, letting the golden liquid trace a line down her arm.
"From this night," he said, the words rising from somewhere deep, somewhere he had not known existed, "you are mine. And I am yours. We stand together. We fall together. So it is sealed."
The runes on the walls flared—a brief, blinding light—and then faded.
Xue and Jin's eyes, which had been deep red, now held flecks of gold.
They rose in silence.
The pact was made.
---
Hook: And that silence hid a danger that would soon come to light…