IMMORTAL: THE ALPHA KING'S GOLDEN BLOOD

PROLOGUE I was once mortal… or more accurately, a normal and simple girl born into a billionaire family. At the time, I was just a high school student at Golden Academy. This is what truly happened to me. It was midday. The campus hallway was empty, eerily quiet… when suddenly, an old man appeared right in front of me. Out of nowhere. He introduced himself as Vampire King Magnush of the Third Generation. He was dressed entirely in black, a crimson cape draped over his shoulders. His presence alone was enough to make the air feel heavier. Then he said something that changed my life forever… “You are the one I have chosen to become the Vampire Golden Blood of the Fourth Generation. From this moment on, you are immortal. You carry a power… not just any power, but one of immense strength. It will awaken after your eighteenth birthday.” He paused, his gaze piercing straight through me. “But you must protect yourself. No man must ever mark you… except your soulmate. Otherwise, your power will be nullified, and you will become nothing more than an ordinary vampire.” Before I could even react, he gave me a necklace. And then… he bit my neck. He said something about the pendant… something important. But before I could fully understand it… seconds passed. My entire body burned. Then everything changed. My hair turned golden-red. My eyes reflected the same unnatural glow. I was about to ask him what was happening… but he vanished. Just like that. I looked around in shock. He was gone. Completely. - The next day, my mother was coming for a PTA meeting. She couldn’t see me like that. She would be furious. So would the teachers… bright-colored hair was strictly forbidden at school. So I went to the nearest store and bought black hair dye. I hid everything. From everyone. --- The night of my eighteenth birthday… I got drunk. And something happened that I never expected. The next morning, I woke up in an unfamiliar room. Beside me was a man, his back marked with a large wolf tattoo, dark as night. His golden eyes… they felt alive, as if they were watching me even in stillness. And my purity… was gone. The dried blood on the white sheets was proof of it. Fragments of that night returned to me… along with the one rule that was never meant to be broken… Only my soulmate had the right to mark me. But in my drunken state, I didn’t realize… I had been marked by a man I didn’t even know. - Until now, everything remains a secret. My true identity. And everything that happened that night. -- Years have passed… Now, I am in London. I currently serve as the CEO of the Velasquez Company… temporarily. My father asked me to. Just one year, he said. After that, I’d be free to do whatever I want. I stood up from my bed and quickly took a shower. After getting dressed, I prepared to leave. It would be better to go out… explore the city. I planned to make the most of the two-week vacation my father gave me. But the moment I stepped out of my room… I froze. The sunlight hit me again. Blinding. I stepped back in shock. According to my watch, it was already past five in the afternoon. It should have been getting colder. Darker. But the sky… was still bright. Something wasn’t right. I immediately went back inside and headed to the parking area. I got into my car and slowly started the engine. Good thing the snow had almost melted from the roads. And little by little, I began to drive faster. I wanted to exhaust myself. To burn through every remaining ounce of energy so that when I returned home later, I could collapse straight into bed and sleep without thinking… without feeling. Lately, my vampire side has been more active. In the stillness of the night, I hear things, whispers, movements that shouldn’t exist. I can feel different energies surrounding me, brushing against my senses like unseen hands. I try to ignore them. But they won’t let me rest. Every night… It feels like something is pulling me. Calling me. And I’m not ready. I’m not ready to accept my role as the Golden Blood of the Fourth Generation. I still want to live as a mortal… to stay with my family… to do the simple things normal girls do. I had been driving aimlessly through the streets for two hours when I noticed a crowd gathered in the distance. I slowed down. And as I got closer… something changed. A strange sensation rushed through my body. My skin burned. Like fire was crawling through my veins. My vision darkened, but within that darkness, I could feel my eyes glowing. Panic tightened in my chest when I noticed my necklace flickering. It was hot. Alive. I pulled over to the side and quickly stepped out of the car. And then… I felt it. An invisible force… pulling me toward the center of the crowd. I started walking. A man lay sprawled on the melting snow. Face down. His clothes were torn, his body unmoving… lifeless. Under the dim streetlights, I immediately noticed the tattoo on his back. It stretched across his skin, dark, almost consuming, yet strangely glowing beneath the light. My breath caught. I knelt beside him. And in that instant, it felt like a blade pierced straight through my heart. Memories came crashing back. That night… Him. He was the man I woke up beside on my eighteenth birthday. The man who marked me. When I touched his arm… my necklace suddenly glowed blue. My heart pounded violently. Could it be…? Is he my soulmate? I was about to turn him over… when a powerful force shoved me back. I stumbled, nearly slipping on the snow. “Don’t waste your time on that man.” A cold voice cut through the air. “He’s already dead.” I quickly looked around, searching for the source. And then I saw him. Standing in the distance… cloaked in darkness, wearing a long cape. Watching. Waiting. I recognized him instantly. Even after all this time. The man who bit me. The one who gave me the necklace. Back at Golden Academy. “V–Vampire King Magnush…?” I whispered, barely able to believe it. “He is your soulmate,” he said. “But he’s dead.” My lips trembled. Pain spread through my chest, weakening my entire body. “No… that’s not true…” I whispered, tears spilling down my cheeks. “I’m telling you the truth,” he said coldly. “He was killed by a vampire.” His voice darkened. “A power-hungry leader. The ruler of the wicked.” “But you said he’s my soulmate!” I cried out. “How could he just die like that?!” “Because he loved you.” My breath hitched. “He sacrificed himself… to save the people you love.” I frowned, my vision blurring with tears. “H-how? My parents are fine…” “Yes,” he replied. “Because before anything could happen to your family… he made a deal with Lazarus, the vampire who killed him.” His voice turned sharp. “Lazarus is cunning. He doesn’t fight fairly. He seeks to wipe out the bloodline of King Jeremias.” He paused. “So he killed Prince Gillian… before he could be crowned as the next Alpha King.” My eyes widened. “My soulmate… is a prince?” He nodded slowly. “Yes. Everything you’ve heard is true.” “But… how is that possible?” My voice trembled. “I’m a vampire… how can a vampire and a werewolf be soulmates?” A faint, almost sorrowful smile appeared on his lips. “You are not a full vampire.” He looked at me deeply. “You are a half-breed… half werewolf.” My heart skipped. “As I told you before, you were chosen as the Golden Blood of the Fourth Generation.” He stepped closer. “You are a rare creature, a Golden Blood... half vampire…” His gaze darkened. “…and a princess of the werewolves.” Suddenly… my necklace flared bright blue. Pulsing in rhythm with my heartbeat… As if it was answering the truth I had just heard. “The necklace you’re wearing,” he added, “is proof. You are also a princess… the only one capable of wielding the strongest power.” “But… what about that?” I asked in a trembling whisper, tears streaming endlessly down my face. “My soulmate is already dead… what is the purpose of this necklace now?” He looked at me in silence before speaking again, his voice calm yet heavy. “There is a way,” he said. “A way for him to live again.” My head snapped up, my eyes widening. “H-how…? What way, Vampire King Magnush?” “If your love for him is pure…” he replied slowly, each word deliberate, “he will return to life, and this time… he will never die again.” My grip on the necklace tightened. “How will I know if my love is truly pure?” “Bite him,” he said. “Take his body to a quiet place… and wait. When your necklace glows again, it means he will live. It will be proof that your love is real… and absolute.” “How long do I have to wait?” “Weeks… months… or even years,” he answered. “His return depends on the depth of your love.” I sniffed, trying to hold back my sobs. “Thank you… Vampire King Magnush.” But before he could leave, he spoke again… this time, his tone sharper. “Before I forget… protect him. Many will try to take his body. And if they succeed, you will never see him again… and the power within you will disappear completely.” “I’ll remember everything you said,” I replied softly, though my hand trembled as it clutched the necklace. He nodded, his presence cold yet regal. “If you have no more questions… I will take my leave.” “Wait… Vampire King Magnush,” I called quickly, glancing at his fading form. “You said… once I reach adulthood and my pendant glows gold, I will meet you again. Is that true?” A faint, almost bitter smile appeared on his lips. “Yes,” he answered. “I am not just a Vampire King… I belong to the Third Generation. The two of us… are the only ones left who carry the Golden Blood in this bloodline.” He stepped back, and the air around me shifted. “I must go.” “Wait… one last question…” My heart pounded faster. “How can I contact you… if I need your help?” His gaze turned serious. “I do not appear whenever I am called,” he said slowly. “Only in times of urgency… like this.” I nodded, even though countless questions still filled my mind. “Thank you… Vampire King Magnush,” I whispered as he slowly vanished… like dust carried away by the wind. I was left alone. I took a deep breath and slowly approached the cold body of my soulmate. My fingers trembled as I gently removed the cloth covering his face. And then… I froze. My breath nearly stopped. His face… It was him. “A-Archie…?” My voice barely came out. “N-no… it can’t be…” But no matter how much my mind tried to deny it… my heart knew the truth. Archie. The one I thought was only a friend… The one who was always there whenever I was lost… He was… the soulmate I had been waiting for all along.