Arius POV
When the phone rang at 6 AM, it woke me up like a knife.
Hey, Arrius. Get up. "Now."
As always, when bad things were about to happen, my dad's voice turned very cold. My heart was beating fast when I got out of bed. This could only be bad on my birthday.
"What's wrong?" I asked, but I wasn't sure if I really wanted to know.
"The Moonstones will be at the charity gala tonight."
My blood turned to fire. The Moonstones are. Our family's worst foes. The people who ruined everything we'd built.
"Why?" The word came out like a growl.
"They bought their way in. Made a huge donation to the children's hospital just to get asked to our event." Father's anger crackled through the phone. "They want to embarrass us on your birthday, son. Show everyone that they can go anywhere they want, even our land."
I jumped out of bed and started walking. This was going to be my special day. My 24th birthday party was planned to show everyone that I was ready to take over the family business. But now the Moonstones would be there, probably planning to ruin everything.
"We can't let them come," I said.
"It's too late. The media already knows they'll be there. If we try to stop them now, we'll look weak and scared."
Weak. That word hit me like a punch to the stomach. A Blackwood was never weak. My grandfather built our shipping business from nothing. My father made us the most powerful family in the city. Now it was my turn to protect our name.
"I'll handle it," I told him.
"You better. Remember what they did to us, Arius. The Moonstones smile to your face while they stab you in the back. They destroyed twenty years of our work in one night. They put good people out of jobs. They almost ruined us completely."
I knew the story by heart. Five years ago, the Moonstone family had stolen our biggest shipping deal by lying to our partners. They told everyone that we were going bankrupt and couldn't be trusted. Companies that had worked with us for decades suddenly wouldn't return our calls. We lost millions of dollars and had to fire hundreds of workers.
My father had to sell three of our ships just to keep the business going. I watched him age ten years in six months. The proud, strong man I looked up to became tired and angry. All because of the Moonstones.
"I won't let them embarrass us tonight," I promised. "Whatever they're planning, I'll be ready."
"Good boy. Wear the black suit. Look like the future leader you are. And remember - never show weakness to a Moonstone."
After he hung up, I stared at myself in the bathroom mirror. My gray eyes looked back at me, hard and cold like my father's. My dark hair was messy from sleep, but I could already picture how I'd look tonight. Powerful. Dangerous. Ready for war.
I spent the morning at the gym, punching the heavy bag until my fingers bled. Every hit was for a Moonstone face. Every kick was for their lies and tricks. By the time I was done, sweat poured down my face, but I felt calmer. Stronger.
The anger was still there, burning in my chest like a fire that wouldn't go out. But now I could control it. Use it.
My phone buzzed with text messages from friends and business partners, wishing me a happy birthday. But all I could think about was tonight. What were the Moonstones planning? Why come to my birthday party when they knew they weren't wanted?
Maybe they thought I was too young and stupid to handle them. Maybe they wanted to test me, see if I was as strong as my father. Or maybe they had some new trick to hurt our family even more.
I put on my best black suit, the one that made me look older and more serious. In the mirror, I looked like a real Alpha. Someone people would respect and fear. Someone who could protect his family's name.
But as I fixed my tie, a cold thought hit me. What if the Moonstones weren't coming to fight? What if they were coming to say they wanted peace? They were famous for their lies and fake smiles. They could act nice while planning to destroy us from the inside.
I had to be smart tonight. Watch every Moonstone carefully. Listen to every word they said. Look for the trap I knew they were setting.
My driver called to say the car was ready. Time to go face my enemies.
As I walked downstairs, I made a quiet promise to my grandfather's picture on the wall. I would make the Moonstones sorry they ever messed with the Blackwood family. Whatever they tried tonight, I would be ready.
But just as I reached for the front door, my phone rang again. Unknown number.
"Hello?"
Heavy breathing. Then a voice I didn't recognize - female, young, scared.
"Stay away from the dinner tonight. Please. They're planning something terrible. If you go, someone you care about will get hurt."
My heart stopped. "Who is this? What are you talking about?"
"I can't tell you who I am. But I'm trying to save you. The Moonstones aren't the real danger tonight. There's someone else. Someone who wants both families to destroy each other totally."
The line went dead.
I stared at the phone, my hands shaking. Who had called me? How did they get my secret number? And what did they mean about someone else being the real danger?
One thing was certain - tonight was going to be much more dangerous than I thought.
But I was a Blackwood. I didn't run from danger.
I walked out the door, not knowing that this phone call had just changed everything.
Not knowing that in three hours, I would meet the person who would turn my entire world upside down.