The sound of engines suddenly filled the ruined street.

One after another black vehicles pulled into the destroyed neighborhood at high speed, headlights cutting through the dust and smoke still hanging in the air. Tires screeched against broken concrete as the convoy came to an abrupt stop near the mansion.

Doors flew open instantly.

Irina stepped out first.

The moment her boots touched the ground her sharp eyes swept across the battlefield and for the first time since arriving, genuine shock crossed her face.

Bodies.

Everywhere.

The streets were covered with them.

Broken limbs.

Torn flesh.

Blood painted across the concrete and walls.

Some corpses had been ripped apart so brutally they barely even looked human anymore. Burn marks covered entire sections of the street from Lana’s flames while collapsed buildings surrounded the area like the aftermath of war.

Even the wolves arriving behind Irina slowed down slightly after seeing the destruction.

"What the hell happened here..." one of them muttered under his breath.

Irina’s eyes narrowed immediately as she scanned the bodies carefully.

Then slowly...

She exhaled.

Relief.

Because none of the dead were werewolves.

Not one.

Every corpse belonged to the vampires.

Only then did the tightness in her shoulders ease slightly.

But as her eyes moved further ahead, her expression changed again.

Danill and the others stood nearby.

Or at least tried to stand.

Every single one of them looked horrible.

Bloodied.

Bruised.

Barely holding themselves upright.

Some still had deep claw wounds across their bodies while others leaned against broken walls just to remain standing. Their clothes were torn apart and exhaustion sat heavily on all their faces.

Danill especially looked terrible.

His chest still carried signs of the devastating hit he took earlier. Even with werewolf healing his body had not fully recovered yet.

Irina’s eyes darkened at the sight.

They had fought hard.

Very hard.

But even that wasn’t the thing pulling most of the attention now.

No.

It was the two figures standing at the center of the ruined battlefield.

Liam.

And the vampire.

Under the moonlight Liam’s body still radiated faint traces of golden light beneath his skin while across from him the vampire’s blood-red armor pulsed ominously like a living organism. The pressure coming off both men was so intense that even the newly arrived wolves instinctively stayed back.

Nobody wanted to get close.

The atmosphere around them felt dangerous.

Like two natural disasters facing each other.

The vampire slowly turned his head after sensing Irina’s arrival.

His glowing red eyes landed on her instantly.

For a brief second silence settled across the battlefield again.

Then he smiled faintly.

"We will meet again."

His voice was calm.

Almost casual.

But it carried something heavy beneath it. Something that made even the surrounding wolves tense up instinctively.

Irina’s eyes narrowed sharply.

Before anyone could react—

Whoosh!

He vanished.

Not ran.

Not jumped.

Vanished.

One moment he stood there.

The next the space was empty.

Only dust and cracked concrete remained where he had been standing.

Several wolves immediately tensed and looked around cautiously.

"Where did he go?"

"I didn’t even see him move..."

"What the hell was that..."

Liam stayed still for a moment longer, his eyes scanning the surroundings carefully while his senses stretched outward. The golden glow beneath his skin flickered faintly one last time before slowly fading away completely.

His body returned to normal.

Well... mostly normal.

Bruises still covered him.

Cuts lined parts of his face and arms.

His breathing remained slightly heavy after that insane fight.

Looking around now that the adrenaline settled slightly, the destruction truly looked absurd.

The street had practically ceased to exist.

Entire sections of buildings had collapsed inward. Craters covered the ground everywhere. Burn marks, blood trails, shattered vehicles and broken walls stretched across the entire area.

It looked like a battlefield from a war movie.

Irina walked toward him slowly, stepping over debris and bodies along the way.

"You don’t have to worry," she said calmly. "Nobody lives here."

Liam lifted his brows slightly and looked around again.

"You mean all these houses are abandoned?"

Irina nodded.

"Yes."

Then she looked around at the destruction herself before adding dryly,

"Good thing too."

A few nearby wolves awkwardly avoided looking directly at the damage.

Because honestly...

There would have been no explaining this.

Irina turned her attention back toward Liam fully now.

Her expression became serious again.

"Tell me what happened."

There were too many questions.

Why did vampires attack the mansion?

Who was the man in red armor?

Why was Liam glowing gold?

Why did the entire area look like two gods had fought each other?

But Liam barely even reacted to the questions.

Instead he simply lifted his chin slightly toward Danill and the surviving wolves.

"Ask them," he said calmly. "I’ve got things to do."

Before Irina could stop him or ask anything else, Liam moved.

And in the next second he was already gone from where he stood.

The wolves blinked.

Irina sighed quietly.

"He really likes doing that," she muttered.

Meanwhile Liam moved quickly toward the mansion before leaping upward effortlessly through the broken window.

Inside the room, Anya was still standing near the shattered window exactly where he left her. She had both hands near her chest as she kept peeking outside nervously, clearly still overwhelmed by everything she had witnessed tonight.

The moment Liam entered again she turned quickly toward him.

Then immediately toward Lana.

Lana still sat near the bed, her broken arm resting carefully against her body though her face remained calmer now compared to before.

Liam approached her directly.

His eyes moved toward her injured hand again and his expression tightened slightly.

The swelling had become worse.

The earlier impact from the vampire had clearly done real damage.

Anya stepped closer immediately after seeing Lana’s condition properly.

"Oh God..." she muttered softly. "That arm definitely needs treatment."

Liam looked toward her.

"Can you help her?"

Anya nodded instantly.

"Yes. Just give me a minute."

Then she hurried out of the room quickly, almost jogging as she rushed back toward the other room to retrieve the first aid kit.

The room became quieter after she left.

Lana looked up at Liam from where he held her and sighed softly.

"It’s okay," she said quietly. "You can go meet Irina. You must have a lot of questions too."

Liam looked down at her silently.

Lana smiled faintly despite looking exhausted.

"I heal pretty fast remember?"

There was tiredness in her eyes now.

Heavy tiredness.

The kind that came after pushing herself too hard.

Liam stared at her for another second before slowly leaning down.

Then he kissed her softly.

Gentle.

Warm.

Completely different from the violence outside moments ago.

Lana’s eyes closed briefly as she kissed him back lightly.

When they separated she smiled faintly again.

"There’s my reward."

Liam chuckled quietly under his breath.

Then the next moment—

Whoosh!

He disappeared through the broken window again. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

Liam landed smoothly outside the mansion again.

The cold night air brushed against his skin as he walked through the destroyed street slowly, his eyes moving over the aftermath around him. Now that the fight was over properly and the adrenaline had calmed down, the scale of the destruction looked even crazier.

Entire buildings were split open.

Some roads had caved inward completely from the force of the battle while burned vehicles still released thin trails of smoke into the air. Bodies of vampires littered the area, torn apart in ways no normal person would even believe possible.

Even abandoned, this place was going to attract attention.

Liam looked around quietly.

"This is going to raise suspicion," he muttered. "Even if nobody lives here people still pass through sometimes."

Irina walked beside him calmly, stepping over broken concrete without much care.

"Don’t worry about the damages," she replied. "I already called Sarah to reverse everything."

Liam turned his head slightly.

"Sarah?"

Irina looked at him strangely for a second before realization crossed her face.

"Sarah," she repeated. "The witch."

"Oh."

Liam finally remembered her now.

The woman from before.

The one with strange magic.

He rubbed the back of his neck slightly.

"Right..."

Irina nodded.

"There’s a spell for restoring structural damage. She’ll handle it before sunrise."

Liam blinked once.

Then his brows slowly raised.

"A spell can fix all this?"

Irina gave him a small look like it should have been obvious by now.

Before she could answer properly, Danill’s voice suddenly came from nearby.

"It’s not instant restoration," he explained as he slowly stepped outside from the mansion entrance. "More like reversing physical damage within a limited area. Buildings, roads, objects. Stuff like that."

Liam looked at him.

Even tired and injured he still looked annoyingly active.

He continued calmly,

"It drains a ridiculous amount of energy though. Sarah usually complains for days after doing it."

Liam looked around the destroyed area again.

Then back at them.

"So that’s how all of you stayed hidden this whole time."

Now things made more sense.

He had wondered before how supernatural fights this insane never ended up exposing everything to the public properly.

Because this level of destruction could not just be hidden with excuses forever.

Irina crossed her arms lightly beneath her chest.

"Pretty much."

Then her expression became serious again.

"Danill already briefed me on everything."

Liam nodded slightly.

For a few seconds they walked through the ruined street quietly while wolves moved around collecting bodies and checking injuries.

Then Liam finally asked,

"Do you know why they attacked?"

Irina’s face darkened slightly.

She shook her head slowly.

"No."

Her voice carried visible irritation now.

"They were never supposed to know where we stay. Not this mansion. Not this area."

Her eyes narrowed as she continued,

"And the timing is too suspicious."

Liam looked at her quietly.

Irina kept walking slowly before continuing,

"The vampires attacked exactly when most of our fighters were away. Almost all our strongest members were out."

Her tone hardened further.

"That’s not coincidence."

Liam’s eyes narrowed slightly too now.

"You think somebody tipped them off?"

Irina was silent for a moment.

Then Liam asked directly,

"So you think someone among the wolves is telling on you?"

Irina immediately shook her head.

"No."

There was zero hesitation in her answer.

"I know my family."

The confidence in her voice was absolute.

She truly trusted her people.

Completely.

Then her eyes slowly shifted toward the mansion behind them.

More specifically...

Toward Anya.

"The question," Irina said carefully, "is how much do you know about the girl you brought here."

Liam’s brows lifted instantly.

He turned fully toward her now.

"You think Anya did this???"