Liam shook his head slowly as he looked at Irina.

"I don’t think she did it."

His voice stayed calm but firm. He genuinely did not believe Anya had anything to do with the attack. From the moment he met her she looked terrified, confused and exhausted more than anything else. Nothing about her screamed spy or traitor.

Irina folded her arms beneath her chest as the cold night wind brushed past them. Around the destroyed area, werewolves moved through the wreckage checking bodies and dragging vampire corpses together. The smell of smoke, blood and burnt concrete still filled the air heavily.

Irina kept her eyes on Liam.

"Was Anya with you the entire time since she came here?" she asked. "Did she leave your sight even once?"

Liam opened his mouth to answer immediately but paused halfway.

Of course she left his sight.

When he brought her into the mansion she stayed with Tatiana and Alina for a while. Then later he left her alone inside the room when he carried Lana away to rest. Even during the attack there were moments he focused entirely on the fight.

Realizing that made Liam narrow his eyes slightly.

Irina noticed instantly.

She slowly gave him a look.

Not smug.

Not mocking.

Just that expression that silently said, you see what I mean now?

At the same moment the mansion door opened behind them.

Anya stepped outside completely unaware of the conversation happening about her. She walked quickly across the damaged front area, carefully avoiding cracks in the ground and pieces of shattered concrete. Her eyes immediately found Liam among the chaos.

Even now she naturally gravitated toward him like he was the safest thing around.

When she finally reached behind him, Liam turned around and stretched his hand toward her calmly.

"Can I have your phone?"

Anya blinked once in surprise but did not hesitate.

"Sure."

She immediately handed it over.

Irina watched quietly from the side.

Liam grabbed the phone casually and the moment his fingers touched it his system activated instantly.

Information flooded through his vision faster than human eyes could process.

Messages.

Call history.

Applications.

Photos.

Deleted files.

GPS activity.

Everything.

His system moved through the device like a virus tearing apart data at impossible speed.

Liam’s eyes scanned rapidly.

Then he found the only recent message Anya had sent while she was alone earlier.

It was to her cousin.

The message was simple.

She had excitedly explained that she met a stranger who helped her clear all the debt tied to her name. There was nothing suspicious. No hidden contact. No location sharing. No warning message to anyone.

Nothing.

Liam exited the phone scan and handed it back to her.

Then he looked toward Irina.

"I told you it’s not her."

Irina stared at him for a few seconds before sighing quietly. She still looked unconvinced deep down but she trusted Liam enough not to push harder for now.

Anya stood there holding her phone with complete confusion written across her face.

She had no idea what they were talking about but she was smart enough to understand one thing.

Irina suspected her.

And Liam defended her.

That realization made her chest tighten slightly.

She looked at Liam quietly for a second before lowering her gaze.

Meanwhile Liam decided to shift the conversation entirely.

"Who was that vampire I fought?" he asked. "He looked strong."

Irina’s expression changed immediately.

This topic was far more serious.

"About that," she said slowly. "You need to know about King Valeries."

The moment she mentioned the name even some nearby wolves subconsciously became quieter.

Irina continued.

"He is the current vampire king. One of the oldest and most powerful vampires alive."

Her eyes shifted briefly toward the distant darkness beyond the ruined houses before continuing.

"He has two sons. One biological. One adopted."

Liam listened carefully.

"His real son’s name is Boris," Irina said. "The adopted one is Alexander."

Her eyes hardened slightly.

"A freak of nature."

The moment Liam heard the name Boris his eyes lit up faintly.

Boris.

Irina noticed Liam’s reaction instantly but chose not to comment on it.

Instead Liam focused on the more immediate issue.

"This Alexander," he said. "Have you fought him before?"

Irina suddenly smiled. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Not a happy smile.

The kind that appeared when remembering something ugly.

"The last time we fought him," she said slowly, "I nearly died alongside five other werewolves."

Even remembering it now clearly irritated her pride.

Her fingers flexed slightly at her side.

"We barely escaped alive."

Anya’s eyes widened hearing that.

She had already seen how terrifying these people were tonight. The fact that there existed someone capable of almost killing Irina and five werewolves together sounded insane to her.

Irina looked directly at Liam again.

"That’s why I said I never expected you to hold your ground against him."

"No he didn’t."

The voice suddenly came from behind them.

Deep.

Calm.

Confident.

Both Liam and Irina immediately turned backward at the same time.

Liam, Irina and Anya all turned backward at the same time.

Leonid stood a few meters away from them quietly.

The dim light from the mansion reflected faintly against his pale skin while the cold night breeze moved through his dark hair. His hands rested casually inside his pockets and his expression looked calmer than usual. It seemed he had been standing there for a while already watching everything unfold.

They had almost forgotten about him completely during the chaos.

Leonid slowly stepped forward as his eyes drifted across the destruction around them. Broken concrete. Burn marks. Torn vampire bodies scattered across the abandoned neighborhood.

Then his gaze returned to Liam.

"I have no idea who that guy was," Leonid said calmly. "But Liam didn’t stand his ground against him."

Anya immediately looked toward Liam nervously after hearing that. Even Irina narrowed her eyes slightly.

But surprisingly Liam did not get angry.

He did not react defensively either.

Instead he simply looked at Leonid seriously.

"Explain."

Leonid nodded lightly.

"When they were fighting," he said slowly, "Alexander was restricting himself like crazy."

The moment those words came out both Liam and Irina stared at him.

Leonid continued.

"It was strange," he admitted. "The whole time it felt like he had endless power inside him but he could only use a fraction of it."

Silence.

Even the nearby wolves who were listening froze slightly.

Liam frowned deeply.

Irina’s face also changed completely.

What Liam fought tonight was already monstrous.

The speed.

The strength.

The pressure coming from Alexander alone had been enough to shake the entire battlefield.

And now Leonid was saying that was only a fraction?

Liam looked at him carefully.

"What do you mean a fraction?"

Leonid nodded seriously.

"Yeah."

The confidence in his answer made the atmosphere even heavier.

Liam folded his arms slowly.

"Are you sure you’re not mistaken?" he asked. "He was wearing blood armor. That thing clearly increased his strength."

Leonid suddenly gave a dry chuckle.

"That’s what I thought too at first," he admitted. "But the longer the fight dragged on the more I realized something."

His eyes narrowed slightly as he remembered the battle.

"The armor wasn’t there to increase his power."

He paused briefly.

"It was there to restrict it."

Irina’s eyes widened faintly.

Leonid continued quietly.

"To stop his power from going above a certain level."

For a second nobody spoke.

Even the wind passing through the ruined area suddenly felt colder.

Liam slowly furrowed his brows.

"And how exactly do you know this?"

Leonid leaned against a broken concrete wall nearby before answering.

"I don’t know," he admitted honestly. "Ever since I became this thing..."

He looked down briefly at his own hand.

"...when I look at vampires now it’s like I can see their strength somehow."

Liam’s eyes sharpened slightly.

That actually made sense.

Leonid was different from normal vampires. He had not been turned traditionally. His transformation happened accidentally and even now nobody fully understood what exactly he had become.

Irina remained quiet as she stared at him.

She did not want to believe what she was hearing.

If Alexander truly fought Liam while heavily restricted then the reality of the vampire prince became far more terrifying than she imagined.

But at the same time...

What reason did Leonid have to lie?

None.

He gained absolutely nothing from making Alexander sound stronger.

Irina crossed her arms tighter before asking another question.

"Do you know why they attacked tonight?"

Leonid frowned slightly at that.

"The vampires they sent during the first wave..." he muttered. "They were barely stronger than me."

Liam immediately looked toward him.

"And how strong do you think you are?"

Leonid suddenly chuckled.

Not proudly.

More like self awareness.

"I’m new," he said casually. "I’m basically at the bottom of the food chain."

"It looks like they were just testing you instead, if they wanted to eradicate the six werewolves they would have. And they were attacking in waves, not simultaneously. I don’t know but there’s more to this attack than meets the eye."