My blood boiled when I heard the words of that disgusting creature. My claws locked around his neck and lifted his body off the ground.

"Cut your crap!" I snapped.

Blood spilled from his mouth, but he laughed like a madman. "Am I wrong? In the end, you’re the ones killing your own kind, all because of pride."

My grip tightened. At that moment, I saw his eyes glow red. Rage filled my heart, yet my hold weakened.

My mind and body stopped working together. He smiled crookedly, as if he knew I was struggling against something I didn’t fully understand.

Just as my grip was about to loosen, a voice echoed inside my head.

Clarissa’s mind-link.

"Commander, where are you? Did something happen?"

Suddenly, strength rushed back into my fingers. I strangled him again. His eyes widened in shock, his face turning red with anger.

"Why?!" he screamed. "Why did my hypnosis fail on you?! I may die, but The Sire will take revenge on you filthy creatures!"

He looked even more unhinged than before. One moment he raged, the next he laughed.

"You’re impressive, tricking me like this!" he sneered. "Stopping our attack, forcing us to move, and successfully ambushing us."

His words became more and more incoherent, but one phrase stuck in my mind.

Forcing us to move.

Was someone else driving them away suddenly, and he thought it was us?

Before I could think further, he bit down on poison hidden in his mouth and died.

I checked to make sure he wasn’t pretending. After confirming his death, I carried his body back to the ambush site.

I had chased him quite far when he tried to escape.

When I arrived, the vampire corpses had already been gathered.

"Collect them, document everything, and burn them," I ordered Noah.

He nodded.

I didn’t stay to handle it myself. I had something far more important to deal with.

Clarissa.

If she hadn’t sent that mind-link, I might have died. It was my first mission, and I had acted recklessly by looking directly into a vampire’s eyes, even though I knew some of them possessed hypnosis.

Following the sweet scent in the air, I found Clarissa.

But—

The girl named Iris, whom I had clearly expelled, was struggling with Clarissa over something. That damn bitch managed to grab an item that looked like cotton, but in her haste, her nails scratched Clarissa’s pale wrist.

A thin red line appeared.

My blood exploded with fury.

Someone dared to hurt Clarissa. Right in front of me.

Just a medical team member, yet bold enough to defy her own leader.

"Are you tired of living?!" I roared.

In an instant, I grabbed her by the neck and lifted her into the air.

Her face turned red immediately. Her hands clawed at mine, her legs kicking helplessly.

Everyone stared in shock at my sudden arrival.

Clarissa held her bleeding wrist. Drops of red fell to the ground, matching how close I was to snapping this woman’s neck.

I scanned the area, daring anyone else to touch Clarissa.

The medical team stepped back, terrified and eager not to be associated with Iris. The injured enforcers, warriors, and alphas stayed silent. Some even turned their eyes away.

My voice thundered through the area.

"Who allowed this woman to come here?!"

Silence.

Even the distant chatter from enforcers farther away disappeared.

Slow footsteps approached. Among the newcomers, Oliver appeared.

I repeated the question.

Oliver stepped forward immediately. "Forgive me. This is my fault. I told her not to come. I didn’t know she followed us in secret. I only realized after we arrived. I’m sorry I didn’t report it earlier."

I turned away from Oliver and looked back at the troublesome woman. Her tongue hung out like a dog’s.

When I loosened my grip slightly, she gasped desperately. But after just a few breaths, I tightened it again.

I grabbed her right hand.

On her fingers was fresh blood.

Clarissa’s blood.

All hesitation vanished from my chest.

Crack!

I twisted her arm violently. A piercing scream tore through the air.

I threw her body toward Oliver. "Send her back to the capital city for the crime of injuring The Healer. Make sure she rots in prison."

Without hesitation, Oliver and the enforcers beside him dragged Iris away as she screamed, clutching her broken arm.

She shot a sharp glare at Clarissa.

I stepped in front of Clarissa.

When Iris met my cold stare, she immediately lowered her head.

Soon, her screams faded into the distance, until they disappeared completely.

Rora approached Clarissa and me. She bowed her head and apologized to Clarissa.

"I was truly careless in supervising my team. I never expected her to show such selfish and unreasonable behavior, especially in front of The Healer."

"I can heal myself, so it’s not a problem," Clarissa replied calmly. "But her attitude... that needs more attention."

Her words were gentle, yet they clearly pointed out negligence, both mine and Rora’s.

After that, she left with Rora to continue treating the others.

Not long after, Noah approached me, his expression serious.

"Commander Black, I’m not trying to defend Rora," he said. "But she never wanted Iris to join the medical team. Unfortunately, Iris was directly assigned by Enforcer Milton. She’s his niece. Their family holds significant influence in the capital. Rora couldn’t oppose them."

"So..." Noah hesitated before continuing. "To avoid backlash from their family, the punishment for Iris can’t be too harsh."

I growled in displeasure.

Politics again.

"The Moon Goddess decides which families truly deserve to stand at the top," I replied coldly. "If they rely on political tricks, I have no reason to fear them."

"Let’s see if they dare challenge a Lycan King candidate," I added firmly.

Forming factions and strengthening one’s family wasn’t wrong. But all of it should serve one purpose: destroying The Sire and those disgusting vampires.

If that goal shifted toward personal or family gain, then this kingdom no longer deserved to exist. It would be better to return to the law of the jungle, like in the old days.

...

The medical team and the injured were sent back to their lodgings first. I assigned several enforcers to recheck the forest area, while the others returned to the pack, bringing along the werewolves who had been turned into vampires.

Their heads were covered with burlap sacks by the vampires. For now, I wouldn’t remove them. I didn’t want people who knew them to see their current state.

Those who had become vampires could only survive if they drank The Sire’s blood within a certain time limit. If not, they would die.

And they would die.

I didn’t want their families to remember them as vampires. Let them see them only after death, in their werewolf forms.

As we passed through the pack members, sobs echoed from those who already knew their loved ones had become vampires.

I signaled the group to move quickly, before anyone could demand to see their family members.

After everything was settled, the sun began to rise.

I hurried toward the room prepared for The Healer. I needed to make sure she was safe.

[Are you resting?] I sent a mind-link while standing outside her door. Even from here, I could smell her sweet scent.

[What is it, Commander?] Clarissa replied through the mind-link. For some reason, it felt as if we had our own private channel.

Click.

The door opened. She must have sensed my presence and known I was there.

"How’s your hand?" I asked. "Any other injuries?"

"It’s healed." She showed me her wrist. Smooth and pale, without a single mark.

But my eyes drifted elsewhere.

Her hair was tied into a bun, revealing her long neck. My gaze slid downward to the collar of her dress, which was cut a little too low. The shape beneath was impossible to ignore.

She had changed into a white dress. Though clearly not intentional, it traced her figure perfectly.

Without realizing it, I stepped closer.

She looked surprised by my behavior, but I didn’t stop. I pulled her into my arms.

"Are you really all right?" My rough palm rested against her smooth back. The back of her dress was cut even lower than the front.

As I lingered there, she pushed me away and stepped back.

"You haven’t cleaned yourself yet, have you?" she said. "You smell like blood."

Only then did I realize I hadn’t even checked where my own room was.

"Do I smell that bad?" I asked, sniffing my clothes.

She didn’t answer, only looked at me with clear disdain.

I turned to leave, but paused when I heard the sound of running water from the bathroom.

"You were about to take a shower?" I guessed.

Her expression changed instantly. She stared at me as if I were a pervert.

"Don’t think strange things."

I smiled faintly. "We’re in Frost Pack territory, coldest region in the empire. Heating water takes a lot of orb energy. Shouldn’t we conserve it?"

...