A floating mass of dark energy erupted from Khalissi’s staff. The air crackled with the power of her magic, until a massive explosion ripped through the air, destroying everything in its path. She released an explosion powerful enough to destroy an entire city block. The city that was once untouched now had a small section that was now completely in wreckage.

From where we were, we could hear the screams of those who were unfortunate enough to get caught up in the explosion. Those who had not died were severely injured. There were bodies thrown about with massive skyscrapers now tumbling. Panic rose as those who survived tried desperately to get away.

The sight was reminiscent of when hell descended upon earth on that faithful day. Only, i was the one leading the charge this time.

I felt satisfied seeing the devastation the spell created. This was payback for when the compelled humans attacked my pack. It didn’t matter that only a few unimportant lives were lost when they attacked my pack. The moment they did, I made a promise to return what they had done tenfold.

The witch watched with her mouth agape.

"You will pay for this! You have no idea what you have done."

Just as she spoke, the vampires who were making their way towards us finally arrived. It was a sizable group, and at the head of the group was a woman with dark hair and crimson-colored eyes. Her face held no emotion at all and for a second, it reminded me of how Isabella used to be.

Could it be?

The rest of the vampires who were with her were also dressed in full black. They all looked at us in disdain from what I did to their city and their young master.

"Where’s Isabella?" I questioned the woman, but she didn’t answer. Instead, she proceeded to pull out two wooden stakes from her boots and took a battle stance.

In a flash of blur, the woman appeared in front of me. She moved so fast that I was certain that most people here couldn’t even comprehend her movements. She seemed to have some kind of teleportation ability.

She jabbed the stake towards my throat, but I casually raised my hand to stop it. But to my surprise, the stake actually went through my hand.

She was quick. Way too quick for a regular vampire. She moved at a speed that blurred sound and light as if the world glitched and she suddenly appeared.

And the stake she was fighting with was too hard to be made of regular wood. I used our close distance to grab after her, but before I could, she slipped away by suddenly appearing several feet away from where I was.

"Thorne princess?" The witch muttered.

"Do you know her?" I asked.

"Yes, she is a famous assassin for the Veylmont clan. She’s also the mother of the girl that was with your pack. Those stakes she uses to fight were enhanced by witches so they can pierce through almost anything."

Good to know.

I turned my attention to the assassin.

"Where is Isabella?" I asked once again.

"She’s being fixed," she responded coldly. "I don’t know how you managed to compel her, but it’s being fixed."

"I didn’t compel her. You should bring her to me. I imagine by now she’s going through withdrawal from not consuming my blood. If she stays like that for too long, then she’ll lose her mind and it might eventually kill her."

"Your blood?!" the woman spat and her eyes turned sharp with hate. "We of the Veylmont clan are only allowed to drink from our masters. So you’ve sullied her with your filth!"

"She’s not a part of the Veylmont clan anymore. She’s a member of my pack."

"My daughter would never put herself with wolves. She would rather do the honorable thing and die. I’ll give you a painful death for killing the young master and for sullying my own daughter."

Saying that, she teleported in front of me once again. Her movements were lethal and sharp ones that could only be acquired after years of training. With the teleportation ability that she seemed to have, it made it difficult for me to secure my vitals from her attack.

But I realized a few things when I saw her use her ability. I could predict her movements just by watching her footwork. She always takes a certain stance when she teleports. That, plus the fact that she always went for my vitals, made her attacks predictable.

At the same time, the vampires with her began to attack Sylvie, Selthia, and Kumo. I didn’t have to worry about that since they seemed to be handling themselves well. I fought defensively, guarding myself against her lethal attacks. She was fast. That was the only quality she had that outmatched me.

She also thought I was a wolf. And since werewolves didn’t normally have a high healing trait, in her mind, all she needed to do was strike at an artery and she’d kill me in an instant. That was the reason why I made an effort to protect my vitals even though I didn’t have to just to fuel her determination.

And when the time was right, I gave her what she wanted. I allowed her stake to pierce through my carotid artery. The moment she did, I saw a hint of satisfaction cross her face, and just for a second, she let her guard down. I didn’t want to kill her since she was Isabella’s mother, but since she was a vampire, it meant she can handle a little punishment.

The moment she stabbed me in the artery, I grabbed a hold of her hand. Her eyes widened in surprise as she swung her other hand with the stake, planting it in my stomach. I barely reacted be being stabbed in the neck and in the stomach.

"How?"

’A normal werewolf would’ve been dead by now’ was what she must’ve been thinking. That was the moment she realized something wasn’t quite right, but by then it was already too late. She tried to react by teleporting again, but before she could, I planted my claws deep in her stomach.

Blood filled her mouth and her legs went weak forcing her to fall to her knees, but even then she didn’t relent. She was still struggling to escape, but with the grip I had over her hand, it was impossible.

When I asked her where Isabella was, she said she was fixing her. When I compared both of them, she was the one who seemed in need of being fixed.

She was completely brainwashed. There was no way Isabella could win her over. I could see it by looking into her cold, emotionless eyes. She had been trapped for too long. Isabella needed her mother. Becoming a hybrid made her understand that, which was why she wished so much to make amends with her, but it would be impossible for her now that I’ve seen what this woman is like.

Maybe there was no way Isabella could fix her, but just maybe I could...