Before I couldn’t care less about her story, but now it presented an opportunity I needed. I reached out and cupped the crying girl’s face in my hand.

"You have suffered a lot, haven’t you? You’ve been through pain most people can’t fathom."

I slowly wiped the tears from her eyes and sat her down in my lap.

"It’s alright now. You don’t have to worry anymore. I’ll handle everything."

"You will?"

Before, when she just came to my room, she offered me her body, but why would I want that when I could have her heart and her undying loyalty? And now that she was in such a vulnerable state, it was the perfect time to claim her.

I hugged her tightly and slowly combed my hand through her hair, and soon I felt her body slowly relax against mine.

"I’ll save your sister. Just leave it all to me," I said as I swept away her hair and sank my fangs into her neck. Her skin was warm against my lips and the taste of blood made my claws come out. She let out a sharp moan as my fangs pierced her neck and my venom took hold of her. "Leave it all to your alpha."

+-----+

Name: Ivy Lycann

Age: 31

Core level: Lv 13

Race: Shapeshifter

Classification: Supernatural Creature

Bloodline: Primordial Protean

+-----+

So she transformed into a Primordial Protean, huh. A word that means changeable, ever-shifting. Fits perfect for a shapeshifter.

Ivy’s eyes glowed orange, and so did the veins on her neck.

"What did you do to me?"

"I made you stronger, Ivy. Can’t you feel it?"

Her eyes widened as she noticed the changes in her own body.

"It feels so good," she chuckled. "My body feels so much lighter."

She held out the palm of her hand, and immediately small crystals began to form and take shape. It was a bit unnerving to watch, seeing as these crystals were the weakness of my kind.

"This feels so much different, as if I can adjust and mend it to whatever form I please. Before it was different. I could only move it around." She looked at the new powers granted to her in awe.

"This is the power you will use to save your sister."

She clenched her fist tightly and nodded her head, determination burning in her eyes.

"I’ll get her back," she muttered softly to herself.

"Yes, we will. We’ll begin planning our next move tomorrow. For now, I need time to plan how I will retrieve your sister."

I needed to plan things carefully before I acted. I needed to be careful and learn a bit more about the city I was in. I needed to know a lot more.

"I need you to tell me a bit more about the ghoul population and where they live." I said.

Ivy nodded without hesitation and began to explain.

"The ghouls are separated from the rest of the civilian population. They live in a section of the city called Grey Waste. There are other supernatural creatures who live there, but the main population consists of ghouls. The ghouls that are not a part of a gang survive by feeding on rats and other vermin that infest their section of the city, while the gang members have access to high-quality meat, which is mostly stolen or obtained illegally."

Their way of life sounded harsh. Either you joined the gang and be villainized or you feast on whatever filth was crawling around. Their very existence sounded pitiful.

"Do ghouls have any special abilities that they can use to fight back?"

Ivy shook her head.

"No, they don’t have any such ability. They can’t even level up."

"What?"

I found Ivy’s words hard to believe. How could there be a race of supernaturals that couldn’t level up? I thought all supernatural creatures earned the right to level up.

"I don’t know for sure, but people say it’s because of their strange belief."

"What belief is that?" I questioned.

"For one reason or another, ghouls believe that they were created by the djinn that once ruled over Purgatory."

Created by the djinn, huh? Would it be similar to how I had my shadow hounds? Or maybe it more resembles Kumo with her babies. Maybe the ghouls were the djinn’s babies, or children would be the proper term.

"That’s basically all I know about ghouls."

"I see. Thank you. You’ve been a great help."

Ivy smiled, and a small blush appeared on her face. It was the first time I’d seen color in her cheeks since she arrived.

"I think it’s best if you leave now, but come see me tomorrow. By then, I’ll come up with more ways of how to save your sister."

"Thank you. I made the right choice coming here. At first, I was stumped as to what a werewolf would be doing in Purgatory, but it worked out for the best." She brought her lips close to my face and gave me a kiss on the cheek.

"Thank you, alpha," she whispered softly before turning on her heel and leaving.

Now that Ivy was gone, it was just me and Isabella’s mother, who was lying unconscious on the bed. The lamia venom that I had Asmond pump her up with was working wonders in keeping her unconscious. Hopefully it lasts until morning and she doesn’t somehow revive and strangle me in my sleep. She was another important part of the puzzle.

Now that I had a little time for myself, I went out to the balcony just outside my room and gazed at the beautiful city that sprawled before me. Even at this hour of the night, there were still paranormal activities taking place in the sky.

But the ghost floating up in the sky wasn’t what had my attention. It was the small creatures who lit up the night, casting a beautiful and harmonic glow over the city. These creatures were called will-o’-the-wisps, and it was the first time I was seeing one in person. Except there were hundreds of them dancing across the sky.

These small ethereal creatures were classified as sprites. I once heard my father say that there were hundreds of different species of sprites that have never been seen, but there is evidence that they exist.

The only species of sprite that are well known are the mischievous ones like pixies and fairies. And also will-o’-the-wisps since they don’t tend to hide much. Seeing them floating in the sky reminded me just how magical this city was. It was simply unreal.

While i gazed at the beautiful creatures, I used my senses to take in as much information as I could about the city.

There was still quite an uproar going from what happened before, when I had Khalissi destroy an entire city block with her magic. There was still a manhunt going on for the perpetrators. I couldn’t help but wonder what the witches were doing right about now.

What was the Veylmont clan thinking?

What were they planning?

Though it didn’t matter what.

I will make them all fall.

When I look at this place, I see an unclaimed throne.