Chapter 35

Liam ran as hard as he could back to the starting point, where he separated from Federica and Ethan. He would really curse himself if Zoe—that merciless, sadistic vampire attacked Federica and Ethan. If Blake had brought a deadly ally, it was certain that his cousin was hiding something.

Passing through the bushes, jumping over scattered tree trunks and branches, Liam continued to run and raced against time. Stupidly, he didn't take the servants with him and instead left them at home like pets.

Slowly, Liam's sharp nose smelled another scent. The rancid smell is so strong. He was shocked beyond words when he saw a human lying on the side of a tree with a bite on his neck and a face so pale as if the blood had just been drained. Liam's hands were clenched into fists; he knew the wound left on the corpse was Zoe's signature. The bite almost broke the owner's neck.

"They're not far from here," Liam muttered as he took out a small bottle of vervain. Even though this didn't completely kill Zoe, at least the vervain liquid could paralyze her.

Liam followed the bloodstains dripping on the leaves as well as the footprints. Now and then, he made a stance to look around; Blake certainly wasn't careless in only bringing Zoe. He must have got his servants even more. He was sure of it.

His eyes accidentally caught Ethan's helpless body not far from Liam's position. The bespectacled man's body was gray with dark veins. His mouth was foaming, his eyes wide. Liam approached Ethan's dying body.

Liam leaned Ethan's body against a tree. Some of the wounds looked so terrible. Liam put vervain into Ethan's mouth after cleaning the foam and dirt around there. Liam looked worried because, for several minutes, there was no response. Ethan would come back to life.

"How much wolfsbane did they give you?" Liam asked, looking at Ethan, who was silent.

Liam's eyes swept around; there were many footprints where he was standing now. Several bushes looked destroyed, as well as trees that were slightly cracked from the blows. There are bloodstains; I don't know whose it is.

Impatient to wait, Liam followed the trail and left Ethan alone. He must save Federica. That girl would definitely be overwhelmed if she fought Blake and Zoe alone. It's not a matter of strength, but it's unfair if one fights two people.

Liam's ears faintly heard a noise. He ran as fast as he could towards the west side of the forest. The sound became clearer and clearer, Federica's screams and Blake's voice, which seemed happy over the girl's suffering.

His eyes wanted to pop out when Federica was fighting Zoe with wounds covering her body and face. Instantly, Liam's anger burned; he attacked Zoe from behind but was blocked by Blake with a look that he wanted to kill.

"Oh, hello, Liam," said Blake like a crazy person.

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Federica was surprised when Liam came without Gessy, but this wasn't the time to think about that when Zoe kept attacking her. Federica fended off the attack that was about to hit her jaw by kicking Zoe's body until it flew far away.

"Liam!" shouted Federica.

Liam didn't answer because he was busy facing Blake, who was now trying to grab the man's white neck. Liam dodged and managed to hit Blake's jaw with one punch.

"Oh, what a fun fight," Zoe said, licking her lips. The short-haired woman's gaze was sharp with bright red irises. Her fangs were so ready to tear flesh that Federica shuddered.

"What do you really want?" Federica asked. "Aren't you satisfied with killing all my clan?"

Zoe laughed loudly, making the emotions in Federica's chest burn even more fiercely. Her irises changed little by little. Zoe is increasingly excited to see the changes in Federica.

"Come on, baby, let out your emotions. Yes, I'm the one who wiped out your clan, Stella Rogers!" Zoe shouted, saying Federica's real name. "I was so happy to see your clan's body destroyed by the snake clan's venom."

The anger that had been pent up for a long time was now mixed inside Federica, making her feel something strange. Her head felt like she had been hit by a big rock, which made her hurt so badly. Her chest rumbled as flashes of that night's events terrorized her.

Federica's eyes flashed brightly, her fingernails stretched out, ready to scratch anyone, and her canine teeth grew as if she wanted to tear her prey to pieces. Federica attacked Zoe with lightning speed. Hit her in the face, kicked her in the chest, and scratched Zoe's pale skin until blood came out.

Blake and Liam, who saw that, could only gape with amazed eyes. The next second, Blake laughed like he had won the war seeing Federica. The half-blood he had been looking for was actually on the tip of his nose. He didn't expect that his instincts had been right all along. The sweet blood he had smelled since he met Federica was so different from ordinary human blood.

Blake grabbed Liam's neck until his body was lifted off the ground. Liam's hands moved to try to reach Blake when the oxygen in his body was running low. Then Blake slammed Liam's body to the ground. Liam felt his entire spine snap. He coughed until he coughed up fresh red liquid. Before getting up, Blake stepped on Liam's chest with his right foot and looked at his cousin arrogantly.

"I'm one step ahead of you, Liam," Blake said as he pressed his foot against Liam's chest making the man scream even more in pain.

"You won't win against a half blood," replied Liam with a shallow breath, looking sharply at Blake. "She's going to kill you, Blake. You won't be able to handle the side effects!"

Tch! Blake spat right into Liam's face. Before he could attack Liam again, Federica was behind him and snapped Blake's neck. The curly-haired man's body collapsed on Liam's right side. Federica looked at Liam while holding out one hand.

"Are you going to kill me, Fed?" Liam asked holding back the pain in his chest and the fear that Federica would still lose control.

The girl smiled faintly with her irises returning to their previous appearance. Liam hesitantly accepted the outstretched hand. He got up, coughing occasionally from his fight with Blake.

He looked at Federica with furrowed brows and said, "Where's Zoe?"

Federica pointed to Zoe's body lying on her left side with her chest covered in blood. Zoe had died and Liam hadn't even had the chance to see how she fought with Federica. But seeing the gaping wound on the short-haired woman's chest, Liam was sure that Zoe's heart had been ripped out by force.

"You killed her?"

"To avenge me," said Federica. "She was the reason my clan was wiped out."

Liam's lips were pressed tightly, looking at the girl in fear. Half-bloods like her can suddenly become very wild. He clearly remembered how the Grim Ripper was so crazy that he was willing to kill half of his own clan and kill all the other clans until there was nothing left, including the werewolf clan.

"Are you afraid of me?" Federica asked, locking Liam in her eyes.

Liam nodded slowly. "Because you could kill me, Fed."

Federica's eyebrows knit together as she looked at Liam without understanding. "Aren't you after my blood?"

"Only some people... you know, those who are ambitious are willing to sacrifice anything including their lives. And I... no, I don't want to. Your blood... even if there is an antidote, but you are a cursed thing that can kill every clan."

The girl's small body trembled, and her eyes fell down her cheeks. Even though she tried to look for lies in Liam's eyes, all that was there was the man's honesty. For some reason, seeing Liam walking away from her actually made the wound in her heart even more open and painful.

As hard as he could, Liam held back his desire to embrace Federica. He didn't want to say this, but sooner or later, Federica had to find out that her blood not only gave rise to tremendous power but could cause other clans to perish in an instant. He saw the girl sobbing, making Liam's heartache.

In the next second, unexpectedly for the two teenagers, Blake got up again and gave Liam his vervain liquid, which had unknowingly fallen on the ground. The clear liquid made Liam's body burn from the inside, his eyes turning red and then black. Liam's body collapsed, and he floundered helplessly. Federica screamed hysterically, seeing Liam lying down. Her eyes looked at Blake, who was now smiling sarcastically at her.

Blake licked his lips with bright red eyes. He grinned, showing his fangs ready to tear Federica's body apart. Blake couldn't wait to suck out the girl's blood.

"Want to play with me?" Blake asked, making Federica's emotions heat up again.