Chapter 27

William stood behind the curtains on the living room window, anxiously waiting for his daughter, who never came home. It was already six in the afternoon, even though Federica usually came home at five or earlier. He didn't want to lose someone he loved again; even the wounds from the death of his wife and child had still not healed. The older man's feelings were uncertain; now and then, he looked back to feel that someone was watching him. However, there was no one but him and the sound of the heating machine.

In the following matter, without realizing it, a dagger was stuck to the skin of his neck. William glanced out of the corner of his right eye and saw a man with curly neck-length hair and red irises grinning. The rancid aroma pierced William's nose so much that he wanted to vomit. Traces of blood were visible on the corners of those thin ruby-red lips. He thought for sure the man had just killed someone.

"Who are you? And what do you want?" William asked as he returned the man's gaze sharply, even though he wanted to faint in his heart.

"You don't need to know who I am. Besides, I don't want anything, William," said Blake while slicing the skin thinly on William's neck, causing blood to leak out. "It's still a good thing I only sliced your neck thinly, not your head, Dude. Are you... hiding something from me? For example, a scarce valuable item?"

William grimaced in pain; quite a lot of blood had flowed onto his shoulder, which was covered by a gray sweater. He pressed the incision mark, making Blake lick his tongue happily. Maybe the cruel vampire was waiting for William to die slowly. However, if you remember Federica and Ethan's story based on the characteristics of the vampire who attacked their daughter, the man beside her is Blake. He was sure that Blake meant Federica. And somehow, now he hoped that the girl would be better off coming home late than being caught red-handed by Blake.

"N-no. I don't know what you mean," said William, trying to move back.

Blake burst into laughter, filling the seemingly deserted wooden house with only the forest's silence for company. With one hand, his pale, muscular body turned William's thin body around, holding him high by the neck so that his legs clad in black pipe trousers did not touch the floor.

William's two hands held Blake's wrists, which were around his neck, trying to break free. The air supply in the lungs is increasingly running low; it may take several minutes for the old body to fall unconscious or even be killed with the blood draining out. Blake seemed to have no compassion when William's tears came out of the corners of his eyes. Instead, he laughed louder than before. He looked more like a demon welcoming death than a vampire.

"Don't know? How can you explain who Federica is? Even where is she now?"

William tried to say no, but it only stuck in his throat. His face was as red as a crab due to the blood flow being forced to stop. In his heart, William would rather be shot dead than be tortured like this. However, what happened was that Blake seemed to enjoy torturing people, and then he threw William's old body out until the windows of his house shattered. He groaned, not getting the answer he wanted.

The man with bright red beads walked casually and smiled broadly when he inhaled the scent of blood coming from the wounds on William's body. Blake couldn't wait to suck out the man's blood and hang him in front of the house door to lure Federica.

William grimaced in excruciating pain. He believed his ribs were broken, with several parts of his body torn apart by broken glass. He crawled backward while holding his right ribs, while William's right hand grabbed a silver knife from his trouser pocket, pointing the sharp weapon at Blake, who responded with applause as if he was happy to be challenged by a human.

"Go away, or I will kill you!" William exclaimed, holding back excruciating pain.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk... leaving without taking the girl? I don't think that's possible, William," said Blake, then kicked William's body, sending him flying several meters.

The knife that William was carrying fell when his body hit the wooden fence of the house until it shattered. He coughed from the pain in his chest. Instantly, fresh blood came out of his mouth, soaking the ground covered with dry leaves. William wasn't sure whether God would still allow him to live if the person in front of him now deserved to be called a devil.

Before Blake wanted to end William's life, suddenly, someone came and hit him from the right side, making his burly body stagger and fall. Without warning, the man landed another punch, then threw Blake's body so quickly that it hit the trunk of a redwood tree.

The two red irises were shocked when they saw the figure of a young man with brown hair, looking wide and panting. Blake raised an eyebrow and said, "Do you want to kill me?"

Blake got up while cleaning his slightly dirty clothes. However, suddenly, his heart was stabbed by William's silver knife, making the man scream in pain.

"Leave him alone, Blake," Liam hissed sarcastically, looking the vampire in the eyes without fear.

Blake could only stare at Liam, his chest hurting badly from the silver knife. The pain spread so quickly through all his bones as if they were being crushed together.

"You can't kill me!" Blake exclaimed in such a hoarse voice that the veins in her neck were visible.

In the next second, Liam broke Blake's neck, making the man collapse and fall unconscious on the ground.

"I know," whispered Liam. "I just need to find a weapon that can kill you for good, Blake."

Then Liam carried William's unconscious body to Ethan's house. It was the only safe place for vampires. Liam hopes that William will still survive all the injuries he has received.

###

"Fed!" Liam shouted, echoing the Whakarewarewa forest's edge as he ran carrying William's body. “Open the fence!”

"Liam!" Fed exclaimed while still sitting with Aaron on the terrace. She ran to the wooden fence and opened it with all her might. Immediately, her eyes widened when she saw William covered in wounds. "Oh, my God, William! What happened? Is he---"

"No!" Liam interrupted. "He just fainted. Maybe." Liam was doubtful; he didn't even know whether William was still breathing.

"Bring him inside, Fed!" Aaron ordered as he approached William's body. "Let me carry it," he said to Liam.

Liam nodded, and as he was about to step into the terrace of the wolf clan's house. Ethan and his six older siblings stood like houseguards with alert eyes. However, the next second, Ethan approached Liam with quick movements and beat the vampire quite hard. Liam's body flew several meters back, hitting the wooden fence of the house leaving a gaping hole. Liam got up with blood seeping from the corner of his mouth.

A fight was inevitable; both men landed blows on each other. Liam punched Ethan in the stomach, who responded with a kick that hit his left thigh. He fell to his knees while Ethan coughed in pain. Liam's eyes glowed red, making Ethan change his form into a gray wolf with quite a loud bark.

Ethan's brother cheered as if it was the most incredible spectacle. After all, this is their territory where, if a vampire enters, they get ready to be killed. They also hoped that Ethan would kill Liam because he dared to enter an area that was supposed to be forbidden for the vampire clan.

Federica ran and stood between the two creatures, stretching out her arms to break up the fight for no reason. She glared at Ethan. The wolf growled, showing its fangs; the dark gray fur stood up as if Federica was an enemy.

"I know you're angry with me and hate Liam. But please, this is not the time to kill each other!" Federica shouted, breaking the silence of the night in the forest.

Ethan remained silent, locking Federica's irises, which were starting to be hit by the moonlight between the leaves. The wolf looked away and returned to its original form; his hair now looked messy, his eyes were sharper than when he wore glasses, and his broad chest and flat stomach looked so perfectly sculpted. Ethan, leaving only his shorts hanging off his hips, stepped closer to Federica barefoot.

"Ethan..." Federica called in a low voice, seeing Ethan's face filled with anger.

"Just keep defending him, Fed!" Ethan snapped. “He's a vampire! What's wrong with you, hah!"

"He has nothing to do with me, Ethan!" Liam shouted, grabbing Federica's right arm and protecting the girl behind him. "I'm just helping William; Blake almost killed him!"

"Tch! That's just your trick!" Ethan growled, approaching Liam and glaring at the man as if he wanted to pounce on him. "Let's see how far you can cover up your rottenness!"