Falson met with the hunter houses, who were instantly relieved, informing him about the conclusion they had also come to.
"We also intended to ask Lady Aira to get the vial!" the three leaders of the hunter houses told Falson, who calmly nodded his head.
"...you’re yet to reach out?" he asked, even as they all shook their heads in response.
"Her sister is still missing. Clearly, she wouldn’t even care about responding to her request until her sister is found," Lord Elvane pointed out.
Lord Dargen nodded his head as he added to what was being said.
"...the only thing we can do is help her look for her sister. Finding her would also help us, since she’ll look more favorable at us!"
Arun Duskbane, Aira’s uncle, slowly nodded his head as he seriously agreed.
Unlike the other reasons the hunter house lords had given, his main reason for finding Liora was to ensure that he would be able to get the secret to her ability from her.
His greed in that aspect knew no bounds as he recalled how swift her attack had been—how she hadn’t even needed to lift a hand.
"We need to find her!" he added with a severe expression on his face as he spoke, which all of them seemed to wordlessly agree to.
Falson spoke with them for only a bit longer before he turned around to leave. It was clear that they had already made their decision.
Moreover, he also had a couple of other things that he had to do before his job for the day was over.
Heading out of the villa the meeting had taken place in, Gregory walked right behind him, whom he spoke to in a low tone.
"Have the guards been paid?" he asked in a stifled voice, even as Gregory responded in an even lower one.
"Yes," he replied, making sure not to add a ’Lord’, considering they were in public and had no idea who could be listening in on their conversation.
The severity of Falson’s expression said a lot about whatever he was planning—for why the guards needed to be paid.
"We’ll attack tonight! Ensure that the mercenaries are paid even more than usual!" he added, confident in the plan, but still unable to help the worry gnawing at him.
The king was going to be there. Clara. Himself. Gregory.
But still, when it came to dealing with vampire royalty, Falson couldn’t help but feel anxious.
An anxiety that bordered on worry as he continued to speak to Gregory, who nodded his head while listening. They slowly confirmed that all was well without outrightly speaking directly, ensuring that their plans had no chance of being overheard.
The sun was already shining in the sky, yet they still had their hoods over their faces like most vampires would, covering up to ensure they were not touched by the sun.
The last thing Falson wanted was for someone to identify his face, which would completely mess up their imminent plan.
It wasn’t until they got back to the inn that he slowly began to relax, heading straight to his room as he left Gregory outside and closed the door behind him.
Alone, he couldn’t help but wipe the bit of sweat that had pooled on his forehead. Nor could he ignore the fear that had slowly crept into his soul.
If something went wrong, he was under no delusion that the Alpha and the Luna wouldn’t make it out.
He was well aware that he and Gregory would be nothing but collateral.
Whispering under his breath as he took off his hood and cloak, he groaned quietly.
I hate my luck!
Wondering why he had to be the one called upon out of all the other council members, he exhaled sharply.
The first plan was for the break-in to be carried out during the day, compared to nighttime when vampires were more active. But barely had the plan been agreed on when it was scrapped.
Especially since daytime had far more people paying attention than nighttime—when the guards could simply disappear.
Late at night, everyone got dressed in the black uniforms that vampire guards usually wore, including Jared, who seemed to be the odd one out with the cloak draped around his shoulders before heading out.
They walked as a collective and at a steady pace as they made their way toward the dungeons where Zyren’s brother and mother were being kept.
The goal was to rescue them—something none of them showed outright fear toward, apart from the glints of worry that sometimes flashed in their eyes.
A lot could go wrong, and even more if they were caught by Zyren, who was the only one that truly mattered.
Still, they walked on, making sure that the streets were empty, even going as far as to walk separately so as not to draw attention to themselves.
Basically, half the guards were paid off while the other half were quickly gotten rid of as efficiently as possible.
Vampires’ sight in the night was exceptional, which meant they had to move faster than the guards could react after pretending to be one of them.
It didn’t take too long for them to unlock the dungeon and enter, walking down the stairs as a group of four and heading straight for the cells.
It was extremely dark, with only a couple of lights along the walls that prevented others from falling as they walked.
Jared and Clara stayed back, while Falson and Gregory had no choice but to move forward with the mercenaries they had hired walking ahead of them.
Their hearts pounded hard as they approached the farthest cell as a group.
Deep frowns and severe expressions were present even on the faces of the men who had been hired and paid for the job.
Still, the money they received was big enough for them to decide not to let their fear take over—even if they knew who was in the cell.
Each of them were vampires, and they simply assumed that the four people they worked for—three men and a woman—were human hunters trying to cause trouble for Zyren.
They had just gotten to the cell when a low chuckle reverberated through it, coming straight from the darkest portion.
One of the mercenaries instantly raised a lamp high into the air, allowing them to see a bony figure that seemed to be made of nothing but skin and bones.
His hair was long, reaching all the way to the ground, matted in a way that showed it hadn’t been properly cared for in a very long time.
His eyes were still blood-red, carrying a tinge of cruelty that couldn’t be ignored as he raised his head and looked at all of them as a collective.
There was a hint of madness in his gaze as he spoke.
"...who knew this day would come," he whispered, his voice low but still loud enough to be heard.
Meanwhile, the mercenaries didn’t so much as pause, already forcefully unlocking the cells as fast as they could.
The last thing they wanted was for someone to notice that something was wrong and call for backup.
Even worse—Zyren showing up.
Soon, the cells were forced open, even as the man was completely ignored. Jared ordered that the woman be catered to first as she lay on the ground in an even worse state than the man.
A few humans had been brought along, tied up with looks of pure horror in their eyes as they wanted nothing more than to dash away and run.
But clearly, they couldn’t.
They were pushed forward and into the cell. One of the mercenaries even went ahead to slash their throats, allowing fresh blood to pour out as he threw the boy toward the woman—who latched on like a starving child.
The woman didn’t hesitate, sucking vigorously, while the man scrambled to his feet to do the same, a sly look spreading across his face.
Two humans weren’t enough, and they fed on two more.
The result of the feeding session was obvious as flesh slowly grew over bone, and they no longer looked like they would break at the slightest touch.
"...satisfying!" the man bellowed with a grin, even as the woman simply wrapped her arms around her head, staring up in a daze, muttering names under her breath.
Her eyes glancing back and forth without focusing on anything in particular.
It was clear to the four werewolves that her mind wasn’t all that stable—and they didn’t need it to be, as long as she could fight.
But barely had they beckoned for everyone to pull out and leave so that they might reconvene elsewhere—
When the man who was Zyren’s elder brother moved.
Dashing over to the woman who was his mother, he tore into her throat before any of them could mutter a word—or before the woman herself could react.
It was Feral.