"Am I allowed in?" A knock rapped on the office door, calling Shelbrooke's attention back to reality.

He exhaled as he looked around the room, a deep cut scar on his arm which he covered in a bandage. He swirled a black pen in his hand, thinking back and forth about Lyne. She has gotten her Wolf and worse, became stronger.

"Come in," Shelbrooke muttered and his man walked in, wearing a black jacket and black pants. 

He bowed slightly but paused when his gaze moved towards his arm.

"Who did that to you?" He pointed towards the bandage.

"This?" Shelbrooke lifted it as if he didn't know what he was talking about. "Ah! Well, the Princess of Vampir...I mean, Princess Lyne. She has her Wolf."

"What?!" Reyns sat down on a chair before Shelbrooke, suddenly looking drained. "How? Didn't the rumors say that she was pure human?"

"I guess rumors lie sometimes."

"No, they lie many times. Now that she has her Wolf, she is fighting for Zeidan?"

Shelbrooke licked his lips and sat up. "I guess so. That bitch, Lyne, is stronger than a rock. I have never seen anything like it. But then, I didn't know why or how Zeidan was so weak when I was fighting him."

"He was?"

"Yeah, I could swing him around in my arms without any effort. Strange!" 

"He could be pretending. For all we know, the King of Vampire City is smart. Perhaps that's what he wants you to think. That he is weak so that you can attack without so much a strategy and then you can go head-on against his strong army and be defeated." Reyns analyzed, expression thoughtful. 

There was silence for a while before Shelbrooke spoke up. 

"How're you doing with the men?"

"We lost a great number of men. All thanks to the Wolves."

He exhaled. He should have known when Zeidan had gone to meet Styx to join hands with him, that he was in trouble. His city is in trouble. 

"Should we lay low?"

"No. We have to look for something to do, like recruit more men!" Shelbrooke opened his drawer, furiously in search of his cigarette box but it was empty. He patted his pockets too.

"The men are hesitating. They don't wanna join the army especially as they heard that the Wolves were involved." Reyns explained and the search stopped.

"I don't care. Force them. Do something, whether to push them to the field or...I don't know." He couldn't concentrate especially with the number of thoughts running around his mind and not finding the only thing that could ease him.

"It won't be easy." 

Shelbrooke shot him a glance, fixing him a glare as he slowly closed the drawer.

"I didn't say it would. I just said I want it done!" 

"Okay, sir." He made to stand up but sat down back, looking at his master.

"Luana..."

Shelbrooke's spinning head paused, and he frowned, remembering Luana and the fact that she was supposed to be with them during the war. 

"That's true. Where was Luana during the war?"

"She told me that you asked her to go put Zeidan in a particular room so that you can come to grab him later. But now, you're saying you didn't see her at all during the war..."

"I didn't see her on the field or anywhere. How could I have..." Shelbrooke lifted his eyes and slapped his face in disappointment. "We have been tricked."

"I don't think so. She manhandled him when I saw them. She is probably trapped in Vampire City right now."

"But why lie against me?" 

Reyns mumbled and tried hard to construct a sentence. "I...maybe, um, I'm thinking er..." He sighed. "She is probably doing it so that Zeidan would think she was forced and might forgive her later in the future and we can gain access." 

He looked at his blonde-haired man shaking his head as he explained but his explanations sounded lame. Zeidan can't be that stupid. 

"Don't make the King of Vampire City sound like a clown. It is probably a planned work. I want you, Reyns, to keep watch over her, all the time. Okay?"

"Okay."

"I'll make sure I kill her with my bare hands if she turns out to be a backstabber." He roared, fists clenched.

"And Chloe?" 

The brunette with pretty eyes and a beautiful body. They had been working for a long time but right now he knows that she is letting her emotions get in the way. 

"Finish her."

"She has proven to be quite a useful asset to us. Are you sure..."

"Finish her!" Shelbrooke thundered. "I don't care if she is a good asset or not. She has been useless to us. Fighting one war for years and you think I have the patience?!"

"Without Chloe, we wouldn't be able to gain entrance into the city. If we place our hopes on Luana, I'm sure, she'll betray us. Chloe is the only surest person right now."

He thought about it for a while, partly agreeing with his point of view. 

"She used to be until she met Lyne. That girl has been feeding everyone with her love spell since she arrived. First Zeidan and then Chloe."

"Chloe thinks protecting her baby is the best but we can't be too sure that the baby won't grow up to hate us and come back to haunt us."

"Exactly. Both mother and child and Chloe should be assassinated." 

The wind softly hit the window panes, howling lowly.

"Alright. When do you want that done?" Reyns started to rise.

"After the attack. Even if Chloe helps us, make sure she is killed. Then we can go after Lyne."

Reyns nodded and moved outside.

"Also," he paused. "Have Gorge get a pack of cigarettes. I'm going to run crazy without it."

With that, Shelbrooke rested his head against his executive chair and closed his eyes while releasing an exhausted breath. He remembered during the war how Lyne had pounded on him before he could blink twice. Her weight on him was like three big sacks of potatoes wrapped together and thrown on his chest. She was exceptionally strong. But how?

Styx didn't mention it. He didn't throw a party. Does that mean she has had her wolf since birth and her father was just trying to protect her by lying to everyone that she doesn't have a wolf? Whatever it is, Lyne had turned out as a strong contender who should be added to his list of powerful enemies that should be targeted. He rose and went to the wall adjacent to his table with his pen, one hand pinning the white sheet of paper sticking to the wall that seemed colorless in the almost dark room.

He clicked his pen and wrote Lyne's name on top of Zeidan's, as his number one target.

"You sent for me sir?"

He heard Gorge's voice behind him and he rolled his eyes. What a fool!

"No, I sent for your head to be delivered. Where the heck is my pack of cigarettes?"

"That's what I brought, your Highness."

"Then drop it and leave."

When he was sure Gorge had moved out, he unwrapped the bandage on his forearm, revealing a rotting wound he had sustained during his fight against Lyne. 

"Lyne!"