Selene, nestled in the passenger seat of Raja's quirky Vayu Putra, suddenly snapped, "Stop the car!"
Raja slammed the brakes, tires squealing on London's outskirts. "What's up, moon goddess?" he asked.
Selene's eyes flicked to the horizon. "Sun's up in three hours. I… don't want to go back to the mansion." Her voice was heavy, the weight of Viktor's betrayal still raw and Coven Response for leaving Victor to the enemy.
Raja nodded, no questions asked, and veered toward a shipyard safe house—a rusty container that looked like a tetanus trap.
Selene raised an eyebrow, skeptical, but followed him inside. Her jaw dropped: the container was enchanted with expansion magic, a sprawling penthouse with a kitchen, bathroom, hall with 24/7 Wi-Fi, armory, medic room, library, and a cozy bedroom. "This is unreal!"
she gasped. "We're in a container, right? What sorcery is this?"
Raja grinned, planting a kiss on her lips. "Welcome to the mystic life, love. Told you I'm a mystic hunter—you were too busy ogling my abs to listen. Freshen up, I'll whip up some Blood cocktail before you Day sleep."
Selene, still reeling, headed to the bathroom and freshens up, emerging in a bathrobe, her pale skin glowing. Opening the bedroom door, she froze—Raja was stripping, his chiseled demon-back muscles flexing, abs carved like a Greek statue.
Her mate bond tingled like a fire alarm. Raja, feeling it too, turned, eyes widening as Selene dropped her robe, revealing her divine curves. She sauntered over, hands tracing his muscles, need sparking between them.
Raja's brain short-circuited, and he kissed her fiercely. The bedroom door shut, leaving only gasps and moans echoing outside.
That evening, Selene woke, finding Raja in the kitchen, flipping pancakes like a pro. She plopped onto the sofa, watching him with a mix of awe and envy.
He slid her a chilled blood pack and dug into his steaming plate.
MAYA: "Master, you've turned a safe house into a rom-com set!"
Sipping, Selene sighed, "If I were human, I could taste food, walk in sunlight, hit the beach."
Raja chuckled, "Human perks come with downsides—disease, hunger, death. Vampires? Blood's your fix—boom, immortality. And sunlight? Who says you can't stroll under it?"
Selene blinked, confused. "Vampires burn to crisp, even elders fear the sun!"
Raja smirked, "Elders, sure. But a Vampire Queen? Different story. Patience, goddess."
Selene, curious about this "Vampire Queen" bit, held off, trusting Raja's cryptic tease.
Refreshed, they hopped into Vayu Putra and sped to the mansion, only to find it a smoldering ruin—rubble, twisted steel, and eerie silence.
Raja's eyes blazed; he Teleported into the wreckage, scanning with Telepathy.
"Erica!" he shouted, sensing her under a collapsed pillar, a steel rod impaling her back. Unleashing Telekinesis, he made rubble float like a sci-fi spectacle, shocking Selene.
"How's he doing that?" she muttered. Raja lifted the pillar with one hand, gentle as a surgeon, and yelled, "Check Erica, I'm grabbing blood packs!"
Selene knelt by her friend, unconscious and blood-soaked.
Raja returned, pouring blood into Erica's mouth. She jolted awake, slurping the pack dry. Using 25% Brain power, Raja blocked her pain receptors, yanking the rod out in a swift move, leaving Selene and Erica gaping.
"Oy, Erica, drink fast—pain's coming," Raja quipped.
Half an hour later, he released her pain block, and Erica unleashed a torrent of curses, clutching her back.
They bundled her into Vayu Putra and peeled out.
Selene, driving, demanded, "Erica, what happened? Who hit the coven?"
Erica, wincing, spilled: "After you and the Death Dealers left, Amelia and the coven waited for your win. Then we lost contact with the team, and Kraven showed up."
Flashback, 15 hours earlier: Soren, Kraven's loyal lapdog, survived Raja's train blast by draining a stray human. At the Lycan den, he found Kraven dangling, bleeding, near death. Cutting him free, Soren fed him a blood pack, and Kraven roared back to life.
Meanwhile, Lucian, savoring his revenge, had tied Viktor to a cross, impaling it where dawn's first rays would hit, mirroring Sonja and their unborn child's death.
Viktor bled, cursing. Kraven stormed in, shot Lucian's head, and kicked his corpse, sneering, "You said I'm nothing without you? Look at you, dead dog. I'm Kraven, emperor!"
Viktor, spying hope, rasped, "Free me, Kraven. I'll clear your traitor status, hail you as Lucian's killer!"
Kraven had Soren cut Viktor's binds, then—twist—hoisted Viktor's half-body onto pavement, drawing his sword. "Kraven, what—?"
Viktor gasped, but Kraven beheaded him, execution-style, snatching the head and marching to the mansion to seize the coven.
Kraven rallied his sleeper cell followers, storming the mansion. The remaining Death Dealers aimed at him, ready to fire.
Amelia, furious, spat, "Traitor, you dare return? I'll gift your head to Viktor!"
Kraven smirked, "Speaking of heads and Viktor…"
Soren tossed him a bag; Kraven flung Viktor's head at Amelia's feet.
She recoiled, enraged, ordering, "Shoot!"
But the Dealers turned, gunning down Amelia's guards, aiming at her. Betrayed, Amelia roared as Kraven unloaded a magazine of UV rounds into her, leaving her to burn. He headed to the tombs to kill Elder Marcus, sealing his rule.
At Marcus's tomb, Kraven found the casket forced open, a dead Lycan—killed by Viktor—its blood seeping in, awakening Marcus.
A winged, bat-like humanoid with bladed wings, Marcus shredded Kraven's guards, then impaled Kraven to the wall.
"Your treachery knows no bounds," Marcus hissed, reading the Lycan scientist's blood memories.
Kraven pleaded, "I can explain!"
Marcus sneered, "Why hear lies when blood tells the truth?"
He bit Kraven, drank his memories, and killed him.
End flashback: Erica finished, "Kraven tossed Viktor's head, killed Amelia, but Marcus woke, slaughtered everyone, and flew off."
Raja, stunned, pressed, "Where're the bodies? Not all burned!"
Erica, dazed, mumbled, "Don't remember after the pillar fell."
Raja's evil grin spread. "Buckle up, ladies—we're road-raging to the Lycan den."
Vayu Putra roared to the den, but it was pristine—no bodies, bullets, or war signs, like a magical cleanup.
Selene gaped, "This is impossible! Covered up in 12 hours? Who—"
Raja smirked, "Good ol' man, cleaning up his sons' messes." He strolled off, cryptic as ever.
Selene and Erica, baffled, exchanged looks and hurried after him, questions burning.
MAYA: "Master, you're dropping plot twists like confetti!"
To Be Continued…