Liam still looked unconvinced.

He rubbed his cheek thoughtfully as Danil’s explanation replayed in his head.

They were born that way.

Not infected.

Not bitten.

Not cursed under a full moon.

Born.

"So let me get this straight," Liam said after a while, turning back toward Danil. "Does that mean a werewolf has to mate with another werewolf to give birth to a werewolf?"

Danil shook his head immediately.

"Not necessarily," he explained. "As long as one of the parents is a werewolf, the child will inherit it. It doesn’t matter whether it’s the mother or the father."

Liam finally felt like one of the pieces in his head clicked into place.

"Oh."

He nodded slowly before another thought entered his mind.

"And if I had to guess..." he said, glancing toward Danil. "In Tatiana’s case, her mother was the werewolf?"

Danil’s expression changed.

The easy smile on his face faded slightly, replaced by something quieter.

"Yeah."

His answer came solemnly.

"It was her mother."

Liam noticed the shift immediately but remained silent, allowing him to continue.

"Tatiana’s mother was killed by vampires when she was still young," Danil said quietly. "Then a few years later, her father was murdered too."

He lowered his gaze for a second before looking back up.

"She had it real hard."

Liam remained silent.

For once, there wasn’t some witty response waiting on the tip of his tongue.

His thoughts drifted toward the beautiful red-haired woman who blushed whenever he smiled at her, who baked cookies with painstaking care just because she wanted him to enjoy them.

The same woman had lost both parents.

The same woman had spent years carrying grief alone.

He finally nodded.

"I understand how you guys work now."

Danil smiled faintly.

"Good."

Liam raised a hand and patted the younger werewolf on the shoulder.

"See you in a month’s time."

Danil frowned instantly.

"A month?"

But Liam offered no explanation.

He simply clasped his hands behind his back and started walking away through the factory, his pace relaxed.

In one month.

That was when they would leave.

Leave this world.

Travel through a portal into another galaxy toward a place nobody understood.

A place powerful enough to possibly contain the answer to defeating the Ancient One.

A place Mary herself admitted they might never return from.

Was Liam bothered?

Not really.

There wasn’t even a trace of fear inside him.

He honestly believed it took more than luck to kill him.

No.

If there was one thing that genuinely bothered him, it was something else entirely.

His girls.

Vanessa.

Lilith.

Ann.

Kelly.

Lana.

The people waiting for him.

If he stayed there for too long...

He would miss them.

A lot.

But then a grin slowly stretched across his face.

Thirty days.

He still had thirty whole days.

Thirty good days to spend with the people he loved before stepping into another world.

His smile immediately became cheeky.

"Not bad," he muttered to himself.

With his hands still behind his back, Liam left the factory.

...

Back at the hotel, Kelly was having the most peaceful evening she’d had in days.

Music videos played on her phone as she lounged comfortably on the bed.

Every now and then, she’d sing along to the lyrics without caring whether she sounded good or not.

Her skin practically glowed beneath the warm hotel lighting, contrasting beautifully against the oversized nightgown draped over her curvaceous frame. Her long dark hair fell around her shoulders in soft waves as she relaxed against the pillows, one bare leg tucked beneath the other.

The glass door leading to the balcony had been left completely open.

Fresh evening air drifted into the room.

The curtains swayed lazily.

Meanwhile, Kelly absentmindedly played with a piece of earth floating above her palm.

The small chunk of stone twisted and shifted under her control.

First becoming a cube.

Then a tiny bird.

Then a flower.

Then a miniature version of a dog.

Her powers had become second nature.

She wasn’t even concentrating.

The earth obeyed her effortlessly.

A smile spread across her face as she continued singing along with the music.

Then suddenly...

Something changed.

The wind current entering through the open balcony intensified.

The curtains snapped violently.

Kelly froze.

Her smile disappeared instantly.

survival instincts kicked in before conscious thought could catch up.

Someone was entering.

Without hesitation, the floating earth compressed violently.

The tiny sculpture collapsed inward.

Denser.

Harder.

Heavier.

Within a split second, a solid earth ball roughly the size of a baseball formed in her hand.

She spun toward the balcony.

A figure had just flown inside.

Kelly didn’t think.

She reacted.

The earth projectile shot forward like a cannonball.

Meanwhile...

Liam had entered with the biggest grin on his face.

He had planned everything perfectly.

Fly through the balcony.

Sneak into the room.

Surprise Kelly.

Maybe scare her a little.

Then enjoy the way she’d pout before hugging him.

Simple.

Unfortunately...

He forgot one tiny detail.

Kelly was not normal.

Bang!

The compressed earth ball smashed directly into the center of Liam’s forehead.

"Oof!"

A painful muffled sound escaped him.

His entire head snapped backward.

His body wobbled in midair before gravity finally remembered it existed.

He crashed onto the carpet with absolutely zero dignity.

Kelly’s eyes widened.

The earth around her hand immediately crumbled apart.

Her mouth slowly fell open.

She stared at the man sprawled on the floor.

Then she blinked.

Then blinked again.

"...Liam?"

Liam slowly raised his head.

He looked genuinely offended.

"...Kelly."

"Oh my God!"

The color drained from Kelly’s face.

She scrambled off the bed so quickly she nearly tripped over the edge of her nightgown.

"I’M SORRY!"

She rushed toward him in panic.

"I thought it was someone else!"

Liam sat there on the floor, one hand pressed against the middle of his forehead.

"You threw a rock at me."

"It wasn’t a rock!"

"It was absolutely a rock."

"It was defensive earth manipulation!"

"You hit me with defensive earth manipulation."

Kelly dropped beside him immediately, guilt written all over her face as she reached toward his head.

"Oh my God, does it hurt? Are you okay? Let me see."

Liam looked at her for a few seconds.

Then he sighed dramatically.

"...I came here to surprise my girlfriend."

He pointed accusingly at his forehead.

"And instead, I got assaulted."

Kelly looked like she wanted the floor to swallow her whole.