Ezra's body was thrown against the wall and then fell to the floor, bleeding from his mouth. His condition was so bad that he couldn't get up after Lucas's final attack.
Meanwhile, Lucas remained calm despite the slash wounds on his chest, which had stained his clothes a dark red with his blood.
"You made a mistake attacking me at night, Ezra. Come back another time," Lucas said, as if challenging him.
Ezra found it difficult to speak because he felt as if his bones were about to break. He was certain that all the power Lucas had obtained was because Grace had given her body to him. Everything would become even more dangerous if Grace were to give him her blood.
Lucas sat casually on the sofa, enjoying his drink. Lucas wasn't worried about Ezra's condition. But remembering that Ezra had the power to heal wounds, it was Lucas who should be concerned.
"Stay... away from Grace, Lu... Lucas!" Ezra tried to speak.
"So, you attacked me just because you wanted me to stay away from Grace?" Lucas asked.
A slight nod accompanied by a cough from Ezra made Lucas sigh softly.
"Fine, if that's what you want," Lucas said, defeated.
Ezra immediately looked at Lucas with a confused expression. He never thought Lucas would agree so quickly. Even so, Ezra wasn't easily fooled. Lucas could have other plans later on.
With great effort, Ezra crawled toward Lucas, who was still sitting on the sofa, ignoring Ezra's condition. He gripped Ezra's leg tightly with a threatening gaze.
"I'm serious... stay away from Grace," he stammered.
"I know." Lucas nodded firmly, his face looking very convincing that he would fulfill Ezra's request.
"Why did you agree so quickly?"
"I asked what you wanted, but you attacked me instead."
There was not the slightest desire to attack anyone; Lucas was merely responding to Ezra, who always wanted to resolve every issue through combat and never attempted to communicate first.
That bad habit made Lucas no longer surprised by Ezra's sudden attacks, and he might gradually be able to deflect Ezra's attacks with ease.
"Argh..." Ezra groaned in pain again.
"Why don't you use your healing power?" Lucas asked.
There was no response from Ezra, who began rolling around in pain. The blood flowing from his mouth didn't stop, though it wasn't flowing heavily.
Unable to bear seeing Ezra's condition, Lucas helped him to his feet and carried him to his room. Lucas couldn't help heal him because he didn't know much about wolves.
"What benefit do you gain by helping me?" Ezra asked as his body lay on Lucas's bed.
Lucas gave a small smile. It was an expression he rarely showed.
"I'm not seeking any benefit. Rest until you recover." Lucas pulled the blanket to cover Ezra's body.
Lucas stepped outside and looked out the window when he felt someone watching him. As he suspected, there were countless pairs of eyes on the roof of the building next to his apartment. All those eyes were glowing, emitting an unsettling energy toward Lucas.
The intense curiosity didn't prompt Lucas to go out and investigate who the source of that energy was. His decision not to return to the world of darkness after being expelled wouldn't change.
"Lucas, open the door!" someone shouted, banging on the door and ringing the bell repeatedly from outside.
Immediately, Lucas checked who was there. When he saw Grace outside, he quickly opened the door.
"Why did you come back here?" Lucas asked.
Instead of answering, Grace barged in without saying a word. For a moment, she stopped to look at Ezra's blood on the floor before entering Lucas's room, where Ezra was lying without saying a word.
Though confused, Lucas didn't ask many questions, thinking maybe Grace had come to pick up Ezra to leave with her. They were very close, and Grace might have been able to guess Ezra's whereabouts. So Lucas didn't suspect anything until he heard Ezra's screams from his room.
Lucas immediately entered the room, and it wasn't Grace he found. Instead, it was a vampire preparing to suck Ezra's blood.
"Who are you?!" Lucas pulled the vampire away from Ezra.
After seeing who had come and tried to attack Ezra, Lucas stood still, his body trembling. He was the leader of the vampires, Duke Lucien, who was so skilled in using his illusory powers that Lucas had mistaken him for Grace earlier.
"Long time no see, Lucas," Duke greeted him.
"Why are you here? Didn't you expel me from the world of darkness, Mr. Duke Lucien?" Lucas stood before Ezra, who was still in shock.
Ezra's eyes widened in shock when Lucas mentioned Duke Lucien's name. It was the only name that no werewolf was allowed to utter. They would be punished just for saying it.
The Duke smiled menacingly at Ezra, his eyes hungry for blood.
"Only Prince Thorn knows who the owner of the sacred blood is. I came to meet him." Duke pointed at Ezra with eyes blazing with anger.
Somehow, Duke knew about Ezra, the only one who knew about the owner of the sacred blood, so Duke himself came to meet Ezra. Ezra grew increasingly worried about Grace's safety in the future.
Lucas immediately glanced at Ezra. With his eyes, he seemed to ask, "What did you do to make Duke come here himself?"
Ezra just shrugged his shoulders, not knowing anything about it. This was the first time Ezra had seen Duke because he had only heard a little about him.
"Do you know who that is, Lucas?" Duke now asked Lucas.
"No."
"Impossible! You and Prince Thorn are friends."
"We're not friends. I just want to let him live." Lucas immediately denied the accusation of friendship between himself and Ezra.
"Alright, then I'll tell you." Duke once again used his illusory powers, causing Lucas and Ezra to see Grace's face.
Seeing that, Lucas couldn't say a word. He didn't fully believe the fact, but if it was true, Grace would truly become the target of all vampires, and Grace would never be able to escape if Duke captured her.
It was hard to believe, but Lucas turned to Ezra, and there was no sign of surprise on his face. Ezra looked serious, with both hands clenched.
This confirmed the truth that Grace was indeed the owner of the sacred blood.
Duke stepped closer to Lucas and placed his palm directly on Lucas's wounded chest. Within moments, the wound vanished. However, Lucas suddenly dropped to his knees, clutching his chest.
It felt like a knife was slicing through Lucas's heart for a moment before disappearing.
"I'm the one controlling that pain, Lucas. The pain will return if you don't drink human blood." Duke smiled slightly.
How cunning!
Duke himself had said that Lucas was no longer considered part of them, yet he still imposed such a painful punishment.
"And the only way to stop it is when you bring the woman with the sacred blood to me, Lucas," Duke said as he walked out.
"Oh, and your heart will shatter into dust if you don't bring the sacred blood by the night of the blood moon eclipse."