Soon afterward, Alex and Mary arrived and disposed of the alpha's body. I made sure to send them to the pack's camp to wipe out every last member, so there would be no foolish attempt at revenge.
Alex is a first‑generation vampire turned by me. He is immune to werewolf venom except that of alphas, and a stake cannot kill him. Even though he was turned recently, I chose him precisely because his spiritual power is stronger than that of ordinary humans. That power does not boost his physical strength, but it manifests in the mystical realm. He is highly skilled at telepathy, illusions, and compulsion, and all his mental abilities surpass those of vampires with weaker spiritual gifts.
Mary is also very talented. Unfortunately, she is a squib, so she cannot use magic without a wand and has never killed anyone. She still needs to learn to deal with taking a life. This seemed like the perfect chance for her to shed her metaphorical humanity and become something more dangerous.
I — Klaus — had given Alex the order to spare children and pregnant women.
As a squib, no matter how absurdly gifted she is — and she is one of the most powerful witches Klaus's memories have ever known — she has a major limitation: squibs cannot wield magic without a wand. That will always put her at a disadvantage, even against far less talented witches with weaker magical power. It is therefore necessary for Mary to overcome this barrier through ruthless resolve and cunning when facing powerful enemies who will not give her time to think.
But enough of that. I still need to figure out what to do with Jeremy and Elena, who saw what happened.
Third‑person POV
"Alex… they're over there," Mary said, pointing as she walked toward the forest clearing. "There are women and children."
"I see…" Alex sighed and stepped forward. "Spare the pregnant women and the children… I will sort things out with Nik later."
"But…" Mary trembled in fear. "No — if he punishes you, I don't want to lose you."
She reached out and hugged Alex, shaken.
"We're going to kill those people?" Mary stared at him, eyes wide with fear and regret.
Alex gave a faint smile and tapped her forehead.
"Don't be silly," he replied. "You've never killed anyone… Worse still, killing pregnant women and children carries heavy moral and spiritual consequences. Don't be foolish."
"Listen — there's a blond man over there. He's the strongest one in the camp." He glanced toward the trees. "You go in, looking distressed. That kind of wolf lets pretty women get close. Put a curse on him and cast a spell to break his neck. Remember: werewolves' magical resistance is comparable to that of vampires. Once you take him out, I'll move in and finish the rest."
"M‑mhm…" Mary nodded nervously. "Are you sure you can handle all the others?"
"I'm sure," Alex answered confidently. "Only that beta can put up a real fight. Looks like the alpha didn't tolerate any competition."
Third‑person POV
Inside the werewolf camp, the acting beta paced back and forth.
The alpha had not returned. He wanted to leave this place — the whole city reeked of vampires. Unlike the alpha, the beta could only use his full strength during a full moon.
"Help!"
A woman's cry reached his ears. He turned and saw a beautiful girl stumble out of the underbrush, her hair messy.
"Help me! Something attacked me!" She ran toward the center of the camp. Several men moved forward, but the beta got there first.
"Stop. The rest of you, get back," he ordered. The others growled but stepped away. "Come here. I'll help you. It's all right."
He pulled her close to calm her down, keeping an eye on the rest of the pack.
The alpha had claimed every attractive young woman for himself, leaving the other men restless. They were never allowed normal lives outside the pack — no school, no socializing. The beta had his own intentions toward the girl, but he planned to send her away quickly before the alpha could take her too.
"Come with me." He guided her by the waist to his tent and offered her water and a place to sit. "Where do you come from? What happened?"
"I was in the woods with my boyfriend," she sobbed, curling up. "Something attacked us. It moved so fast… he got pinned to a tree and died."
"A vampire…" the beta whispered. Seeing his chance, he hugged her again. "Don't be afraid. There are many of us here. We'll protect you."
His hand slipped to her waist — and then he felt something sharp pressed against him.
"Thank you…" The girl smiled, her eyes glistening. "And I'm sorry… Crucio."
"Aaaaaah!" The wolf writhed in pain, his eyes turning yellow with rage. "You… you witch!"
He shouted, but her wand was already pointed at his face.
"Vacuum…" Mary whispered. A blast of compressed air shot from the tip of her wand, hit him square in the face, mangling his features and throwing him backward.
"Aaaaaah!" He did not die instantly. "I'll kill you! I'll make you beg to die!"
He staggered to his feet. Mary stepped back, terrified, gasping for breath.
No, I cannot back down. I have to kill him.
Memories of her defense lessons with Alex flashed through her mind as the wounded wolf charged. He was fast, but blinded by pain and fury. She dodged to the ground, rolled out of his path, and aimed her wand.
"Incendio!" she yelled. A ball of fire struck him full in the face, setting his whole body ablaze.
"Aaaaaah!" He thrashed about until his strength gave out and he collapsed, dead.
"Hah…" Mary sat on the ground, hands over her face, crying. "I'm sorry… I'm so sorry…"
Outside, shouts, roars, and pleas for mercy echoed — the sounds of a massacre. Mary kept crying, blocking it all out.
Then another wolf burst into the tent.
"Marco… This is your fault!" he snarled, eyes turning yellow. "I'll make you beg to die!"
He lunged. Mary glanced sideways at him, tear‑stained and numb. She looked at her wand, then at the ground.
There was no time. She deserved to die, she thought, and let herself surrender to fate.
But the wolf never reached her. He dropped dead at her feet. Behind him stood Alex, covered in blood, having torn out his heart.
"What are you doing?" Alex knelt beside her, alarmed to see her unresponsive and weeping.
"I'm sorry… I'm sorry…" Mary kept repeating in a daze.
"Please, come back to yourself," he said, pulling her into his arms. "You have to wake up, Mary."
"I'm sorry…" she sobbed on.
Alex sighed and held her tighter.
"Please come back," he whispered in her ear. "I love you. Please come back to me."
"What did you say?" Her voice was faint, her body tensing up.
"Please come back," he repeated, not realizing what she wanted.
"The other part," she murmured tearfully.
"I love you?" he said, confused. Mary turned toward him, smiling through her tears.
"At last…" She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him. "I love you too. I love you!"
She kept kissing him and made a face at the metallic taste of blood, but did not stop — until Alex pulled away.
"I'm covered in blood, you fool!" he nearly shouted. "If any of these creatures had some kind of‑"
Before he could finish, Mary's head fell against his shoulder. His vampire hearing caught the soft sound of her snoring. She had fainted; the shock and overwhelming emotion had drained her completely.
Alex smiled, lifted her in his arms, and turned to leave — but not before glancing at the pregnant she‑wolves and small children huddled together. They were teenagers, old enough for school or college, not for this.
"You are under Nik Summers's protection," Alex told them, looking each in the eye. "By his order, you will be allowed to go to school and live in service at the Summers house. I don't think I need to spell out what happens if you run away — anything is better than being used for pleasure."
The girls looked away sadly, ashamed.
"Do not be ashamed," Alex said gently. "It is not your fault that your kind can be so cruel to its own."
It was not a full lie — but not the whole truth either. Most packs never had an alpha with that level of power; many wolves did not even know that being an alpha was an ability, not just a title. Most alphas were nowhere near as terrible as this one.
"Stay seated. Listen carefully: you were kidnapped and abused by a human‑trafficking gang. The criminals were attacked and killed by some wild animal in the woods."
They sat down as told. Alex pulled out his phone and called the police.
Before long, Sheriff Forbes arrived. She bit her lip as she took statements from the survivors and leaned against a tree, furious.
"Ma'am, what should we do?" an officer approached her, staring at the bodies. "That was definitely no animal."
"Some of them look just like my daughter," the sheriff said angrily. "They have no family — young pregnant teens and little children… John, it's obviously vampire work. But for once, these monsters did something good. We're going to say it was an animal. Don't tell the council."
"What do we do with them?" the officer asked doubtfully. "Our city doesn't have enough support services for fifteen young women and ten small children."
"Let's see if someone wealthy here can help," she sighed. "Jenna Sommers's husband, Nik. I've heard he runs a youth‑aid project… Honestly, I'm almost sure it's money laundering, but he took Grayson's seat on the town council. There's nothing we can do."
In the end, all the survivors and children were placed under Klaus's protection — exactly as he had planned from the start.