- I’m nervous, she’s been gone too long. - Adeline was biting her thumbnail, pacing from side to side. The waiting was too painful and even Klaus couldn’t relieve the tension.

- She said to trust her and wait. That’s exactly what we’re going to do. We’re not in a position to try to attack a castle full of vampires without some kind of plan. - Carrick replied calmly.

They set up camp not far from the walls of the labyrinth, being at a sufficient distance, as Artemis demanded of them.

And although many people had a lot of questions, but no one had yet moved to follow her. Perhaps because there was not the slightest cry for help, which meant it could be assumed that she had everything under control.

It was the only thing that comforted everyone.

Adeline laughed out loud.

- In itself, coming here without a plan was a stupid idea. – She rapped out.

- We have Elven weapons, we can defend ourselves. - Sean exclaimed, pleased with the gift of the weapon.

- Except my friend went there completely unarmed. What’s the point of showing off a weapon if it won’t help her now?

- Stop it immediately! - Carrick’s loud shout, tinged with hoarseness, made everyone shut up, and after that he transformed, leaping forward like a gray–haired wolf, pushing aside the attacking vampire.

Caught off guard, stunned that they couldn’t hear the movement, the werewolves one by one took on wolf form, rushing into a deadly fight.

Klaus, with a more powerful physique and quick reflexes, was able to dodge several direct attacks and throw two vampires aside, covering Cornel and Carrick.

Adeline stood behind everyone, spreading a web of protective spells in the air. Just like the others, she was caught off guard, but quickly gathered herself when Klaus gave her a sign that he would divert the attention of the vampires to himself.

Rummaging in her bottomless purse, she took out magic crystals, throwing them around her so that no one could stop her from doing magic. It was her own protective circle.

Spells wouldn’t stop pouring out of her mouth as she tried to grab onto the rapidly shifting picture–whether to defend or attack.

Klaus maneuverably dodged the sharp claws that threatened to stick into his rib and then grabbed the vampire’s head, squeezing it in a death grip like an inflatable ball, to the limit, before a characteristic crunch was heard, and moist warm blood flowed from the vampire’s skull between the werewolf’s fingers, staining the long steel claws in bright scarlet.

His sharp gaze of alluring honey eyes caught a new target, which now hung on the back of the wolf Carrick, squeezing his chest so much that the wolf could only squirm, trying to throw off the enemy, and squeal in piercing pain.

Letting out a menacing long growl, exposing blade-sharp teeth oozing poisonous saliva, he attracted the attention of this vampire and in an instant rushed at him, colliding in a hard blow in the air, clinging to each other, tearing the vampire’s clothes. But he was too dodgy to be an easy target.

The vampire stubbornly repelled Klaus’ attacks, returning his blows with a vengeance. He grabbed the werewolf by the fur on its chest and lifted it into the air before forcefully throwing it and pressing it into the ground, causing a huge dent in it, as if someone had just dug this hole with a shovel.

Before Klaus could recover, the vampire lifted him into the air again and hit the ground with even more force, twisting and turning him several times, plunging sharp claws into his back, literally tearing out tufts of fur.

Adeline’s heart clenched for a moment, as if Klaus’s pain had passed through her through their bond, and all her spells had faltered, losing their power. She came out from under the protection of the crystals and rushed to the aid of her wolf, completely distraught.

As she moved forward, she didn’t stop throwing attacking spells at the vampire. If only it could help... But the vampire’s speed was too fast for her to injure him even a little.

The vampire rushed at her, leaving Klaus almost lifeless. Adeline was too easy a target to be dealt with in a matter of minutes.

At the moment when the vampire’s sharp claws touched the girl’s delicate cheek, leaving a shallow bleeding wound on it, Klaus appeared out of nowhere, twisting the vampire’s arm in the most dodgy form.

With his other hand, he plunged into the very center of his chest, grabbing the still beating warm heart. Until the venom from the werewolf’s claws caused that heart to stop, scattering the vampire’s body into sooty dust.

Adeline couldn’t hold back her tears and trembling excitedly, pressed her whole body into the fluffy fur of the wolf, inhaling its scent, thanking God that Klaus was alive.

Klaus couldn’t calm her down with words, but he was very angry at her at that moment because she had stepped out of protection and put her life in danger. He planned to distract the vampire by making him believe in his strength and superiority, but Adeline took it very differently. His stupid girl.

With a final sniff, Adeline reluctantly let him go, as the others needed help too. Sean was badly injured, and it seems that his paw was dislocated.

Cornel repelled the attacks of two vampires at once, and Carrick took on a third.

It would seem that the werewolves were outnumbered, but the remaining vampires were smarter and faster and stronger than the wounded and exhausted werewolves. But no one was going to surrender alive.

Adeline pursed her lips, trying to come up with a solution. She turned around looking for the Crown Prince, but to her horror, she couldn’t find him anywhere. It was as if he had disappeared in an instant. And only then did Adeline pay attention to the maze, so warmly inviting her to enter its fluffy green thickets.

She shook her head. She didn’t care about the prince if he decided to leave them.

Two more vampires were killed by joint efforts and coordinated actions, and only one remained, who was now surrounded on all sides by angry werewolves.

- We have your witch, - the vampire suddenly shouted, as if grabbing onto these words as a lifeline. - If you kill me, she’ll die too.

For a moment, everyone present felt a tremor in their veins. Could the vampire be bluffing?

- You may think I’m lying, but if I don’t come back, her sweet head is unlikely to remain whole with her body. It would be a pity, because she has such beautiful brown hair and such wonderful brown eyes. - He seemed to be mocking, pleased that he had managed to get the werewolves to stop attacking.

Adeline shook her head in disbelief, it was some kind of game that she refused to play, she refused to believe his words.

- Moreover, it seems that one of your people will soon become a pleasant memory when the remains of his body are eaten by our carnivorous vegetation.

The vampire’s gaze slanted maliciously towards the maze, because only he from those present could hear what was happening inside and it was creepy.

Adeline took a short step towards the maze, but the vampire’s voice cut her off again.

- I don’t advise you to do that. I’m sure the blood of a cute little witch will be more to the liking of this devilish creature. But, if you wish, you can certainly test this theory yourself. - He couldn’t help but laugh.

Cornel and Klaus growled at the same time and advanced menacingly on the vampire.

- Hey, hey... - he backed away, but fell into the crystal trap that Adeline had set earlier. – Fuck.