Tatiana was still carefully packing her basket, folding the cloth inside with a kind of quiet focus like she wanted everything to be perfect before she left. The cookies were already gone, but she still checked the container twice as if she didn’t trust reality to stay stable if she didn’t. Liam was sitting close by on the crate, relaxed in that usual way of his, one arm resting loosely while the other hung between his knees. The room felt calm in that short lived way it always did right before something important interrupted it.

That was when Irina walked in.

Mary was right behind her.

Irina’s steps were steady, controlled, like she already knew exactly what she was going to say and had no interest in debating it. Her eyes swept the room once, landing briefly on Tatiana, and she gave a small polite nod. Not cold, not warm either, just acknowledgement. Then her gaze shifted to Liam and stayed there a little longer.

"I need to talk to you," Irina said simply.

Liam blinked once and straightened slightly, immediately picking up on her tone. It wasn’t casual. It wasn’t one of those passing updates she usually dropped. This had weight behind it.

"What is it?" he asked.

Irina didn’t answer immediately. Her eyes flicked once around the space as if checking something unspoken.

"It’s important," she said after a moment. "I need to speak to you alone."

Liam leaned back a little, scanning the area as if only now realizing how quiet it had gotten.

"We are alone here," he said plainly.

Irina didn’t respond to that. Instead, her attention shifted toward Tatiana.

Tatiana had just closed her basket and lifted it slightly when she felt the shift in focus land on her. She paused, then looked up.

"Give us space," Irina said calmly.

Tatiana hesitated for a fraction of a second, then nodded quickly. Of course. She was already standing up anyway, already preparing to move.

"Okay," she said softly, stepping back.

But before she could take a full step away, Liam’s voice cut in.

"She stays."

The words were simple. Casual even. But they stopped everything.

Tatiana froze mid movement, her fingers still gripping the edge of her basket strap. She slowly turned her head toward Liam like she wasn’t sure she had heard correctly.

Irina’s expression shifted slightly. Not anger, not surprise exactly, but something more like recalculation. Her eyes narrowed just a fraction as she looked between them.

Tatiana finally spoke, a little unsure.

"It’s fine, I can go," she said quickly. "I’m not a core member anyway."

She tried to sound normal, like it didn’t matter. Like she hadn’t just been casually asked to leave a private conversation between Liam and the alpha. But the truth was, she felt it. That small sting of being outside something important.

Liam didn’t even look at her when he responded. His gaze stayed on Irina.

"She is a core member now," he said evenly. "Not less important than I am."

The room went quiet for a second after that.

Even Mary, who had been standing slightly behind Irina observing everything with her usual quiet expression, shifted her gaze toward Liam.

Irina stared at him directly now. Properly. Like she was testing whether he was joking or making a mistake.

But there was nothing playful in his expression. No hesitation either. Just calm certainty, like he had already decided it and saw no reason to treat it as a discussion.

Tatiana, meanwhile, looked completely lost. Her eyes moved between them slowly, trying to understand what had just been said. Core member. Not less important than him. The words didn’t even sit properly in her head.

She blinked.

"W... what?" she murmured under her breath.

Irina held Liam’s gaze for a few more seconds. Then she exhaled lightly through her nose, a small controlled breath that sounded like acceptance rather than approval.

"So be it," she said finally.

Tatiana just stood there, dumbfounded. That was it. No debate. No explanation. Just like that, her position in something she didn’t even fully understand had been changed by a single sentence.

She looked slightly overwhelmed now, her fingers tightening around her basket strap.

"I... okay," she said again, quieter this time.

Irina turned slightly.

"Then let’s move somewhere secure," she said. "We can’t discuss this here."

No one argued.

They all began moving.

Tatiana followed a step behind the group, still processing what had happened. Her eyes stayed low, fixed on the floor as she walked. Every few seconds she would glance up toward Liam like she expected him to suddenly explain himself, but he didn’t. He was already moving forward like everything was normal.

Mary walked near Irina at the front, and Liam naturally drifted into step beside her.

For a moment, Tatiana noticed it.

Liam and Mary walking side by side.

It wasn’t anything obvious, but there was a strange kind of balance between them, like two people who didn’t need to compete for space in the same conversation. It made her slow down slightly without realizing it.

Up ahead, Liam spoke first.

"I have to say," he began casually, "I am a great admirer of your work."

Mary didn’t even look impressed. She just kept walking.

"I was there a few days ago," Liam continued, tone calm but clearly interested, "when you triggered that reversal spell. I’ve never seen anything like it. The entire collapse just... rebuilt itself back to how it was."

Mary rolled her eyes slightly, but there was no real annoyance in it. More like tired familiarity.

"You and Alexander made a mess there for me," she replied dryly. "It took a lot of energy to reverse all that damage."

Liam let out a short quiet chuckle, like he expected that answer.

Tatiana, still trailing behind them, looked up slightly at the mention of "Alexander" but didn’t interrupt. She just listened, still trying to adjust to the fact that her entire role in this group had changed in under a minute, while the conversation ahead of her continued like it was just another normal day.

They finally reached the secured room inside the factory after walking through a narrow corridor that felt less like part of a building and more like something carved out for secrecy. The door itself was thick, reinforced metal, with old markings scratched into it from years of use. Irina pushed it open without hesitation and stepped inside first, the others following one by one until the door shut behind them with a heavy sound that made the space feel instantly more isolated.

The room was simple but clearly designed for private discussions. No windows, just a long table in the center, a few chairs scattered around, dim industrial lighting above that flickered slightly before stabilizing. The air smelled faintly of metal and dust, like the factory had tried and failed to completely erase its old identity.

Mary was the first to break the silence once they were all inside.

"Where is Leonid?" she asked, her tone calm but direct. Her eyes scanned the group briefly as if expecting him to be hidden somewhere nearby. "I thought he was one of you now."

Irina didn’t immediately answer. She closed the door fully, then leaned back against it with her arms loosely crossed.

"As much as I like Leonid," Irina said after a moment, "I am not letting a vampire who cannot fully control his instincts run freely around my pack."

The way she said it wasn’t emotional. It was practical. Final.

Mary gave a small nod, as if that made perfect sense to her.

"Pack safety comes first," she agreed.

But Irina let out a short chuckle at that, shaking her head slightly.

"No," she said. "I am not protecting the pack from him. I am protecting him from the pack."

That earned a brief pause from Mary. She studied Irina for a second longer, then nodded again, accepting that without argument.

Liam, who had been quiet for a while, shifted his weight and finally spoke. He folded his arms loosely, leaning back slightly as his eyes moved between Irina and Mary.

"Why am I here?" he asked simply.

No frustration in his voice, just curiosity. Like he had been waiting long enough for the conversation to naturally explain itself and it hadn’t.

Irina turned her head slightly toward him, then gestured with her chin toward Mary.

"Tell him," she said.

Mary didn’t waste time. She stepped forward just slightly, enough to be clearly addressing everyone in the room.

"The Witch Council has finally agreed to act," she said. "They are willing to cooperate with the werewolf packs. The goal is simple. Eradicate vampires. All of them. Until none remain."

Tatiana, standing slightly behind the others, felt a small chill at the way Mary said it so casually. "Until none remain" didn’t sound like a plan. It sounded like a sentence already carried out.

Liam, however, didn’t look unsettled. If anything, his interest sharpened slightly.

"Alright," he said, almost amused. "That’s a big move."

Mary continued, her expression unchanged.

"But there is a condition," she said. "The Council wants you and Irina specifically to come with us on a mission."

Liam tilted his head slightly.

"Of course they do," he murmured.

Mary ignored the comment and pressed on.

"This is not a normal operation," she added. "It is not even on this continent’s level of conflict."

That made Irina’s gaze narrow slightly.

Liam’s brows lifted just a little.

Mary paused for a second, then said it plainly.

"We are traveling to another world."

Silence dropped instantly.

The words didn’t immediately register for anyone.

Tatiana blinked once, slowly, as if she had misheard. Irina straightened slightly from her relaxed posture. Even Liam, who rarely showed confusion openly, paused for a fraction longer than usual.

"...another world?" Liam repeated slowly.

Mary nodded once.

"Yes."

The room stayed quiet after that.

The air felt heavier now, not because anything had changed physically, but because the meaning behind those words hadn’t fully settled yet. Tatiana looked between them, clearly struggling to process what she had just heard, while Irina remained still, her mind already shifting into analysis mode.

Liam exhaled quietly through his nose, staring at Mary now with a different kind of focus.

"Okay," he said slowly. "Now I’m interested."