Silence lingered heavily across Ingrid's apartment after the agents collapsed.
The second werewolf who arrived with Alpha had already dragged both unconscious agents somewhere else entirely the moment things settled down enough. The only evidence they had ever been there at all were the scuff marks across the apartment floor and the overturned shoe rack near the entrance.
Meanwhile, the livestream chat had fully transcended readable language.
Messages moved so fast they looked more like colorful static than actual words.
"WHAT IS HAPPENING"
"HE ONE SHOTTED THEM"
"THAT OLD GUY IS COLD"
"WAIT IS HE A WEREWOLF TOO"
"THIS IS BETTER THAN NETFLIX"
"GILF ALERT"
"PROTECT THE PUP"
The older man standing near the doorway looked entirely unaffected by any of it.
Tall, broad-shouldered, and calm in the kind of way that made the apartment itself feel smaller around him.
Grey streaks cut through dark hair near his temples while sharp golden eyes quietly observed the room, eventually settling on Silas.
Disappointment immediately filled them.
"…Alpha," Silas repeated quietly.
The older werewolf sighed.
Long.
Tired.
Before he could say anything else though, movement suddenly appeared behind him.
Another man stepped into the apartment hallway, It's the other one with the Alpha that took the agents away.
Younger than the Alpha by several years, though still older than Ingrid.
Dark-haired, sharp-eyed, and dressed similarly in formal clothing, except this one looked far more openly dangerous.
He glanced once toward Ingrid.
Then toward the Alpha .
"Sir, she's recording everything you did. Rending those people unconscious, was it really the right choice?" he asked flatly.
The Alpha shrugged slightly.
"They pointed guns at the child."
The livestream chat absolutely adored him immediately.
"OH NO HE'S HOT TOO"
"WHY ARE THE WEREWOLVES ATTRACTIVE"
"IS THIS A MAFIA"
"THAT ONE LOOKS LIKE A HITMAN"
Silas visibly relaxed slightly seeing the second werewolf.
"Uncle Ronan!"
The man sighed instantly.
"Don't call me uncle in front of strangers."
"You literally helped raise me."
"That is unfortunately true."
Ronan crossed his arms, looking at Silas with disappointment while entertaining him.
Ingrid stared.
Ronan paused briefly from Ingrid's stare then headed towards the door to leave and survey the place for more agents.
Before he could leave, he looked back from the doorway.
"Your wife is going to kill you, by the way, sir."
The Alpha looked annoyed immediately and groaned as he rubbed his temples.
"She's correct on that one."
The Alpha muttered something under his breath that sounded vaguely offended.
Then Ronan disappeared, exiting the house, hiding from the shadows, watching for more agents just in case.
The apartment suddenly became quiet again afterward.
Well, as quiet as it could become while hundreds of thousands of people watched live online.
The Alpha finally glanced toward Ingrid properly afterward.
"…May I come in?" he asked politely.
Ingrid stared blankly for several seconds.
"You're already inside."
"…Fair enough."
The livestream comments continued flying upward uncontrollably.
"HE ASKED SO POLITELY"
"THAT IS A DAD"
"I LOVE THIS FAMILY DYNAMIC"
Ingrid slowly realized her phone was still livestreaming the entire situation.
And somehow nobody had died yet.
Which honestly felt impressive considering the circumstances.
The Alpha calmly walked further into the apartment before settling onto the couch across from Silas.
Silas immediately lowered his head slightly.
The same way a guilty dog looked after destroying furniture.
The Alpha folded his hands together afterward.
Then sighed again.
"Silas," he began calmly. "Your mother and I are very disappointed in you."
Silas visibly shrank.
A soft whining noise escaped him instinctively.
"I said I was sorry…"
"You ran away from the estate."
"I was curious."
"You exposed our existence to several million people."
"I was helping Ms. Ingrid…"
Silas opened his mouth.
Then closed it again.
"…The meat was really good," he admitted weakly.
The Alpha pinched the bridge of his nose.
The livestream chat exploded.
"HE DID IT FOR FOOD"
"THIS IS THE BEST LIVESTREAM EVER"
"NOT THE EXPENSIVE MEAT"
"HE'S JUST A BABY"
Ingrid awkwardly raised one hand slightly.
"In my defense, I didn't know revealing you guys would apparently make the government panic."
The Alpha slowly looked toward her afterward.
Then toward the phone still recording.
Then back toward her.
The silence lasted just long enough for Ingrid to become deeply uncomfortable.
Finally, the Alpha exhaled tiredly before speaking.
"My name is Kahn," he introduced calmly. "Alpha of the town you were just in."
Ingrid blinked and she quickly stood afterward.
"Wait— hold on."
Ingrid disappeared briefly into the kitchen before returning moments later carrying a glass of water she awkwardly handed toward him.
Kahn accepted it politely.
"…Thank you. I'm surprised a Barebloo- No. A human such as you is surprisingly calm about all this."
Kahn took a slow sip first.
Then pointed lightly toward her phone.
"You do understand our entire hidden world is currently collapsing because of what you're doing, yes?"
Ingrid immediately straightened.
"Oh my god, wait are you going to kill me?"
Kahn stared at her.
Then suddenly laughed.
Not loudly but genuinely.
The deep amused sound caught Ingrid completely off guard.
"No," he answered finally. "If I intended harm, your apartment would already be empty."
The words came out so calmly that it somehow made them worse. Ingrid felt her throat suddenly go dry as she swallowed hard, instinctively gripping her own arm while the full weight of what he meant settled uncomfortably into the room. Silas meanwhile had already migrated closer toward Kahn slightly like an apologetic puppy trying to regain approval.
"Mother is angry, isn't she?"
Kahn looked down at him.
"Your mother attempted to tear apart three council meetings this morning with the werewolf representative."
"…Oh."
"She also threatened several senators from the Hall of Witches."
"…Oh."
"And she blamed me somehow."
"That sounds like mother."
Ingrid stayed oddly silent afterward, her phone still aimed toward them as the livestream continued flooding with messages by the second. Somewhere between the mentions of council meetings, witches, and the way Kahn talked about Silas' mother with exhausted familiarity, her brain finally connected the obvious answer.
Oh.
That's his father.
Kahn sighed heavily again before taking another drink.
"The people on our side are panicking currently," he admitted while rubbing one hand against his forehead. "Though they are being… managed."
He paused briefly afterward.
"Well. Managed is perhaps the incorrect word."
Ingrid tilted her head slightly.
"What does that mean?"
Kahn suddenly laughed again.
"There is a certain individual attempting to calm the situation."
"…And?"
"She is making it significantly worse."
Silas immediately perked up.
"The Heretical Witch?"
Kahn looked exhausted instantly.
"Yes. Charlotte. She told the senate secrecy was outdated and referred to several elders as 'cowards hiding behind curtains.'"
Ingrid snorted before stopping herself.
Kahn pointed at her.
"You're also a part of the problem with your livestreaming. Though, either this will be the best thing you did for the Witching Hour or the worst."
The livestream chat had become obsessed with the hidden supernatural politics immediately.
"THERE'S A SENATE???"
"WAIT THERE ARE VAMPIRES TOO?"
"WHO IS CHARLOTTE"
"I NEED LORE"
"THIS IS PEAK"
Kahn eventually glanced toward the phone again.
His golden eyes narrowed slightly.
"…Interesting."
"What?" Ingrid asked carefully.
Kahn stood afterward.
Then slowly loosened one sleeve.
Silas immediately looked excited. Kahn rolled one shoulder once.Then transformed. The change happened far faster than Silas' transformations. Violent and powerful. Dark fur spread rapidly across his massive frame while bones shifted beneath skin with sharp cracking sounds that echoed through the apartment. His body expanded larger and larger until the living room suddenly felt much too small to contain him properly.
Clawed hands flexed. Golden eyes glowed brighter. A massive werewolf now stood inside Ingrid's apartment. Not puppy-like. Not youthful. Not awkward.
Predatory in a way that instantly reminded Ingrid why humans once feared monsters hiding in forests.
The livestream chat completely died for approximately three seconds.
Then exploded harder than before.
"WHAT THE FUCK"
"THAT IS A BOSS FIGHT"
"OH MY GOD"
"THAT ONE COULD PAY TAXES"
"WE ARE SO DEAD AS A SPECIES"
Ingrid stared upward in absolute shock.
"…Holy shit."
Kahn scoffed softly afterward. Then casually waved one massive claw towards the camera.
"Good afternoon." he says in a sophisticated way, very unlike of his form.
The internet somehow lost its collective mind even harder.
Kahn glanced downward toward Ingrid's phone afterward before carefully pulling his own phone from his pocket with far more dexterity than should have been possible with claws that large. Then, very delicately, he tapped the livestream screen that he was watching to survey Ingrid's whereabouts.
Silas immediately looked betrayed the moment he noticed the massive smartphone sitting comfortably inside Kahn's clawed hand. His ears lowered in visible offense as he quickly pointed out the hypocrisy of the situation, considering Kahn and the rest of the adults in the estate constantly warned him that Bareblood technology "rotted the brain" and made people strange. Kahn, meanwhile, remained completely unmoved by the accusation and calmly explained that the rules existed because Silas was still young and apparently lacked the self-control necessary to avoid becoming addicted to things like short-form videos, livestreams, and internet conspiracy forums. Ingird scoffs together with the livestream chat, nodding in agreement. The explanation only seemed to offend Silas even more, especially when Kahn refused to elaborate further the moment the pup tried asking what "short-form" meant in the first place.
The chat reflected instantly in his eyes.
Kahn hummed thoughtfully.
"Hey," he murmured.
Tap.
The livestream viewer count climbed even higher somehow.
Tap.
Kahn tilted his massive wolf head slightly while staring at the screen.
Then casually pointed one claw toward it.
"Well," he rumbled. "Would you look at that."
Ingrid remained completely frozen staring upward at the fully transformed Alpha scrolling through livestream comments on a smartphone. Somewhere deep in her brain, reality finally gave up trying to make sense anymore.