Chapter 2

The Verbagoly is the most elegant bar in the entire city, located on Broadway, on the corner of Seventh Avenue. If you're lucky or unlucky enough to go in, you'll find yourself in the midst of all the city's power players: politicians, mobsters, cops, and even showbiz people. Is that Brad Pitt? Anyway, the point is, this is no ordinary place.

But what many don't know is that at the very top of this place is a club, an even more exclusive place, where only the most powerful clans of supernatural creatures meet and gather. And the most powerful player in the game is Elizabeth Bathory.

"And then he threatened you?" asked Elizabeth Bathory, also known as the Blood Countess, with a playful smile on her face. She was one of the most beautiful women I had ever seen, with long black hair and deep honey-colored eyes that radiated sensuality. With her legs crossed, revealing her perfect thighs, she was sitting in a scarlet leather chair. Despite what anyone would think, this was the most powerful woman in New York.

All the clans in the city were under her command, and half of the underworld of New York was under her control. And all of that paled in comparison to the fact that no one would expect such a beauty to be a 500-year-old bloodsucker. Rookie mistake, always look at the eyes. Her pupils will always have a slight undulation, like a snake's eyes.

"That's right," I replied as I lit a cigarette. "He's a sore loser, but an honest man."

I took a deep drag of my cigarette, feeling the tobacco smoke fill my insides, warming my body.

"Oh, by the way, I heard you opened an office in Hell's Kitchen," Elizabeth commented, taking a glass of wine.

I sighed. I shouldn't have expected any less; this woman practically owned half of New York.

"That's right. Sorry I didn't invite you to the opening," I added sarcastically, showing the sweetest smile I could muster, courtesy of Black.

"It's a shame," she lamented with feigned sadness, leaning in behind me. Her hand touched my shoulder with a seductive softness. "I was hoping you would continue working for me."

"But we wouldn't have worked out," I said ironically, shaking my cigarette in the crystal ashtray on the table.

"Oh, right, I almost forgot, before you go, tell John at the reception to give you what was promised," she paused briefly to look at me for a moment. "You don't owe me anything anymore," she said before closing the door and leaving.

"Ugh, John, seriously?" William cursed for a moment and left, wishing to get this over with as quickly as possible.

---

"William Black," he spat in disgust. His eyes were like daggers, trying to pierce him with fury. Werewolves never forget, and that was especially true for John, who condescendingly spoke to William.

John was a burly man, around 30 to 35 years old, covered completely in hair like a bear. His hair was completely black and oozed testosterone everywhere, like a volcano erupting. Despite his unsuccessful attempt to try to appear more refined than he was, his eyes were dark blue, sharp as a wolf's, and he wore the suit that all workers at Verbagoly were required to wear.

John, not wanting any more interaction with William than necessary, pulled a book wrapped in a thin red cloth out of a drawer and carelessly placed it on the counter.

"Hey, handle it with more care," William requested. His eyes widened in concern at the casual way the werewolf was handling the book. "You're holding an irreplaceable relic. Not even all your fleas could return the value of that."

"As promised, you now have the dignity to leave the establishment," John said, pointing to the door with his arm. His voice, despite trying to sound polite, did not help his words and attitude.

William was already on his way to the door when he heard those words and couldn't help but turn around and return the favor to John.

"Believe me, John, you're not that lucky," he shouted, making a slight pause. "Say hello to Samantha for me. It's been a long time since the last time I saw her."

William knew how much of an idiot he could be, but he was so cynical as to admit that he would never change. According to his words: "It's part of my charm," but his main problem is his reckless mouth. Let's just say that Samantha, John's sister, doesn't like William very much, and John, well, he's not someone with a lot of calm when he's disrespected.

So when John turned into a werewolf and pounced on him in anger, it was no surprise. If it hadn't been for his partner, whose badge on his chest said his name was Michael, he probably wouldn't have come out unscathed.

But he still didn't escape completely, because before he could realize it, he was grabbed by the collar of his coat and thrown into the alley next to the building. Fortunately, at the moment John started attacking him, he held the book tightly between his arms.

"Be grateful that Miss Bathory esteems you," he exclaimed with disdain in his voice, "imbecile," he spat with disgust, slamming the door shut.

"Mr. Black, I have to admit it. When I found out you were in this place, I had to come and see it with my own eyes, but I didn't expect to see you like this," a young, sharp voice that sounded about 17 years old said in the darkness as William got up from the ground and dusted the dirt off his clothes. An African-American boy slowly walked towards William.

"David?" William looked in the direction the boy came from, "Shouldn't you be with your grandparents in Chicago?" he asked with doubt, raising his eyebrow at David.

"Yes, but my mom had too much work, and by the time she was done, we couldn't go out because of the snow," David replied, walking alongside William, "So I went to the office and Duck told me you were around here, so I came to pick you up. Come on, park the car around here."

"That damn snitching crow," William cursed, "I knew I shouldn't have told him anything."

William followed David slowly, the noise of the streets filling his ears and the cold weather making him shiver. Fortunately, David had parked nearby, so they didn't have to walk much.

"By the way, Mr. Black," David called with doubt in his voice, getting William's attention.

"What's up?" William asked, lighting his fifteenth cigarette of the day.

"On my way, I met a man who seemed to be some kind of priest," David said.

"As long as it's not related to a sectarian orgy or something, it's fine," William replied amusedly.

"It has nothing to do with that, it's just that apparently he knew you, and he also seemed to know me," David spoke, ignoring William's comment, "He said his name was... Arthur," he struggled to remember the last name, "Oh, I remembered. He said his name was Arthur Kensington, and he asked me to give this to you as soon as I saw you. He said you would know what it was," David finished, handing William a sealed letter with a strange symbol that only William could understand.

"Shit," William muttered to himself as he saw the seal on the letter, then quickly turned his head, almost twisting his neck.

"Is something wrong?" David asked.

"No, nothing's wrong," William narrowed his eyes a little before speaking again, "Do me a favor, take the book and this letter to the office, and then go home."

David wanted to protest, but upon seeing the unusually serious expression on William's face, he gave up and simply accepted, knowing that it was probably something he still couldn't help with.

William didn't waste any time and got out of the car before the traffic light turned green. A soft but icy wind passed over his face. William let out a long, tired sigh and then headed towards an alleyway that was too dark for it to be only 9:30pm on Broadway.

----

The cold nipped at her skin, the hairs on her arms standing on end. From the moment she entered the alley to cut five minutes off her journey, she felt as if something was following her. She was nervous and didn't know why, for her senses showed her nothing. It was a feeling deep inside her telling her to get out of there as fast as she could.

Her pace became faster and faster, her heart racing and her breathing feeling heavy. Something deep inside her told her to run, to get out of that place as quickly as possible. In her mind, she cursed herself for leaving work so late.

And just a few steps from the exit, she stumbled upon a beer bottle, hearing a loud noise from one of the trash cans. In her mind, she prayed it was just a cat or a rat, at worst.

But she knew better. That hissing didn't belong to any of the animals that could be living in the trash. It was like that of a venomous snake with its cold eyes watching its prey.

With her ears, she heard slow but soft footsteps slowly approaching her until they stopped inches from her back. For a moment, she felt like nothing would happen to her.

But foolish of her, she did not expect a strong arm to grab her by the collar of her coat and pin her against the wall, covering her mouth so she wouldn't make any noise. Her eyes moved around looking for something that could help her, but she couldn't see anything except for those deep and expressionless red eyes with undulating pupils, resembling those of a snake.

Her mouth opened in an unnatural and creepy way, four fangs as big as a tiger's teeth grew as she opened her jaws. In the end, she could only wonder: what was that thing? What did it want from her? Why did it choose her? But none of that mattered and she could only resign herself.

Until she heard footsteps starting to sound, and despite the noise from the streets and the incessant noise from the alley, the sound of a lighter being lit overpowered everything else.

The light from the fire illuminated the place a little, showing a man dressed in a black coat that reached his knees. He lit a cigarette in his mouth and smiled mischievously, as if he wasn't intimidated by the creature in front of him.

"Hey, didn't your parents teach you how to treat a lady?" the man asked sarcastically.

"And shouldn't you be groveling at that woman's feet, William Black?" she said, dragging out the man's name with deep hatred and even disgust in her voice. "Aren't you out of your jurisdiction?" she asked ironically.

"Unfortunately for you, I have no jurisdiction." And with a flick of his hand, a gun appeared in a small flash of light, and with a shot so perfectly precise that even the creature beyond any human sense failed to perceive it, and in a burst of blood, its head disappeared followed by its body turning into a pile of gray ash being scattered by the wind.

"How...?" Seeing such an impressive act, she couldn't help but ask with a trembling voice, looking at William with eyes full of horror and panic.

"Go," he ordered, looking her directly in the eyes in such a way that even she felt intimidated. As best she could, she found the strength and ran as fast as her trembling legs would allow her, hearing the man behind her sighing with exhaustion.

"What the hell is going on with this city?" she heard William mutter under his breath before leaving the alley and taking a taxi home.

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