William's eyes widened in shock, the realization dawning too late. Before William could conjure a vanishing spell, before the faintest shimmer of invisibility could blur his form, Damien's hand shot through the haze and into the man's chest. His fingers clenched around a heart that throbbed desperately for a moment before going still.
The light drained from William's eyes almost instantly, leaving nothing but the hollow echo of his life. The body collapsed to the ground with a sickening thud, and Damien watched as the man's soul drifted upward in a thin, glimmering mist, dissolving into the ether, vanishing without trace.
Silence fell over the battlefield. Vampires and wolves alike froze, as if time itself had been startled into stillness. Damien stood over the body, shoulders sagging under the weight of relief, exhaustion. Every fiber of his being hummed with the satisfaction of justice.
