"Stop! No! Ahhh!" The ripping scream exploded through the basement again and again. Darius raised a brow, and the heat in his eyes grew even stronger. Watching Thora like this stirred something in him he couldn't explain. It was excitement. It was like watching a perfect masterpiece—one he wanted to keep watching forever. The man finally understood what worse than death really meant. He wanted nothing more than to smash his head into the floor and die, but he couldn't. His whole mind felt like it was being stabbed and twisted by thousands of steel needles. He stayed painfully awake, feeling every shock of pain, every wave of fear, every bit of growing hopelessness.He couldn't take it anymore. "I'll talk! Please—please let me go!" Only then did Thora pull the silver needle out of his head. She gave a faint smile before sitting back down. It took the man a long moment just to catch his breath. When he finally lifted his head to look at Thora, his voice shook. "I ... I really am an ability user. My ability lets me control water." Thora had already figured that out. She also knew his ability had awakened less than two years ago. He hadn't strengthened it yet, which meant he was still at the lowest level. "Our goal was to capture you," he said. "Then force you to tell us where Marlon hid that key." "Who are you people? And who gave you the order?" Thora asked, her voice ice-cold. "We ... we're Blue..." He had barely spoken when a loud boom echoed through the basement. His body exploded into a cloud of blood and then dissolved into pure mist, disappearing into the air like he had never existed. Only the metallic smell of blood was left. Thora shot to her feet, face turning dark and cold. Darius's eyes narrowed as he stepped forward quickly. "They must have planted a program inside him. If his brain waves change or if he tries to leak information, the self-destruct triggers." He crouched to study the area, his tone heavy. "And for him to vanish this clean, his body must've been altered with something else too." Thora nodded. They exchanged a brief look. A strange kind of understanding passed between them—quick and wordless. But Thora's eyes were sharp with suspicion."You know about ability users." This was her real reason for calling Darius over today. She was certain Darius knew far more than he let on—exactly the kind of information she needed. Darius suddenly smiled. "So after interrogating the prisoner, now it's my turn?" Thora didn't look away. She didn't deny it, either. Darius didn't seem nervous at all. In fact, he walked straight to the basement couch, sat down, leaned back, and looked at her with interest. "So," he asked lightly, "how do you want to interrogate me? With a whip? Or tied up?" "Answer honestly, or pack your stuff and get out." Her voice was flat, threatening. But Darius slowly looked her up and down, which instantly made Thora stiffen. "What are you doing?" "You told me to pack up and leave. So I'm trying to figure out how to wrap you up and take you with me."Thora went silent. Her fingers curled slightly, and her joints cracked loudly. Darius sat up straight at once, switching into his serious Nightclaw Pack Alpha mode. His hands folded neatly in front of him, posture calm and elegant. Thora frowned a little. Does this man have two personalities or something? His mood changed way too fast. When she saw he was finally serious, she sat across from him and asked directly, "How much do you know?" Darius's lips curved. "As you guessed, I do know that ability users exist. And I'm sure you also noticed Daniel and the others—meaning the team you saw today—their gear is built to fight werewolves who've already awakened abilities." Thora's brows tightened. Just as she suspected. She waited for him to continue.