Chapter 2

Crash!

A deafening roar tears through the air inside the witch's boutique. The entire glass storefront shatters as an extended SUV plows right through it.

The broken glass on the floor reflects the blinding pure gold wolf emblem on the hood.

The car door swings open. A pair of black stilettos steps out onto the wreckage.

"Who did this?" My mother's voice is quiet, but it carries a freezing edge that makes hearts stop.

Selene is completely oblivious to the danger. She kicks aside some broken glass, crosses her arms, and struts over with a sneer. "So you're this bitch's mom? Perfect timing!"

She looks my mother up and down and scoffs. "You look decent enough, but too bad you raised such a trashy daughter. She tried to steal my custom dress and even laid hands on me. So, how are you paying for this?"

Everyone around us gasps.

Selene points at me lying in a pool of blood and tilts her chin up. "Either you pay me ten times the price of the dress, plus ten million for emotional damages! Or, you and your little rat kneel and beg until I'm satisfied!"

Derrick strides forward, pulling Selene behind him. He unleashes his Alpha aura without holding back, trying to put this arrogant woman in her place.

The pressure rushes toward my mother like a hurricane, but the second it touches the hem of her dress, it vanishes completely.

Derrick frowns, his chin lifted in arrogance. "I'm the ruling Alpha of this city, Derrick. You cause trouble on my turf, I have every right to execute a rogue on the spot!"

"Take your daughter and get the hell out of my city," Derrick orders. "But not before you pay up every single cent."

"And cancel that damn engagement right now! Derrick is mine!" Selene shrieks from behind him.

My mother doesn't even spare them a glance. She walks up to me and turns me over. The harsh lights illuminate the rotting, blackened flesh on my right cheek.

The silver poison has already burned through my skin. Bone-deep whip marks cut across my back. Dark blood still oozes from the hole on the back of my right hand where the stiletto crushed it.

"Baby, Mom is here." Her fingers tremble.

"Mom..." I open my swollen eyes. "They whipped me with silver... crushed my hand... made me bark like a dog..."

Her hand freezes as she strokes my hair. She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath.

When she opens them again, her dark pupils have turned into burning, solid gold.

She stands up and walks toward Selene, step by slow step.

"What do you think you're doing? Derrick is right here! You wouldn't dare touch me!" Selene finally senses something is wrong and shrinks back in panic.

"I'm warning you," Derrick roars, stepping forward.

Smack!

A terrifying, crisp slap echoes through the room. My mother barely waves her hand, but Selene flies backward like a broken ragdoll.

She crashes straight through the display cases behind her, rolling over a dozen times before hitting the ground like a sack of dead weight. Half her face swells up instantly, and bloody teeth spill from her torn lips.

"That slap is for striking my daughter the first time." My mother shakes her wrist, her tone as casual as if she is discussing the weather.

"You have a death wish!" Derrick absolutely loses it, his eyes turning bloodshot.

He unleashes his peak Alpha command with everything he has. The air literally ripples and distorts around him.

The ordinary wolves watching in the crowd scream and drop to their knees, coughing up blood from the intense pressure. Yet, my mother just stands there. Not a single strand of her hair moves.

She smirks in pure disgust. "Is that it?"

The next second, an aura millions of times more terrifying erupts from her body.

It isn't an Alpha's scent. It is the absolute bloodline suppression that belongs only to Lycan royalty.

Crack!

Derrick's aura shatters in an instant. The force loudly snaps both of his knees. He screams as he slams into the floor, his forehead smashing hard against the bloody tiles.

He fights desperately to lift his head, but an invisible mountain crushes him down. He can only force out a desperate, raspy growl. "Who... who the hell are you?"

My mother looks down at him from above. She pulls a pure gold token from her purse and casually tosses it right in front of his face.

The token bears the fierce, glaring symbol of the crowned wolf head, the ultimate mark of royal authority in the werewolf world.

Derrick's pupils shrink to pinpricks.

"My name is Catherine. The Lycan King's widow." Her voice echoes through the mall.

She slowly raises her hand and points at me, lying in the pool of blood with a cold smile.

"The girl on the floor is my only daughter. The sole heir to the throne of the entire werewolf world. Princess Elara."

Dead silence falls over the room.

Two seconds later, sounds of absolute despair break out everywhere. The rich women who were just mocking me roll their eyes back and pass out cold from the shock.

Derrick's lips quiver violently. He cannot even form a sound to beg for mercy. Selene lies paralyzed in the wreckage.

My mother ignores the pathetic display around her and walks straight over to Selene. She picks up the silver brooch covered in my blood and dangles it in front of Selene's face.

"Recognize this? It's yours."

Selene shakes her head like a maniac, tears and snot streaming down her face. "No... please no! Have mercy, Princess! I'm just a Beta! The silver poison will kill me! I'm begging you!"

"My daughter is pure royal blood, and even she scars from silver." My mother grabs Selene's jaw, forcing her twisted face to stay still. "You are a Beta. I'm very curious to see what silver does to you."

She raises her hand and brings the pin down.

Sizzle!

The first cut slices viciously from the corner of her left eye down to her right jaw, perfectly copying the wound on my face.

"Ahhh!" Selene lets out a soul-tearing scream. The second the silver poison touches ordinary werewolf flesh, it makes a sickening, bubbling sound as black smoke rises from the burn.

"The second cut is for slapping my daughter's face."

Another bone-deep gash runs from her right eye down to her left jaw, carving a huge bloody X across her face.

"The third cut is for stepping on her hand."

She stabs the brooch straight through the back of Selene's hand, pinning her firmly to the hardwood floor.

Selene's screaming abruptly stops. The sheer pain makes her pass out cold, her body still twitching violently on its own.

My mother pulls the brooch out and tosses it onto Selene's face in disgust. She turns her head to look at Derrick, who is shaking like a leaf.

"No need to rush. This is just the beginning."