Chapter Two

At six AM, the first thing I did upon waking was to go downstairs and check the doors and windows.

The holy water had dried up.

But traces on the doorframe had been deliberately damaged, with fine scratches from claws.

They had been here last night but couldn't get in.

I crouched down, my fingertips rubbing those scratches.

"Arthur?"

Angelo poked his head out from the kitchen. "What are you looking at?"

"Nothing, boss."

"The floor's a bit dirty."

He didn't ask further and turned back to continue preparing breakfast.

At 7:30, Emma came downstairs.

She wore long-sleeved pajamas, her hair slightly messy.

I was about to greet her when I saw several purple-blue bruises on her arm as she rolled up her sleeve.

I quickly walked over and grabbed her wrist to examine carefully.

Emma shrank her hand back and gestured in sign language: "Someone knocked on my room window last night."

My breathing stopped for a beat.

"How many times?"

"Many times."

Her fingers trembled slightly.

"I hid under the blanket, not daring to make a sound. Later... later they stopped knocking."

I clenched my fists, my knuckles cracking.

Angelo walked over. Seeing the injury on Emma's arm, his face instantly turned pale: "What... what happened?"

"She fell last night."

I let go of Emma's hand, trying to keep my voice calm. "It's nothing, boss."

Angelo opened his mouth but ultimately said nothing, just sighed and returned to the kitchen.

Emma looked up at me, questions in her eyes.

I touched her head and signed: "Don't be afraid. I'll protect you."

At eleven AM, the restaurant had just opened for business.

Five werewolf lackeys burst in.

Leading them was a bald strong man with a roaring wolf head tattooed on his neck.

He kicked over a chair at the entrance and swaggered to the bar counter.

"Listen up, old folks!"

He slammed his fist on the bar, making the glasses clatter.

"Starting today, this street belongs to the Lupin family. Every household pays five thousand dollars protection money monthly. Short even one cent and don't expect peace!"

Angelo ran out from the kitchen, his face forced into a smile: "Sir, we're just a small business—"

"Small business?"

The bald man sneered, casually grabbed hot soup from a table, and splashed it directly in the face of an elderly customer who was eating.

"Ah!"

The old man screamed and fell, his face instantly swelling red.

I put down the rag, limped over, and stood in front of Angelo.

"Let me handle this."

I said quietly.

Angelo grabbed my sleeve tightly, his eyes full of fear: "Don't... don't be impulsive..."

The bald man noticed me, narrowed his eyes, and walked over.

He leaned close to my neck, sniffed hard, and his expression suddenly changed.

"You're one of those demon hunter bastards?"

Before he finished speaking, he slapped me hard across the face.

My head was knocked to the side, blood seeping from the corner of my mouth.

"No wonder there's a disgusting smell."

The bald man spat. "Young Master Victor was right. This shitty restaurant is disgusting."

He turned to look at Emma and suddenly smiled: "Hey, this little girl looks pretty good."

Emma backed away in fear, but was blocked by another werewolf lackey.

The bald man grabbed Emma's arm and scratched a bloody mark on the back of her hand with his nails.

"Tsk tsk, a deaf-mute waste paired with a crippled waste, what a perfect match."

He licked his lips. "Why not take her back to give the brothers some fun?"

Instantly.

I grabbed the bald man's wrist bone with one hand.

Crack.

The sound of dislocated bones was clearly audible.

"Ah—!" The bald man screamed, cold sweat instantly soaking his forehead.

The other werewolf lackeys froze for a second, then immediately surrounded us.

"Let him go!"

"You looking to die?!"

I didn't let go, just applied slightly more pressure.

The bald man's face twisted into a ball. His knees went soft and he almost knelt down.

"You... you fucking dare fight back?"

He said through gritted teeth. "You know who I am? Believe it or not, I'll make your whole family—"

"Shut up."

My voice was light, but everyone heard it.

The bald man froze. He saw something in my eyes that instinctively frightened him.

I let go. He staggered backward several steps, clutching his wrist, his eyes full of terror and rage.

"You're dead... you're fucking dead..."