Chapter 2

Karel POV:

An ancient, violent, and sacred bloodline pressure exploded outward from that tiny body.

The dim lightbulbs overhead shattered instantly, raining glass shards across the floor as the air in the basement grew crushing and heavy.

Cherise took the brunt of the blast. Her fragile body couldn't withstand the supreme dominance of a pureblood Lycan—only a wolfless fraud hiding behind faked genetic records, with no inner wolf to shield her, could crumble that fast.

She let out a terrified shriek, her knees buckling as she crashed into the pool of blood, her trembling hands letting go of the pup.

Instead of falling to the floor, the pup floated in midair supported by an invisible current of wind, its silver-gold double pupils glaring coldly down at Cherise.

Hampton's cold mask finally cracked. He stumbled half a step back, his pale green pupils shrinking to pinpricks.

"What... what kind of monster is this?"

His proud Alpha aura flickered like a weak candle flame against a hurricane. Lycans stand above all Alphas as the supreme rulers of our kind, and even a newborn's aura was enough to crush him.

Watching my child float in the air, my heart hammered wildly against my ribs. That was never the blood of a lowly Rogue—that was the mark of a supreme king!

Sensing my fading life, the pup turned its head toward me, its silver-gold eyes showing a flash of deep grief and rage.

It opened its toothless little mouth and let out a silent howl that shook the very core of my soul.

At that silent roar, the red birthmark at the corner of my eye flared with blinding crimson light, as if an ancient seal inside my blood was breaking apart.

Cherise clapped her hands over her ears and rolled on the concrete floor in agony as blood began to trickle from her eyes, nose, and mouth, her body breaking down under the absolute genetic suppression.

"Hampton! Kill it! Hurry up and kill it!"

She screeched at the top of her lungs, her pretty face twisted in terror.

Hampton gritted his teeth, fighting against the crushing bloodline pressure to pull a silver pistol from his holster and aim it straight at my floating child.

"No!"

A surge of desperate strength erupted from deep within me, and I yanked my left arm so hard that the blood-corroded silver chain snapped in two.

I threw my broken body forward to block the muzzle just as the gunshot roared through the cramped basement.

The silver bullet tore straight through my left shoulder. The searing pain knocked me to the ground, but I wrapped my arms tightly around Hampton's legs.

"Get off me, you crazy bitch!"

Hampton kicked me away, his leather shoe slamming straight into the open wound on my stomach.

I coughed up mouthfuls of dark blood, my vision fading at the edges, yet I refused to take my eyes off my baby.

The silver-gold light surrounding the pup burned brighter and brighter, sending spiderweb cracks racing across the concrete walls as chunks of stone began to fall from above.

My child was burning away its own newborn life force just to protect a useless mother like me.

"Run! This place is coming down!"

Realizing the danger, Hampton grabbed Cherise by the arm, dragged her off the floor, and bolted out the iron door.

I reached a trembling hand into the air toward my child, my life draining away with the blood pooling beneath me.

With a deafening roar, the basement ceiling caved in, burying me and that glowing silver-gold light under tons of falling rock.