Chapter 2

Corinna POV:

Right as Felix tilted his head up to bark at me, I tightened my core and swung my legs out, clamping my thighs around his neck.

Felix could not even let out a scream before I used my falling weight to wrench him sideways. He lost his footing on the jutting rocks, tumbled down the wall, and crashed face-first into a puddle of mud at the base.

Gasps and panicked screams erupted from the crowd. Several dazed knights finally snapped out of their stupor and scrambled to draw their steel longswords. Only the execution squad carried pure silver, and those blades stayed sealed in thick leather sheaths unless a traitor was to be put down.

As my body swung back toward the stone wall from the recoil, I slashed the sharp rock in my hand across the frayed knot of the hemp rope. My bound hands were in front of me, just barely close enough. One cut. Then another.

With a dry snap, the thick rope parted. I plummeted straight down from midair like a falling stone.

Instead of rolling on the dirt to break my fall, I twisted my waist in the air and aimed my boots directly at Bianca, who was hiking up her skirts and stumbling backward in panic.

"Get away from me!" Bianca shrieked, waving her arms wildly in front of her face as my shadow fell over her.

I landed hard on both feet right in front of her. Carrying the momentum of my drop, I swept the bloodstained stone shard between my fingers across her soft, powdered cheek.

The sharp edge sliced cleanly through her flesh. A deep, gaping cut split her left cheek open from her cheekbone down to her jaw, and bright red blood spurted out onto her white lace collar.

Bianca stood frozen for a heartbeat. She raised a trembling hand to touch her face, and when she saw her palm covered in hot blood, she let out an ear-splitting scream.

"My face! My face is ruined!"

She collapsed to the ground, rolling around in the dirt while clutching her bleeding cheek. I stood up straight, brushed the dust off my torn skirt, and looked down at her without a shred of pity in my chest.

"You vicious bitch! I will kill you!"

Covered in black mud from head to toe, Felix crawled out of the puddle. His eyes were bloodshot with madness, and his joints popped loudly as his Alpha rage surged. Losing his mind completely, he snatched a steel sword from the nearest knight's hand and lunged at my chest.

Pure silver would have burned his bare palm. Even in his rage, Felix did not dare grab a silver blade with a bare hand. The steel sword was still lethal enough.

"Did you not want to know that man's name?" I raised my voice, my clear tone cutting through the chaos of the square.

The tip of Felix's sword stopped half an inch from my throat. The cold aura radiating off the blade stung my skin, raising goosebumps along my neck.

"Talk! I want to see what kind of bastard gave you the guts to go crazy here!" Felix snarled through clenched teeth, the muscles on his mud-streaked face twitching violently.

I drew in a slow breath, letting my gaze sweep over the nobles and servants who were holding their breath around us.

"The man who spent that night with me under the blood moon, and even swore an oath to me..." I paused on purpose, watching their eyes widen with greed for gossip. "Is the current Regent Alpha, Gavin Chambers."

I pronounced each word clearly. The name hit the square like a clap of thunder, sucking every bit of noise out of the air until even the wind seemed to stop blowing.

The rage on Felix's face froze, morphing into shock and then sheer disbelief. He involuntarily took half a step back, his boots slipping slightly in the mud.

"What... what kind of lunatic nonsense are you spouting?" His hand gripping the sword hilt shook. "The Regent Alpha? That bloodthirsty god of war? A piece of trash like you is not even worthy of wiping his boots!"

On the ground, Bianca stopped howling. Peeking through her bloody fingers, she glared at me with venomous hatred and screamed, "Brother Felix, do not listen to her lies! She is just stalling for time!"

A second later, an uproar of mocking laughter broke out across the square. Several warriors doubled over, slapping their thighs as they treated me like a cornered clown telling jokes to save her own neck.

I kept my eyes fixed on Felix's pale face. "If you do not believe me, go ahead and thrust that blade into my throat right now. However, if the Regent Alpha finds out that his woman died at your hands..."

I left the threat hanging in the air, looking at Felix the same way I would look at a dead man.

Sweat broke out on Felix's forehead under my steady gaze. His legs trembled for a second before a deeper viciousness took over his features.

"Bullshit! The Regent Alpha would never touch a wolfless waste like you! Go to hell!"

He roared to cover up his own fear, raised the sword with both hands, and swung it straight down at my neck.

Just as the blade whistled through the air above my head, an earth-shattering howl of a dire wolf tore from the far end of the square, followed immediately by the thunderous, synchronized pounding of heavy warhorses.