Chapter 3

Imanol POV:

My boots rooted to the spot, my pupils constricting in pure shock.

Could Adrienne hear?

My heart skipped a beat, a surge of panic gripping my chest. If she had heard our conversation just now...

But the next second, my gaze shifted past her shoulder, landing on the massive liquor cabinet in the corner.

The dark, reflective glass of the cabinet mirrored the warm wall lights, perfectly reflecting Carisa's face.

I let out a quiet, inaudible breath of relief.

She must have caught the mirror's reflection and read Carisa's lip movements.

But Adrienne was usually so obedient and docile. Why was she acting like a madwoman today, slapping someone in public?

Before I could reprimand her, Carisa suddenly shrieked like a banshee.

"You bitch! I'll tear you to pieces!"

She bared her claws, lunging straight for Adrienne's face like a madwoman.

"Enough!" I roared.

I rushed forward, instantly unleashing the crushing weight of my Alpha's Command, and planted myself directly in front of Carisa to shield her.

My large hand clamped down on Adrienne's wrist like a steel vice, completely locking her in place.

"Adrienne, that is enough!" I snarled, my Alpha aura flaring. "Carisa has suffered so much out there in exile! She just got back to the pack—can you stop being so damn unreasonable?!"

But Adrienne struggled desperately.

With her wrists locked in my grip, she couldn't use her usual sign language. In her fury, she opened her mouth, forcing her dry, unused vocal cords to produce a hoarse, ugly gasp, as if she was deliberately trying to provoke me.

A wave of irritation washed over me.

In that split second of my distraction, Carisa's claws lashed out from behind my back, slicing a deep gash across Adrienne's pale cheek. Bright red blood instantly welled up.

My eyes widened. Furious that she dared to strike while I was intervening, I violently shoved Carisa backward. "Carisa, what the hell are you doing?!"

Caught off guard, Carisa stumbled backward, her shoulder slamming hard into the massive black glass liquor cabinet behind her.

CRASH!

The heavy cabinet wobbled violently before tipping forward. Dozens of expensive bottles filled with high-purity, silver-infused ceremonial liquor—a deadly poison to our kind—rained down!

"Watch out!"

Seeing those lethal liquid silver bottles falling toward Carisa, my mind went blank. I lunged at her like a madman, using my broad back to shield her completely.

Adrienne POV:

A barrage of heavy bottles smashed against Imanol's broad back. Highly concentrated liquid silver splashed everywhere, emitting a terrifying sizzling sound and the foul stench of burning flesh as it ate through his custom suit.

But I, thrown off balance by his brutal shove, was left entirely exposed. Before I could even raise my arms to protect my head, a massive, silver-plated bottle smashed viciously into my shoulder blade.

An agonizing crack echoed in my ears as blinding pain exploded through my body.

I was thrown hard against the floor by the sheer force. Shards of shattered glass and freezing, silver-laced liquor rained down on me. Warm blood instantly gushed from my forehead, mixing with the pungent alcohol and streaming into my eyes.

I curled up on the ground, feeling half of my body instantly go numb. A dull, throbbing pain spread from my shoulder and the back of my head. All I could hear was a ringing buzz mixed with the panicked screams of the crowd.

"Alpha!" Carisa's tears flowed instantly. "My ankle hurts so much..."

Imanol quickly pushed himself up. He completely ignored the excruciating silver burns sizzling on his own back, his face pale as he asked nervously, "Where did it hit you? Let me see!"

"My ankle... it hurts so bad..." Carisa sobbed pitifully.

I barely managed to open my blood-blurred eyes and looked in their direction. Actually, a piece of shattered glass had merely grazed her ankle, leaving a few shallow bloody scratches. It wasn't serious at all, yet she cried as if she were dying.

I lay on the freezing floor, my vision fading into dark patches.

I was a wolfless without an inner wolf, entirely devoid of a werewolf's rapid cellular regeneration. Plus, the silver residue seeping into my wounds stopped my blood from clotting. Bleeding this heavily was enough to send me into hemorrhagic shock.

I tried to move my left arm, my trembling fingers reaching out toward Imanol. My lips parted, but no sound came out.

Imanol simply scooped Carisa into his arms, turning his back on me to walk out.

"Alpha! Adrienne seems badly hurt too..." someone finally spoke up, pointing at my curled-up body in the puddle of blood.

Imanol paused and cast a hasty, impatient glance over his shoulder.

But in his arms, Carisa immediately buried her face into his neck, sobbing uncontrollably. "Alpha, I'm dying of pain. Did I break a bone?"

Imanol immediately looked away from me, his brows furrowed in deep annoyance. "You guys keep an eye on Adrienne. If she's fine, send her home. I need to take Carisa to the Healer immediately. She can't handle pain."

I lay in the freezing, bone-chilling puddle of blood, helplessly watching as Imanol held Carisa tightly and strode out of the lounge.

The world around me began to spin, and the blood dripping from my forehead blurred my vision into a dark red haze.

It was cold.

A bone-deep, freezing cold that seeped directly from my marrow—pure despair.

"Shit... she's bleeding from her head! There's so much blood!" someone finally yelled in panic.

But those voices grew distant. Heavy shadows pressed down on me layer by layer, and my eyelids became too heavy to keep open.

"Call the Healer, now!"