Chapter 5

Seeing Grandma on the screen, Derek lunged to grab Ivy’s phone.

"Ivy Linwood, you're out of your mind! Kidnapping a human is a direct violation of the Peace Treaty! The human government will get involved! If you release her now, I can still show some mercy. Otherwise, you’ll rot in the Pack dungeons forever!"

Ivy dodged his grasp, her finger tapping the call button. She put it on speaker.

The tattooed man's voice came through instantly:

"Ivy, what's the plan? Do we pull the plug now?"

Ivy tilted her chin up, looking down at me with cold malice:

"Sage, you heard him. I’m counting to three. If you're not on your knees, they pull the plug."

"Three."

"Two."

All the strength drained from my body.

Grandma's raspy coughing echoed from the speaker. I couldn't lose her.

My knees buckled, and I slammed onto the hard concrete.

"One." Ivy stopped counting, bursting into a smug laugh. "Well, look at you, so obedient. Go on, ten head-bows. Don't skip a single one."

Derek desperately tried to pull me up.

"Miss Whitmore, don't do this! Alpha Victor is almost here! I’ve already sent a team to rescue your grandmother!"

The phone in Derek's pocket vibrated madly. Victor’s name flashed brightly on the screen.

Before Derek could answer, Ivy kicked his wrist. His phone flew and smashed against the wall, going completely black.

"Alpha Victor, Alpha Victor... all you do is bark his name. When I talk to Victor later, you’ll be the first one he executes."

Ivy sneered, nodding at me:

"Start bowing. Don't waste my time. My patience is running thin."

I bit my lip, forcing my forehead down against the cold concrete.

*Thud.*

The first impact brought a dull, throbbing pain. Tears splashed onto the floor.

*Thud.*

The second one. Ivy laughed harder: "Harder! Did you not eat today?"

People around us whispered. Some took out their phones to record, some shook their heads, and some said I deserved it.

The third, the fourth...

By the tenth time, my forehead was cut open. Blood trickled down my temple, dripping onto my white hoodie, blooming into bright red stains.

I gasped, propping myself up on the floor. My vision was blurry. The wound on my forehead burned, throbbing with sharp pain.

"Not bad. Very obedient."

Ivy nodded in satisfaction. She pulled a box cutter from her bag, clicked the blade out, and threw it onto the floor in front of me.

"Now, ruin your face. The deeper the cuts, the happier I’ll be. If I'm satisfied, I’ll let your grandmother go."

I stared at the silver blade, my fingers trembling.

If I cut my face, Grandma would live.

Seeing my hesitation, Ivy frowned and kicked my arm.

"Hurry up! Stop stalling! If you don't do it, I'm pulling the plug!"

"What, you can't bear to ruin this pretty face? Still hoping to seduce another Alpha with it?"

I gritted my teeth and reached for the box cutter.

The moment my fingers touched the cold metal, the wound on my forehead bled faster. The bruises on my knees throbbed. Fear and anger surged through me at once. My vision darkened, my tears mixing with the blood on my face. I could barely breathe.

Just as I raised the blade to my cheek, a thunderous roar echoed from the hallway.

"STOP!"

Everyone turned to look.

Through my blurry, blood-tinted vision, I saw Alpha Victor standing in the doorway.

His usually neat hair was a wild mess. His face, normally cold as ice, was covered in tears. His eyes were bloodshot, and his lips were completely pale.

The hallway fell into a dead silence.

Seeing Victor covered in tears, Ivy assumed he had cried out of worry for her.

"Victor!"

She sprinted toward him in her high heels, her voice dripping with fake sweet sorrow.

"You're finally here! This woman and Derek teamed up to bully me! You have to punish them!"

Before her hand could even touch his sleeve, he swerved away.

Without sparing her a single glance, Victor strode straight to me and dropped to his knees.

His fingers trembled as he gently brushed the bloody hair away from my forehead.

I stared at his red eyes, at the tears streaming down his face—the physical manifestation of my pain, magnified ten times and sent directly to him.

"Victor... tell your Ice Wolf heiress..." I whispered, my voice cracking. "What happens to you... if I feel too much pain?"