Chapter 3

Close to midnight, when the whole manor had finally gone quiet, Marcus slipped into the basement.

He didn't even reach the cell before the stench hit him.

A werewolf's nose was a hundred times sharper than a human's. The closer he came to the cell, the stronger the stench became.

He saw dark, reddish fluid pooled beneath the door, with tiny white worms writhing in it.

His wolf howled in his head. "That is the smell of death! Get out of here!"

My spirit drifted in front of him. "Marcus, don't go in. What's inside will haunt your dreams."

He was a decent man. He had spoken for me once, but as a butler, his words carried no weight against an Alpha.

Perhaps it was his wolf's instinct. Marcus actually stumbled back a few steps and fled the basement.

…

The next morning at breakfast, Dad was beaming. He opened the safe, took out a velvet box, and placed it in front of Kate.

"Sweetheart, happy birthday! You're 18 years old now. This is your gift."

Kate's face lit up as she opened the box. Inside was a solid gold wolf-shaped brooch, the kind only the Alpha's bloodline could wear. It was finer and more valuable than the one Mom had left me.

"Goodness! Dad, this is too much!"

"You deserve only the best. Ava's necklace could never compare. Tonight, you'll be the brightest star at the party!"

Kate held the brooch and nodded so hard her hair bounced. "I'm so lucky!"

Marcus stepped forward, looking pale as chalk. "Alpha Jack, it's time to release Ava."

Dad frowned. "Mind your place, Marcus."

"Alpha Jack, today makes seven days. The cell is lined in silver. No werewolf survives long in there."

He already knew that I was dead. The reek from last night had told him the truth. Right under their feet was a decaying body.

"Dad, I'm sure Ava knows she was wrong," Kate chimed in. "Please forgive her."

When Dad heard her words, his face softened at once. "Fine. I'll let her out for Kate's sake. But I'll sever our blood ties and kick her out of the manor. I won't acknowledge such a vicious daughter."

What a joke! He only became the Alpha with the support of Mom's family. Without the title, he was just a man who depended on her.

Now, he could add one more title—the executioner who killed his own daughter.

Once the order was given, Marcus gathered some house staff and headed for the basement.

After just one night, the stench had grown heavier, enough to make one's stomach churn. The smell of death was everywhere.

The staff covered their noses with their sleeves. The youngest among them crumpled to his knees, gagging violently.

"Goodness, this smell is killing me!"

"There's something dead in there, I swear!"

Dad and Katherine were the last to arrive, both wrinkling their noses at the smell. Yet, the moment he saw his staff in chaos, he straightened and wore the posture of an Alpha once more.

"Enough! That wretch is doing this just to disgust us! Of course, it reeks after seven days in the cell. Pry the door open! Drag her out! Anyone who disobeys can go live as a Rogue!"

The staff shakily levered the silver door open.

In the dark cell, I hung from silver chains. My body was so ruined that it could no longer be called a werewolf's.

Pure silver had driven decay like fire. My body had swelled and twisted as flesh sloughed away to expose bare bone, and the skull was the worst of all.

Before I died, I had smashed my head against the wall until my skull cracked, leaving nothing but a blur of blood and flesh.

My eyes stayed wide open, burning with fury that had nowhere left to go.

The sound of gagging erupted behind Dad. The staff broke apart, covering their mouths as they turned away.

Dad stepped closer, staring at the body hanging from the chains. His eyes bulged in horror. "What the hell is that?"

He stared at the mangled flesh, where bone shards jutted out, looking unnaturally white. Even I couldn't deny how disgusting it looked.

Marcus' voice broke as he finally yelled, "Alpha Jack, it's Ava! She's dead!"

Dad's eyes widened in disbelief.