Chapter 5

Monica stared at my phone like it was the funniest joke in the world.

"Hahaha! She actually called someone!" She clutched her stomach. "Goddess, this bitch really thinks she can order Caleb around? The legendary Beta?"

The guard laughed too. "Vesper, bad acting. Caleb is the right hand of the Royal Court! You think a fake phone call scares us?"

Monica wiped a tear of laughter. "I actually pity you now. Making up such a ridiculous lie just to look tough."

She pulled out her phone and smugly texted Julian. "Honey, bring the guys up. We have a crazy woman here who needs a trip to the psych ward."

I calmly watched the countdown on my watch. Nineteen minutes.

As the seconds ticked by, the heavy, suffocating pressure in the air grew thicker.

The pureblood scent of a true apex predator started bleeding into the hallway.

The tall guard's smile froze.

His breathing turned shallow. Cold sweat broke out on his forehead.

He instinctively took a half-step back, his knees turning to jelly. It was the genetic instinct to submit.

But Monica, a low-blood wolf with terrible senses, didn't notice a thing. She was a complete idiot.

She stared at the shattered glass of my suppressant vial, thinking she had caught me red-handed.

She covered her nose and shrieked dramatically. "You bitch! You bought black-market witch potions to fake a pureblood scent?!"

"You think breaking a bottle of black magic perfume is gonna scare us? Using dark magic to fake a bloodline will get you rotting in a pack prison for life!"

The guard swallowed hard when he heard that.

He forced himself to stand straight, clinging to her logic.

"So it's a trick," the guard gritted his teeth, fighting his trembling legs. "Almost fooled us with your dirty tricks."

"Julian is on his way," Monica waved her phone proudly. "When he exposes your cheap potion, I’m gonna strip you naked and throw you out of the Neutral Zone myself."

Ten minutes.

Five minutes.

I didn't even blink. To them, my silence was proof of my guilt.

"Scared now?" Monica stepped closer. "Still time to get on your knees and beg."

One minute left.

The crushing dominance of a pureblood Lycan choked the entire hallway.

The guard turned pale as a ghost, gasping for air like a dying fish.

Even though his brain told him it was black magic, his body was on the verge of a breakdown.

Ding. The elevator stopped on the top floor.

Monica turned her head in triumph. "Look, Julian is here! You're dead, bitch!"

The elevator doors slid open.

But it wasn't Julian. It was a squad of Royal Guards in pitch-black suits.

Their eyes were sharp as blades, radiating a terrifying aura of death.

Then, a massive figure stepped out from the shadows.

Caleb.

The legendary Enforcer. The Royal Court's most ruthless executioner.

His killing intent instantly sucked all the oxygen out of the hallway.

The guard's legs gave out, and he passed out cold on the floor.

Ignoring the broken glass, Caleb marched straight toward me.

This killer, who made the entire werewolf world tremble, dropped heavily to both knees, splashing into the spilled liquor and blood.

Sweating bullets, he picked up my hand with trembling fingers and kissed my Royal signet ring in pure terror.

"Your Highness," his voice shook with ultimate fear and reverence. "Please punish me for arriving late."

Monica’s smug smile completely froze. Her brain short-circuited.

Just then, the elevator pinged again.

Ding.