Two minutes—two whole minutes. That was how long it took Ethan to realize what had just happened. One second, he was giving a speech about how much he had done for the Silver Fang pack after the former Alpha King ran the finances to the ground, and how it wouldn't have been easy to rebuild the pack without his beloved mate's help.

And the next second, he heard loud shouts of terror. Just when he paused to understand the situation, a powerful black wolf leaped in through the window, knocking him off his feet. The next thing he knew, silver chains snapped around him as he and everyone in the room were taken captive and forced to their knees—all in two minutes.

It had happened too fast for him to understand what was going on.

“How could this be? We were invaded! How did they get past the border and the security of the pack house without making a sound? What kind of powerful army could do this in just a few minutes?” Stacy’s teeth were chattering, cold sweat prickling every inch of her skin.

Ethan shook his head, goosebumps all over his body. “I don’t know. I’ve been careful not to offend any powerful person. Besides, no one can raise this kind of army where most of them are beta-ranked wolves with insane strength, stronger than most alphas. Except for the Lycan King, I don’t know any alpha or alpha king with this ability. But I have never offended him—that I’m sure of.”

“Shut up and stop whispering. Our Alpha is here,” a harsh voice snapped, followed by a hard slap.

Ethan’s eyes turned red, his cheeks burning with humiliation. When had he, the Alpha King, ever suffered such a grievance?

The guards stepped aside to reveal someone covered with a huge black cloak. No part of their body was visible, and the body shape felt off.

“Who are you?” Erica asked slowly, her calculating eyes gauging the situation for a way out.

“I am…” the person whispered and paused, slowly raising her face.

“...your nightmare,” she finished, sending chills down their spines.

The person under the cloak pulled back the hood, revealing herself. That silver hair was familiar, but the cold smirk and terrifying beastly eyes filled with bloodlust were ones they had never seen before.

The person before them looked like the dead fool. Yet, they looked nothing alike.

The past girl was a gullible angel; this one before them was a beastly demon. And she looked like judgment itself.

“Impossible. Amaya. How could she still be alive?” one of the pack members being held hostage by the soldiers shouted, snapping everyone out of their daze.

“This can’t be. I burnt your body myself until it became ash. And your wolf was stripped away. It’s impossible for you to be this powerful, and even more impossible for you to still be alive. No one can survive that,” Ethan shouted, his eyes red with denial and a hint of fear.

“Really? But I’m not human, nor wolf. A demon who crawled back from hell would be more likely.” Her tone was filled with disdain, her eyes going to Stacy’s baby bump.

She laughed—a cold, malicious sound, terrifying like a witch’s wicked cackle.

With a swift kick targeting Ethan’s crotch, she castrated him. His screams of pain echoed through the dark night.

The guests were filled with fear, including alphas from other packs. Amaya’s aura was oppressive, and they could barely stand, their wolves completely suppressed.

“Take the kids inside. It’s time to grill some human flesh barbecue.” She moved toward Erica, who was too stunned to move.

Amaya grabbed two flaming branding irons from the coal brought by her subordinates. The three’s eyes were filled with distress as they watched the beast approach.

“What are you going to do? Don’t you dare!” Erica roared, making Amaya’s eyes turn colder and even more beastly.

“Don’t you love fire? I’m bringing you to play.” She pressed the hot iron to Erica’s face, and her screams echoed all around.

As if that wasn’t enough, Amaya grabbed Erica’s face and shoved it into the coal, her strangled wails echoing in the dark night.

Her struggle was futile; just a thumb from Amaya against her neck rendered her incapable of movement. Soon, her wails died off, and she collapsed.

Amaya turned to Stacy, her lips curling into a cold smirk.

“What do you want to do? I’m a pregnant woman. It’s against the wolf laws to hurt a pregnant woman, especially one carrying an alpha bloodline. If you dare kill Ethan and me, the council will hunt you down,” Stacy shouted, her hand curled protectively over her belly.

“Really? I guess I must see today how powerful the Alphas’ Council truly is.”

A cold smirk played on Amaya’s lips as her hand tightened around Stacy’s neck. The process repeated itself until Stacy peed on herself, collapsing from exhaustion.

At this point, Ethan was too terrified to speak—he had gone numb. He had always known this would happen if he ever let her survive. That was why he meticulously planned everything out to ensure this day would never come. But now...

Before he could think of a way out, rough hands grabbed him, and the soldiers began their torture, his animalistic screams and pleas echoing.

“When you poisoned my parents and paid rogues to ambush them, you should have known this day would come. When you played on my intelligence, conspiring with your sister and Stacy to burn me alive and poison me to death, you should have known that your end would not be good.” Amaya’s tone was devoid of emotion as she stared down at the trembling Ethan, her eyes full of disdain.

None of the love she once held for him could be seen—only infinite hatred.

“Once it’s morning, kill them. It can’t be any earlier or later. They should slowly enjoy the feeling of torture until dawn.”

The moment Amaya finished speaking, the guards dragged the other alphas and elders who had helped Ethan from the shadows.

“What are you trying to do? We’re guests here, alphas—” A slap shut the man up, making him whimper—a disgrace to alphas.

“Did you think about the honor of an alpha when you conspired with a traitor to ruin the Alpha King’s family just for material benefits? Betraying me can only lead to death. Remember this—I don’t forgive or forget.”

The moment she finished speaking, the guards stepped forward, ready to execute them.

“I hereby find Stacy Rockwell, Ethan Dawson, Erica Dawson, Lance Howell, Maverick Davenport, Alpha Smith of Storm Blood Pack, Alpha Micha of Gray Wolf Pack, and all their accomplices guilty of treason. I sentence them to death by beheading.” The harbinger of doom announced, shaking everyone with horror.

The pack members began to fidget.

“She’s gone crazy. She’s killing so many alphas in the Silver Fang territory, including guests who came to join the celebration. She’s calling down the council’s wrath. This madwoman wants to end the Silver Fang pack!”

****

Amaya stood by the window of her office in the Silver Fang pack, overlooking the entire Silver Fang territories. Alex stood beside her, a document in hand, making a report.

“Alpha, the finances of the pack are in dire straits. There’s nothing in the treasury, and half of the assets have been transferred out or sold. I’m afraid Silver Fang, once one of the top five richest packs, has gone broke.”

“That’s to be expected. The money and power were their targets after all.” Amaya’s face was cold and emotionless as always.

“One more thing—there are rumors in the pack that your late father was an avid gambler, owing a lot of debt. And that Ethan was doing everything to repay the debt and rebuild the pack, which made the pack lose a lot of money. They’re blaming the Frost family for the current state of Silver Fang territory. Right now, everyone hates the former Alpha King—and you.”

Amaya stared right through the wall in a half haze, not showing any emotion. Deep down, her heart was in pain knowing that the pack her family cherished—her father’s legacy—now saw her as an enemy after being fed lies by the usurpers.

How could it not hurt? But she was used to being cold and ruthless; showing weakness was not an option.

Kyro ran in at that moment, holding a letter. “This is bad! This is bad! The Alphas’ Council sent you a query about the execution yesterday.”

“So what? Why are you flustered?” Amaya snapped and accepted the letter from him, effectively shutting him up.

“Alpha, it’s not just the council asking you to appear tomorrow at the Unity Hall. The letter also bears the Lycan King’s signature and seal.”

At the mention of the Lycan King, Amaya’s head snapped up, her eyes narrowing slightly.