Chapter 3 - The Crimson Claim
The atmosphere inside the luxury boutique grew incredibly thick,
the heavy scent of ozone and aggression filling every corner of the room.
Ivy refused to back down,
her posture straightening as she looked directly at her tormentor.
"I will not surrender anything to a thief,"
Ivy declared,
her voice ringing out clearly,
shattering the remnants of Scarlett's false superiority.
Scarlett's face instantly contorted with absolute fury,
her green eyes turning a dark,
predatory shade of amber.
"A thief?"
Scarlett roared,
her hand flying out with lightning speed to strike Ivy across the face.
But Ivy was not completely defenseless,
her instincts kicking in as she raised her arm to block the vicious blow.
With a swift,
practiced movement from her childhood training,
Ivy grabbed Scarlett's wrist,
exerting a sudden,
crushing pressure.
A loud,
sharp snap echoed through the boutique,
followed immediately by a pierced shriek of agony from Scarlett.
Scarlett fell to her knees,
clutching her broken wrist,
her face pale with shock and intense pain.
"You broke my wrist!"
Scarlett screamed,
her voice trembling with a mixture of rage and disbelief.
"You worthless stray,
how dare you touch me!"
Kane immediately rushed forward,
his eyes blazing with anger as he knelt beside his new mate.
"Ivy,
have you lost your mind?"
Kane bellowed,
his Alpha aura flaring out violently,
attempting to crush Ivy to the floor.
The sheer weight of his power hit her like a physical wave,
forcing her to take a difficult step back,
her breathing becoming shallow.
But she held her ground,
refusing to bow her head to a traitorous Alpha who had abandoned his honor.
"She struck me first,
Kane,"
Ivy said,
panting slightly as she fought against his suffocating pressure.
"I merely defended myself against her unwarranted assault."
Scarlett looked up at Kane,
tears of simulated distress streaming down her beautifully painted cheeks.
"Kill her,
Kane!"
Scarlett cried out,
her voice filled with pure,
unadulterated malice.
"She has insulted the Crimson pack,
she has tained my honor!"
"Look at what she did to me,
she must pay for this in blood!"
Kane stood up slowly,
his tall frame towering over Ivy,
his expression turning murderous.
The assistants in the boutique whimpered,
scurrying further into the corners to escape the impending violence.
Ivy realized then that she was completely alone in enemy territory,
surrounded by wolves who wished for her total destruction.
Kane raised his hand,
signaling the heavy guards stationed at the entrance of the boutique.
"Guards,"
Kane ordered,
his voice echoing with authority,
"restrain her immediately."
"She has committed an act of war against a high-ranking member of our allied pack."
Four large,
muscular guards stepped forward,
their expressions grim as they surrounded Ivy,
blocking every possible exit.
Ivy bared her teeth,
her inner wolf screaming for a fight,
refusing to go down without a bloody struggle.
She managed to dodge the first guard's grasp,
striking him hard in the jaw,
sending him stumbling backward into a glass display case.
The glass shattered into a thousand glittering pieces,
the noise sharp and chaotic in the confined space.
But the remaining three guards quickly overwhelmed her,
their heavy hands pinning her arms behind her back with brutal force.
She fought against their grip,
but their combined strength was too much for her lone wolf to handle.
They forced her down to her knees onto the hard,
cold marble floor,
right in front of Scarlett and Kane.
Scarlett smiled through her pain,
a sadistic,
vile look returning to her beautiful face as she looked down at the captured girl.
"Now,"
Scarlett whispered,
May you like
her voice dripping with venom,
"let us teach this stray her proper place."
