The fabric that covered my cage was abruptly pulled away, and I squinted in the dim light of early dawn. As my vision adjusted, I could make out the features of the man who had uncovered me. He was in his 50s, tall, and strong. His blonde hair was streaked with white, and his clear blue eyes held a cold, cruel expression. A wicked smile played on his lips as he licked them eagerly as if he was about to devour me, making me tremble with fear.

"Ah, well, who do we have here...?" the man sneered, his voice oozing with malice.

I looked away from him, trying to ignore the icy grip of terror that clawed at my insides. Behind him stood three other men, one of whom was burly and bore a scar across his eye. I inferred they were the werewolves who had captured me. The sun was slowly rising, and as it did, more and more of my surroundings came into view. We were in a forest clearing, with cabins off to the far left. My cage was situated on a rudimentary plaza or city square, packed dirt forming a circle around a central pole.

As the light revealed more of the pole, I gasped in horror. Blood dripped down its length, pooling on the ground beneath it. And at the top... impaled through her abdomen, was the body of a woman. Flies buzzed around her lifeless form, attracted by the putrid stench of rotting flesh that filled the air. Her skin was discolored and bloated, her once-beautiful face now frozen in an eternal scream of agony. My heart raced in my chest, and bile rose in my throat as I stared at the grisly sight. I couldn't tear my eyes away, even as my stomach churned with revulsion. The woman... She seemed oddly familiar...

The sun finally emerged in full, revealing the gruesome scene before me. I could no longer deny what my heart had feared – the lifeless body impaled on that awful pole was Olga, Ylfa's mom. Fuck. My stomach churned with a mix of grief and horror. What had happened to her? "Hey, look at me!" the blond man shouted, snapping his fingers to get my attention.

"Who are you?" he demanded, but I was too horrified to answer. Tears streamed down my face as I thought about poor Olga, who didn't deserve such a cruel fate. The Ironfangs were truly monsters.

"How did you get this?" he continued, holding up the silver box I'd taken from Gabriel. But my thoughts couldn't break away from the grisly sight before me.

"She's in shock," a woman with black hair and an athletic build said as she approached the group. Her big black brows and serious expression gave her a commanding demeanor. The others made room for her as she came closer to my cage. She examined me, and then said to the leader, "She's a Hood. Beatrice's granddaughter."

"Is she?" the man replied, gripping the cage bars, his wicked smile predatory. "He mentioned her," he told the others. I wondered who 'he' was. "You must know, then," he continued, his voice low and menacing like a dagger slowly approaching my throat. "How the fuck do you open this shit box?"

"I... I don't know," I muttered, my throat tightening in fear.

The man's face twisted in anger and he shook the cage's bars violently. "Liar!" he shouted, making me glad there was a cage separating us. He shook the bars so hard that his hair became disheveled. He continued to rage, spittle flying from his mouth as he cursed me. Eventually he calmed down, passed a hand through his blonde hair and sighed. "Get her out," he ordered the others, impatient.

"You heard Skol," the big burly man with a scar on his eye said, opening the door to my cage.

I gaped, disbelief coursing through my veins. So, this was Skol? Skol, the ruthless leader of the Ironfang Clan, the werewolf we had been chasing for decades. Everything about him exuded power and cruelty, from the tattoos that snaked along his arms and neck to the unreadable expression in his eyes. Goosebumps covered my skin as I thought of Silver. Did he really have to grow up under the care of this vicious man? I couldn't imagine what it must've been like for him as a child, being raised by this... monster.

As the two werewolves entered my cage, I tried to resist their grip, but their strength was just too much for me. They dragged me out, forcing me to kneel before Skol by kicking my legs out from under me. Skol wrenched my chin, his icy gaze scrutinizing me as a cruel smirk crept across his face, relishing in my powerless position.

Suddenly, he struck me. The sheer force of the slap sent me crashing onto the ground, my face burning and throbbing with pain. Stars burst before my eyes and I tasted iron in my mouth. His satisfied smirk only grew as a trickle of blood began to flow from my lip. The others just stood there, smirking. I could feel their stares on me as I struggled to gather my bearings. My heart raced in fear, but I didn't let it show on the outside – I gritted my teeth and glared back at Skol with all the defiance I could summon in such a hopeless situation.

"Pathetic," he sneered, his cold eyes narrowing. "You think you can play games with me, little girl?"

"Fuck you," I spat, my voice shaking but defiant. I could see the rage building in Skol's eyes, but I didn't care. I wasn't going to let him control me.

"Feisty, aren't you?" he growled, his fingers digging into my chin. "You'll learn your place soon enough."

Before I could even muster a response, the stern-faced woman interrupted, "She's more valuable alive, Skol. If she knows how to open the box, that is."

"Why...? How did you know about this box?" I rasped, trying to clear my mind and gain time while my ears still rang from Skol's brutal slap. The woman stepped closer, a sly smile curling her lips. "We are the ones asking the questions, sweetheart," she said, grabbing my face and letting it go with contempt. "Cooperate, and you'll get to see Silver. Well-," she paused, glancing meaningfully toward me, "What's left of him anyway."

A cold shiver ran down my spine, thoughts of Silver clouding my judgment momentarily. So, Silver was here? Was he hurt? Since when had he been kept captive? I had to see him! My heart raced as I pondered over the possibilities.

"Give me the box," I said, looking at Skol with determination.

Skol gave the box to the scarred henchman, who handed it to me as the other two helped me to stand. There was nowhere to run, no matter how hard I wished otherwise. My hands shook as I pulled out the tiny key from my pocket, letting its silvery shine glimmer in the early morning light. I pressed the basket on the top lid, activating the mechanism that revealed the tiny keyhole. Taking a deep breath, I inserted the key and twisted it.

As the lock clicked open, Skol's eyes lit up greedily. But his excitement was short-lived. The box was empty. His face contorted into a rage that made my blood run cold. He checked the empty box again and threw it to the ground with a snarl.

"Where is it?" he roared, grabbing me by the neck and lifting me off the ground, his spittle flying into my face. "What was inside the fucking box?!" I choked, gasping for breath, my vision starting to blur. "Gabriel... He has what was inside!" I finally managed to say, my voice barely a whisper.

The stern-faced woman's gaze sharpened, and she shot a piercing look at Skol. "I knew we shouldn't have trusted that treacherous snake." Skol threw me back to the ground, my head spinning as I tried to regain my bearings. "And what, pray tell," he sneered, "was inside the fucking box?"

I took a shaky breath, trying to calm my racing thoughts. Then I remembered what Ulrich had told me. Skol was forming a werewolf army, and he wanted the secret for turning humans into werewolves. That was the reason Ulrich and grandma Beatrice had wanted to kill him. Did Gabriel and Skol...?

"I... I don't know," I lied, my voice quivering. My heart pounded in my chest as I looked up at Skol, whose cold eyes bored into me, searching for any hint of deceit.

Skol clenched his fists, his knuckles turning white as the rage simmered beneath his icy facade. The woman stood beside him, her arms crossed, her dark brows furrowed in irritation. I could feel their frustration, their anger, and their impatience bearing down on me like an oppressive weight.

"Lies!" Skol shouted, his face contorted in fury as he drew back his hand, poised to strike me again. He hesitated, his anger simmering just below the surface. "That shithead Gabriel... Why didn't he come to me?"

My blood ran cold as I pieced the puzzle together. Gabriel and Skol... Was it possible that they were working together? Grandma had wanted Gabriel to take out Skol, the werewolf responsible for so much pain and suffering. But instead, they'd somehow joined forces in a devious alliance. They both wanted to find a way to transform humans into abominable werewolves. That was their connection. How could this have happened?!

As the realization dawned on me, a surge of rage coursed through my veins. My entire body trembled with the sheer force of my anger.

Skol picked up the box from the ground, his attention firmly on its intricate design. His fingers traced the engravings, a deadly promise in his voice as he said, "He'll regret crossing me."

But my mind was elsewhere, consumed by the memories of my sweet grandmother. Images of her lifeless body lying on the ground flooded my thoughts, the stench of death in her cabin, blood painting the walls and a gaping wound on her neck. Her eyes... completely empty. With my fists clenched and jaw tightened, I found the courage to confront Skol.

"Was it you?" I asked, my voice shaking with rage. "Did you kill my grandmother?"

Skol looked at me, amused by my outburst. My face flushed with anger and my fists clenched as I stared him in the eye. A cruel smile curved his lips. "Yes," he said. "I killed your grandmother."

My vision blurred with unshed tears.