I thought about it for a moment, then got in the car and drove to Midnight Bar. Inside, the place was packed with noise and flashing lights, making it hard to see clearly. I studied the location on my phone, and finally spotted the girl not too far away. She had shed her modest school outfit and was now wearing a maid costume, sitting beside a customer and being relentlessly pressured to drink. That was… the same girl? Watching her force down the drinks while faking a smile, my heart twisted with pain. The bad feeling I had earlier—turned out it was right. The reason I wanted to help that girl was because she reminded me of myself. Back when my father was attacked by an enemy and left disabled, Shadow Pack fell into a steep decline. Later on, I clawed our way back and made us strong again with my own hands. But in those years while my father was recovering, I lived just like that girl—broke, bullied, scraping by. That’s why I had to become strong. So I could protect my family and my people. I stepped forward, grabbed her arm, and yanked her up to her feet. “It’s you…” Her eyes widened. “Ruby, is this your friend?” The drunk werewolf looked at me, squinting his eyes. Ruby quickly shook her head, clearly afraid I’d get dragged into things. “No, no, I don’t know her. Maybe she mistook me for someone else.” “You’re a student. You should be in a classroom, not in a place like this. Do you understand?” I said sternly. “She says she’s not a friend, but you two look pretty close. Come on now, Ruby’s friend is our friend. Why don’t you join us for a drink, beautiful?” the werewolf said, reaching out to put his hand on my waist. I caught his wrist and gave it a twist—his arm popped right out of its socket. “Aaahhh!” he howled. “Keep screaming, and I’ll make sure you lose the other arm too,” I said coldly.“Fine, you b*tch, you’re dead meat!” He gritted his teeth and pulled out his phone to make a call. Moments later, a crew of werewolf bodyguards showed up. “You’re not walking out of here tonight!” he growled, clutching his arm. “Get her! Beat her to a pulp!” I wasn’t afraid of the bodyguards, but Ruby was just a low-rank Omega. In a cramped place like a bar, if a fight broke out, she’d definitely get hurt. I grabbed a glass from the table and smashed it into the werewolf’s face, then pulled Ruby and bolted upstairs. “Get them! Don’t let them escape!” he roared behind us. I dragged Ruby through the crowd, up to the second-floor bar, kicked open a private room door, shoved her inside, and turned to leave. “Where are you going?” she grabbed my sleeve, looking worried. “I’m going to draw their attention. The two of us together are too easy to spot. Stay here and keep your head down.” “But—” “No buts. I just beat up their boss, so I’m their target. If nothing happens in a bit, sneak out quietly. Don’t let them catch you.” I handed her an Eclipse Corporation business card. “This has my number. Call me later. Don’t worry about the cost of your mom’s treatment—I can handle it.” Then I shut the door and turned to the right—only to run straight into a pack of werewolf bodyguards. “There she is! Get her!” I took a step back and sprinted left instead. The hallway curved into a darker, more remote part of the building, and a creeping sense of unease settled in my chest. But with a whole mob of werewolves hot on my heels, I had no choice but to keep running. I darted down to the second basement level and saw an open door—without thinking, I slipped inside and slammed it shut behind me. The second the door clicked, I regretted it.This place… it was a wine storage freezer? To preserve the quality of the alcohol, they used refrigeration tech here. The air was freezing cold. Within a minute, my whole body started to shiver. “She ran in there! Why aren’t we going after her?” “Go in there? Hell no. That’s the wine freezer. Just lock the door and let her freeze to death.” “Ha! Smart thinking!” I heard their voices outside and felt a chill go down my spine. I reached for my ring to send a location signal to Jackson—then froze. The ring. I’d given it to Ruby. “Sh*t.” I pulled out my phone, but of course there was no signal in the freezer. No calls, no texts—nothing was going out. “You’ve gotta be kidding me. Am I seriously about to freeze to death in here today?”