Chapter 3 Masked man

"What did you just say?" Cassian's voice turned icy.

The man lowered his head. "The car carrying Miss Amora was intercepted about fifteen minutes away from the main gate. The driver was found unconscious, but Miss Amora has disappeared."

Cassian's gaze sharpened instantly. "Who did it?"

"We don't know yet. But..." The man hesitated.

"Speak."

"We found enormous claw marks at the scene, sir."

Those words made Cassian's mother slowly lift her head. "Claw marks?"

The man nodded. "Yes. But they weren't made by an ordinary human."

Silence settled over the room once again.

Cassian and his mother exchanged a knowing look.

"That's no coincidence," she murmured quietly.

Without another word, Cassian grabbed the black suit jacket draped over his chair.

"Leon!"

His personal assistant rushed into the room. "Yes, sir."

"Get the car ready."

Leon frowned. "You're going there yourself?"

Cassian fastened his watch without looking up. "They dared to lay a hand on someone who had just walked out of the Blackwood estate." His voice remained calm and emotionless.

Yet that very calmness sent a chill through everyone in the room.

"They've just challenged me."

~o0o~

Meanwhile...

Amora slowly opened her eyes.

A throbbing pain pulsed through her head. "Ugh..."

She tried to move, only to realize both of her hands were tied behind the chair.

"Seriously?" she let out a long sigh. "I just spent one night crashing at my ridiculously handsome boss's place, and now I've been kidnapped."

She tilted her head back, staring at the dim ceiling of the old warehouse. "My luck is never just a little bad. It's always a complete disaster."

The sound of approaching footsteps suddenly echoed through the warehouse.

The iron door creaked open.

A tall man stepped inside, followed by three others.

Their faces were hidden behind black masks.

The man in front stopped directly in front of Amora.

He slowly inhaled.

"Hmm..." His eyes narrowed.

"Strange."

Amora tilted her head. "What's strange?"

The man leaned in and took another sniff of her scent.

"Impossible..."

One of Amora's eyebrows arched. "Mr. Kidnapper, if you want to smell my perfume, at least ask first. Don't just do it out of nowhere."

One of the masked man's subordinates had to bite back a laugh.

"Silence!"

"Sorry, Boss."

The masked man fixed his gaze on Amora once more.

"Where is the necklace?"

"The necklace?"

"Don't play dumb!"

Amora frowned. "I don't even know who you people are. And now you're asking about some necklace? Sorry, I don't own any diamonds. I'm just a poor girl who happened to spend the night at my boss's house."

The masked man suddenly slammed both hands onto the chair's armrests.

Bang!

"Your father must have hidden it!"

Amora froze. "My father?"

The cheerful expression on her face slowly faded.

"My father is dead."

The masked man's gaze shifted.

He studied her expression for a few moments.

She looked genuinely confused.

"Then..." he murmured quietly. "...she really doesn't know anything."

Before he could say another word—

Awooooo!

A wolf's howl echoed from outside the warehouse.

It was followed by the screams of several guards.

"Ahhh!"

"Enemy!"

"He's here!"

The masked man immediately turned toward the door.

The color drained from his face.

"That's impossible..."

Crash!

The warehouse door exploded into pieces.

Dust filled the air.

Beyond the cloud of dust stood a tall figure, his blue eyes sharper and colder than ever.

A terrifying aura engulfed the entire warehouse.

"Cassian..." one of the kidnappers whispered, his body trembling.

The Alpha's gaze landed directly on Amora, who was still tied to the chair.

When he spoke, his voice was low, yet powerful enough to freeze everyone in place.

"You..." He took a slow step forward. "...dared to lay your hands on what's mine?"

His words echoed throughout the warehouse.

The kidnappers exchanged uneasy glances.

Meanwhile, Amora frowned.

Mine? Since when did I become his? He practically threw me out earlier. In fact, he probably doesn't even remember doing it.

Cassian walked inside without the slightest hint of urgency.

His blue eyes swept across the room.

The masked man leading the kidnapping clenched his fists.

"So it's true..." the masked man said with a grim smile. "The Alpha of the Blackwood family came here himself."

Cassian gave no reply.

His eyes remained fixed on the ropes binding Amora's wrists.

"I'll give you one chance," he said calmly. "Let her go."

Several men behind the leader burst into laughter.

"Just because you're an Alpha, you think we're afraid of you?"

A faint smile tugged at the corner of Cassian's lips.

"No."

A brief pause.

"But you will regret this."

Bang!

One of the kidnappers charged first.

His massive fist shot straight toward Cassian's face.

But—

Thud!

The punch stopped midair.

Cassian caught the man's wrist with a single hand.

"Y-You..."

Crack!

The sound of bone snapping echoed through the warehouse.

"AAAAAGH!"

The man screamed in agony before Cassian hurled him away as if he weighed nothing.

Boom!

His body slammed into the wooden wall, leaving it cracked from the impact.

Amora's eyes widened.

"Oh my God... My boss is actually a monster..."

The other three men attacked at once.

Cassian evaded them with movements so fast they were almost impossible to follow.

Thud!

Bang!

Crash!

Within seconds, all three were sprawled across the floor, groaning in pain.

Their leader instinctively took a step back.

"You..." His eyes were filled with shock. "You've grown even stronger."

Cassian continued walking toward him.

"I don't like repeating myself."

His icy gaze never wavered.

"Let her go."

The masked man suddenly grinned.

"In that case..."

Clink!

A dagger was pressed against Amora's neck.

"Don't move."

Cassian stopped in his tracks.

Cassian's expression darkened.

The icy calm in his eyes was replaced by a fury he could no longer conceal.

The masked man laughed triumphantly.

"Hahaha... So it's true. Even an Alpha like you has a weakness."

Amora swallowed nervously.

"Um..."

The masked man glanced at her.

"What?"

"If I may make a suggestion..." she said in a tiny voice. "Could you not press the dagger so close to my neck? My skin is really sensitive."

The man blinked.

"...What?"

"If it leaves a scar," Amora replied with complete sincerity, "it'll take forever to fade."

Silence fell over the warehouse.

Even the kidnappers who were still conscious stared at her in disbelief.

Cassian closed his eyes for a brief moment.

At a time like this...

She was seriously worried about getting a scar.

She was beyond comprehension.

The instant everyone's attention shifted to Amora—

Cassian moved.

He was so fast that only a blur remained.

"What the—"

Thud!

The dagger flew from the masked man's hand.

In the blink of an eye, Cassian was already standing in front of Amora.

His hand clamped around the man's throat.

"You made the wrong choice."

His voice was barely above a whisper.

But the look in his eyes...

It was that of a predator ready to tear its prey apart.

The masked man's eyes widened in terror.

He struggled to pry Cassian's hand away, but it was useless.

"Y-You..."

"Talk."

Cassian's grip tightened.

"Who sent you?"

Instead of answering, the masked man curled his lips into a faint smile.

"...You're too late."

Cassian frowned.

"What do you mean?"

The masked man let out a low laugh.

"We weren't after her."

Cassian's eyes narrowed.

"Then what were you after?"

"We only wanted to make sure..." He coughed, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. "...that the woman was truly still alive."

Cassian's heartbeat pounded once, harder than before.

"What are you talking about?"

The man slowly lifted his head.

Behind the mask, a victorious smile spread across his face.

"Because starting tonight... every pack will know that the female heir has been found."

Those words seemed to freeze the entire warehouse.

Cassian's gaze turned even colder.

"The female heir?"

The masked man smiled through the blood staining his lips.

"You know nothing, Alpha Blackwood."

Crash!

Cassian flung him across the room.

His body smashed into a stack of wooden crates, sending them crashing onto the floor.

"Argh!"

The man coughed up another mouthful of blood.

Cassian strode toward him.

"Explain yourself."

"Hahaha..."

Instead of answering, the man only laughed.

"You're too late."

Suddenly—

BOOM!

A deafening explosion shook the warehouse, making the entire building tremble violently.

"What was that?!" Amora cried.

Cassian immediately turned toward the exit.

Black smoke began seeping through the cracks in the walls.

"They planted bombs."

"Sir!"

Leon rushed inside with several bodyguards.

"The timers only have a few minutes left!"

"Waaaah!" Amora wailed as she struggled against the ropes binding her. "I don't want to die this young! I haven't even made enough money yet, and I haven't experienced the warm embrace of a handsome man!"

Cassian turned to look at her.

Without saying a word, he reached for the ropes around her wrists.

Snap!

With a single pull, the thick ropes broke apart as though they were nothing.

Amora stared in amazement, rubbing her sore wrists.

"Wow... Boss, you're unbelievably strong."

Her eyes darted between the torn ropes and Cassian's hand.

"Boss..."

Cassian ignored her.

"Leon."

"Yes, sir!"

"Get everyone out."

"Right away!"

The bodyguards immediately split up and began evacuating everyone.

Meanwhile, the shrill beeping of a timer echoed through the warehouse, growing faster with every passing second.

Beep... Beep... Beep...

Amora swallowed hard.

"Boss..."

Cassian glanced at her briefly.

"If we're going to die..." Amora murmured softly, "...may I ask for one last favor?"

"What is it?" Cassian replied flatly, despite how ridiculous the question sounded.

Amora gave him an awkward smile.

"Could you... hug me just once?"

Leon, who was busy giving orders to the bodyguards, nearly choked when he heard her.

At a moment like this...

She was still asking for a hug.

Cassian looked at Amora in silence for a few seconds.

"You talk too much."

"Well..." Amora shrugged. "What if I never get another chance?"

Cassian let out a quiet sigh.

"Come."

"Huh?"

Before Amora could react, Cassian had already taken hold of her wrist.

"Uh... Boss?"

"I won't repeat myself."

"Oh."

Amora immediately hurried after him.

"If you'd been like this from the start," she mumbled with a grin, "I wouldn't have been scared at all."

They had only taken a few steps when—

BOOM!

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