Chapter 398: Tenfold

Brynhild didn’t move after the slap.

The sound still lingered in the dungeon, echoing faintly off the stone walls before dissolving into silence. Holly’s head remained turned to the side, breath uneven, cheek already burning where Brynhild’s palm had connected.

For a heartbeat, no one spoke. The hit stung; it was the same place Sophia had hit her numerous times, after all.

The torches flickered, shadows crawling lazily across iron bars and damp stone like they were alive and listening.

Brynhild exhaled slowly through her nose, reining herself back in. When she spoke again, her voice was low, controlled—dangerously so.

"I’m only going to say this one more time."

Holly swallowed, her throat visibly working as fear finally crept into her eyes in full.

"You better think fast," Brynhild continued, taking a single step closer. "And you better give me an answer that makes my anger calm down. Even if it’s only a little."

Holly’s fingers curled into the thin blanket beneath her.

Brynhild tilted her head slightly, eyes fixed on Holly’s face.

"Did you leave Sophia to die when you saw the Trihydra?"

Holly opened her mouth, hesitated, then forced the words out. "I—I couldn’t help her. I tried. I really did, but the Trihydras were too strong and—"

Brynhild froze.

Her entire posture shifted.

"...Trihydras?" she repeated slowly.

Holly stiffened.

"What do you mean," Brynhild pressed, her voice suddenly razor-sharp, "Trihydras?"

Holly’s lips parted, then closed again. She swallowed hard. "There were... there were two."

The air seemed to crack.

Cat’s breath caught sharply behind the bars. "Two?" she gasped.

Nia straightened so fast her shoulder scraped the stone wall. Her eyes widened, fury flashing across her face. "You didn’t say that," she snapped at Holly. "You didn’t tell us there were two. You didn’t tell Alpha Orion anything!"

Holly’s gaze darted toward Nia, but she was unapologetic.

"You didn’t say a damn word," Nia continued, voice rising. "You just kept screaming that Sophia was a demon! You didn’t mention two Trihydras at all!"

Holly shrank back slightly, panic surfacing in her expression.

Brynhild didn’t wait.

Her fist slammed into Holly’s stomach with brutal force.

Holly doubled over with a sharp gasp, air ripping from her lungs as pain exploded through her core. She barely had time to react before Brynhild grabbed a fistful of her hair and yanked her upright.

"Look at me," Brynhild snarled.

Holly cried out, hands instinctively grabbing at Brynhild’s wrist.

"I said look at me," Brynhild repeated, dragging Holly closer until their faces were inches apart. "Even if I can’t see your eyes, you will look into them."

Holly’s breathing came out ragged and shallow as she obeyed, lifting her trembling gaze.

Brynhild’s expression was terrifyingly calm.

"If even a single hair on Sophia’s body goes missing," Brynhild said quietly, every word deliberate, "if she so much as twists her ankle—"

Her grip tightened painfully.

"You can kiss your days as a fully functioning wolf goodbye."

Holly’s lips parted in shock.

"I will break your legs," Brynhild continued, tone flat and merciless. "For everything that happens to Sophia, I will give it back to you tenfold."

Holly’s throat bobbed.

"You better pray she’s safe," Brynhild said, her voice dropping into something dark and lethal. "Because if she isn’t... I will make you a replica of me, but worse."

Holly’s eyes widened.

"You won’t have eyes to see," Brynhild went on. "Or a tongue to speak. Especially since you like boasting and claiming you belong to Orion."

Holly swallowed hard, fear flashing raw and unfiltered across her face.

For a moment, it looked like she might crumble.

Then her jaw tightened.

A low snarl vibrated from her chest, shaky but defiant. "You’re not the leader of this pack," Holly spat. "You don’t have any power."

Even as the words left her mouth, terror trembled behind them.

Brynhild tilted her head slightly.

"Watch and see, then," she said calmly.

Her grip tightened in Holly’s hair before she shoved her backward.

"I’ll make you regret the day you learned the word demon," Brynhild added coldly. "If anything happens to Sophia."

She flung Holly aside by her hair.

Holly slammed into the wall with a harsh impact, coughing violently as pain shot through her shoulder and back. She barely had time to catch her breath before lifting her head again, glaring at Brynhild with burning hatred.

Then Holly lunged.

She barely made it two steps.

Brynhild intercepted her effortlessly, catching Holly by the throat with one hand and slamming her back against the wall. The impact rattled the iron bars faintly.

Holly clawed at Brynhild’s wrist, gasping for air.

Brynhild leaned in, her voice dropping into a growl that vibrated with barely restrained violence.

"If you want to remain alive in this cell," she warned, "you better learn to control yourself."

Holly’s fingers scraped desperately at Brynhild’s hand, her face flushing as air became scarce.

Brynhild held her there for a few more suffocating seconds before finally throwing her aside.

Holly collapsed onto the narrow bed in a heap, coughing violently, chest heaving as she struggled to breathe properly again.

Brynhild straightened her cloak as if brushing dust from her sleeve.

"Open the cell," she said sharply.

The guard jumped, fumbling for his keys with shaky hands. He unlocked the door immediately.

Brynhild walked out without sparing Holly another glance.

As she passed the threshold, she wrinkled her nose slightly and sniffed at herself. "Now I’m going to need a bath before I see my daughter," she muttered with mild annoyance. "Lysander wouldn’t like this smell too."

The guard quickly slammed the cell door shut behind her and locked it again, heart pounding.

Inside the cell, Holly lay curled on the bed, coughing weakly, eyes burning with fury and humiliation.

Outside the bars, Cat, Nia, and Pete stared at Brynhild like they’d just witnessed a force of nature tear through stone.

Cat broke the silence first, awe in her voice. "I’d love to be like Elder Brynhild one day..."

Nia nodded slowly, still processing what she’d just seen. Even Pete looked stunned, his arms no longer folded, posture stiff with disbelief.

Brynhild didn’t acknowledge them.

She walked down the corridor calmly, boots echoing softly against stone as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened.

The dungeon swallowed her presence behind heavy shadows and flickering torchlight.

Step by step, she climbed the stone stairs, leaving the stale cold behind her. The air changed gradually as she emerged back into the compound, snow falling around her as she walked to her home.

She was certain of one thing: Orion would bring Sophia back.