My Dad Is An SSS Lycan!

Chapter 2: That Girl Is Your Daughter.

The cold female voice behind her made Elena turn her head. Diana Ashbourne had just entered the room, her business attire still immaculate as though she had only just stepped out of an ordinary meeting. Her gaze swept over her battered cousin before settling on the glass where Lyra was restrained on the experiment table: “And you still call yourself her mother? An Omega who was once the pride of Ashbourne, only to betray her own bloodline in the end, follow a Rogue, and give birth to a child with this degree of mutation.”

Elena braced a hand against the floor and pushed herself upright, fresh blood seeping from the wound at the corner of her mouth with the slightest movement. She looked straight at Diana, her breathing still uneven after the blow she had just taken: “Lyra is only a child. She’s your niece too.”

Diana walked closer, not the slightest flicker of emotion on her face: “You lived in Ashbourne all those years and you still don’t understand? Bloodline in this family has always gone hand in hand with**. The day you chose a Rogue despised by the entire werewolf society, you chose to leave your position behind as well.”

The mention of Zeyan made something shift briefly in Elena’s eyes. Five years had passed since he disappeared with nothing but a few cold messages, yet none of that mattered now compared to the child lying behind the glass. She swallowed the taste of blood in her mouth and said, “I loved him. I never needed the family to approve of that. I only want my daughter back.”

Diana laughed, the sound sharp and cold in the sterile room: “The man you loved abandoned you for five years. And you went from being an Omega valued by the entire family to this pathetic state. You can’t even protect your own child.”

Elena did not respond to the mockery. Her legs were so weak she could barely remain standing, yet she still forced herself forward until she managed to grab the hem of Diana’s trousers: “Whatever you want, I’ll give it to you. Shares, voting rights, every asset under my name—anything. Just stop the experiments and give Lyra back to me.”

Diana yanked her leg free and kicked her hard in the chest. Elena fell backward onto the floor, pain stabbing through her ribcage so sharply that she had to clutch her chest for several seconds before she could breathe again, while Diana merely bent down to smooth the wrinkle in her trousers where Elena had grabbed them and said indifferently, “You still think I need your consent at this point? The documents are already prepared. Tonight, all you need to do is leave your fingerprint.”

Diana’s gaze shifted toward the laboratory, where the machines were still continuously recording data from Lyra’s body: “The girl’s genes have the potential to awaken all the way to peak Alpha, perhaps even higher. Her value exceeds nearly everything you’re still trying to hold on to.”

Elena was about to speak when the alarm on the monitor suddenly began to shriek. Lyra’s entire body convulsed on the table, her tiny fingers curling inward, her legs held tightly by the restraints while the readings on the screen jumped wildly. Elena immediately crawled up to the glass, her bloodied hand striking the surface hard: “Stop! She can’t take any more!”

A technician checked the data and turned to ask, “The specimen isn’t tolerating the current dose. Should we stop the experiment?”

Diana looked at the monitor for a few seconds before answering, “Increase it by another 0.5 ml. With this level of mutation, her body can handle it.”

The moment Elena heard that, it was as though all the strength drained from her body. She watched Lyra convulsing, the device around her throat restraining her so tightly that even her cries could no longer come out clearly, then immediately turned to Diana: “Give me the contract. I’ll sign it now.”

Diana lifted a hand in signal, and an employee immediately brought over a fingerprint scanner and the electronic documents. Elena no longer had the presence of mind to read the lengthy terms on the screen. Her blood-smeared hand trembled as she moved it toward the sensor. Before pressing her finger down, she still forced herself to confirm one final time: “Once I sign, you’ll give Lyra back to me, right?”

Diana only stood there and watched.

Elena turned to look at her daughter. Lyra’s face had gone deathly pale, and even the convulsions were growing weaker as her body neared complete exhaustion. Elena bit down hard on her lip and pressed her thumb onto the scanner.

A confirmation tone sounded, the light turned green, and all transfer rights were completed immediately. The employee beside her collected the device and documents before Elena could even look at them again.

She immediately looked up: “I signed. Give Lyra back to me.”

Diana smiled: “At least you finally learned what you should do.”

“Give me my daughter.”

“Lyra will remain here under observation until her condition stabilizes.”

Elena froze, the fingers that had just touched the scanner still trembling: “You promised.”

Diana bent closer to her: “I promised you’d get to see her after you signed, and you have seen her. What does an Omega cast out by her family like you have to raise a child with a high-level bloodline like hers? Giving birth to her doesn’t mean she belongs to you.”

Elena stared at the face before her, only now understanding that Diana had calculated everything from the very beginning. The shares were already hers, while Lyra would still be kept as an experimental subject: “You can’t do this.”

Diana straightened: “I can.”

She turned to the guards before leaving the room: “Keep her alive. Take good care of her.”

The metal door shut behind Diana. Elena immediately struggled to her feet, the restraints around her wrists biting even deeper as the guards dragged her back: “I signed! Give Lyra back to me! I gave you everything you wanted!”

Her screams echoed through the room, but in the hallway beyond, only the sound of Diana’s high heels could be heard fading into the distance. Several men in protective clothing began approaching. One seized Elena by the shoulder and slapped her hard enough to knock her sideways. Before she could even get back up, the next fist drove into her stomach, folding her whole body in on itself as blood and sour bile spilled onto the floor.

The man standing closest looked down at her and sneered: “You think signing means you still get to bargain? Your shares are gone, the family doesn’t need you anymore, and now you still think you’re the Elena Ashbourne you used to be?”

Another man studied her battered face for a moment longer before crouching down, one hand reaching toward the part of her shirt already torn at the shoulder: “Diana said to take good care of you. Would be a damn waste to leave a face like this locked up for the researchers.”

Elena immediately backed away, drawing both legs tightly in front of herself to create distance: “Stay away from me.”

The man kept advancing. Elena kicked hard at his leg, raked her nails down the arm of the man beside him, then lowered her head and bit into the hand that had grabbed her hair. A curse exploded beside her ear, followed by a punch to the stomach that made her curl in on herself, her breathing breaking apart until she could barely make a sound.

The others immediately seized both of Elena’s arms and forced her down against the floor. She kept struggling, scratching, biting, and kicking at anything within reach, even with what little strength she had left still trying to keep the hands tugging at her clothes away from her body. Fear constricted her pupils, her breathing turned rapid and ragged, and her whole body shook violently as the men crowded in and sealed off every bit of space around her.

The metal door ahead remained firmly shut, and no returning footsteps sounded in the corridor outside. Elena was pinned among the men surrounding her, one hand still desperately clawing at the arm holding her down, her eyes wide with terror as she realized that no matter how hard she fought, there was no one outside who knew what was happening inside that room.