Chapter 49
Chapter 49
Riley’s POV
“Riley!” Kael’s voice snapped across the room like a whip.
+8 Pearls
“You think this is strength?” Kael spat, voice shaking with fury. “You think flashing claws and a bit of borrowed aura makes you unstoppable p>
That’s not real power, Riley. It’s desperation. And it reeks p>
He pointed at me, eyes narrowing. “Just like I told them–you probably used some kind of black magic tonic to force your wolk out. That scent? It’s unstable. Fading. A trick p>
“Wolves like us earn power through blood, through battle, not shortcuts. Keep chasing easy paths and you’ll destroy yourself p>
His words were like a desperate mantra, a way to comfort himself–denying the truth of my strength while trying to shove me back into the box they’d always kept me in
1 looked at him coldly and said quietly,
“Then pray I don’t take the hard path. Because if I do, you’ll be the first one down p>
“Keep dreaming. Riley, ”
You’ll burn out within arlett sneered from behind him. “Whatever you took to summon that wolf of yours? It won’t last.
Zara’s voice followed, soft but sharp like the edge of a poisoned dagger. “No amount of dark magic can rewrite fate. You were born to kneel, not rule. And when that twisted power turns on you–don’t expect anyone to catch you p>
“Mark my words,” Scarlett added, eyes gleaming with bitter fire. “That wolf will devour you from the inside out. It’s not strength. It’s a curse p>
I didn’t even flinch.
I walked straight into the dining hall, pulled out a chair, and sat down like I hadn’t heard a damn thing. I picked up my fork and started eating slowly, deliberately, like their panic and screeching didn’t exist.
The roast venison was delicious–tender, marinated just right, juices still warm from the hearth.
Funny, isn’t it?
I’ve lived twenty–three years. And this was the first time I’ve ever tasted meat this rich, this full of flavor.
In the orphanage? We were lucky to get dry bread and overcooked stew.
Back at the Ebonclaw estate? I only got cold leftovers–sometimes even discarded bones scraped clean by others.
It was only when I was thrown into prison that I tasted actual warm, decent food.
If Ronan hadn’t ordered the guards to “look after me,” I would’ve sworn that a cell was still better than this damn house.
I chewed slowly, savoring each bite, letting the flavor sit on my tongue before swallowing
When I finally spoke, my voice was calm and crisp, cutting like ice.
“You think your opinions matter to someone who crawled out of a grave you dug? ”
“ Save your breath. You’ll need it for the next time I knock the air out of yo
your lungs.
“My heart? You’re asking if I have one? That’s rich, coming from a family that trampled mine until there was nothing left Why? Because I’m treating you the same way you treated me, and now it’s suddenly a problem p>
Zara’s tears flowed freely now. “Riley, how can you be so heartless? Your father’s barely breathing, and you still have the nerve
I didn’t even look at her. I stabbed another piece of meat and placed it in my mouth.
Chapter 4U
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They say when you’re dying, your senses sharpen Eremembered thus from prison. Ed almost died there too. But here, in this ding, surrounded by people whas calles themselves family, Frealized something else
My soul shied long before Lever set foot in a cell.
I swallowed and met Zara’s tearful gaze with utter indifference,
“You want to talk about heartless? Let me remind you what heartless really looks like
I was the Spring Moon Festival during my final year at Monnerest Academy. I was burning up with fever–three days and ights of pure hell. I couldn’t shift, couldn’t move, couldn’t even crawl from the freezing storage rooms they locked me in.
No water. No food. Just cold shadows and silence.
It Mia hasn’t returned from her huslislay and found me half –dead on the floor, I’d be rotting beneath the Ebonclaw Pack’s sacred tree by now.
And when she confronted Alaric and Zara?
Maric shrugged, “She’s taking it. Always is. Trying to win sympathy again. I know her game”
Zarasighed, ever so gentle. “Riley really shouldn’t stay in her room three days without eating. It’s not healthy for a young
She knew. They knew.
But they didn’t litt a claw.
I remember dragging myself to the kitchen to find water, and Laverheard everything
That night, the frost in my veins was no fever–it was the truth finally settling into my bones.
They didn’t care if Llived or died.
Hell, even Scarlett’s mutt was worth more than me.
When that decrepit old hound fell ill weeks later, the entire family went into mourning. They spent tens of thousands on herbal healers, rune–charged diagnostics, moonstone therapy–you name it.
The dog died of old age, obviously. It was eighteen. Could barely walk,
But they cried like they’d lost a firstbor
They held a moon–blessed funeral, Chanted prayers. Burned sacred sage.
And then Scarlett sand it was my fault.
That I’d cursed her dog by being sick near it.
Of course, Alaric believed her.
He forced me to kneel barefoot in the snow to “repent p>
It was during my heat cycle. I was still a late bloomer, barely had my moon blood then.
1 fainted Agalli
Atia saved me. Again.
That sickness lingered for weeks. My cycles were delayed for months after. And when they returned, they brought pain sharp enough to make me wish I never shifted at all.
All of that—because of them.
Chapter 49
And like a fool, I used to still want their approval.
Scarlett’s voice snapped through my haze. “If anything happens to Father, I swear I won’t forgive you p>
I set my fork down–hard.
The clang echoed in the room.
“Forgive me? You must be delusional”
I stood and walked slowly toward her, every step deliberate, steady
“You think I don’t remember? You broke into my room first. You threw the first punch. You ran to Zara, sobbing lies. Your precious father saw your crocodile tears and flew into a rage. Now he’s collapsed p>
I raised my voice with each word p>
“He’s suffering from aura imbalance and spirit chamber overload because he lost control of his wolf. Because you set the fire and watched it burn. And now you want to pin the ashes on me p>
I reached her and, without warning, slapped her across the face–hard.
Another neat red print bloomed beside the one I’d left earlier,
“Perfect symmetry,” I sneered.
Zara screeched and lunged at me, but I stepped aside. She tripped and hit the ground hard.
Kael finally snapped. He shoved me backward, fury in his eyes. “That’s ENOUGH p>
1 stumbled, but Mia catight me.
Kael’s hand hovered midair–then dropped. So did his concern.
He pulled his hand back slowly, like I burned him.
“You still think I’m the villain here?” I laughed bitterly. “Alaric’s turning purple on the floor, and you haven’t even summoned a healer. You’re just standing there waiting for him to die so you can finally take his place as Alpha, aren’t you p>
“SHUT UP!” he roared, voice cracking.
Then make me p>
As we traded barbs, Alaric’s limbs began to stiffen. His face twisted, eyes rolling back. The telltale signs of lunar suffocation- when a wolf’s spirit detaches from their breath due to emotional overload. The sacred breath stops syncing with the body, and without swift intervention-
Death follows.
Scarlett screamed. “Do something! He’s going to die p>
Kael fumbled with his comm, trying to reach Theo,
No answer.
Zara was pacing, hands shaking like brittle leaves in the wind.
And me?
Istood above them all, watching it unfold like a bad dream finally coming true.
A part of me wanted to let him go.
But if he died, they’d blame me. Take my money. Hunt me like prey.
I sighed and turned to Mia.
Chapter 49
“Bring me a stormleaf sack from the kitchen,” I ordered.
She blinked. “A what p>
“Top shelf. Behind the healing salts p>
Mia ran and returned moments later with the woven dark–blue p
pouch.
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I stepped forward and pulled it open, placing it gently over Alaric’s face.
Everyone lost their minds.
Scarlett screeched. “You’re killing him! You witch–you’re trying to suffocate him p>
I shoved her back. “Be quiet if you don’t know what the hell you’re talking about p>
They gaped at me in silence.
“Stormleaf is a grounding herb,” I explained coldly. “It traps a wolf’s own breath aura. He’s over–ventilated–his body’s expelled too much primal energy and lost balance. He’s not dying. He’s resetting p>
I glanced at Scarlet.
“Didn’t you place top ten at Halston Academy? What, no basic understanding of wolf physiology p>
She flushed but said nothing-
A few tense minutes later, Alaric stirred.
He ripped off the sack and gasped for breath, his pupils finally returning to center.
Then, like the brute he was, he launched up–trying to attack me,
“Careful,” I said icily. “Lose control again, and next time, I’ll let the spirits finish what they started p>
“ You ungrateful-
I turned away, already heading for the stairs.
“Stay out of the upstairs rooms!” he bellowed. “You belong in the storage den p>
I stopped halfway up the steps.
Then turned slightly and looked down on him.
“Before, I stayed out of guilt,” I said. “Now, I stay out of pity: I saved your pathetic life. That room? It’s your debt to me. Be grateful I don’t charge more. Because if I did p>
I smiled coldly.
“I’d be taking this whole damned house p>
Alaric’s eyes bulged. “You–1”
Kael hurriedly shoved the stormleaf sack back over Alaric’s head
I watched him wheeze into the bag, the pouch inflating and deflating like a balloon.
li was almost funny.
I smirked to myself.
Turns out, once you stop giving a damn, you get to enjoy the chaos.
And for the first time in years, I was starting to feel alive.