Chapter 61: Defeated

Emma POV

I blinked against the sudden sunlight as the heavy dungeon door creaked open. My mate. Finn. He stood there, chest broad, eyes cold as steel, yet that one look told me he expected gratitude. Expected obedience. Expected… me to forgive.

I didn’t.

He stepped aside, letting me out, and I forced myself to stand tall, shaking off the remnants of darkness and fear. Every fiber of me ached from weeks in that wretched dungeon, yet my mind was sharper than ever. I had seen the sword. Finn’s plan. The poison meant for Cain. And I had acted.

No one knew, not even him.

When the guards brought the sword, I had switched it. The real poisoned blade had a red ribbon tied around its hilt. I untied it and tied the plain sword in its place. Finn had no idea his advantage had vanished.

I clenched my fists, feeling the adrenaline push through my veins. He was my mate, yes, but he had locked me up, treated me like a prize or a weapon. I had loved him once. Now? All I felt was fury and a burning need for justice. And part of me… wanted him dead.

The guard approached, holding the swords, handing one to Cain and the other to Finn. The crowd murmured, the tension thick as fog. Everyone knew Cain was powerful, nearly unstoppable. Finn’s reliance on the poisoned sword was his only hope. He thought he had the upper hand.

The speaker man’s voice boomed, cutting through the chatter. “The fight will begin. Let it be known: only one will leave alive.”

The crowd fell silent, the air tight with anticipation.

Finn and Cain faced each other, eyes locked, their movements already sharp, practiced, deadly. The clang of swords rang out, echoing through the arena. I stayed hidden in the shadows, heart hammering, every strike and parry feeding the fire in me.

“You should have stayed in the shadows,” Cain hissed, eyes cold as ice.

Finn smirked. “And let you rule unchecked? Never.”

They exchanged blows, swift and brutal. Finn fought with skill, yes, but Cain… Cain was something else entirely. His hybrid nature gave him strength no one could match. I watched Finn dig his sword into Cain’s abdomen and hold it there, smirking as if waiting for Cain to falter.

I knew Finn expected Cain to weaken. Expected him to die. He didn’t know the blade was harmless.

Cain’s eyes narrowed. Then, with a sudden force, he twisted the sword, yanked it free, and pushed Finn back. The crowd gasped. Finn’s smirk faltered.

And then Cain struck. One clean movement, precise and lethal. Finn stumbled, surprise flashing across his face, and then… he was on the ground. The fight was over.

A roar erupted from the crowd. “Alpha! Alpha Cain!”

I stepped closer, watching Cain rise, blood dripping from his wound but victory in his eyes. The elders, greedy and smug, began murmuring among themselves. “Impossible! Everyone knows he’s a hybrid—he shouldn’t be able to defeat Finn so easily—”

Cain’s hand shot up, sharp and commanding. “Say another word, and I will have your heads myself!”

The elders froze. Panic spread across their faces. Even in their arrogance, they knew he wasn’t bluffing.

The chant grew louder. “Alpha Cain! Alpha Cain! Alpha Cain!”

I could feel the weight of the moment, the shift in power, the undeniable truth. Cain wasn’t just powerful, he was feared, respected, unstoppable. Finn’s arrogance, his cruelty, his attempt to control everyone… it was finished.

I didn’t cheer. Not yet. My eyes were fixed on him, the mate who had betrayed me, who had tried to kill someone else for his gain. And yet, in that moment, I realized… Cain was back, stronger than ever. The people believed in him. The elders were silenced. And the one I had once called mine lay defeated, humiliated, powerless.

The crowd wouldn’t let the moment pass. Every voice lifted in unison, echoing off the walls, through the streets. “Alpha Cain! Alpha Cain! Alpha Cain!”

I felt a shiver run through me. Not fear, not awe, not love—not anymore. Something new. Relief. And maybe… hope.

The fight was over, and with it, the reign of those who thought they could control everything. Cain had reclaimed his place back, his strength, his throne. And I… I had played my part, unseen, unheard, yet crucial.

The chants didn’t stop. They wouldn’t stop. And for the first time in a long time, I felt the world shift beneath me. The darkness of the dungeon, the cruelty of my mate. it all felt distant. I watch Finn take his last breath and lay motionless on the ground.

“Alpha Cain,” they shouted again, louder this time, stronger. I let the sound wash over me, knowing the tides had turned. The battle was done. The victor stood tall. And the kingdom, at last, knew who truly commanded its loyalty.

“I, Alpha Cain, have just reclaimed my throne,” Cain announced, his voice strong and sure. I watched him carefully, my eyes following every move, every glance. The man standing there… the man I truly loved before fate had twisted our paths and bound me to Finn.

Now Finn was gone. Defeated. The cruel, selfish mate who had tried to control everything was out of the way. The kingdom could finally return to its normal rhythm or as normal as it ever could be under Cain’s rule.

But I didn’t feel relief. Not fully. Not yet. My mind was already moving ahead, planning, calculating. I had a new mission. One that was even more dangerous than switching swords or sneaking around the castle.

Cain.

I wanted him. Not in the way Finn had tried to take me, or in the way anyone else thought they could claim me. I wanted him because he was everything I had ever imagined… and everything I had been denied.

But before I could get to him, there was someone else. A human. Weak, careless, and very much in my way. And before Cain could be mine… the human had to go.

I clenched my fists. This mission… this time, I would not fail.