Chapter 73 Kingdom Aurelia

Chapter 73 Kingdom Aurelia
REIKA'S POV

The silence that followed was suffocating. Wolves shifted uncomfortably, exchanging looks, some trembling. For a long moment, no one dared move. But Father’s aura was crushing, and hesitation had no place under his watch.

Finally, a few wolves broke from the crowd, stepping forward with stiff limbs. Their eyes never once met mine or my father’s. Shoulders hunched, heads bowed, they looked like condemned criminals awaiting their sentence. Slowly, more joined until a line had formed, the faces of my tormentors.

I swallowed hard, my fists clenching. These were the same wolves who once spat at me, laughed at me, shoved me aside as though I were dirt beneath their boots. Now, they couldn’t even lift their eyes to me.

Father’s golden gaze burned into them. “You dared to lay a hand on my daughter? To treat a Lycan heir as less than dirt?” His words dripped venom, his power pressing down on the line of wolves until they trembled visibly. “You will answer for your cruelty.”

I could feel their shame, their fear, their trembling breaths filling the silence. I held power over them, not through violence, but through truth. They knew what I was now, and they knew there would be no escape from my father’s judgment.

My father’s voice was firm, almost echoing through the hall as he turned to me. “My little moonlight, what punishment shall you give them? They are your tormentors, and you are the heir to the throne. You should start practicing now, since one day you will rule.”

I blinked at him, stunned. My heart pounded inside my chest. I wasn’t expecting him to ask me. All eyes were suddenly on me, the Shadow Claw members, the guards, and even the guilty wolves who once made my life hell. My palms felt damp, but I lifted my chin. If I were going to be a Lycan heir, then this was my first true test.

I looked at them, each one unable to meet my eyes. Their shoulders slumped, tails tucked low in shame. I could still remember the sting of their words, the mockery, the way they made me feel less than dirt. A part of me wanted revenge, to see them suffer as I once did. But another part of me, stronger, calmer, told me that true strength wasn’t about cruelty.

After thorough thinking, I finally spoke. My voice was steady, though my heart was racing. “You once called me weak,” I said, my words sharp enough to cut through the silence. “You made me believe I didn’t belong. 
But today, you kneel before me as your heir. Remember this: if you ever raise a hand against me again, I will strip you of your wolf myself.”

Gasps rippled through the hall. Even the tormentors lifted their eyes briefly, only to bow their heads even lower. My father’s golden gaze lingered on me, surprise flickering across his face. He hadn’t expected me to show mercy, not after everything I endured. But then his lips curved into the faintest smile.

“You have inherited your mother’s kind heart,” he said softly, almost with pride. Then his voice hardened again as he addressed the crowd. “And it is good that the people have something to fear. If you go against her, she will do what she said. My daughter walks the talk.”

"Yes, I will," I said.

The pack members bowed deeper, murmuring their submission. I could see the tremble in those who had once bullied me. I wasn’t the weak omega they once named me. I am the sole heir. And they knew it.

"My little moonlight, our Kingdom of Aurelia will be lucky to have you as their queen. Soon, you will reign," father said proudly.

"The responsibility seems to be so big for me, who has just shifted and is finding my strength, but I will do my best to be the right Queen of our Kingdom," I assured him. 

I didn't even know where I found the strength to say it, but I feel strong enough to face the reality now. My mother must be proud.

I promised my father that I would begin practicing to be the next heir to the throne, to carry the weight of Kingdom Aurelia upon my shoulders when the time came. But before we could talk further, a sudden tug pulled at my mind. Orion’s voice entered through the link, firm but laced with urgency. 

“Reika, Apollo has begun to stir. His body is reacting; he may wake sooner than expected. You must come home soon. You must ”

My breath caught. I turned to my father at once, my heart racing in my chest. “Father, Apollo… he’s showing signs of waking. We need to go back now.”

Without hesitation, he nodded, and together we left the Shadow Claw pack’s grounds and returned to the Thunder Howl pack as quickly as we could. My heart felt restless during the journey, as if each second away from Apollo stretched into eternity. I prayed silently that the antidote was working, that the Moon Goddess had not brought me all this way only to tear him from me.

"I want to be the first to see Apollo waking up. He must know that I never lost hope in seeing him wake up," I muttered as we got close to the Thunder Howl pack's territory.

When we arrived at the estate, Orion was waiting just outside the room. His hair was slightly disheveled, and though his stance was straight, his eyes betrayed his relief. 

“Alpha Apollo’s skin color has returned to normal,” he reported. “His heartbeat has steadied. Stronger than before.”

At his words, my own heart leapt. I tilted my head, listening carefully, and sure enough, through the quiet of the room, I could hear it, the steady, reassuring rhythm of Apollo’s heart. It filled me with a joy so fierce I nearly wept.

I entered the room quickly, my father behind me, though at that moment the world had narrowed only to Apollo. He lay still upon the bed, his chest rising and falling, his skin no longer pale as death but flushed with the faintest hue of life.

I approached and sat gently at the edge of his bed. My hand reached for him almost instinctively, my fingers caressing his cheek. He was warm. My throat tightened, and my vision blurred with tears that threatened to fall. Leaning down, I whispered softly in his ear, “Apollo, wake up, my love. 
Please… come back to me.”

I thought my plea would vanish into the silence, heard only by me and the Moon Goddess. But suddenly, a sharp pinch tugged at my arm. I gasped, my head snapping toward him in disbelief. His fingers had moved.

“Apollo?” My voice trembled, caught between hope and fear. I leaned closer, my hands hovering over his, afraid to break the fragile moment.

Slowly, as if dragging himself back from the darkness, his eyelids fluttered. Then, finally, his eyes opened, revealing the familiar storm of determination within them.

A sob of joy escaped my lips before I could stop it. My heart soared, shattering the heavy weight of dread that had been pressing on me for days.

He was alive. My mate had returned to me.