Chapter 87 88
A few hours later.
The mountain burned that night.
Flames licked the black sky like the fingers of gods drunk on vengeance. The cursed valley—once whispered of in lullabies to scare pups into obedience—was now a war zone. Smoke choked the stars, and the scent of blood thickened the air until even the ravens fled.
I felt the wolfsbane leave my veins like a curse unraveling. My body convulsed, bones cracking, skin splitting as my wolf roared free. The agony was pure—but so was the rage. I could taste the death in the air.
“Marigold, with me!” Gregor’s voice thundered through the bond, raw, guttural, alive.
I turned to see him—Alpha Gregor—no longer the broken captive from the lab. He was enormous now, fur black as night, eyes burning crimson-gold like a dying sun. The earth itself trembled beneath his paws.
And then I shifted.
My wolf form—dark warrior with veins of midnight flame—burst into being. Shadows rippled off my fur like smoke, the ancient bloodline awakening at last. The power that the ASA and the Queen had hunted for years now roared through me, unbound, unstoppable.
Across the battlefield, the Queen appeared again, her massive silver fur drenched in blood—not all of it her enemies’. Her Black Fang warriors surrounded her, dozens of monstrous wolves, eyes glazed with enchantments, their howls a song of slaughter.
“So,” she snarled, her voice carrying even through the storm. “The traitors rise again.”
Alpha Gregor stepped forward, his growl low and lethal. “You should’ve stayed buried, bitch.”
The wind shifted—Barbie appeared above them, floating, no taller than my forearm now in her true Fae form, her tiny body surrounded by swirling runes and lightning. Her eyes glowed pure amethyst as she whispered, “You picked the wrong mountain, bitch.”
And then—chaos.
The first clash was thunder.
Alpha Gregor and I slammed into the Queen, fangs meeting fur, tearing muscle and rage alike. Their impact sent shockwaves across the valley. Wolves collided all around us—Black Fang against Xander’s pack. Blood sprayed, screams echoed.
“XANDER! LEFT FLANK!” I howled through the mind link.
The gigantic wolf answered with a brutal snarl, tearing the throat out of a Black Fang elite before hurling himself into another. His claws gleamed silver under the lightning Barbie conjured overhead.
ASA agents flooded the ridges, armed with wolfsbane rifles and iron grenades. Explosions shattered the snow. Alpha Gregor’s wolves fell, howling in agony as the poison burned them alive. But for every one that fell, two more rose, snarling through pain, fueled by fury and loyalty.
Barbie darted through the air, flicking her wrist—BOOM! A burst of violet magic consumed a squad of ASA soldiers, their bodies turning to ash mid-scream. She looked over her shoulder, hair wild, wings flickering. “Sweetheart, we’re way past diplomacy!”
“Never liked diplomacy anyway!” I roared, lunging into the fray.
I tore through two Black Fangs in seconds—fangs snapping, claws rending flesh. Blood painted the snow beneath me, steaming in the cold. One tried to lunge for my throat, but I met him mid-air, crushing his skull beneath my jaws. His body hit the ground with a wet crack.
Alpha Gregor and the Queen were locked in a deadly dance of monsters. Every blow they exchanged shook the valley, rocks shattering, trees splintering.
“You were never fit to rule!” Gregor bellowed, slamming her into the earth.
“And you were never fit to defy me!” she hissed, her claws slicing deep across his chest.
Her magic crackled like black lightning, striking him square in the ribs. He staggered back, howling in pain. I lunged toward her, fury flooding me. She spun, claws raised—
—but Barbie was faster.
“Fae Fire!” she shrieked, hurling a sphere of purple flame the size of a boulder. It slammed into the Queen’s flank, igniting her silver fur. The scream she unleashed wasn’t human or wolf—it was something ancient.
Gregor pounced. He tore into her neck, ripping deep, his teeth sinking through fur, flesh, bone—until blood gushed like a waterfall. The Queen thrashed, snapping, claws raking him open, but he didn’t stop.
He couldn’t.
He was vengeance made flesh.
And then—with one final wrench—he ripped her throat clean out.
Silence.
The Queen’s body collapsed, twitching once before going still. The red snow steamed where her blood pooled.
For a moment, even the wolves stopped.
Then a howl broke the quiet. Beta Xander—bloodied, victorious, standing atop the corpses of Black Fang soldiers. The sound rolled across the valley, wild and proud. Every allied wolf answered, voices rising in a chorus of grief and triumph.
But the ASA soldiers didn’t retreat. They fought harder—desperate, cornered, terrified. Wolfbane infused bullets rained from the drones. Their leader, Captain Henson, screamed orders from the ridge, firing round after round of silver.
“Kill them! Kill the freaks before they multiply!”
Barbie blinked to his shoulder, smile wicked. “Multiply this, jackass.”
She snapped her fingers. His rifle turned into a blooming vine of molten light—then exploded, sending his body tumbling down the cliff in flames.
The mountain roared again—thunder rolling, snow turning to red mud. The last of the ASA line broke. Wolves ripped through their defenses, shredding tents, tearing armor, crushing bones.
I stood in the heart of it all—breathing hard, fur matted with blood. My eyes glowed like burning coals.
Beside me, Gregor—massive, panting, bleeding but alive—pressed his forehead against mine. We did it, his voice whispered through the bond.
For our pack. For vengeance.
Barbie landed between us, shrinking back to her human size, her dress torn and smudged with soot. She looked around at the burning valley, then exhaled, “Well… that was dramatic.”
Xander padded over, limping but grinning, fur slick with blood. “You always say that after we nearly die.”
Barbie tossed him a smirk. “And yet you always come back for an encore.”
I couldn’t help it—I laughed. A raw, broken, relieved sound.
The night air howled through the ruined mountains, carrying away the smoke and blood and screams. The Queen of Werewolves was dead. The ASA was in ruins.
And for the first time in a long, brutal age—
we stood free beneath the bleeding dawn.
But deep in the valley, beneath the corpses and snow… something ancient stirred.
A whisper.
A pulse.
The faint sound of wings.
The Ancient Fae had awakened.