Chapter 46 I Dare You
REIKA'S POV
The air was thick with the scent of blood, pine, and wet earth.
All around me, chaos erupted. The moment Apollo gave the command, the Thunder Howl warriors launched themselves at the Shadow Claw pack like a violent storm finally let loose. It was like watching the fury of nature itself—precise, unstoppable, and merciless.
The Thunder Howl wolves didn’t hesitate. They moved like one unit, yet each fought with the savagery of a beast with a personal vendetta. Their silver and ash-colored wolves barreled through the field, tearing through the Shadow Claw warriors like they had trained their entire lives for this moment—which, I realized, they had.
I stood off to the side, heart pounding, Tiana pacing beneath my skin, watching as the battlefield shifted in seconds.
They didn’t just fight—they dominated.
Beta Orion stood atop a rise, not launching himself into the fight
immediately like the others. His sharp amber eyes scanned the chaos below with a calculating calm. He wasn’t idle—he was watchful. The moment one of his pack staggered or got cornered, he was there in a flash, his massive gray wolf leaping in and slashing through the enemy before vanishing again like a phantom. He was the eye of the storm—calm, quiet, deadly.
I saw a Shadow Claw wolf trying to run. One of the Thunder Howl warriors—dark-coated and monstrous in size—intercepted him mid-sprint, pinning him to the ground with his jaws around his throat. No hesitation.
No mercy.
Every sound—the snapping of bones, the growling, the howling—was deafening, a horrible symphony of vengeance and power. The Shadow Claw wolves had trained, yes, but they fought like they were defending out of obligation. The Thunder Howl pack? They fought like they were claiming justice.
And they were winning. They didn't know that Alpha Apollo had sent some warriors inside to infiltrate the guards inside the dungeon and most importantly to save Maia.
Ex-Alpha Martin stood by the trees, his arms crossed, jaw clenched. His wolf had not shifted yet. He looked helpless, furious even, watching everything he’d once ruled burn before him.
Nyx was beside him, his fists tight, his body shifting weight like he was itching to interfere but he knew it was already too late. His mouth twisted in frustration. I hoped he could feel the same helplessness I had felt all those years in his pack. I hoped he could feel it sink deep into his chest
the way it had sunk into mine.
And Anya. She stood just a few feet from them, arms folded across her chest, though her posture no longer carried pride—it carried panic. Her eyes darted from wolf to wolf, especially when another one of her warriors fell, their bodies collapsing in a heap of blood and defeat.
She turned toward me once, her eyes filled with that old hatred—but I didn’t flinch. I was no longer the same Reika she used to torment.
Thunder Howl came for war. And they weren’t leaving until there was nothing left of the Shadow Claw pack but dust and blood.
After a while, Thunder Howl wolves stood tall, victorious, and unyielding. At the same time, the defeated remains of the Shadow Claw pack trembled or lay unconscious across the battlefield. Apollo had not only fulfilled his vow—he had shattered the empire that had caged me my entire life.
I stepped forward, my legs steady beneath me even though my heart pounded. The rage inside me simmered as I stood before the one man who had pretended to be my protector. Alpha Martin.
“Do you think you can hide everything from me, Alpha Martin?” I said, my voice cold and sharp as ice. “You hid my identity for so long.”
His eyes narrowed, his lips twitching as if fighting a smirk. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Reika.”
I laughed—a dry, humorless sound that even surprised me. “Don’t play dumb with me. You knew. You always knew who I really was. What I was. And yet you kept it from me.”
“I have been faithful to you,” he said quickly, his voice rising. “I raised you when no one else would. Others wouldn't mind caring for you but I brought you into this pack, gave you food, shelter—”
“And hide my identity so I won't have to find my own pack,” I cut in, my voice rising. “You didn’t raise me—you kept me caged. Controlled. Broken. You had a plan, I knew that. A dark plan for me and my pack.”
Ex-Alpha Martin shook his head, refusing to admit his wicked plans. "None of these made sense to me, Reika. We are your family." Martin’s face twisted.
“And yet you side with him,” he sneered, gesturing toward Apollo, who stood watchful but silent behind me. “You let him destroy everything. I may not be Alpha anymore, but I was still your father in name. At least show some damn gratitude.”
My blood boiled. “Gratitude? For what? For watching Nyx torment me? For letting Anya torture me whenever she felt like it? No. Gratitude is earned—and you, Martin, deserve none. No one can stop Alpha Apollo. But even if I could… I wouldn’t.”
Martin’s face went pale.
“You deserve to be erased from the face of the earth,” I continued. “You, Nyx, and Anya. You’re all ruthless. Power-hungry. You don’t deserve to rule any pack.”
Before Martin could reply, a shrill voice broke the moment.
“You ungrateful Omega. Bitch!” Anya snapped, stomping toward me like she still had any power left in her. “How dare you talk to ex-Alpha Martin like that? After everything he’s done for you?”
I turned to her slowly, the fury in my chest burning hotter than ever.
“Everything he’s done for me?” I echoed. “Do you mean the years of abuse? The way you made sure I never felt like I belonged? The times you laughed while I cried?”
"I used to respect him for treating me nicely despite the other pack members being cruel. He used to comfort me whenever he saw me crying. When I was young he gave me dolls and candies to lighten up my mood." As I said that a realization crossed ex-Alpha Martin's eyes. I knew that he knew what I was talking about.
"But then I realized, he could have ordered the rest of the pack to show some respect towards me but he didn't. Until I learned about my identity, everything made sense."
"How dare you..." Anya raised her hand, but I didn’t flinch. Tiana stirred within me, ready to lunge at the slightest provocation.
“You don’t scare me anymore, Anya,” I said, stepping forward. “Your lies. Your cruelty. It ends here. I dare you to lay a hand on me.”
I knew she expected me to step back, to be scared and ask for forgiveness but I didn't.
And for the first time in my life, Anya stepped back.