Chapter 72 Martin’s Punishment

Chapter 72 Martin’s Punishment
REIKA'S POV

“Gone?” Father’s tone was so sharp that even I flinched.

Martin swallowed, fear seeping into every movement. “I killed her. She knew too much, and I couldn’t risk her turning on me. She served her purpose… and then she became a liability.” His eyes darted nervously toward me, as if begging for understanding, for mercy that would never come.

My stomach churned, disgust twisting through me. I could hardly breathe. The woman who had stolen me away from my family, who had ripped me from my mother’s arms, hadn’t even been given the chance to answer for her sins. Martin had buried the evidence, silencing her forever.

“You coward,” I spat, my voice shaking with rage. “You used her, and then you killed her just to cover your tracks. How many lives did you ruin, Martin? How many lies did you spin to make yourself look clean while everyone else paid the price?”

Martin’s mouth opened, but Father’s growl filled the chamber, so deep and powerful that the torches on the walls seemed to flicker in fear. 

“You disgust me,” Father said, his voice colder than ice. “Not only did you steal my child, you silenced the only witness who might have led me to her sooner. You murdered to hide your treachery.”

Martin shrank under Father’s fury, his chains rattling as his knees nearly buckled. For once, the mighty Alpha of Shadow Claw looked less like a leader and more like a rat cornered in its own filth.

Father’s command echoed through the dungeon like judgment itself.

“Bring the remaining Shadow Claw wolves,” he ordered. His voice carried an authority so absolute that even the guards scrambled faster, their heads bowed. Soon, footsteps filled the stone corridor, and one by one, the wolves of Shadow Claw — broken, beaten, but still breathing — were herded inside. Their eyes shifted from me to my father, and finally to Martin. Confusion flickered across their faces, then recognition, then dread.

Martin looked at them desperately, as if begging for loyalty that was already long gone. His chains rattled as he struggled to stand tall. “My King,” he said, voice trembling, “you wouldn’t—”

But Father silenced him with a glare.

When he spoke again, his words shook the room. “Martin of Shadow Claw, traitor, liar, thief. You stole what was never yours, murdered to hide your sins, and poisoned the very bond the Goddess gave you. You are no Alpha. You are no wolf. From this day forward, you will be nothing.”

Gasps rippled through the gathered wolves. I felt my heart pound as I realized what Father was about to do.

He raised his hand, and power surged in the chamber like a storm breaking. The air grew thick, heavy, charged with a divine energy that prickled against my skin. Father’s eyes glowed an unearthly gold, brighter than fire, more colorful than the moon. The ground itself seemed to tremble beneath us.

Martin fell to his knees, clutching his chest, his eyes wide with terror. “No! Please, don’t take him from me!” he begged, tears streaming down his face. “Without my wolf, I’m nothing!”

“That,” Father growled, stepping closer, his voice carrying the weight of eternity, “is exactly the point.”

With a swift motion, Father pressed his palm flat against Martin’s chest. I gasped as golden light flared between them, searing and pure. Martin screamed, a sound so raw it shook me to the bone. His body convulsed violently, and his eyes bled from amber to dull, lifeless brown. The bond between Alpha and wolf — that sacred thread — snapped with a soundless crack that I felt deep inside my bones.

The Shadow Claw wolves watched in horror as their Alpha’s aura shattered. The once-dominant weight of Martin’s presence evaporated, leaving only emptiness. His wolf was gone.

Martin collapsed forward, gasping for breath like a drowning man. His body shook, sweat soaking through his tattered clothes. He looked smaller somehow, frail — just a man, stripped of the strength and spirit that had made him Alpha.

Father turned to the remaining wolves, his voice echoing like thunder. “Behold your former Alpha. Once a wolf. Now nothing.”

The pack members exchanged looks of disbelief, then bowed their heads to my father, some even kneeling in deference. I could feel the shift in the air — the chains of Martin’s tyranny had been broken.

Martin whimpered, clutching his chest. “Please… give him back… I can’t live like this…” His voice cracked into sobs, pitiful and weak.

Father’s expression was carved from stone. “You will live. And you will remember. That is your punishment. Death would be mercy.”

I swallowed hard, watching Martin tremble on the cold stone floor, powerless, broken, and humiliated in front of the wolves he once ruled.
For the first time in my life, I saw justice delivered to the one who had destroyed mine.

My father’s decision was final, his tone brooking no argument.

“From this day forward,” he declared coldly, “you are no Alpha, not even a wolf. You will serve as a servant in the pack you once ruled.”

Martin’s head snapped up, his face ashen. “No… no! Please, my King! Not this! I beg you, anything else!” His voice broke into a pitiful wail, echoing through the dungeon. He fell to his knees, clawing at the floor like a desperate man drowning.

But my father didn’t answer. His silence was heavier than any words could be. With a flick of his hand, he commanded, “Guards. Take him to the servants’ quarters. His task is to serve the gardeners daily. That will be his life, tending the earth he once thought he ruled.”

The guards moved swiftly, seizing Martin by the arms. His shrieks grew louder, echoing through the stone corridors as they dragged him away. 

“Mercy! Please, I’ll do anything! I’m still an Alpha in spirit! Please!” His cries grew faint as the doors slammed behind him, leaving nothing but 
silence and shame in his wake.

My chest heaved as I realized what I had just witnessed. For years, Martin had stood above me, untouchable, the man who dictated my life in Shadow Claw. And now? He was nothing. Less than nothing.

Father turned to the remaining pack members, his golden eyes sharp and commanding. “Hear me,” he boomed, his voice like a storm rolling over the land. “Reika is my daughter. She is the heir to my throne, the next Lycan ruler of this continent. From this moment forward, I demand that everyone show her the respect she deserves.”

A hush fell over the room. One by one, the wolves lowered themselves to their knees. The sound of dozens of bodies kneeling on the stone floor was thunderous, final. Heads bowed, eyes downcast, their voices trembled as they spoke in unison. “My Lady.”

I froze, my heart swelling and trembling all at once. For years, I had been mocked, treated as weak, called an Omega unworthy of standing among them. Now those same wolves were bowing before me. It felt unreal, like a dream I didn’t know I was allowed to have.

Father’s gaze swept across the crowd like a blade. His voice hardened. “Those who once bullied my child, show yourself. Step forward.”