Chapter 8
567words
Justin's hand never touched my shoulder. The air in the room suddenly turned to ice.
"Get your filthy hands off my daughter."
A voice like rolling thunder boomed through the council hall.
Justin froze. The raw, predatory power in that voice made him tremble instinctively.
He turned his head and saw my father stepping out of the shadows—the Great Alpha of the Moonlit Alliance.
Behind him stood a full squadron of his elite Moonshadow Guard, clad in black armor.
Justin was arrogant, but he wasn't stupid. He instantly recognized the old wolf before him. The legendary king who ruled all the wolf packs in North America.
He immediately dropped his arrogant swagger and tried to manage some semblance of diplomatic decorum, bowing slightly. "Great Alpha, I am Justin, Lord of the Crimson Court. This is a family matter. My mate, Gracie, has been disobedient and ran off to your lands..."
"Mate?"
My father let out a cold laugh that made the hall's windows vibrate.
Before Justin could react, my father's form blurred. The next second, a powerful hand clamped around Justin's throat and slammed him to the floor.
CRACK!
The hard stone tiles fractured beneath him.
Justin's famed vampire speed meant nothing. He was like an infant before the Great Alpha. Both of his fangs shattered on impact, filling his mouth with blood.
"Your 'family matter' was locking my only daughter, the sole heir to the Moonlit Alliance, in a coffin of ice to die?!"
My father's roar echoed through the hall.
Justin's eyes bulged, but his shock was far greater than the pain.
He struggled to turn his head, looking from me to my father, his mind shattering.
"H-Heir?" he choked out. "You're... royalty?"
I walked to my father's side and looked down at Justin, who lay on the floor like a broken dog. I smoothed a wrinkle from my sleeve.
"What, are you surprised?"
My voice was calm, but every word was a knife.
"The 'lowly she-wolf' you despised? She is a princess you are not worthy to even look at. And the 'Bloodspring of Life' you were so desperate to steal for your cure..."
I pointed out the window to the sacred lake shimmering in the moonlight.
"That's my private garden. It was my coming-of-age gift."
In that moment, Justin's world collapsed.
He finally understood the magnitude of his mistake.
For a demon-spawn, for some twisted idea of "pure-blood glory," he had personally pushed away a royal princess who held the treasures of the entire werewolf race.
If he hadn't, he could have had it all—limitless power, endless resources. His clan could have become the strongest in existence.
Overwhelming regret and terror consumed him.
He forgot his dignity, his pain, even his broken fangs.
He broke completely, sobbing like a child as he reached for the hem of my dress.
"Gracie... no, Your Highness! I didn't know! I swear I didn't know!"
"For the sake of what we had, for the child we almost had... please, save my clan! The demon-spawn is about to drain us all! Only the Bloodspring can save us! Please, just a cup... no, a single drop is enough!"
My father kicked his hand away in disgust. "What we had? You dare speak of that? As for the child..."
My father looked at me, a question in his eyes.
I nodded.
It was time for the final blow.
