Chapter 41

Chapter 41

Ivy stood defiantly beside the kneeling figure of the Rogue King, his fur matted with blood, his breaths labored and wheezing. Alpha Caleb staggered, barely upright, their own wounds marking them. like battle–worn scars. But nothing – nothing could prepare them for what came next.

“Ivy…?” Caleb muttered, a blend of shock and anger. “What are you doing with him?”

A dark smirk spread across Ivy’s face, her normally doe–eyed expression now sharp with malevolence. “Why, Alpha, I thought you don’t want to know anything that has to do with me,” she sneered, her eyes cold.

“I never belonged to you. Or to the Shadow Pack.” She raised her chin, gazet sweeping over Marissa and her friends with disdain. “I‘ m exactly where I belong–with my father.”

“Father?” Caleb choked, taking a shaky step back, his face pale with disbelief. “The Rogue King is… your father?”

He could not believe he had been fooled twice! By the same fucking she–wolf.

Ivy’s laugh was like the crack of a whip, sharp and chilling. “Surprised? Oh, I enjoyed every second of playing the innocent little omega, watching you fawn over me like I was something special. It was pitiful, really,” she spat, her voice dripping with contempt. “But I did enjoy leading you along.”

The Rogue King grunted, struggling to rise as blood poured from his side, but Ivy knelt and pressed a hand to his shoulder.

“Don’t,” she whispered, her voice gentling for him alone. “I won’t let them hurt you.”

“No, Ivy,” he growled, his voice heavy with both pain and warning. “This is too dangerous-”

“You‘ re not going anywhere,”

Marissa’s voice cut through the clearing like a blade. She stepped forward, the power of her lycan blood simmering beneath her skin, ready to be unleashed. Her gaze bored into Ivy. “So, the real Ivy finally shows herself.”

Ivy turned to her, her dark eyes alight with madness. “You‘ re one to talk, Marissa. Always looking down at me, keeping me at arm’s length, like you were better than me.” She bared her teeth, a feral glint in her eyes. “But look at you now–with dead father.”

Marissa‘ s fists clenched, but she forced herself to remain still. “You think this changes anything?” she said, her voice cold, unyielding. “All this time, you‘ ve hidden behind lies. That’s the difference between us, Ivy–I’ve never needed deception to prove my strength.‘

Ivy’s lip curled into a snarl. “Your damn strength? I’ll show you strength,” she hissed, a dark energy pooling around her as her wolf surged forth, pitch black as the night, her fur bristling with unnatural energy.

Caleb‘ s face twisted with anger. “So all this fucking time, you were just–using me?”

“Oh, yes,” Ivy laughed, her tone dripping with satisfaction. “And… I specifically asked for your father‘ s head, Marissa. It’s a shame he fought so hard–I was hoping he’d die like a dog, but he put up quite a fight.” Her grin widened.

Marissa’s vision blurred, her rage simmering into something wild, something feral. Her wolf clawed beneath her skin, and she felt her teeth elongate, her entire body vibrating with fury. “You murdered my family, Ivy,” she growled. “And you‘ re going to pay for it.”