CHAPTER 8 : THE CROWN ANSWERS

By the next morning, the training grounds were already full.

Word had spread through Silver Moon before sunrise.

Damian had challenged Luca.

And Luca had accepted.

No one wanted to miss what would happen.

The warriors stood around the training ground, leaving a wide space in the center.

The elders watched from the stone platform.

Richard stood at the front with his arms folded.

He said nothing.

Amara stood farther back among the pack.

Her eyes remained fixed on the empty space where Luca would soon appear.

Damian was already waiting.

He had spent the entire night convincing himself that Luca had only won Richard’s submission because of the Moonblood crown.

That crown carried authority.

It did not necessarily make Luca stronger.

At least, that was what Damian wanted to believe.

If he could defeat Luca in front of the pack, everything would change.

The wolves would question the crown.

They would question Luca.

And Damian would prove that the boy they had once known was still beneath them.

Then the crowd suddenly became quiet.

Luca walked onto the training ground.

He wore a simple black shirt and dark trousers.

No armor.

No weapons.

And no crown.

Damian’s eyes narrowed.

“You came without it.”

Luca looked at him.

“Without what?”

“The crown.”

Luca glanced toward the crowd.

“I don’t need it for this.”

A murmur passed through the warriors.

Damian’s face hardened.

“Then you agree this isn’t about the Moonblood.”

“No.”

Luca stepped into the center of the field.

“This is about you.”

Damian’s jaw tightened.

Luca looked around at the watching wolves.

“Yesterday, you asked me to prove I was more than a crown.”

He turned back to Damian.

“So prove you were right to challenge me.”

Damian’s wolf stirred.

His eyes flashed.

“I will.”

The elder overseeing the challenge stepped forward.

“This will be a controlled challenge. No weapons. No killing. The first wolf unable to continue loses.”

Damian nodded.

Luca simply stood still.

The elder stepped back.

“Begin.”

Damian attacked.

He moved quickly, closing the distance in seconds.

His fist swung toward Luca’s face.

Luca moved aside.

Damian turned and attacked again.

Luca blocked.

A third strike.

Blocked.

A fourth.

Luca stepped backward.

Damian growled.

“Stop running.”

Luca looked at him calmly.

“You’re confusing patience with fear.”

Damian charged again.

This time, Luca didn’t move away.

He caught Damian’s wrist.

The impact stopped Damian completely.

His eyes widened.

Luca twisted his arm and forced him to his knees.

The crowd gasped.

Damian struggled.

“Let go.”

Luca released him.

Damian immediately jumped back to his feet.

His face burned.

He charged again.

Luca ducked beneath his fist.

Damian spun around and swung with his other hand.

Luca caught that wrist too.

For one second, the two stood locked together.

Damian pushed with everything he had.

Luca didn’t move.

The difference was obvious.

Damian’s muscles tightened.

His breathing became heavier.

Luca remained completely calm.

Then Luca pushed once.

Damian stumbled backward several steps.

The warriors stared.

Luca had barely used any strength.

Damian’s pride could no longer accept what he was seeing.

He let his wolf rise.

His claws extended.

His eyes changed.

A low growl escaped his throat.

Several wolves stepped back.

The elder immediately warned him.

“Damian. Control yourself.”

“He challenged me,” Damian growled.

Luca shook his head.

“No.”

Damian looked at him.

“You challenged yourself.”

Damian lunged.

This time, he came with everything.

His claws tore through the air.

Luca shifted at the last moment.

He caught Damian around the waist and used his momentum against him.

Damian hit the ground hard.

Before he could recover, Luca was already standing over him.

Damian tried to rise.

Luca placed one hand on his shoulder.

Damian couldn’t move.

He pushed against Luca’s arm.

Nothing happened.

The warriors stared.

Damian’s face turned red with effort.

“Get off me!”

Luca leaned slightly closer.

“You wanted to know if I was more than a crown.”

Damian’s breathing became ragged.

Luca’s voice remained low.

“Look around.”

Damian did.

Every warrior was watching.

Every elder was watching.

Richard was watching.

Amara was watching.

Luca released him.

“Stand.”

Damian slowly pushed himself up.

His legs shook.

He stood.

But he could barely meet anyone’s eyes.

Luca walked toward the edge of the training ground.

Then he stopped.

“You were looking for the weak wolf you remembered.”

He turned back.

“He isn’t here anymore.”

Damian’s fists clenched.

Luca continued.

“You challenged me because you thought the crown was the reason the pack bowed.”

He looked around at the warriors.

“Now you know better.”

The elder stepped forward.

“Damian is defeated.”

No one celebrated.

There was no laughter.

There didn’t need to be.

The humiliation was already complete.

Damian had challenged Luca before the entire pack.

And Luca had defeated him without shifting.

Without the crown.

Without a weapon.

Without even appearing angry.

Damian stood in the center of the training ground, surrounded by wolves who had just witnessed everything.

Luca walked past him.

As he reached the edge of the crowd, he stopped beside Richard.

For a moment, neither spoke.

Then Luca said quietly,

“You raised warriors to protect this pack.”

Richard looked at him.

“Remember that.”

Luca walked away.

Richard watched him go.

For the second time in two days, the entire pack had witnessed someone who once stood above Luca being brought down before him.

The whispers were no longer about the crown.

They were about Luca.

“He didn’t even shift.”

“He defeated Damian without the crown.”

“How strong did he become?”

“That isn’t the Luca we knew.”

Luca heard them, but kept walking.

He had nothing left to prove.

Or so he thought.

As he reached the edge of the courtyard, a voice suddenly called his name.

“Luca.”

He stopped.

The entire courtyard went silent.

He slowly turned.

Amara stood among the crowd.

For three years, she had imagined what she would say if she ever saw him again.

Now that he was standing before her, she couldn’t find the words.

Luca looked at her.

Their eyes met.

The girl who had rejected him in front of three hundred wolves was standing only a few steps away.

And for the first time since his return, Luca’s expression changed.

Not anger.

Not pain.

Something colder.

Amara took one hesitant step forward.

“Can we talk?”

Luca stared at her.

The whole pack waited.

He finally answered.

“You had three years to talk to me.”

Amara’s face fell.

Luca turned away.

“Don’t waste another second of mine.”

He walked through the crowd.

Amara remained standing there, unable to move.

And for the first time, she understood that getting Luca’s attention again might be far harder than she had.