Chapter 4- Hatred

|| Reika’s POV ||

Sleep never came to me that night.

The stone floor beneath my body was cold and merciless, pressing the reality of my captivity deeper into my bones. No bed. No blanket. Nothing but darkness and silence inside the servant quarters of Redhowl Vale. Even the lowest-ranked wolves in my pack had lived better than this.

A whisper slid through the cracks of the door.

“Reika…”

My body stiffened instantly.

I pushed myself upright, heart hammering as my eyes swept the shadows. There was nothing—only old tools and damp stone walls. I told myself it was exhaustion, my mind unraveling under humiliation and pain.

Then it came again.

“Reika…”

My wolf stirred uneasily. I called out, demanding whoever it was to show themselves, but only the wind answered—stronger now, colder, tugging at something deep inside me.

Against my better judgment, I followed it.

Bare feet carried me through endless corridors, each turn pulling me farther away from the servant quarters. By the time I realized where I was, dread settled heavily in my chest.

The Royal Resident.

And then—I saw him.

Radolf Wolfshon.

The King stood there like a living nightmare, rage and dominance radiating from him so fiercely that my wolf instinctively recoiled. His gaze locked onto me, sharp and accusing.

“What are you doing here?” he demanded.

The truth sounded foolish even in my head. I lowered my eyes slightly, muttering that I was lost. His hand closed around my arm before I could step back, dragging me forward until my body collided with his chest.

“Or are you trying to escape?” he growled.

I forced myself to lift my chin. “An Alpha doesn’t run, King Radolf.”

His reaction was immediate.

I was slammed against the wall, the impact knocking the air from my lungs. His breath brushed my neck, hot and threatening.

“You’ll learn it’s not worth provoking a king.”

“You can’t kill me,” I snapped, even as my pulse thundered wildly.

His lips curved into something cruel. “No—but I can make your life a living hell.”

“You aren’t my king,” I shot back without thinking.

The sound of tearing fabric echoed through the corridor.

I gasped as my gown split apart under his claws, instinctively covering myself as humiliation burned hotter than pain.

“You’ll walk back naked,” he ordered coldly.

I didn’t beg.

I didn’t cry.

I turned and walked away, every step stripping my dignity—but not my pride. My wolf howled inside me, wounded but unbroken.

I would endure this.

For my pack.

For my father.

For the truth—whatever it cost.

_______

|| Radolf’s POV ||

I watched her disappear down the corridor without looking back.

That defiance stayed with me far longer than it should have.

Earlier that night, Agnes had stood in my chamber, fluttering her lashes like hope alone could bend my will. Ever since my mate’s death, she had mistaken access to my body for power over my decisions.

She was wrong.

“Reika is my prisoner,” I had told her flatly. “And I don’t share what belongs to me. She answers only to me.”

Agnes had left furious, barely masking her rage. I hadn’t cared.

Reika Ulrich wasn’t a servant. She wasn’t a toy. She was leverage—and a constant thorn in my control.

After the corridor incident, Cohen approached me carefully, as if I were a beast ready to strike.

“You’re being too harsh,” he said.

The words snapped something raw inside me.

“She’s Artemis’s daughter,” I barked. “She pays until he proves his innocence.”

Memories flooded me—blood, screams, my mate lying lifeless before me. Vengeance was the only thing that kept those memories from consuming me whole.

When Cohen mentioned patrols, I shook my head, my gaze still fixed in the direction Reika had gone.

“I want her humiliated before everyone,” I said coldly. “We’ll gather soon—even if it’s over Artemis’s corpse.”

As Cohen left, one truth settled heavily in my chest.

Hatred had brought Reika Ulrich to Redhowl Vale.

But she lingered in my thoughts far longer than vengeance ever should.

And that realization was far more dangerous than any rebellion she could ever attempt.