The Winter Wolf tried to rise on her one good leg, ice forming shakily at her side, her instincts flaring. She still had her pride. Her will.
But Jayden didn’t give her the luxury of strategy.
He lunged like a savage shadow.
CLANG!
Claws t ice.
She tried to surprise-attack him by conjuring a sharp ice spear from behind. But before she could send the spear lunging to his back, Jayden sensed it and quickly raised his feet.
THUMP!
A spinning kick caught her in the ribs, flinging her into a tree. Bark exploded outward in a thunderstorm of wood and snow.
She barely caught her footing when—
CRACK!
His clawed fist smashed into her jaw, then her shoulder, then her ribs again.
She fell.
But Jayden didn’t let her breathe.
He didn’t give her ti to form her next thought.
SLASH.
Across her forelegs.
SLASH.
Across her back.
THUMP.
THUMP.
THUMP.
The ground quaked beneath each strike.
And yet, despite everything, she resisted.
She rolled, she twisted, she summoned her ice to block, to deflect, to survive.
But it wasn’t enough.
Not anymore.
She had beco the hunted
And Jayden wasn’t just the hunter.
He was the storm.
The Winter wolf kept evading Jayden’s death claws, moving from place to place. Trying to survive.
Jayden had lost control, and at the mont, he seed more of a beast than her.
She kept running. But she was running out of steps. And then, she stumbled. A single misstep.
Jayden saw it, and he didn’t waste a single second.
He surged forward with unnatural speed and caught her by the neck. His clawed hand clamped around her throat like a steel trap.
Eyes wide, she gasped, but he lifted her clean off the ground like she weighed nothing.
She clawed at him, kicked weakly.
But his grip only tightened. Then...
BOOM!
He slamd her into a tree.
BOOM!
Then a boulder.
BOOM!
Then the earth.
Her body bounced against the dirt like a ragdoll. And she tried to stand up.
Before she could blink...
KRAK!—
Jayden slamd his foot into her belly, sending her crashing into another tree
THUD!
She hit the tree hard, but it didn’t crack. And before she could recover...
CRACK!
He landed a clawed fist to her face.
Before she could cry out..
SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!
He delivered several claw strikes to her body. Across the legs. Across the shoulders. Across the spirit.
The other beasts watched in silent terror. None dared move. None dared speak. This was a fight they couldn’t interfere in.
So they could only watch as the Winter wolf took a beating from Jayden.
Jayden’s growl filled the air, animalistic and guttural. He raised his claws high, eyes glowing with that final intent.
He aid for her head. Ready to finish everything with one final claw strike.
But then... their gaze t. And he saw through her fur and claws. He saw through her beast nature.
He saw fear.
He saw confusion.
He saw submission.
And he rembered.
The screams.
The fire.
His mother’s hand letting go.
His sister’s voice, crying out for help that never ca.
And in that mont...
The rage cracked.
The storm broke.
Jayden’s chest heaved as his arms trembled.
He couldn’t do it.
He couldn’t beco the monster they had been.
His claws lowered.
Slowly... so slowly... the lycan form receded.
His muscles softened. His fangs and claws retracted. His eyes dimd from gold to hazel.
His height shrank.
The snarl faded. And the beast vanished.
He stood there, just a boy now. Human again.
Naked from the waist up, clothed only in shredded pants. Covered in blood. But there wasn’t a single scratch on him.
He exhaled. Dropped his hands slowly and beside her.
She turned her head weakly. Confused. Still waiting for the final blow. But it never ca.
Instead...
Jayden held out his hand. Offering a truce.
The Winter wolf blinked, unsure and wary.
But after a long mont, she reached out—and touched his palm with her paw.
Not in friendship.
Not in submission.
But in acknowledgnt. Acknowledgnt that he won.
"Good ga."
That’s what it ant.
She rose. Slowly. Her body began to glow—wounds stitching together, bruises fading.
Jayden stared at her, stunned.
She had healed up completely.
Jayden sprang up, and stepped back.
The Winter wolf was at full strength again.
Her fur glead like silver lightning under moonlight. Her eyes glowed fiercely.
Jayden frowned and took a fighting stance, getting ready to transform again. He was starting to regret sparing the Winter wolf.
Who knew all she needed was a few minutes of rest to be at full power again... and Jayden had unknowingly let her.
She looked at him.
Then at the beasts.
Then at the sky.
And surprisingly... let out a howl.
Not one of challenge. But of surrender.
And before Jayden could say anything, she bolted, into the trees, into the shadows, gone with the wind.
Jayden stood there. In the stillness. He sighed as the Winter wolf left.
He didn’t want to kill her. She had spared his life earlier when she had the chance to kill him... even though she was going to freeze him for who knows how long. So it was only fair that he let her go.
And moreover, all these started with him. If he hadn’t killed her entire pack, none of this might have happened.
Jayden stared into the waking sky. Snowflakes began to fall.
And then—
Ding!
*Quest Completed
[Defeat the Winter wolf and beco the new Alpha]
[You have received one giftbox]
[Giftbox has been added added to inventory]
[New title received: Regent Apha]
[Alert! Title is inactive and unavailable until Host reaches Level 15]
Jayden furrowed his brows. "Title? Is this sothing like a class in those mmorpgs?"
[Hmm, yeah. Sothing like that] Luna’s voice rang in his head. [It’s a pretty na that gives you special traits, skills and boosts]
"Oh, i see," Jayden muttered. "What about the giftbox?"
[Well, as the na implies, it’s a box of gift] Luna replied excitedly. [It could contain Exp, weapons, skills and even relics]
Jayden nodded in understanding. "Alright, I’ll check it out when I get ho. I’m tired." he said, letting out a soft yawn.
Then he turned to face the icy path he had followed up the hill, but he was t with a shocking sight.
The beasts, dozens of them. Standing and staring at Jayden.
Silence fell.
Then movent.
The surrounding beasts stepped forward.
Then... they bowed.
All of them.
From the smallest Howler to the largest Tremor Gator. Each one lowered their head to him, not in fear... well, maybe, yes.
But mostly in reverence.
Jayden’s eyes widened. His throat tightened.
"...I didn’t expect this."
The howl the Winter wolf let out earlier was an announcent. An announcent of her defeat and Jayden’s victory.
She had honoured the code of the duel. And she had lost. Which ant...
Jayden was now the Alpha. Of not just the pack, but the entire forest. Since he had defeated the strongest beast in the forest, he was automatically the strongest.
And the beasts had clearly seen how he beca a lycan, which to them was just another beast. So they considered Jayden as one of them.
But Jayden didn’t have the ti to revell in the power and respect the beasts were giving him. There was only one thing on his mind.
Sleep.
He approached the icy path and started to leave.
And as he walked by, the beasts parted.
One by one, they stepped aside, clearing a path as if the forest itself now obeyed him.
Everywhere he walked, the predators withdrew. The monsters yielded. So even ran, not because they were cowards... but because they knew the truth.
There was a new Alpha.
A new predator.
One who was both man and beast. One stronger than any of them.
Jayden walked in silence. Across snow, roots, and sacred ground. And by the ti he reached the forest’s edge, dawn had broken.
A wash of gold painted the sky.
Jayden paused. Took a deep, long breath. Then began to jog ho.
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