Ethan turned the car around and continued on his way, pulling out a pocket watch from his coat to check the ti.
It was ten at night.
He sighed and shifted his route, heading toward the Arcorys family compound.
A short while later, Ethan had driven through the opened gates and parked close the main house, then stepped out.
The scene before him was an open courtyard where several werewolves were already engaged in combat.
So fought in their full wolf forms, claws and fangs bared as they grappled with each other. Others remained in human form but bare-chested, as they traded blows and tested each other’s strength.
The female wolves wore sleeveless vests, with their arms expos as they either participated in matches or watched from the sidelines.
Ethan stared at the scene with recognition. This was part of the clan family dinner tradition, the way they determined hierarchy among themselves.
Marvin Arcorys watched from an angle that let him oversee the matches with his arms crossed over his bare, muscular chest.
Percival was currently in the middle of a match, his white wolf form circling another werewolf who had challenged him. They lunged at each other, rolling around the ground after in their fight for dominance.
Ethan walked slowly toward the entrance porch of the main house, where he spotted Hayley carrying their little sister, Phoebe, on her hip, with the five-year-old holding onto her neck gently.
Ethan approached and tried to start off teasingly, "Should little Phoebe really be watching all these bare-chested n?"
Hayley turned her head toward him and shot him a flat glare. "Don’t speak to ."
Ethan sighed. "Oh boy."
Phoebe leaned forward slightly and said in her small, innocent voice, "Big sister Hayley is mad at you for coming late."
Ethan smiled at that, and Hayley rolled her eyes.
She glanced at him and asked, "Where were you? You knew what ti the dinner was."
Ethan t her gaze. "I was out with Isabella."
Hayley rolled her eyes again. "Of course." She shifted Phoebe slightly and added with a whiny edge to her voice, "You know, it’s funny how she always seems to have sothing planned whenever I’m involved."
This was the second ti sothing like this was happening in the last thirty days.
"First off, I don’t appreciate the tone," Ethan began, "I don’t like the way you just spoke about her."
Hayley’s eyes widened a bit at the shift in his voice.
Ethan continued. "You know how much Bella ans to . So no bad talk."
Hayley looked away and rolled her eyes for the third ti, though her expression had softened slightly.
Ethan sighed. "And to be fair, it was my fault. I didn’t think the dinner would coincide with plans we already made."
Hayley glanced back at him and muttered, "It’s alright."
But her face still looked sad.
Ethan noticed. After a mont of pause, he reached out and placed his hand gently on top of her head, stroking her white hair slowly.
"There, there," he said.
Hayley’s wolf ears twitched, and her eyes widened. "What exactly are you doing?"
Ethan kept his hand on her head, looking half-serious and half-playful. "Isn’t this how mothers soothe an angry child?"
Phoebe perked up imdiately. "It’s how big sister does it on my hair too!"
Ethan chuckled lightly at that.
Hayley placed her free hand over her face and sighed. Then she turned to Phoebe with a pretentious glare. "You talk too much, young lady."
Phoebe just giggled.
Hayley glanced at Ethan briefly, then turned her gaze away before speaking again. "I don’t know if you ate wherever you guys went, but... I kept a good plate for you, incase."
"Actually, I—" Ethan began, about to tell her that he had eaten at the cafe. But then he stopped himself.
Telling her that might just hurt her feelings more.
Instead, he asked, "Was it made by you?"
She turned to him with a smile. "What do you think?"
But before Ethan could answer, Phoebe quickly spoke up. "Yes! Big sister cooks really, really well!"
Hayley imdiately placed her hand over Phoebe’s mouth gently. "Shh."
Ethan smiled. "Alright. I’ll have so to go, then."
Hayley turned to him with a genuine smile and nodded. Then she added, her usual playful tone returning, "And yes, to answer your earlier question, pretty boy—so of the wolves here live in this house. So Phoebe’s used to seeing n with their shirts off."
At that mont, both Ethan and Hayley’s enhanced hearing picked up a voice calling out from the courtyard.
"I challenge the clan head! The Alpha, Marvin!"
Ethan’s expression turned to one of surprise. That was unexpected.
Hayley grinned with excitent. "Heh. Challenging Father? This will be fun."
Marvin tilted his head slightly at the challenge, then spoke in a calm, commanding voice. "Step forward, Olin."
The entire courtyard went silent.
Olin was Marvin’s cousin from another branch of the family. He walked forward slowly, with his orange eyes burned with determination.
A direct challenge to the clan head of the Arcorys family, the one who held the title of Alpha of Alphas, had not happened in about a decade.
As Olin stepped into closer proximity, Marvin stared at him for a mont.
Then suddenly, a wide grin spread across Marvin’s face and an overwhelming wave of mana pressure erupted from his body.
The sheer force of it shaking the entire compound.
The other wolves around the courtyard couldn’t help but drop to their knees, bowing their heads instinctively as they were unable to withstand the weight of the clan head’s presence.
Even lvin, Marvin’s twin brother, went down on one knee.
Olin gritted his teeth, his muscles straining as he tried to remain standing. After all, he was an alpha of one of the family’s branch himself. He had his own pride to maintain, but the pressure kept building.
Marvin’s voice then ca out in deep and commanding tone. "Kneel."
Then he roared out a primal sound that reverberated through the compound.
Right then, Olin’s legs buckled and he went down on one knee. Then bowed his head towards ground.
Marvin stood over him as grin faded away. "Have I grown so dormant that you’ve forgotten who your leader is?"
No one spoke or moved.
And with Olin kneeling, the challenge was over before it had even begun.
Ethan stared at the scene in absolute amazent.
The sheer weight of that mana pressure, such that it forced even the S-tier mbers of the clan to their knees. So this was the power of a family head?
Hayley had gone down on one knee as well, unable to resist the pressure. But then she turned her head slightly and noticed sothing strange.
Ethan was still standing upright.
As soon as Marvin stopped emitting his overwhelming pressure, everyone rose to their feet. Hayley stood quickly and turned to Ethan.
"How were you able to remain standing?" she asked.
Ethan turned toward her with a grin on his face. "How well do you know dragons?"
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