The Wolf Queen's Retribution: S-Class Judgment For My Ex

The gathering hall of the Silver Moon Pack was thick with the stench of ale and sweat, the whole place humid enough to make my lungs protest.

I, Elena Kingsley, stood at the entrance, staring at the two people trapped in the center of the crowd.

My fiancé, Lucas Hale, was bare-chested, sweat rolling down the ridges of his muscles.

And Sarah Quinn, my so-called best friend, was wrapped around him like a clinging vine.

A fresh, crimson bite stood out against the soft skin along her neck's artery, still seeping blood.

It was an Alpha's lifelong mating mark, a vow etched straight into the soul.

When Lucas's cronies spotted me, they didn't quiet down at all. If anything, they whistled louder.

"Hey, look who's here, the official Luna-to-be!"

"Elena, get over here! This was last night's ultimate dare punishment!"

Lucas finally noticed me, his hand still glued to Sarah's waist. He didn't look even remotely guilty.

"What are you doing here?"

I pointed at the wound on Sarah's neck. "What is that supposed to be?"

Sarah jumped in before he could answer. "Elena, don't get the wrong idea. We were drunk, playing truth or dare. Lucas lost, and the punishment was to mark a random girl on the spot. You know how Lucas is. He wouldn't even look at the other she-wolves here. So I had to... volunteer myself."

I looked at Lucas, waiting for him to say something-anything.

Instead, he frowned. "Elena, seriously? We were just messing around. Sarah was helping me out. What, you wanted me to mark some stranger instead? You should be thanking her."

"Thank her?" My stomach twisted so hard I nearly gagged. "You turned the most sacred mark in our kind into a party punishment?"

Someone nearby burst into loud, mocking laughter.

"Come on, Elena, that's ancient thinking. Nobody believes that old legend stuff anymore."

Sarah lifted her head from Lucas's chest, her eyes sparkling with challenge.

"Elena, you're not jealous, are you? I was just helping you test Lucas's Alpha stamina. Can't deny it... Lucas was incredible last night."

Sarah dragged out the last word, letting her gaze sweep over him in a way that made my skin crawl. Lucas puffed up instantly, soaking in the praise.

Lucas lifted his chin, pretending to be magnanimous.

"Enough, Elena, quit making a scene. You're embarrassing me in front of the guys. After this week's... temporary heat with Sarah dies down, I'll have the Healer wipe the mark. Then I'll reject her, and we can still have your Luna Coronation next month like nothing happened."

He paused, the contempt in his voice sharp enough to cut. "Besides, you're a Beta. No pheromones, no instinctive response to a mating mark. You don't even need that kind of intensity, right?"

So that was all I was to him-an adopted Beta orphan, someone he could walk over without consequence.

I stopped watching their pathetic performance and slipped the moonstone ring off my finger.

I walked to the trash bin. With every eye in the hall on me, I opened my hand.

The ring dropped straight into a pile of vomit and crumpled paper.

"No need to wash it if it's already filthy. Just throw it away."

The hall fell silent.

Lucas's smirk vanished. He shoved Sarah aside. "Elena! What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"The literal meaning." I kept my voice icy. "Lucas, we're done."

With that, I turned and walked away.

Lucas tried to follow, but Sarah grabbed his arm.

Sarah leaned close to his ear and whispered, "Lucas, relax. She's throwing a tantrum, that's all. She's an orphan. Without you, she's done for. Give it three days-she'll crawl back crying and begging."

Lucas froze, then shouted at my back with all the venom he could muster, "Elena! If you walk out that door today, don't you dare come begging later! You won't set foot in my house again unless you crawl from the door to my bed!"

A louder wave of laughter erupted behind me.

I didn't look back.

I walked straight out of the hall, pulled out my phone, and dialed a number I hadn't called in years.

"Hello."

The voice on the other end was old, but threaded with authority.

"Your Highness? Is that you?"

"It's me." My voice was steady, utterly calm. "Inform my father-the trial is over. I'm coming home."

Once I ended the call, I went straight back to the mansion Lucas and I had been living in.

The place sat on the outskirts of the Silver Moon Pack, bought with the savings I had scraped together after years of doing business on my own.

Back then, Lucas claimed he was short on funds after taking over pack affairs, so I let him move in first.

Looking back, I must have been blind.

I pushed open the front door and headed straight to the bedroom to pack my things.

The moment my hand touched the doorknob, a stench slammed into me.

It was the unmistakable mix of an Alpha and an Omega in heat.

Even as a concealed Beta, the intensity of it hit me hard enough to trigger my gag reflex.

I shoved the door open.

The sight inside nearly snapped the last thread of my sanity.

The room was a wreck. My silk nightgown lay shredded on the floor, and Lucas's belt hung off the bedside lamp.

On the bed, two naked bodies were tangled together.

At the sound of the door, they shifted.

Sarah poked her head out from under the blanket, her hair a mess, her face flushed.

When she saw it was me, she flashed a taunting smile. "Wow, Elena, you're back? Didn't you say you two were done?"

Lucas stirred awake too. When his unfocused eyes landed on me, he instinctively tugged the blanket higher. "Elena? Why didn't you... knock?"

"Get out." The word scraped out from between my teeth.

Lucas frowned. "Sarah wasn't feeling well. She suddenly hit a heat spike on the way back, so I brought her here to rest. We're all family. Do you really have to overreact like this?"

Sarah rested her head on his chest, drawing circles over his muscles with her finger.

"That's right, Elena. You know how awful the post-mark reaction gets. Lucas was just... helping me through the pain."

As Sarah spoke, she let the blanket slide down, revealing shoulders covered in bite marks.

I didn't bother arguing. I turned and walked toward the kitchen.

Behind me, Lucas called out, "Where are you going? Get me some water, I'm dying of thirst. And make something for Sarah while you're at it."

It didn't take long before I returned to the bedroom, carrying a basin of ice water I'd frozen earlier for a chilled plum drink. Thick chunks of ice floated on top.

"Here's your water." I stepped up to the bed and flicked my wrist.

The entire basin of ice water, cubes and all, crashed down on both of them.

"Ahhh!"

Sarah shrieked, jolting upright like she'd been electrocuted.

Lucas jerked upright from the shock of the ice, and the two of them scrambled off the bed completely naked, tripping over themselves in panic.

"Elena! Are you insane?" Lucas wiped the freezing water from his face and roared.

Shaking violently from the cold, Sarah ducked behind Lucas and pointed at me, shouting, "You crazy bitch! Are you trying to freeze me to death? Lucas, look at her! She's just jealous!"

I tossed the basin onto the floor with a loud clang.

"Awake now? If you are, get out."

Lucas faltered when he met my icy stare, but his Alpha pride quickly twisted it into indignation.

He yanked the bedsheet around Sarah and glared at me, his expression turning vicious.

"Elena, apologize! Sarah's always been fragile. If she gets sick from this, can you take responsibility?"

A frustrated laugh escaped me. "I'd sooner swallow glass than apologize to her. And you, Lucas-you genuinely disgust me."

Sarah's eyes filled instantly with tears. "Lucas, did you hear her... She said she'd rather hurt herself than apologize to me..."

Lucas pulled her into his arms protectively, then shot me a furious glare.

"Elena, you bought this place, sure, but I helped renovate it. We're broken up, but I still have the right to live here. Sarah and I are staying tonight-so you're the one who should leave!"

"Fine. Not leaving?" I pulled out my phone and switched on the camera. "Then let the entire pack see how their so-called future leader fools around in his fiancée's bed."

Lucas's face drained of color. He lunged toward me, reaching for my phone.

"Don't you dare!"

I stepped back. "Try me. You have ten minutes. If you're still here after that, the whole pack gets this video."

Lucas glared at me, his chest rising and falling with ragged anger.

Panic flickered across Sarah's face. She tugged at Lucas's arm. "Lucas, forget this crazy bitch-let's go."

Lucas clenched his teeth, jabbing a finger toward my face. "Fine, Elena. You win. Just wait. Within three days, you'll be on your knees begging for my forgiveness!"

With that, the two of them scrambled to get dressed, fumbling around as they packed their things in shame.

The stench in the air hadn't faded, but for the first time, the house finally felt like it might be cleansed.

What I didn't expect was how bottomless human shamelessness could be.

Ten minutes later, instead of leaving, they delivered an even bigger "surprise."

Dragging my suitcase out of the bedroom, I spotted Lucas and Sarah squatting in my home like they owned the place, and my brows tightened.

"Still not leaving?"

Lucas lit a cigarette, wearing the smug look of someone who had nothing to lose.

"Elena, you may have bought this house, but Betas don't have private property rights in the pack. As the future Alpha, I have the authority to requisition it."

Sarah giggled and leaned into him. "Elena, I need a proper environment to recover after being marked, and this house is perfect. You're the one who should leave-and don't forget the keys."

A bitter laugh slipped out of me. I pulled out a copy of the property deed and slapped it across his face, the edge slicing his cheek.

"Look closely-this is a human legal deed. This property is protected by law. Get out. Now."

Humiliated, Lucas shot to his feet, and his Alpha pheromone pressure burst out in a surge of anger.

With the purest royal bloodline of an Alpha Queen, his so-called pressure barely registered to me.

But I had to keep pretending.

I stepped back, one hand bracing against the wall as the color drained from my face. "Lucas, are you going to hit me?"

Satisfied by what he thought was submission, Lucas approached me.

"Elena, stop acting out. You'll stay and take care of Sarah. Consider this your evaluation period. If she's happy, I might take you back."

Sarah chimed in, "That's right. Make tonic soup for me every day, do the laundry, and don't bother us at night. I'll put in a good word for you with Lucas."

I stared at the shameless pair, and the fury I'd been holding back finally snapped free.

I swung my hand hard, the slap cracking across Lucas's face and splitting the corner of his mouth.

"You... you hit me?" he stammered, stunned.

"I hit you because you're a piece of shit."

I raised my hand toward Sarah next, but she shrieked and lunged at me, claws outstretched for my hair.

I sidestepped her and caught her wrist, but Lucas grabbed my arm and shoved me hard.

"Enough, Elena!"

Caught off guard, I slammed into the sharp corner of the entry cabinet.

Agony shot through my lower back. With my inhibitors suppressing my healing, the blow likely damaged something deep.

Lucas hesitated, a flicker of guilt in his eyes, but Sarah yanked him back.

"Lucas, she tried to kill me!"

His expression hardened instantly. "You started it. You've really disappointed me, Elena."

Swallowing the pain, I pulled out my phone. "Fine. Then let the police explain things to you."

Sarah's face drained of color. She snatched the phone from my hand and hurled it to the floor, smashing it.

"No police! If they come, your shot at becoming Alpha is over!"

Sarah shot me a venomous glare, then ran into the storage room and came out clutching a can of accelerant.

"If we can't stay here, then you won't either!"

She shouted at Lucas, "Lucas! If you don't teach her a lesson now, she'll walk all over you! Burn the house-once she's dead, you, as her fiancé, become the primary heir!"

Lucas froze for a moment, then stepped forward, blocking the only path between me and the door.