Chapter 116 When Wolves Weep

• The clearing thrums with a tension so thick it feels alive, pressing against the skin like a storm about to shatter the heavens. Shadows stretch long, the air vibrating with Malik’s twisted laughter as the Queen takes another step forward, her face carved from ice.
• “Enough of your wickedness,” she says, her voice like steel striking flint. “It ends tonight. You’ve spread pain and suffering beyond measure. Paying with your life won’t balance the scales—but it will do. And that necklace—” her gaze flicks to the glowing chain around his throat, “—it doesn’t suit you. On me, it’s power. On you, it reeks of desperation. Time to hand it over, shameless thief.”
• Malik bares his cracked teeth in a ghastly grin. “Desperation? You dare call this power desperation? Look at me, Queen. Look at what I’ve become—stronger than the Alpha King himself. Stronger than you. Mock me if you will, Your Highness, but you can’t strip me of what’s already mine. The necklace sings to me. It feeds me with every breath you take. Look at you—slower, weaker, dying.” His hand trails mockingly along the glowing veins creeping up his neck. “You’re nothing before me now. Submit, while I’m still in the mood to be merciful.”