The Alpha Heir’s Reckoning at Pinecrest Lodge

Everything I had said was the truth. If I had not wanted to spare these old packmates some dignity, I would have already told them that Pinecrest Lodge belonged to my bloodline's holdings. Seeing my silence, Selene Frostveil lifted her goblet and approached me with a cold smile curling her lips. "Do you know why I severed our bond back then?" Her voice dripped with contempt. "A male without strength has no right to posture like a true Alpha." "Drink this down, and I will pretend none of what just happened ever occurred." I rose slowly from my seat, meeting her gaze without flinching. The scent of her arrogance was thick in the air, mingled with the perfume she used to mask her natural musk. "Selene Frostveil, I showed you a measure of courtesy, and you actually believe I am still that lovesick fool who would have done anything for you four years ago?" I turned toward the chamber entrance and called out in a commanding tone that echoed through the lodge. "Attendant! Bring me the provisions ledger." "Tonight's entire gathering—every morsel, every drop—goes on my account." The words had barely left my mouth when a male in formal attire stepped through the doorway. He stood before me with his head slightly bowed in deference, his posture that of a wolf acknowledging superior rank. It was Garrick Pineward, the Lodge Marshal of Pinecrest. I had encountered him once before when arranging the private chamber for this gathering. I kept my eyes fixed on Selene, but my words were directed at him with easy familiarity. "Your restricted reserve menu—prepare every dish on it." "And bring two bottles of your finest aged moonwine. The rarest vintage you have." Garrick said nothing. He simply dipped his chin in acknowledgment and withdrew from the chamber. Everyone in the room went still. Even Selene's eyes widened with disbelief. Then, in the next heartbeat, she threw her head back and laughed until she nearly doubled over. "You really cannot stop pretending, can you?" She wiped at her eyes, still shaking with mirth. "My mate and I have dined at this lodge more than ten times. There is no restricted reserve menu. Could you at least prepare your lies before you speak them?" The others turned their gazes toward me, anticipation gleaming in their eyes. I could sense their eagerness—they were all waiting to watch me be humiliated. After all, in their minds, I was still that pathetic, lovesick wolf Selene had cruelly abandoned. Back then, I had been willing to defy my father for her sake. I had walked away from my birthright and ended up running errands across the city like a common packless wanderer, just to prove I could make my own way. And after I had cleared seventy thousand in debts she had accumulated—resources I had scraped together through endless labor—she had crawled into the bed of Darius Ashford, heir to the Ashford Pack. Heartbroken and hollow, I had returned home to accept my place in the Nightcrest succession. I had sworn I would never lay eyes on Selene Frostveil again. Yet here I was at this gathering of old acquaintances, not only facing this treacherous, status-hungry she-wolf once more, but being publicly humiliated by her. She had used the very debt I had paid on her behalf to grind my dignity into the dirt before everyone present. This insult I could not swallow. "Just because you have never tasted it, just because you have never been offered it, does not mean it does not exist." I kept my voice level. "It only means your standing was never high enough." "I suggest you hold your tongue. When the food arrives, your face will sting enough without adding more words to regret." "Kael Nightcrest, you—!" Before Selene could finish her snarl, the chamber doors swung open once more. Dozens of exquisite dishes were carried in by attendants, each platter more elaborate than the last. The gathered wolves watched with stunned expressions as the feast was arranged across the long table. Garrick Pineward followed, cradling two bottles of limited-vintage moonwine in his arms. He addressed the room with formal respect. "The Denmaster has declared that all present tonight are honored guests." "This evening's consumption is to be waived entirely." I gave a slight nod of approval. The Pineward steward certainly understood how to conduct himself. Using a single feast to curry favor with the heir of the Nightcrest Pack was a transaction that would cost him nothing and gain him much. "Please convey my gratitude to Denmaster Pineward. Tell him that I—" I had barely begun my courteous reply when Selene cut me off with a sharp wave of her hand. "Kael Nightcrest, who gave you permission to speak on our behalf?" "The Denmaster obviously extended this honor because of my mate Darius's standing. What right do you have to play the gracious host? You are thanking him as though any of this has anything to do with you!" She shoved past me and strode up to Garrick, her chin lifted with entitled pride. "I will thank Denmaster Ronan on behalf of my mate. Consider this toast my gesture of respect." "Once Darius finishes his current affairs, we will personally visit the Denmaster to express our appreciation properly." Selene raised her goblet and drained it in one smooth motion. As the last drop passed her lips, a strange expression began to spread across Garrick Pineward's face—something between confusion and barely suppressed disbelief.

He opened his mouth to say something, but a single sharp look from me silenced him immediately. I reached for my coat draped over the chair back and turned to face the gathered wolves. "I have other matters to attend to. Enjoy the rest of your evening." "Oh, and Marek—in the future, don't bother inviting me to gatherings of this caliber." I truly couldn't stomach another moment in this place. Selene Frostveil's insufferable posturing made my wolf snarl with disgust beneath my skin. But I had no interest in exposing her lies. The social debt and face from this meal—I'd consider it my final gift to her. Yet as I passed by her seat, she suddenly seized my arm. "Kael Nightcrest, aren't you forgetting something?" "What would that be?" "Settling your own portion of the bill." I tilted my head, certain my ears had deceived me. "Selene, has your mind gone completely feral?" "The Lodge Marshal clearly stated tonight's expenses were waived. What exactly am I supposed to pay?" Selene let out a cold, mocking laugh, her eyes dripping with contempt. "The waiver exists because my mate commands respect across territories. What does that have to do with you?" "Since this gathering was hosted under my name, I decide who benefits from my generosity." She strode to the entrance and ripped the itemized ledger from its hook. "Tonight's total comes to eight hundred thousand in pack credits. Split among twenty former packmates, that's forty thousand each." "I've covered everyone's share—except yours." "Forty thousand. Will you pay in trade goods or have it drawn from your personal stores?" Garrick Pineward stepped forward quickly, attempting to interject. "My lady, regarding tonight's accounting—" I raised a hand and gently pulled Garrick behind me, then leaned closer to Selene. "You've decided to make an enemy of me tonight, haven't you?" Selene nodded without hesitation, her words cutting like fangs. "Absolutely." "I actually considered honoring our past connection by letting you experience a taste of how the upper ranks feast. But you've proven yourself incapable of accepting such grace." "Since that's how it is, I'll teach you a lesson tonight—help you understand exactly what kind of creature you truly are." Her words didn't anger me. Instead, I found myself laughing. "My apologies, but unlike you, I know precisely where I stand in the hierarchy. You're the one who's lost all sense of her own rank." The moment those words left my lips, the wolves around the table erupted into hostile murmurs. "Kael Nightcrest, you've really become addicted to this delusion of grandeur. Looking down on Selene? If you had any real standing, would she have cast you aside like dead weight?" "Exactly. Her mate is an Alpha whose territory holdings are worth hundreds of millions. If you scraped together everything you own, would it even amount to the scraps from his ledgers?" "He's nothing but a fool living in fantasy. If he actually tries to pay, nobody lend him a single coin!" I ran my tongue across my teeth and swept my gaze across every face in the room. "What fascinating observations. But I don't just look down on Selene Frostveil—I look down on all of you." "Because everyone seated here is nothing but refuse." I've never been one for excessive socializing, but I understand basic pack courtesy. From the moment I sat down until now, these so-called former packmates hadn't exchanged a single word about genuine bonds or shared history. They'd spent the entire evening groveling and fawning over Selene. Why should I preserve the dignity of wolves this desperate to lick boots? My declaration instantly made me the target of every hostile glare in the room. Marek Hollowmere shot to his feet in fury, slamming his palm against the table with a thunderous crack. "Kael Nightcrest, someone like you doesn't deserve to share a meal with us. Pay your debt and get out!" Selene watched the chorus of mockery grow louder, her smile deepening with satisfaction. She lifted a bottle of rare aged spirits—a limited vintage from the northern territories—and poured ten generous glasses. "Kael, I understand that asking a wolf who runs deliveries for scraps to produce forty thousand on the spot is quite the challenge."

"Considering the fact that I once protected you, I'll give you one more chance." With that, she placed her high heels on the stone bench and gestured with her chin towards the ten glasses of strong liquor. "You have two choices." "One, kneel down and lick my feet, admitting in front of everyone that you're nothing but a pretentious good-for-nothing." "Two, down these ten glasses in one gulp, then slap yourself ten times." "If you do either one, I'll settle the 40,000 yuan debt for you. Fair enough, right?" Whistles and applause erupted simultaneously in the private room. Everyone present wanted to see me humiliated, to see me, like a stray dog, groveling before Selene Frostveil, just as I had four years ago. I had wanted to leave some dignity for each other, but Selene and her former classmates pressed on relentlessly. A fake socialite who lived by clinging to the powerful dared to be so arrogant. Since reasoning with him won't work, I'll just have to flip the table! I scanned the room and coldly uttered a single sentence: "Ten minutes." "What ten minutes?" I ignored Selene and turned to Garrick Pineward. Garrick glanced at his communicator and bowed to me. "Young Master Kael, I've informed our lord. He says he'll come to apologize to you personally in ten minutes, accompanied by Darius Ashford." "By the way, he also said he's willing to exchange a hundred acres of woodland on the border for Selene Frostveil's life." The room fell into a deathly silence, then erupted in laughter: "Is this penniless wretch gone mad? He actually said Selene's spouse is coming to apologize to him and even cede a piece of land to him! Do you believe that, hahaha!" "Yes, of course we believe it! Kael!" "Nightcrest's practically dead, we have to give him some face." "I heard that last time a scion of a noble family offended Selene, Lord Darius broke his arms and legs and threw him out of the harbor territory. I wonder how many bones Kael will have left after tonight!" Hearing the crowd's flattery, Selene's arrogance reached its peak: "Kael, I advise you to do as I say quickly, otherwise, if my spouse finds out, you're in big trouble." I pulled out a chair, crossed my legs, and looked at Selene with a smirk. "So what if your spouse finds out?" "He's someone who always sits at the bottom of the table at the harbor's various werewolf alliance gatherings, does he dare to mess with me?" My words clearly caused quite a stir, and the people in the room immediately began whispering among themselves. Seeing that I had exposed Darius Ashford's true status, Selene roared at me in exasperation: "What do you, a mere errand boy, know! My spouse recently recognized the heir of the Stormvein werewolf clan as his sworn brother; he's a completely different person now!" "Do you know the heir of the Stormvein werewolf clan? He's incredibly powerful, above all wolves! With such a strong backer, it's easy for our family to mess with a lowly errand boy like you!" I rested my chin on my hand, looking at her with amusement. "Then how do you know I'm not the one with unparalleled power, above all wolves?" "Selene, after all these years, do you really understand me? Do you know who I really am?" Selene gave a disdainful chuckle, as if she had heard the biggest joke in the world. "You? Above all wolves?" "Have you forgotten that I chose Darius because you were a poor, down-on-your-luck Omega? Looking back, I was absolutely right. You're not only poor, but you're also incredibly arrogant." "Oh, I get it. You're here to cause trouble today because you were beneath me, aren't you?" Holding a grudge? She really thinks too highly of herself. I frowned, looking at Selene like she was an idiot:

"Your arrogance truly knows no bounds, yet you're not even worthy of—" "Enough!" Selene Frostveil's snarl cut through my words, her eyes dripping with contempt. "Kael Nightcrest, I never imagined you'd still run your mouth when you're standing at death's door." "I'm done wasting breath on you. Get on your knees, bow your head to the floor three times, and then crawl out of here! Let's pretend we never crossed paths!" I paused for a moment, then shook my head with a slight smile. "I'm not going anywhere. I'm still waiting for your mate's formal apology and that hundred acres of borderland territory." At those words, the wolves gathered around the feast table could no longer hold their tongues. "Sister Selene, since this bottom-feeding runt refuses to accept your mercy, why bother showing him any kindness at all!" "Besides, he insulted Alpha Darius in front of everyone here. How can we let him walk away without teaching him a lesson!" "That's right, Sister Selene! Just give the command! The few of us will pin him down and make him press his forehead to the ground for you!" These opportunistic wolves weren't about to miss their chance to prove their loyalty. One after another, they urged Selene to use force against me. Selene pressed her lips together, then slowly nodded her head. "Anyone who puts their hands on him tonight gets rewarded with a hundred thousand in pack credits!" Several broad-shouldered males immediately rose from their seats, moving to force me to my knees. Garrick Pineward saw the danger closing in and instantly positioned himself as a shield in front of me. I glanced at my phone and raised a single finger. "Fine. I'll remember each of you. But let me give you a warning—you have exactly one minute left." Selene froze for a heartbeat, then threw her head back in a wild, vicious laugh. "What, are you trying to say that in one minute, my mate will show up and instead of backing me, he'll stand behind a worthless stray like you?" "You really won't shed tears until you see your own grave. What are you all standing around for? Take him down!" Selene waved her hand dismissively, and the male wolves charged forward. At that critical moment, the chamber doors were kicked open from outside with tremendous force. "Everyone stand down!" The newcomer was none other than Ronan Pineward, the Denmaster of Pinecrest Lodge.