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 twistedughter 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 bnce the scales–but it will do. And that ne-” 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 be–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 ne 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.”

    “How ironic.” The Queen’s lips curve, cold and merciless. “For all your boasting, you’ve never possessed a

    single thing of your own. Always stealing, always leeching–my power, my family, my peace. Even as you

    drain me through that ne, you’re still empty. You’ve never built anything of your own. You only

    steal. You are no wolf, Malik. You are a hollow disgrace.”

    His eyes glitter, amused at her fury. “Big words from a queen who couldn’t even protect her daughter. She was right there, under your roof, wrapped in your so–called queenly care–and I plucked her away like ripe fruit. You didn’t even notice. You failed her. Do you remember it–the fear? The helplessness? I drank

    it in. I fed on it.”

    For the briefest heartbeat, the Queen falters, her face tightening, her fingers twitching at her sides. But she sets her jaw, refusing to give him the satisfaction. “You don’t get to twist my pain into your triumph,” she says, her voice deadly. “You were nothing but a pawn, Malik. Varkos’s pawn. His obedient dog.”

    Malik’s grin widens, his voice thick with dark pride. “Elder Varkos taught me everything I know. He was my master–a man who understood how to take what he wanted, no matter the cost. Even if it meant the

    heir to the Alpha King. He opened the gates of your precious pce for me. Without him, I’d have been nothing.” His lip curls in disdain. “But now, he’s weak. A traitor. Once I kill you, I’ll finish him too. I’ll carve him into dust. And then the world will bow to me. With Veydris at my side, I am unstoppable, untouchable. A new age ising, and everyone will kneel.”

    The Queen’s patience snaps. “I’ve heard enough of your barking. Since you cling to darkness, feeling no guilt and remorse, you leave me no choice.” Her voice cracks like a whip as she raises her hands, whispering words older than the earth itself.

    “Enrai’thos vel carian, sunderis mortem, bindral ethe’nai…”

    The air shudders. The ne at Malik’s throat res–once bloodi–/ired, now blinding white. His eyes widen, the mocking grin sliding from his face.

    “No–what are you-” His words shatter into a scream as the ne turns on him. His skin blisters, ck veins searing across his body, burning from the inside out. Smoke rises from his body, and his soul -thick and dark as tar–begins to unravel, thread by thread, sucked into the cursed jewel.

    “You caused my pain,” the Queen says coldly even as his shrieks split the night. “You caused my fears. Now you will pay with your life.”

    Malik copses to his knees, wing at the ne, but it sears his hands to ash. His body convulses, his screams breaking into guttural roars until, atst, what remains of him crumbles to dust. His soul- ck and writhing–vanishes into the ne. It drops to the ground, glowing faintly amid the pile of ashes.

    The clearing falls silent.

    The Queen’s chest heaves, but her face remains unshaken. Slowly, she turns to Jack, who stands in wolf form, blood matting his fur, his eyes locked on her.