The Outcast's Revenge, Shadow Emperor's Bride

Yara was the legitimate daughter of the pack, and I was just the bastard.

She was born into the light, while I was hidden in the shadows.

She hated my existence, viewing my talent and my face as a threat to her status.

Since we were children, she bullied me and snatched away everything I loved.

She even stole the white wolf pup my mother gave me before she died.

She slit its throat and threw its cold body at my doorstep.

My father, the Alpha King, remained silent about her cruelty.

My brother, Mordecai, watched with an expressionless face.

They tolerated her because she was the purebred heir, and I was nothing but a mistake.

When I was fifteen, Yara framed me for a crime I didn't commit.

She lured me to the Deadlands and pushed me into the Abyss of Souls.

My internal wolf spirit was shattered, and I nearly died in the darkness.

But in that hell, I met himDthe King of the Outcasts, who loved me more than his own life.

Now, Yara wants to steal him from me too.

To get him, she secretly betrothed me to the Shadow Emperor of the Dark Dimension.

She has no idea what kind of monster she has unleashed.

1

"My true love will be a legendary hero. He'll come for me riding a majestic dragon..."

I sat on a thick branch of the Ancient Oak, staring at the sea of clouds.

I was sixteen, whispering the dreams every young girl has about love.

Quinn was lying on a massive leaf nearby, his hands tucked behind his head.

He was from the Fox-Wolf shifter tribe, a rare and beautiful breed.

He had a face that could tempt a saint and a pair of pointed, alert ears.

His ears flicked as he turned his gaze toward me.

"If I become the King of all Shifters, would that make me a legendary hero?"

"But you're a rogue shifter, and I'm a Royal Pack member," I sighed.

"We are worlds apart, Quinn. You know that."

"Who decided that?" he snapped, sitting up abruptly.

"Don't you know the legends?" I asked softly.

"Ten thousand years ago, the Great Alpha and the Moon Goddess's daughter fell in love."

"The heavens couldn't allow it, and they were burned alive on the Altar of Judgment."

I had heard that tragic story a thousand times, and it made me cry every time.

Quinn didn't like that. He stood up, his eyes filled with a fierce determination.

"I don't care about the laws of the heavens. If the world is unfair, I'll tear it down!"

"Finley, I will marry you. Will you be mine?"

He stared at me with those beautiful, intense eyes.

My heart hammered against my ribs, and my cheeks burned with heat.

I realized then that I was hopelessly in love with this rogue.

But I didn't give him an answer because I was terrified.

The day I met Quinn was the darkest day of my life.

To the world, I was the daughter of the Alpha King, a girl born into glory.

In reality, I was miserable.

I had a father who demanded absolute obedience and a brother who acted like a machine.

And then there was Yara, my legitimate sister, who spent every waking moment plotting my ruin.

She was born with a status higher than mine, but her soul was rotten.

Her selfishness was a sickness.

She had a pathological need to own everything I possessed.

She took my toys, my clothes, and eventually, she took my white wolf pup.

My mother gave me that pup on my sixth birthday.

After my mother passed away, that pup was my only source of comfort.

I didn't care about the other things Yara stole, but the pup was different.

I went to her room to take it back, but my father happened to walk by.

Yara saw my father and immediately turned into a professional actress.

She started sobbing, claiming I was trying to steal her pet.

She was a master at playing the victim.

"That's my wolf pup!" I shouted, my voice trembling.

Yara sniffled and looked at our father.

"She's lying, Dad. This is mine. Her pup ran away, so she's trying to take mine."

"She thinks everything in the world belongs to her. Look how she bullies me!"

I tried to defend myself, but my father cut me off with a cold glare.

"Finley, have you become so selfish that you'd steal from your sister?"

"You're becoming exactly like your mother," he spat.

"Don't you dare talk about my mother!" I screamed.

My mother was the kindest soul in the pack, but Yara and her mother had framed her.

They drove her to her death, and my father believed every lie they told.

He didn't speak another word about her.

He just ordered me to go back to my room and reflect on my sins.

His guards dragged me away while Yara smirked at me.

She mouthed the words: "You will never win."

I was grounded for ten days, forbidden from leaving my quarters.

But the nightmare didn't end there.

The next morning, I found my wolf pup at my door.

Its throat had been cut, and its beautiful white fur was soaked in blood.

I collapsed, clutching its cold body and crying for a day and a night.

I eventually buried it under the willow tree in the back garden.

My mother was gone, and my father only trusted Yara.

My brother was as cold as a stone wall.

Now, even my pup was dead.

I knew Yara was watching me from the shadows, enjoying my despair.

She wasn't satisfied with just hurting me emotionally.

She was jealous of my raw power and my looks.

She wanted me dead.

When I was fifteen, an ancient beast called the Ravager broke its seal in the mountains.

My father sent me to deal with it, calling it a trial for my training.

It was a suicide mission, but he didn't care because I was the bastard.

To my surprise, Yara insisted on coming with me.

The Ravager's power was terrifying, and Yara suggested we use a dual-seal spell.

It required perfect synchronization between two people.

But at the critical moment, Yara withdrew her power and left me alone in the kill zone.

I was trapped between the beast and the failing spell.

Yara stood outside the barrier, laughing as the beast tore into me.

I managed to sever one of the Ravager's wings and seal it back into the earth.

However, the cost was devastating.

My internal energy was depleted, my spirit was crushed, and my veins were shattered.

When I confronted Yara, she didn't even try to hide her malice.

"Did you really think I was here to help you? You're just a shield for me."

Her eyes burned with a pure, unadulterated hatred.

"You're just a lowly bastard. Why should you have more talent than me?"

"You don't deserve that face or that power. Everything you have belongs to me!"

She smiled a twisted, hideous smile as she drained what was left of my energy.

Then, she kicked my broken body off the cliff into the Abyss of Souls.

The Abyss was a place where light never touched the ground.

It was a wasteland of fog, monsters, and the bones of the forgotten.

"Go ahead and die, Finley. The Silver City belongs to me now!"

Yara purposely wounded herself and ran back to our father with a fabricated story.

She told him she had sealed the beast alone while I tried to sabotage her.

She claimed I tried to kill her to steal the glory, but she was too smart for me.

She said I fled in shame because I knew I would be punished.

She cried so convincingly that my father believed every word.

He comforted her and called me a heartless monster.

He rewarded Yara, calling her a once-in-a-thousand-years genius.

Meanwhile, he declared me a traitor and a disgrace to the pack.

He issued a death warrant, vowing to burn me at the stake.

But I wasn't dead; I was lying in the cold, dark depths of the Abyss.

I felt like giving up, but the thought of my mother and my pup kept me breathing.

Three hellhounds picked up my scent and began to circle me.

Their eyes were blood-red, and their breath smelled of rotting meat.

I prepared myself to become their dinner.

Just as the hounds prepared to pounce, they suddenly whimpered and fled.

They acted as if something much more dangerous had appeared in the dark.

A faint light broke through the fog, and a young man stepped forward.

He walked toward me and held out a piece of wild fruit.

"Hey there. You look hungry," he said in a gentle voice.

Those were the first words Quinn ever spoke to me.

I passed out right after that.

When I woke up, I learned his name was Quinn.

He was a shifter, specifically from the fox-wolf lineage.

His people were known for their beauty, and Quinn was more stunning than any Royal.

He was an orphan and didn't even know when his birthday was.

"I'll share my birthday with you," I decided on the spot.

"Okay. From today on, I have a birthday," Quinn said, smiling brightly.

"Remember, today is the one hundred and sixth day of our fifteenth year."

Quinn nodded, repeating the date to himself.

He had grown up in isolation and mockery, just like I had.

Two lonely souls found each other, and suddenly, the Abyss wasn't so lonely.

Quinn was stubborn and had a grand dream.

"One day, I will be the King of all Shifters!" he would declare.

Whenever he said that, the other outcasts in the Abyss would laugh.

"A weak fox-wolf wanting to be King? Keep dreaming, kid!"

"You'd have to be a legendary Nine-Tailed Alpha to pull that off!"

"The Nine-Tailed Alpha is just a myth. It doesn't exist."

The other shifters treated Quinn like a fool, but he didn't care.

An old monkey shifter, who acted as Quinn's guardian, approached us.

He walked with a cane and had a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"Getting bullied again, boy?" the old man teased.

"Shut it, old man. I'm going to be the greatest King this world has seen!"

Quinn wiped his eyes, refusing to show weakness.

"Why do you want to be King so badly?" the old man asked.

"Can't you just live a simple life like me?"

Quinn's expression turned serious as he looked at the old shifter.

"I have to become the King. I have to prove them wrong."

When Quinn heard what Yara had done to me, he was furious.

"You've had it rough, haven't you?" he whispered.

"You're not exactly living the high life either," I countered.

"I'm okay. I have my grandfather," Quinn said, referring to the old monkey.

He saw the sadness in my eyes and suddenly grabbed my hand.

"Come on! I want to show you something!"

My heart skipped a beat, and I felt my face flush.

He pulled me along as we ran through a forest of giant trees.

This was the Spirit Woods, an ancient place that had existed for eons.

The trees were so tall they seemed to touch the stars.

The largest one was called the Mother Tree.

Its leaves were as big as beds, and its branches were thick enough to build houses on.

We climbed all the way to the very top, gasping for air.

"I come here whenever I'm feeling down," Quinn explained.

"The wind and the clouds make all my problems feel small."

The air was sweet and fresh, and I took a deep breath, feeling alive for the first time.

"Look over there!" Quinn pointed into the distance.

I stared out and gasped at the sight.

Before us was a vast sea of clouds, glowing with a golden light.

The sky above was a deep, crystal blue.

It felt like we were in another world, far away from the pain of the Silver City.

I wanted to stay here forever.

"Do you like it?" Quinn asked with a grin.

I nodded, unable to find the right words.

"Legend says this is where the First Alpha and the Moon Goddess met," he said.

I imagined them sitting here, just like us.

They must have fallen in love at first sight.

The hero and the goddess, watching the sunset together.

"This is my secret hideout," Quinn said proudly.

The golden light hit his face, making his fur look like spun silk.

"And from now on, it's our secret hideout."

After that day, we spent all our free time on the Mother Tree.

We watched the clouds and let our worries drift away.

Time passed slowly, and soon we were sixteen.

Being with Quinn was the happiest I had ever been.

My wounds began to heal under his careful attention.

"Finley, will you marry me?" Quinn asked again one evening.

I tried to keep my breathing steady, but my heart was racing.

"You know my father has a bounty on my head," I reminded him.

"I'll protect you," he promised without hesitation.

"My family is powerful, Quinn. My father is the Alpha King."

"If the pack tries to hurt you, I'll take down the pack," he declared.

"If the world tries to crush you, I'll break the world!"

A beam of light broke through the clouds, illuminating his form.

In that moment, he looked like a god.

I didn't answer him, even though I wanted to say yes.

I knew my father's warriors would find me eventually.

The wind blew, and white leaves began to fall like snow.

"These are Wishing Leaves," Quinn explained.

"Young couples write their names on them and hang them on the tree."

"If the wind blows them down, it means they are destined to be together."

I caught a leaf in my palm and saw two names written on it.

Quinn found a fresh leaf and bit his finger, using his blood to write our names.

He even drew a clumsy little heart in the middle.

"Finley, you're so beautiful when you smile," he whispered.

"How about I call you the Winter Goddess?"

"That's so cheesy," I laughed, feeling my heart swell.

We stood face-to-face, our breaths mingling in the cool air.

I looked into his eyes, and the rest of the world vanished.

Quinn leaned in and softly pressed his lips against mine.

That was our first kissDsweet, nervous, and perfect.

I will never forget that moment on the Mother Tree.

It felt like we were the only two people in the universe.

But while we were in our bubble, my father was mobilizing thousands of warriors.

He was hunting me across the entire continent.

"What do you think is on the other side of those clouds?" I asked.

"When I become the King, I'll take you there to find out," Quinn promised.

I felt a strange sense of longing, mixed with a deep sadness.

I had a premonition that our time was running out.

I began to train harder than ever before.

I didn't want to end up like the tragic lovers in the legends.

I wanted to be strong enough to protect our happiness.

I didn't care about the Silver City or the throne anymore.

However, my spirit had been badly damaged by Yara.

I was still weak, like a broken vessel that couldn't hold power.

From that day on, Quinn started going out every day to search for something.

"Were you in the Deadlands again today?" I asked.

Quinn nodded, holding out three glowing red berries.

"These are Spirit Fruits. They can repair your internal energy."

I knew those berries were guarded by high-level monsters.

Quinn was covered in fresh scratches and bruises from the hunt.

I applied medicine to his wounds, my heart aching for him.

"You idiot. Was it worth risking your life for a few berries?"

"Yes," he answered, looking me straight in the eyes.

My vision blurred with tears as I realized I couldn't stop him.

He was also searching for his own destinyDthe secret to becoming the King.

There was a legend that the First Alpha left his weapon, the Titan's Bone, in the Deadlands.

Whoever found it and earned its respect would gain unlimited power.

Quinn told me that before, he wanted to be King for himself.

Now, he wanted to be King only to protect me.

My energy began to return, and I felt stronger than ever.

I decided I needed a weapon of my own.

I dreamed of finding the Silver Moon Blade, the weapon of the Moon Goddess.

If I could master it, I could defend our life together.

I was already surpassing the power levels of most Royal warriors.

If I had just one more month, I could reach the level of a General.

But we didn't have a month.

A spy had found our hideout and reported back to my father.

"Disgraceful! A Royal daughter sleeping with a rogue dog!"

My father smashed his throne in a fit of rage.

He donned his golden armor and mounted his war chariot.

He led ten thousand elite warriors toward the Spirit Woods.

The sunny sky turned black with storm clouds as they surrounded the mountain.

The air grew heavy with the scent of silver and blood.

It was a quiet afternoon, and Quinn had been gone for hours.

I was feeding a small fish we had rescued when the weather changed.

Thunder rolled across the sky, and the temperature plummeted.

I looked up and saw my father standing on a cloud of golden energy.

He held a massive iron pagoda, a weapon meant to crush rogue spirits.

His presence was suffocating, a heavy weight that demanded submission.

He stared down at me with eyes full of fury.

The day of judgment had finally arrived.