Chapter 81: Brianna Losses Her Temper

Bradford’s shoulders shook violently. I could see the explosive rage surging through him, but instead of striking back, he forcibly crushed it down. He knew the cruel reality of this world—if an Omega or a human acted out against higher-caste wolves, the retaliation would only be ten times worse.

Lowering his gaze to the stone floor, Bradford bowed his head deeply to the sneering crowd, his voice raspy and pathetic as he pleaded, "I’m sorry... I’m so sorry for the disturbance. Please... forgive us..."

I stood at the edge of the crowd, watching the sight, my vision going hazy as a wave of recurring memories flooded my mind.

Not once. Not twice. Not thrice.

It had happened more times than anyone could count. This family had spent their entire lives bowing their heads, taking the blows, and apologizing for the crime of simply existing.

It wasn’t right.

My blood began to boil, turning into pure, molten fire in my veins. I looked at the blood steadily trickling down Valerie’s pale forehead—she was so lean, so fragile, a mere human with no wolf to heal her wounds, not even a supernatrual body in the slightest. How could she possibly be fine?!

A violent tremble ran through my entire frame. An explosive fury of lethal coldness radiated outward from my body.

"Who was it?" I yelled out, my voice slicing through the market chatter like a frozen blade.

The entire crowd went dead silent. Dozens of eyes snapped toward me, taking in the slender girl standing at the back—her gaze burning with a murderous, terrifying light that no Omega had any right to possess.

The crowd didn’t answer. Instead, a ripple of mocking laughter broke out among them, dirty and arrogant.

"Look at that," a sneering Beta near the front snickered, nudging his friend. "The useless wolfless daughter came to join the circus."

The laughter swelled, several of them snickering as if my fury were nothing more than a pathetic joke.

"Doesn’t she have any shame? Parading around in broad daylight like she belongs here?" I repeated, my voice dropping into a sharp, lethal cadence as I stepped through the circle of people. "What’s wrong with her walking here? She pays taxes to this territory, and she doesn’t carry a single contagious disease."

I raised a finger, pointing it directly at the chest of the tall, stocky wolf who had uttered those exact words moments ago. "Or maybe you’re the one carrying a disease and trying to blame her for it?"

The man’s face flushed a deep, ugly red as he bristled, his fists clenching. "You...!"

"Me what?!" I barked, taking a sharp step forward, my eyes locking onto his with such terrifying, unyielding pressure that his jaw snapped shut. "She’s not a thief! She can walk around whenever she damn well pleases—broad daylight, mid-afternoon, or the dead of night! Why the hell should she hide her face just for living?!"

Before he could process the sheer nerve of an Omega standing up to him, I whipped around, pointing my finger straight into the face of a high-caste woman who was still holding a lace handkerchief over her nose in disgust.

"And YOU!" I barked, making her flinch backward. "If stepping outside makes you feel so goddamn disgusted, then stay inside your fucking house! Nobody asked you to breathe the air out here, you fucker!"

Gasps rippled through the onlookers. They were visibly offended, their eyes wide with shock as I tore into every single one of them without holding back my venom.

"You’re all shameless!" I spat, my voice ringing out across the market street. "Gathering around to throw rocks at a defenseless woman just to feel good about your pathetic, useless lives! Stupd bunch of prideful wolves! Let’s see your pride save you from me today."

That pushed them over the edge. The crowd began to roar back, several low level Alphas and Betas stepping forward with bared fangs, growling and barking threats to put the ’arrogant Omega’ in her place.

I dropped into a low, balanced stance. I was more than ready to give every single one of them a piece of my mind—and my fists.

"ENOUGH!"

A loud, booming voice shattered the rising chaos, carrying an unmistakable weight of law and authority.

The crowd instantly quieted down, parting down the middle as a tall man in a dark enforcement uniform strode through the opening.

Steve.

I recognized him immediately. He was the territorial enforcer who had forced me take the blame earlier that week in exchange for dropping the disturbance charges when I broke the loan shark’s leg outside our house.

The one who had put me in the list of participants for the Tournament of Power, just to fill slots.

Steve stopped a few paces away, his eyes taking in the blood trickling down Valerie’s forehead, Bradford kneeling helplessly on the cobblestones, and me—standing there like a feral cat ready to claw everyone’s eyes out.

He let out a heavy, exasperated sigh, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "You lot... do you always have to leave trouble in this territory?"

"What?" I snapped at him, completely out of patience and showing zero reserve. "Are you seriously trying to blame us now, despite seeing the damn truth right in front of your eyes?!"

Steve sighed again, ignoring my bite. He turned his head toward the lingering, disgruntled crowd and raised his hand. "All of you, disperse immediately! Keep congregating and causing a scene, and I’ll start issuing credit fines on the spot!"

The threat of losing credits worked instantly. The crowd grumbled, glaring at us one last time before scattering back into the market streets and disappearing into the shops.

Once the street was clear, Steve turned his gaze back to me and my family. He looked at Valerie, then at Bradford, and finally settled his eyes on my tense, defiant frame.

"Come with me," he said flatly.

"Why should we?" I asked immediately, folding my arms. "Are you trying to take us somewhere private and make us take the blame again?"

Steve looked at us for a long moment, his sharp eyes narrowing as he studied my unyielding posture. I couldn’t read his exact thoughts, but after a tense silence, he clearly decided that picking a physical fight with me right here in the open market wasn’t worth the headache.

"The Alpha of the Grey Moon Pack wants to see you," Steve said flatly.