The Queen Who Fights Back (by Lily Hastings) novel Chapter 33

Chapter 33

Nova’s voice cut through the night air, sharp and icy, sending a shiver down the spines of everyone present. It wasn’t just a statement—it was as if she had declared her intention to assassinate a world leader, something so outrageous and unfathomable that no one could quite process how to respond.

From the shadows came a low, menacing growl.

On the other side of the clearing, the wolves bared their teeth, lips curling back in a threatening snarl as their eyes locked warily onto the humans standing before them. The pack’s alpha led the charge, his teeth glinting dangerously under the moonlight, the rest of the wolves following suit, their snarls echoing through the stillness.

Despite their fierce display, the wolves held their ground, eyes fixed on Nova and the others, but they didn’t rush forward just yet.

“You’ve lost your mind,” Hannah yelled, her voice sharp with disbelief.

Hannah was the one who had just called Nova crazy, the same person who had declared that Nova’s survival didn’t matter to her. Yet when the threat loomed, she was the first to seize Nova’s arm, yanking her back with a speed that even Maxwell couldn’t match.

It was a moment that echoed back to the school cafeteria incident, when Logan and his gang had tried to provoke Nova into a fight. Hannah had cursed and shouted the loudest then, but she was also the first to step protectively in front of her sister.

Nova didn’t resist. She allowed herself to be pulled behind Hannah, who snapped at her sharply, “Even Max wouldn’t say something that reckless. You think you’re stronger than him?”

Hannah’s voice dropped, thick with frustration. “Honestly, you’re hopeless. If you want to get yourself killed, do it somewhere else. I’m pulling you back only because I don’t want Mom and Dad to have to watch you die right in front of us.”

Her words were harsh and biting, clearly meant to push Nova away rather than protect her out of kindness.

Such pointed remarks would usually sting anyone deeply.

But not Nova.

Instead, a faint, amused smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. “Hasn’t anyone ever told you that you’re kind of adorable when you’re like this?” she teased lightly, her tone playful even as her gaze never left the twenty wolves standing before them.

Hannah gawked at her in disbelief. “Are you seriously joking right now? You’re insane. Maybe you should just let the wolves have you.”

While the sisters exchanged heated words, Maxwell stepped forward, positioning himself firmly between the wolves and his sisters. His eyes locked with the alpha’s, calm but resolute.

The difference between the siblings and the rest of the group was stark. The other students had gone pale the moment the wolves appeared, some of the newer girls breaking down into tears.

“Why are there wolves here?” one whispered, voice trembling.

“Are they going to eat us? I want to go home—I’m scared,” another sobbed.

“This was supposed to be a school survival trip. They promised no dangerous creatures,” someone else murmured, panic rising in their voice.

“We don’t even have weapons. How are we supposed to fight them?” another asked, voice barely audible.

Their frightened murmurs filled the clearing, the atmosphere thick with dread.

Claire, who had earlier been so confident—mocking Nova for bringing knives—now stood frozen, her face drained of color. It was as if she had been punched in the gut. She had laughed at Nova’s preparedness, but now those very weapons seemed to be their only hope.

The humiliation gnawed at her. If only she had brought some gear too, she thought bitterly. Then, a sudden realization struck her.

“Wait—knives?” she snapped her fingers, eyes lighting up with a desperate idea.

“Nova,” Claire called out sharply, “hand over your knives. Give them to someone who actually knows how to use them.”

Her tone was scornful. “Stop pretending you’re some kind of hero. Even with those knives, you don’t stand a chance against twenty wolves. Step aside before you get someone killed.”

Everyone remembered the swift, brutal kill Nova had made earlier. It had stunned most of them. Aside from Hannah and Maxwell, only Claire and a few veteran martial arts club members had believed Nova might pull it off—if luck was on their side.

But for Claire and many others, it was ingrained that Nova had no real fighting ability.

So when Nova claimed she could handle over twenty wolves, the group laughed it off, treating it like a ridiculous joke.

As Claire stirred up the crowd, the frightened girls began shouting in agreement.

“Yeah, hand over the knives!”

“Give them to someone who actually knows how to use them!”

“Nova, just stay out of the way.”

Hearing the same voices that had mocked her now demanding her weapons, Nova’s eyes turned icy, cold enough to cut glass.

Her gaze swept over Claire and the others like a razor blade.

In that instant, everyone remembered the earlier scene—the clean, merciless way Nova had dispatched the wolf.

Claws slashed through the air, fangs gleamed under the moonlight, and the wolves lunged toward Maxwell and Hannah at the front.

The assault was relentless.

Over twenty wolves charged with a hunger that had been building for far too long, aiming to tear Maxwell and Hannah apart.

Even with the defensive formation, holding off a starving wolf pack while waiting for rescue meant Maxwell and Hannah would bleed—perhaps even lose their lives—in the process.

Maxwell clenched his fists, steeling himself.

There was no choice but to fight with everything they had.

Then, just a heartbeat before the wolves reached them, a cold, deadly female voice cut through the chaos.

“I told you they’re my prey. I’ll take them down myself.”

Every eye froze in place.

The voice was chilling enough to freeze the marrow in their bones, like the Grim Reaper herself had arrived.

In a flash, a shadow streaked across their vision.

Two silver flashes gleamed in the moonlight—two knives spinning backward in Nova’s hands with flawless precision.

She moved through the wolf pack like a ghost, leaving a trail of blood in her wake.

When Maxwell, Hannah, Claire, Julian, Caleb, Laura, and the others finally snapped back to reality, they saw the carnage before them.

Over twenty wolves lay sprawled motionless on the ground, soaked in deep pools of blood.

And in the center of the brutal scene stood Nova, her knives reversed in her hands, turning slowly, eyes glowing with a faint red arc of cold murder.

Blood, wolves, and the girl—

The once-ferocious pack was now nothing more than scattered corpses, each neck bearing a single, precise, fatal wound.