His voice dropped low, edged with a dangerous tone. “Don’t tell me you’re planning to leave with Alpha Sebastian?”
I shot back, frustration bubbling up. “Who I leave with is none of your business. We signed the divorce papers. If you’re dragging your feet on finalizing it, that’s your problem! As far as I’m concerned, this is over.”
I tried to pull away again, but Xavien’s reflexes were lightning quick. His hand shot out and gripped my wrist with that unnatural werewolf strength, tight as iron shackles.
“We’re not done until I say we’re done,” he growled, his eyes flashing a fierce gold.
Alpha Sebastian stood nearby, bathed in the soft silver glow of the moonlight. The light traced the sharp angles of his cheekbones and highlighted the cool, detached expression in his eyes.
“I swear, I’ve heard this script at least three times now,” he commented, clicking his tongue softly.
Harlow threw up her hands in exasperation. “If this were a novel, it’d be pure filler. ‘I want a divorce,’ ‘No, you don’t’-repeat ten thousand times.”
Alpha Sebastian’s face stayed neutral for a moment before he offered, “How about this-I’ll take Alpha Xavien, and you take Celina.”
Harlow’s eyes lit up instantly, turning toward Alpha Sebastian with a hopeful gleam.
Her gaze practically morphed into cartoon hearts as she asked, “So, Alpha Sebastian… if things don’t work out with Ceci… do you think maybe I could-?”
Alpha Sebastian tilted his head slightly, his tone casual, almost bored. “Oh, I’m not interested in women.”
It was said so matter-of-factly, like someone politely declining a slice of pie they didn’t want.
Harlow’s jaw literally dropped.
Was I right? Did he really have no interest in women? Then… was he interested in men?
With long, graceful strides, Alpha Sebastian approached Xavien and me, draping his arm over Xavien’s shoulders as if he were calming a tantruming child.
“I won’t take her away. I’ll take you instead. How’s that?” he offered smoothly.
Xavien froze, caught completely off guard by this unexpected move.
“Your car’s out of gas, and it’s too late to call another ride,” Alpha Sebastian continued calmly. “As for the divorce, arguing about it another day won’t change the inevitable.”
He gently guided Xavien toward his car, and I couldn’t help but notice the striking contrast between the two men. Both were undeniably handsome, but Alpha Sebastian was a few inches taller, his features possessing an icy, aristocratic elegance. Xavien, on the other hand, had a rugged, traditionally masculine look.
By all accounts, Xavien’s classic Alpha appearance should have commanded more presence. Yet standing side by side, Alpha Sebastian somehow overshadowed him completely.
There was an unmistakable regal aura about Alpha Sebastian-like the undeniable presence of an Alpha descended from one of the oldest and most powerful bloodlines.
Xavien tried to shrug Alpha Sebastian’s arm off, but when he glanced back, he saw Harlow’s car waiting for me. He moved to intervene, but Alpha Sebastian held him firmly in place.
That brief moment was all I needed to slip away.
“Celina!” Xavien’s roar echoed after the retreating car.
I knew what truly infuriated him wasn’t that I was leaving with Harlow-it was that I was slipping through his grasp once again.
It was past 2 AM when Harlow and I finally returned to Denver.
At her apartment, I carefully rewrapped the bandages on my wounds, which had started bleeding again. After a quick shower, I collapsed onto the bed, my body immediately surrendering to exhaustion.
I woke around noon the next day. Harlow had already left for work, but a warm feeling blossomed in my chest. This girl might forget to eat breakfast herself, but she never forgot to bring something for me.
I opened the bag and pulled out the food, flicking on the TV to find something to watch while I ate. A family drama was playing-a classic mother-in-law versus daughter-in-law feud. It instantly reminded me of Luna Daria and Cira.
They had returned to Xavien’s house together last night.
[United again?] I wondered silently.
Did Luna Daria really forget how badly Cira had humiliated her at the charity gala? Luna Daria wasn’t the sharpest tool in the shed, but surely she wasn’t foolish enough to want Cira as the Blood Moon Pack’s Luna?
I couldn’t quite figure out Luna Daria’s reasoning, but this might not be bad news for me. Another person putting pressure on Xavien could only work in my favor.
Though the main force was still Cira-no matter how unimpressive her efforts had been so far.
After breakfast, I curled up on the sofa, mulling over my next move. Should I try to provoke Cira again, push her to reveal more of her potential?
On second thought, maybe not. She was already showing signs of unraveling. If I pushed her too hard, who knew what chaos she might unleash.
My thoughts were interrupted by the sharp ring of the phone.
Yvonne.
The queen of gossip herself.
“Hello, beauty queen. What’s the latest drama?” I teased.
“Oh my God, Celina! Have you been living under a rock? Have you seen the statement from the Blood Moon Pack? Your mother-in-law is throwing serious mud at you! I’m absolutely livid!” Yvonne exclaimed.
“What mud?” I asked, puzzled. I told Yvonne to hold on while I checked.
My fingers trembled so badly I nearly dropped the phone.
The moment I tuned into the livestream, Luna Daria’s face filled the screen-poised, polished, and terrifyingly composed.
She sat at a long table draped in velvet, flanked by the Blood Moon Pack’s elders, with cameras flashing like gunfire all around her.
I watched her elaborate press conference, my stomach twisting into knots. My blood pressure shot up so fast I could feel my pulse pounding behind my eyes.
She introduced herself calmly as the mother of the man in the now-viral video.
And then she smiled.
Not a warm, kind smile. A cold, calculated one.
She claimed she knew the whole truth.
According to her, the situation wasn’t what it seemed at all.
And then she began to rewrite history.
Luna Daria explained-so gracefully, so convincingly-that the Blood Moon and Shadow Packs had arranged a mating bond between their children years ago.
That the families were equal in power and prestige.
That despite the age difference, Xavien and Cira had always been close.
That both sides had simply been waiting for Cira to reach mating age to formalize the union.
And then, she said, I had come along.
I felt the air leave my lungs. The ringing in my ears grew so loud I almost missed what came next.
She claimed I had known about the engagement all along. That I had targeted Xavien deliberately-determined to marry into power at any cost.
That I had seduced him through “despicable methods.” That I had manipulated him into marriage.
That the Blood Moon Pack had never acknowledged our union.
I stared at the screen, frozen. My heart pounded so loudly I could barely hear anything else.
She continued, her voice sweet as honey but dripping with righteous contempt, her eyes shining with self-righteous disdain.
Over the last two years, she said, Xavien had finally seen through my gold-digging ways.
That I was insatiable. Greedy.
That I had even cheated on him while he was away on business.
She said her poor son had been devastated. That he had suffered in silence. That he had only reconnected with Cira because of a joint project between the packs-and that it had “rekindled the bond that had always been there.”
Her final blow hit like a slap across my face.
Cira wasn’t the homewrecker.
I was.
The room seemed to spin around me. I pressed my palm to my forehead, struggling to breathe past the nausea rising in my throat.
Of course, Luna Daria hadn’t come unarmed.
She produced “evidence.”
Text messages-screenshots of me supposedly demanding an outrageous settlement.
A photo of me standing beside a middle-aged man in a hotel hallway. At midnight.
An audio clip-recorded just yesterday at the Blood Moon estate-of me brazenly demanding “ten percent of the pack’s assets.”
And most shocking of all… a decade-old mating contract between Xavien and Cira.
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