Zephrine


    華


    Finished


    I hadn’t slept until dawn, my heart still reeling from what had happened between him and me. Lycannar had been furious when I warned him, and he’d left without a word.


    When I finally opened my eyes, it was already morning, yet Iy there, staring into the nk space, wondering how I could possibly keep myself together with everything closing in on me. The sound of footsteps rushing toward the chamber snapped me from my thoughts.


    Slowly, I turned toward the door just as it flew open. Luna Tahlia appeared in the hallway, horror written all over her face.


    “I can’t find my mother or Young ck.”


    “What?!”


    I bolted upright from the bed and rushed past her, flinging open the doors of every chamber. Empty. No one was in the house except Luna Tahlia and me.


    “Can you feel Young ck’s energy? Where is it?” I demanded when we met again in the living room.


    She turned away swiftly, trying to connect to her son. When her eyes snapped back to me, her face had gone pale.


    *I can feel his energy… in ckbridge Pack. Are they going to execute him now?”


    I didn’t waste another breath. I rushed out. I tied my hair back, ready to use my speed just as a carriage rolled Luna Tahlia was already on it.


    “Get in!”


    up


    behind us.


    I obeyed instantly, and in no time, we were pulling into ckbridge’s courtyard, where a crowd had already gathered.


    What I saw froze my blood.


    Olga, Luna Tahlia’s elderly mother, was on her knees in the dirt, trying to plead for her daughter’s and grandson’s lives. In return, they spat on her, calling her “mother of a whore” and “grandmother of a bastard.”


    Luna Tahlia jumped from the carriage to shield her mother, but she, too, was struck.


    Anger boiled in my chest. My gaze slid to Ka, standing there with her father, smiling in triumph. In just a few days, they had managed <i>to </i>ruin not just one life, but several.


    I sat in the carriage for a heartbeat, deciding where to move first, when Ka’s voice cut through the crowd like a whip.


    “Pack members of ckbridge! Do not hurt or spit on your former Luna. Though what she did was despicable, thanks to her… you will now have apetent Alpha.”


    A cheer rose through the crowd.


    Ka stepped forward, towering over Luna Tahlia as though she were some god of justice.


    “You will pay for all your evils,” she dered coldly. “And if you do so willingly, perhaps we’ll grant your son mercy.”


    It was the kind of cruel choice meant to shatter a person. Luna Tahlia’s dignity broke in an instant and she crouched at Ka’s feet, begging for her child’s life.


    Ka’s smile was triumphant.


    That was enough.


    I stepped down from the carriage and strode forward, pulling Olga gently to her feet. The murmurs in the crowd swelled as I led her to the carriage and helped her inside. She was pale, wan, and trembling from exhaustion. My heart ached for her.


    9:30 PM <b>p </b><b>p</b>.


    G


    Then I returned to lift Luna Tahlia from her knees. I set my jaw and faced Ka directly.<fnf2ec> ???? ????s? ???????s ?? find?novel</fnf2ec>


    “You want mercy?” I said evenly. “Then let’s talk about it.”


    Ka’s eyes swept over me, and she scoffed.


    “You, who can barely save her life…”


    Finished


    “I know who killed Alpha ck,” I cut in, my voice loud enough for every ear in the courtyard. “The Lycan King never hid the fact that he did.”


    The crowd fell into uneasy silence.


    I turned to look directly at Yadev, the Beta soon to be Alpha.


    “<i>The </i>Luna of this pack has been framed. And I can prove it.”


    Ka’s jaw tightened, but she was quick to strike back.


    “We all know you’ve bewitched the Lycan King, and he will say anything you want, even lie before the Council. Luna Tahlia will be shamed, and her son will die.”


    “Not while I live.”


    “Then die,” Yadev said, stepping forward. The sheer weight of his presence pressed against me, enough to make most people flinch. “You can’t save them. Go on, die.”


    I smirked. He had just opened the door for me.


    “How about I die honorably in a duel?” I proposed, stunning everyone present. “Bring your best warrior, set the date and time, and have your scroll ready.”


    I moved closer, cing myself between them and Luna Tahlia.


    “Your best warrior against me, in the arena, to the death. If he wins, you get what you want. If I win…”


    “You get all you wanted,” Yadev finished for me, his tone dripping with contempt. “The throne, and her name cleared. But a rogue like you wouldn’t know the first thing about the battlefield. Maybe the bed…”


    The insult was meant to brand me a whore. I gave him a small nod.


    “Since you want to die early by the Lycan King’s sword, I won’t stop you from calling me a slut,” I replied, my voice like ice, “But pick the date, pick the time, and make sure the right audience is watching because the innocent widow you shamed will walk away proven right.”


    Tension thickened until Young ck suddenly burst from the building and threw himself into his mother’s arms. Relief cut through the air.


    I guided them both to the carriage, and we rolled away from the pack’s gates.


    I leaned back, closing my eyes for a brief moment. Maybe it was time to take up a de again.


    Maybe it was time to shed blood.


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