[Malachi's POV]
The ballroom was silent, every wolf transfixed by the impossible scene playing out on the enchanted mirror.
Kaelen Blackwood's eyes were wide, his face a canvas of shock, confusion, and a raw, undeniable awe. He knew Elara came from the Silvermoon Clan, that she probably knew how to defend herself. But he had always dismissed it as little more than elegant, useless theatrics.
Yet here she was, in front of the entire werewolf elite, dismantling two brutes twice her size with the brutal efficiency of a seasoned warrior.
But unlike the others, I was not surprised.
I simply watched the screen.
An interesting woman, indeed.
I had never imagined she would choose this stage for her counterattack. To put herself in the most perilous position, only to turn the tables in the most public, most devastating way possible. She hadn't just saved herself from a trap; she had nailed the entire House of Blackwood, along with that Seraphina creature, to a pillar of eternal shame.
It was… impressive.
Then again, if she couldn't handle a pathetic scheme like this, she wouldn't be worthy of the pure Moon Goddess blood that flowed through her veins.
A faint, almost imperceptible smile touched my lips.
Beside me, my butler, Alfred, betrayed nothing, but he knew. His king was... intrigued.
It seemed the King's interest in Miss Elara had just grown significantly deeper.
Just then, the castle's guard captain found the room.
"It's room 1205! They're in the annex, room 1205!"
The words were barely out of his mouth before Kaelen bolted from the ballroom, his retreat a picture of pure desperation. Liana was right behind him.
Seraphina stared at the screen, at the woman who now looked like a goddess of war, a bitter envy coiling in her gut. How? How had Elara escaped this? Not only escaped but turned it into a victory? Now, her affair with Kaelen was public knowledge. Now, she was the interloper. The homewrecker.
She ground her teeth in silent fury.
"You… you weren't affected by the mist?" Giselle's panicked voice echoed from the screen.
Elara looked at her, her expression arctic. "What you should be concerned about is not the mist, but the fact that everything that just happened in this room was broadcast live to the entire gala."
"What did you say?" Adelina and Giselle's faces went white as bone.
"I said," Elara's voice was the sound of a glacier cracking, "that every vile word and vicious act in this room was just broadcast live to the entire Moon Goddess Gala." She had deliberately waited thirty minutes before entering, just to set up her contingencies. She had hoped they wouldn't be necessary.
"Oh, and Kaelen is here tonight, too," she added.
That final piece of information shattered Giselle's composure completely.
It was all true. Everything she had said, every depraved detail of their plan, had been laid bare for the entire werewolf aristocracy to see. If what Elara said was true… her life was over. She would be a social pariah. Especially with the most powerful elders from every Pack in attendance.
Elara had just sentenced her to a social death.
"You… you're lying! You're just trying to scare me!" Giselle shrieked, but her voice trembled uncontrollably.
"Am I? Your brother will be here any second. You can ask him yourself," Elara said calmly. By her calculations, Kaelen and the guards should have found the room by now.
Giselle was shaking like a leaf in a storm.
Adelina, however, was consumed by a blind rage. She lunged at Elara like a cornered animal. "You bitch! I'll tear you to pieces!"
Elara sidestepped her with effortless grace. Adelina missed completely, crashing into a nearby cabinet with a pathetic cry of pain.
At that exact moment, the door to the room burst open, slammed from its hinges by a powerful force.
Boom!
Kaelen and the castle guard stormed in.
Giselle let out a small, terrified squeak.
Her brother… he was really here.
Which meant… it was all true.
Adelina saw her son and scrambled up from the floor, latching onto him like a lifeline. "Kaelen, you're here! This bitch, Elara, she was cheating on you with these men! Giselle and I caught her, and when I tried to reprimand her, she attacked me! If you don't reject this shameless whore right now, I'll disown you as my son—"
"Mother!" Kaelen's voice was a raw, strangled cry of pure shame. "Stop it! Just stop! Everyone saw! Everything that happened in this room… everyone saw it!"
"What?" Adelina froze. "How… how could they see? It's a trick! It was all Elara's plan! Son, don't you believe her!"
A bitter taste filled Kaelen's mouth.
It wasn't Elara he believed. It was his own eyes. His own ears. The mother and sister on that screen were strangers to him. He never imagined they were capable of something so vile, just to force Elara out with nothing.
He looked up and met the gaze of his mate.
She stood there in her starlight gown, completely composed despite the violence that had just occurred. The sharp, fierce aura emanating from her gave her an air of untouchable authority.
Like a queen.
They were mates. They had shared a bed. But the few feet that separated them now felt like an impassable chasm. So vast he didn't even dare to take a single step toward her.
"Yes, brother! It was all Elara's plan!" Giselle, snapping out of her stupor, began to frantically shovel the blame onto Elara. "She lured us here to frame us! It was all her! You can't believe her!"
A cold, mocking smile played on Elara's lips as she met Kaelen's tormented gaze. She was curious to see what he would do, even now.
"Brother, you're not going to believe her over us, are you? We're your family!" Giselle cried, her voice cracking with desperation.
"He's my son! How could he believe an outsider over me?" Adelina chimed in. "Have the guards arrest her! She assaulted me! I'm going to petition the Elder Council!"
Emboldened by her son's presence, she tried to lunge at Elara again, but Kaelen grabbed her arm, stopping her.
"Enough! Mother! Giselle! How much more are you going to humiliate me?" Kaelen finally roared.
Elara's cold, unwavering gaze made him feel like he was shrinking, with nowhere to hide. But what made him feel even more helpless was that his mother and sister, even now, showed no remorse, only a desperate need to pile more false accusations onto Elara.
"You want to petition the Elder Council?" Liana's voice cut through the chaos as she arrived. "Don't bother. I've already summoned the Enforcers."
"What?!"
The word sent a jolt of pure terror through Giselle. She was completely, utterly doomed.