“Or you're saying you can’t even pay, seriously!”
“What a joke — getting seized and dragged to the hunt patrol den for dodging a debt — isn’t that the same trick you pulled on me once?”
Calista drew a slim moonleaf cigarette from a case, set it between her lips, and sparked it with a flick of ember magic. She exhaled the smoke straight into my face, her smile thick with superiority.
I reacted without thinking—my hand flew up and struck her hard across the cheek.
The table overturned, dishes shattered, the entire dining tavern dissolved into noise.
Kryden hurried to Calista, then barked an order at his Omega. Before I could move, they seized my arms and slammed me onto the stone floor.
“Arielle, that’s enough!”
“So you get to trample whoever you want, and no one’s allowed to bare their fangs back?”
I shot Kryden a blazing look. The Ridgeferns’ explosive rise to power across Moonspire Courtlands over the past three cycles wasn’t luck—it was me. I used the alliances my bloodline possessed to pave their way. Even the shadow packs that once sought to challenge them backed off—because they knew exactly who stood behind the Ridgeferns.
Tonight, on my bornday, I had planned to tell Kryden the truth. That I wasn’t some stray with no roots. That I was heir to one of Celestdawn Crest’s Four Great Clans.
I intended to lead him home to my pack’s territory to meet my mother and father.
I never thought his devotion would fade in an instant.
I had been wrong about him. I thought he had more honor than this.
“Kryden, are you truly going to let me walk out in disgrace?”
He gave a cold, humorless laugh. “What did you expect? You expected me setting this up for nothing?”
With the guard protecting her, Calista struck me across the face. “You filthy stray. Choose—get dragged to the hunting patrol den for unpaid dues, or strip bare, clamp this meat between your teeth, and crawl out on all fours like the mongrel you are.”
She bared her teeth in a grin. “The difference is simple. The first, you keep your clothes. And the second, you lose your clothes and your pride. Hurry up and decide — I’m bored.”
Every pair of eyes in the chamber was fixed on me, eager for a show.
I slowly clenched my fists, my knuckles paled, and looked at Kryden with empty, frozen eyes.
“Fine. If this is your decision, then when the Ridgeferns falls into ruin, remember—you chose it.”
The instant the words left me, Calista erupted into laughter.
“Ha! Did you all hear that?”
"She thinks she's living in romantic pack tale? The secret heiress?"
"She's out of her mind."
Kryden’s gaze darkened. To him, my words were nothing but a lie.
He snatched a platter from the table and flung it at me. “Enough of your nonsense. You think you can drive the Ridgefern Clan into ruin? Who do you think you are?”
“Concern yourself with your own failing territory first.”
“Manager!”
The dining tavern manager approached, and the guards accompanied behind him. His tone remained calm but cold. "Luna Ridgefern, will you be paying your tab yourself, or shall we await someone to settle it for you?”
I swept my gaze across the chamber and found a she-wolf I recognized—a trade ally I had once negotiated territory agreements with for the Ridgefern Clan.
I moved in her direction.
The instant she saw me, she jolted from her seat and backed away.
“Arielle, don’t come closer—I can’t pay for you—”
“Calm down. I’m not asking you for payment. I just need your crystal communicator.”
“Please. I’ll call someone to bring payment.”
Calista’s laughter rang sharply through the chamber. “How amusing! Tell me, which wolf in Moonspire Courtlands would be bold enough to come settle your payment?”
She flicked her hand carelessly. "Fine, let her try. Thirty minutes. If no one comes to settle her payment—” She nodded toward the heavyset merchants eyeing me greedily. "They can strip her themselves — a woman who’s warmed the bed of a powerful Alpha in Moonspire Courtlands should be worth trying, right?"
