What a pity that the first time I'd gone mad and exposed his shameful affair with Lyra Ashvale, he'd used accusations of privacy violation and reputation damage to pressure the pack's Chronicle Hall into casting me out.
Now finding anyone willing to help me was no simple matter.
I cast him a sidelong glance, long past the wounded feelings of being wrongly accused.
My hands continued their work on the anniversary memorial gift for Rowan.
"You should know there's more than one piece of evidence about your disgraceful entanglement with her. If I wanted to expose it all, you'd probably have to bleed territory rights again."
He stood frozen in the doorway for a long while.
His voice emerged with something close to helplessness.
"After this is over, I'll sever ties with her. But you have to promise me—we'll live well together from now on, alright? Once the pup arrives, we'll be a happy family."
These words—he'd spoken them nearly every day during my pregnancy.
Yet it never stopped him from remaining tangled up with Lyra Ashvale.
Either he pitied her status as an illegitimate half-blood daughter, or he felt sorry for her loneliness without a true pack to rely on.
In short, he had ten thousand reasons for being unable to resist her, for shielding her at every turn.
He remained standing in the doorway, as if he wouldn't leave until I answered.
Watching him block the pale morning light filtering through the den's windows, I gave him a half-hearted response.
It wasn't until the next morning, when scent-forged footage of my supposed infidelity spread like wildfire across every pack's howl-channels, that I understood what he'd meant by "after this is over."
Fenris Hawthorne had released a clarification announcement.
In the recording, he spoke to the gathered pack representatives with grief-stricken composure, claiming I had been caught by my younger sister engaging in a heat-tryst with another wolf during my pregnancy. He said I'd spread false rumors about him in retaliation for being discovered.
Lyra Ashvale wept so prettily, tears streaming down her delicate face, saying she had only tried to counsel me against betraying Fenris's devotion. But I had mistaken her concern for a threat to expose my adultery and struck back in vengeance.
Every wolf across the territories demanded that Fenris reject our bond immediately—cast out this shameless Omega.
Yet he maintained his devoted Alpha facade.
"No matter what wrongs Selene commits in this lifetime, I cannot stop loving her."
Watching his hypocritical performance, I couldn't hold back the bile rising in my throat.
Fenris heard the sound from outside the chamber door and rushed in.
"What's wrong?"
I frowned, catching sight of Lyra Ashvale trailing behind him, and shook off his hand.
"Nothing's wrong. I just find you revolting. To protect your hidden Omega consort's crimes, you'd spare no effort to destroy your mate's reputation. Fenris, your love is truly magnificent."
His face went deathly pale. His mouth opened as if to explain.
But Lyra suddenly dropped to her knees, weeping like spring rain on white blossoms.
"I'm sorry, sister. This is all my fault! Brother-in-law only made you the scapegoat because of me."
Fenris's heart instantly melted with pity. His gaze turned sharp with reproach as he looked at me.
"I came here specifically to tell you about this. All of it was glamour-forged—scent mimicry layered over fabricated footage. When it comes down to it, she's your blood sister. Sacrificing yourself to help her is only right. When I help her, I'm helping you preserve your bloodline ties. Why must you be so aggressive toward her?"
"Besides, you're just a domestic Omega now. Reputation means nothing to you. Outsiders wagging their tongues won't affect my feelings for you. As long as I know it's false, that's enough. But she's different—she has no pack to rely on, and she depends on the howl-channels for her livelihood. If her image and standing are ruined, everything she's built will collapse."
Listening to his self-righteous justifications, I felt only disgust.
A domestic Omega—and whose doing was that?
Back then, he hadn't just pressured the Chronicle Hall into casting me out. He'd also spread word through every pack's communication networks that anyone who employed me would be making an enemy of the Hawthorne Pack.
I was turned away from every position I sought. When I finally found work with a small, independent den archive, he filed malicious complaints against us with the Pack Council.
In the end, all my credentials as a Pack Chronicler were revoked. I became an outcast that every wolf in the profession scorned.
I had no desire to argue with him. The healing attendant had said I needed to maintain a peaceful spirit during my recovery from the birth. In half a month's time, I would finally be free of all this.
