Wynne POV:
Before Xander's fingers could graze my skin, a sharp, metallic ring sliced through the air.
Fiona, the Royal Gamma and head of the royal guards, stepped between us. The gaslight caught the deadly edge of her drawn silver sword.
Xander stopped instantly, his boots skidding on the stone. His golden eyes locked onto the lethal metal.
"The Supreme Luna has not dismissed her," Fiona warned, her voice low and dangerous.
The Supreme Luna leaned forward on her carved wooden throne. Her gaze shifted from Xander to me.
"A Mate bond is sacred, ordained by the Moon Goddess," the Supreme Luna said slowly. "I will not sever it simply because of jealousy. You must provide substantial proof that Alpha Xander has broken his vows."
Elder Xenia pushed her way to the front, her chin raised in arrogance.
"She has no proof of anything!" Xenia sneered. "She is just a barren female! Three years, and she has failed to produce an Alpha heir for our bloodline. Now she uses a lucky rescue to threaten the Royal Pack!"
The crowd murmured. In our society, a Luna's inability to bear an heir was a heavy shame.
I looked at Xenia's smug face. My inner wolf bared her teeth.
"I cannot bear an heir," I started, my voice ringing loud and clear, "because for three years, the Obsidian Pack has forced me to drink Wolfsbane mixed with silver dust."
Total silence fell over the courtyard.
Wolfsbane was a lethal herb. Even in small doses, it suppressed a wolf's ability to shift and destroyed a female's fertility. Mixing it with silver was an act of pure malice.
"That is a vile lie!" Xander shouted, his face turning pale.
"Is it?" I pointed a trembling finger toward the crowd of servants. "Clara! Step forward."
Clara, a young Omega maid from the Obsidian manor, was pushed to the front. She was shaking violently, her eyes wide with terror.
"Tell the Supreme Luna," I commanded. "Tell her what Elder Xenia ordered you to brew in the kitchens every night."
Clara looked at me, then her eyes darted to Elder Xenia. Xenia's eyes narrowed into dark slits, a silent promise of torture.
Clara's body folded in on itself, her forehead hitting the dirt with a soft thud.
"I... I don't know anything about poison!" Clara cried out, her voice breaking. "The Elder only told me to brew a stamina potion for the Luna's weak body! That is all I swear!"
A heavy weight settled in my stomach. Fear was a powerful master.
Serena hid her face in Xander's chest, letting out a loud sob. "She is trying to frame our Elders, Xander. She is trying to destroy your family name."
Xander's jaw clenched. He looked at Fiona's silver sword, then up at the Supreme Luna.
"Supreme Luna, my mate is clearly delirious from her silver wound," Xander said, forcing his voice to sound reasonable. "Let me take her back to the manor. I will compromise. I will have Serena move out of the secondary castle to give Wynne peace of mind."
He looked at me, expecting me to be grateful for his crumbs.
I reached into the inner pocket of my torn cloak. My fingers brushed against a thick stack of folded parchment.
"I do not want your compromise," I said coldly.
I pulled out the papers and held them up. "These are the kitchen ledgers. Three years of continuous, secret purchases of high-grade Wolfsbane and silver powder, stamped with the Obsidian Pack's seal."
Fiona immediately stepped forward, took the ledgers from my hand, and presented them to the Supreme Luna.
The Supreme Luna unrolled the parchment. Her eyes scanned the ink. The scent of ozone around her grew heavier, thick with anger.
She looked down at Xander. "Did you know of this, Alpha Xander?"
Xander stared at the ledgers. The color drained from his face as his eyes locked onto the words 'Wolfsbane' and 'silver powder'. He had seen those ledgers before—months ago, left carelessly open on his desk. I had begged him to look at them, to question his mother's household accounts. He had chosen to close the book and tell me I was being paranoid, that his mother would never harm me. He had buried the suspicion deep, convincing himself that it was easier to doubt my complaints than to confront the mother who had raised him. Now, the truth was undeniable. He staggered back a step, as if the ink on the page had struck him like a physical blow. He opened his mouth, but no words came out.
"I thought as much," the Supreme Luna said in disgust. She stood up. "Call the Royal Healer for the girl. This Rejection will be heard in the Royal Court in exactly three days."
Fiona sheathed her sword and gently took my arm. The silver burn on my back flared with fresh agony, and my vision blurred as she guided me toward a royal side chamber.
As the unoiled brass hinges of the doors gave a low groan behind us, the clamor from the courtyard was instantly severed. A spine-chilling, agonized wolf howl tore through the night outside. It was Xander.
A moment later, the two door panels slammed violently against the walls, shaking loose a fine dust of plaster from the top of the archway, and the air filled instantly with the scent of old, splintered wood. Xander stood in the doorway, his chest heaving, his eyes wild and dark.
"Why did you hide those ledgers from me?!" he demanded, stepping into the room.
But the question hung in the air between us, and I saw it in his eyes—the flicker of recognition. He knew. Some part of him had always known. And he had chosen to look away.
