Darius did not leave.
He looked at me as if I had broken a rule he alone was allowed to ignore.
"Get dressed," he said. "We are handling this downstairs."
"You broke into my suite," Rowan said. "And now you are ordering a woman who asked for my protection. Choose your next words carefully."
Darius's wolf flashed in his eyes. "This is Blood Moon territory."
"This wing was placed under council protection for the summit. Cassian knows that."
Every face turned toward the elder.
Cassian cleared his throat. "Technically, Alpha Blackwood is correct."
Seraphine's nails bit into her palms. Her plan had depended on finding Jude with me, not an Alpha whose testimony carried more weight than Darius's. But she recovered first. She touched Darius's arm. "Let her come downstairs when she is ready. Everyone already knows what she has done."
I almost laughed.
Rowan ordered them out. This time, Cassian led the retreat. Celine stayed long enough to meet my eyes. She tapped one finger against the closed council ledger, a quiet promise that she was recording everything.
When the door shut, I dressed in silence. My silver gown was torn, so Lyra brought black trousers and a sweater from her own luggage. They fit badly, but I preferred them to anything Darius had bought me.
"You do not have to attend their hearing," Rowan said.
"If I run now, he controls the story."
"He will try to control it anyway."
"Then he can try while I am in the room."
Something like approval warmed his expression.
The great hall had been rearranged by the time we arrived. The anniversary decorations remained on the walls, but the dinner tables had been pushed aside. Seven council chairs faced a single wooden bench.
My bench.
Darius sat beside his mother. Seraphine had changed into a modest blue dress, transforming herself from mistress to concerned family friend. Jude stood near the rear doors with a bruise forming along his jaw.
Blood Moon pack members crowded the hall. Some looked confused. Others looked eager. Scandal traveled faster than truth in any pack.
Cassian raised his hand. "This emergency hearing concerns a possible violation of the mate contract between Acting Alpha Darius Crowe and Elara Vane."
"Then it also concerns Darius paying Jude Mercer to manufacture that violation," I said.
Whispers spread.
Darius leaned forward. "Do you have proof?"
"I heard you."
"After you entered my study without permission and misunderstood a private conversation."
"What part of 'get her into the east guest room' did I misunderstand?"
He looked toward Jude.
Jude's face closed. "Alpha Crowe asked me to speak with Elara because he was worried about her. She invited me to room twelve. When I arrived, she panicked and ran to Alpha Blackwood."
My nails pressed into my palms.
"Look at me," I said.
He did, briefly.
"Tell them about the camera."
"I never saw one."
Tessa had seen it. I searched the crowd for her small, dark head and found nothing.
Mara folded her hands. "This is painful for all of us. Elara has struggled with jealousy since Seraphine arrived. Darius tried to help her privately. Instead, she chose to humiliate him with his political rival."
"Seraphine was wearing your necklace while she kissed him in his study."
Seraphine widened her eyes. "He comforted me because my father is ill. You saw a friendly embrace and decided to punish us."
Darius did not deny kissing her. He did not need to. Half the council owed Mara favors, and I had spent three years working behind the scenes instead of building allies of my own.
Cassian asked Rowan to describe what happened in his suite.
Rowan stood beside me. "Elara entered while being pursued by Jude Mercer and Blood Moon guards. She said Mercer had been paid to compromise her. She remained in my room because the exits were watched. What happened later was private, mutual, and unrelated to Mercer's scheme."
"So you admit intercourse occurred," Cassian said.
"You have no right to ask for details."
Darius's fingers curled around the arms of his chair. "She was my mate."
"She is not livestock," Rowan said.
A low murmur of agreement came from the Frost Fang visitors at the back.
Cassian called for a recess. The seven council members disappeared into the adjoining room for less than fifteen minutes.
I knew the result before they returned.
Four members voted that I had violated the public conduct clause. Two wanted a full investigation. Celine, the nonvoting recorder, kept her eyes on the page. Cassian announced that control of the clinic and quarry distributions would remain with Darius until a civil review could be held.
Not forever. Not legally. But long enough for him to empty accounts, change ownership records, and ruin my reputation.
Mara had planned the temporary order well.
Then Cassian delivered the personal punishment. "Until the review, Miss Vane is suspended from all Blood Moon duties and must leave pack housing by sunset."
A woman I had treated through a difficult birth whispered that I should be ashamed. One of Darius's guards called me a traitor. Others stared at the floor.
My chest hurt more than I expected.
These were wolves whose children I had vaccinated, whose wounds I had stitched, whose food bills I had quietly paid during the fever winter. I had mistaken dependence for affection.
Darius approached when the hearing ended.
"Sign a private settlement," he said under his breath. "I will give you a house outside the territory and enough money to live comfortably. In return, you drop the accusation against Jude and keep Rowan out."
"How much of my own money are you offering me?"
His mouth hardened. "You slept with him hours after hearing a conversation you did not like. Do not pretend you are innocent."
"You built the room, hired the man, and set up the camera. You are only angry because I chose the wrong wolf."
He grabbed my elbow.
Rowan's growl silenced the hall.
Darius released me, but not before I saw something new in his face. Jealousy. The man who had planned to hand me to Jude could not bear the thought of Rowan touching me.
"You will regret leaving with him," Darius said.
"I regret staying with you."
Outside, cold rain swept across the courtyard. I owned no suitcase that Darius's people had not already searched, so I left with Lyra's clothes, my phone, and the folder I had carried into the study.
Rowan waited beside a black SUV.
"Frost Fang can offer temporary residence," he said. "Mae needs another physician at the northern clinic."
He held out a plain business card bearing Dr. Mae Hart's number.
"And if I say no?" I asked.
"Lyra will drive you anywhere within three hundred miles."
I took the card. "I will speak to the doctor."
"Good."
As Lyra opened the car door, Nolan Crowe ran down the front steps. Darius's younger brother glanced behind him before pushing a small flash drive into my hand.
"The camera footage," he whispered. "Someone erased the main file, but this has a partial copy."
"Why are you helping me?"
Guilt sharpened his scent. "Because Tessa came to me before the hearing. She said she was going to tell Cassian what she saw. Two guards took her before she reached his office."
My relief vanished.
"Where is she?"
"I don't know. Darius told me she quit and left the territory, but her coat is still in the staff room."
The pack house doors opened behind him.
Nolan stepped away. "Do not call me. I will contact you when I can."
He hurried back before anyone saw us together.
I climbed into the car and closed my hand around the drive.
Rowan sat beside me. "What did he give you?"
"A reason to come back."
The gates opened. I watched the only home I had known disappear behind rain and darkness.
Darius thought he had removed me.
He did not understand that he had also removed the last person protecting him.
