Third Person's POV Aurora's face drained of color, her eyes wide with trembling outrage as she pointed at Freya. "You… you're spouting lies! I don't even smoke. How could the border fire possibly have anything to do with me? I was fighting the flames that night-I saved lives!" Beside her, Caelum's fury ignited, his Silverfang Alpha presence crackling in the air as he glared at Freya. "Freya, how far will you go? You've hounded Aurora over and over, ruined her reputation. Isn't that enough?" Freya's laugh was sharp, bitter, echoing through the dim-lit hall like a wolf's snarl. "Enough? You think I'm tormenting her? No, Caelum-she destroyed herself. All I've done is drag the truth into the open." Caelum bristled. His protective stance widened, as if shielding Aurora from Freya's words. "What truth? Aurora's only crime was fear-yes, she froze, she faltered. But who wouldn't, in a firestorm like that? Fear is human. She didn't abandon anyone out of malice. And she did fight the fire, she did save lives. Doesn't that matter?" Freya's eyes burned, wolf-gold flecks flashing like blades in her irises. "So hiding her cowardice was nothing? Wearing the badge of ‘hero' while burying the truth under ash? That's fine with you?!" Her voice rose to a howl, cracking the fragile civility in the room. "She didn't just abandon her comrades. She started that fire. She lit it with her own careless hand-and then she basked in the glory while my brother vanished into the smoke!" Aurora shook her head violently, tears spilling, but her voice cut like a whip. "I don't smoke! The fire had nothing to do with me. The report said it was the co-pilot's cigarette that started it. That's official! You have nothing." "Nothing?" Freya sneered, reaching into her coat. With a sharp flick, she hurled several glossy photographs into Caelum's chest. They scattered across the floor like feathers torn from a broken wing. "These are from before the fire. Aurora with a cigarette in her hand, her lips curled around the smoke like a seasoned addict. Don't tell me she's innocent." Caelum froze. His eyes tracked the images-Aurora in uniform, a cigarette burning between her fingers, smoke streaming from her mouth. The Aurora he knew, the woman he swore to protect, had always claimed she despised the habit. Yet the woman in those photos held the cigarette like she'd done it a thousand times. His chest tightened."Aurora…" he whispered, disbelief fraying his Alpha steadiness. Aurora's mask cracked. For the briefest second, fear flickered across her face. Then she snapped, voice rising to a desperate pitch. "They're fake! They're doctored! You think I'd throw away my honor, my career, for a filthy smoke?!" Freya's reply was cold as a grave. "Test them. You'll see. And I have more." She produced stills pulled from repaired surveillance footage, shoving them at Caelum. "This is her, at the ignition site. She smokes, she tosses the ember, and ten minutes later, the flames devour the border outpost. Tell me again she's innocent." Caelum lifted the photos with shaking hands. The face wasn't clear, but the body, the stance, the arch of the jaw-he knew them like his own breath. He knew Aurora. And this… this was her. Aurora staggered back, eyes wide, her wolf howling inside in panic. Why did Freya have these? Who had captured her in that cursed moment? "You're lying!" Aurora cried, her voice cracking. "Blurry pictures mean nothing. You can't condemn me with shadows." Freya's voice was steady, low, vibrating with barely checked fury. "Then let the law decide. Let the packs' tribunal weigh your lies. I'm not here to argue guilt-I'm here to speak for my brother, Eric Thorne, whose body was never found because of you." Aurora barely had time to gasp before Freya's fist lashed out, striking her across the face. Aurora reeled, crashing backward, pain flashing like fire across her cheek. She would have collapsed if Caelum hadn't caught her. Aurora clutched her face, snarling through the sting. "Freya! You dare strike me?!" Freya's grip shot forward, seizing Aurora's collar. Her teeth bared, her wolf within snapping at the leash. "My brother vanished in that blaze. My family mourns at an empty grave in the Ashbourne Legion's Hall of Martyrs. Do you think I don't have the right to strike you down?!" Aurora froze, her bravado shrinking into silence. Caelum's face darkened, his Alpha aura surging as he stepped between them."Enough! You can't do this, Freya. You can't just spill blood in the streets. These photos, this fury-it isn't proof!" "Move," Freya hissed, her power vibrating through her bones. "I won't!" Caelum roared back, and for the first time in years, their wolves clashed, his power against hers. Freya's answer was swift and merciless. Her boot slammed into Caelum's chest, sending him sprawling across the stone floor. He gasped, pain lancing through his ribs as he hit the ground hard. Freya advanced, slow, deliberate, her eyes locked on Aurora. Aurora stumbled backward, only to crash into a wall of muscle. Silas Whitmor's enforcers closed in, blocking every path of escape. Her heart thundered. She turned wild-eyed, desperate. "Freya! You were Iron Fang Recon. You swore an oath to discipline and honor! How can you dishonor the military's name by attacking me like some rogue beast?" Freya's laugh rang out, sharp and bitter, but her eyes gleamed with tears. "You want to know why you still breathe? Because I've held back. Because the Iron Fang oath still chains me, even after I left the battlefield. But I'm not just a soldier, Aurora. I'm Eric Thorne's sister." Her voice broke, raw with anguish, and then she lunged, fist arcing toward Aurora once more. Caelum, battered but not broken, surged up to block the blow. "Enough!" he gasped, dragging Aurora behind him. Aurora clutched him like a lifeline, her sobs desperate, shrill. "Caelum! Protect me!" "Freya, you've made your point," Caelum said, his voice strained, breath shallow. "Two punches, that's enough." Freya's laugh was venom, her eyes burning like wildfire. "Enough? For a blaze that swallowed an outpost, for the screams of dying warriors, for my brother who vanished into smoke and ash? Two punches are nothing, Caelum Grafton." Caelum faltered, struck silent by the weight of her pain. "Stand aside," Freya snarled.Caelum's jaw clenched. "When Aurora saved me, I swore to the Moon Goddess I would protect her. If you want her blood, you'll have to go through me." But before the tension could snap, another force entered. A boot slammed into Caelum's side, sending him sprawling again. This time, the strike wasn't Freya's. It was Silas Whitmor. The Ironclad Alpha pressed his heel onto Caelum's face, grinding him into the stone. "Then I'll deal with you first," Silas growled, his voice a rumble of steel. Aurora screamed, terror twisting her features. Silas's enforcers seized her, holding her fast as she writhed. Silas turned, his eyes glinting with dark promise. "Freya. If you want Aurora's life, I'll grant it." Aurora's blood ran cold. Silas was no soldier bound by honor. He was a predator, ruthless, unhinged. If Freya said the word, Aurora knew he'd end her without hesitation. But before any final blow could fall, headlights cut across the night. A black car screeched to a halt, and from it stepped Kade and Lana. With them was a man bound and beaten-Lee, the investigator Aurora had thought safely tucked away. Silas's boot withdrew from Caelum's chest as he narrowed his eyes at the newcomers. His enforcers pinned both Aurora and Caelum like prey. Aurora's face blanched, her wolf whining in panic. Why was Lee here? He should have been locked in a police cell, far from reach. Lana's eyes blazed as she strode to Freya's side. "What's happening here?" Freya's answer was iron, her voice carrying the weight of justice and blood. "I found the proof. Proof that Aurora caused the border fire. Proof that my brother vanished because of her." The hall fell silent, tension coiling like wolves before the kill.