Aysel's POV No matter what he said, one of us would bleed. My brother's silence pressed heavier than the storm clouds outside. Fenrir's jaw tightened as though he could anchor himself against the pull of truth. Tonight, I had already endured more humiliation than most wolves could in a lifetime-but still, he hesitated. "They were never mated," he said at last, his voice level, face turned deliberately toward the crowd. "The rumors are false. The three of them grew up together-close as siblings, nothing more. Damon's care for Aysel..." He swallowed. "Was only that of an elder brother." Only a brother. He said it like a verdict. The words struck sharper than claws. They sounded so achingly familiar-Damon had once said the same thing, years ago, when our bond first surfaced. Laughter broke from my throat before I realized it. It wasn't joy-it was the kind of laughter that bleeds. So this was my family. My brother. My pack. They spoke apologies while driving blades into my back. Did he not understand what that denial meant to me? That his words would brand me a liar before the packs? But of course he did-and still, he chose the safer wound. Because Celestine Ward was fragile, the favored daughter who needed protection. Because the Blackwood Pack was bound to us by trade and alliance. And I had always been the wolf with too much temper, too much pride, too much truth for their liking. I was expendable. Wolves murmured at the edges of the hall. Their whispers crawled like cold mist. A scandalous bond, two sisters and one Alpha. The story shifted faster than blood in the water. I thought of the way they once forced me into Damon's arms-threatening, bargaining, using Grandmother's relics as collateral. Yet now, the moment that same bond endangered their reputation, they discarded me like a broken vow. How neat. How convenient. My laughter echoed through the hall again, bright and cruelly alive. And yet, beneath the mocking sound, there was something hollow.Across from me, a young wolfess with a doll's face whispered to her companion, "Do you think it's true? That they never mated?" Her friend in a yellow gown snorted. "The Moonvale heir said it himself. Even if they did, now they didn't." A bitter truth. A pack could rewrite anything, so long as it protected their pride. It was my birthday feast, yet I stood alone-one wolf against a hall of kin. Then came Mary, with her black dress and sharper tongue. "That's a lie!" she barked, fury burning bright. "Everyone knows it was you who shared the Alpha's mark, Aysel Vale!" The hall gasped. Mary's voice rose, full of venom and conviction. "So tell me, which is it? Did you covet your own sister's mate, or did Celestine steal yours?" The crowd stiffened, eyes darting away. They wanted blood, but not the responsibility of witnessing it. Wolves hated truth spoken aloud-it broke the rhythm of hypocrisy. "Mind your words, Lady Mary," Fenrir snapped, his calm façade cracking. "This is Moonvale business. Not for outsiders to discuss." Mary's mother rushed forward, mortified, dragging her daughter back by the arm. "Forgive her, Alpha Remus-she's still learning manners." But Mary's glare stayed locked on me, that bitter fire in her eyes refusing to die. I saw her hatred-for Damon's deceit, for Celestine's false purity, and perhaps even for my weakness. She wanted us all to burn. And maybe, in that moment, I didn't blame her. I smiled. A soft, dangerous thing. "Mary," I said, "love and loyalty are complicated among wolves. If you don't trust the rumors, you should trust my brother's word." I turned toward the gate, tilting my head just slightly. "We were never mated. Isn't that right... brother-in-law?" The last words came slow, deliberate, drenched in honey and venom. Gasps swept the hall. Dozens of eyes turned to the entrance. There-standing frozen under the silver arches-was Damon Blackwood, my former mate, the Eastern Alpha himself. His face was ashen. His scent-storm and cedar-hit the air, sharp and unmistakable.And I smiled wider, my wolf stirring beneath my skin, her snarl a whisper only I could hear.