Chapter 6 - Chapter 6: She Exposes Her Stepsister’s Underhanded Trick, Humiliating Her on the Spot

The marble floor of the grand ballroom shook beneath the pack's feet, the crystal chandeliers rattling so violently shards of glass rained down onto the bloodstained carpet. Outside the towering palace windows, the night had been swallowed whole by a roiling wall of inky black smoke, hundreds of glowing crimson eyes burning through the haze like embers in a dead fire, closing in on the palace with ravenous, predatory speed. The air reeked of brimstone and rot, the same dark, corrupted magic that clung to the cursed rune burned into Alphard's neck, the same magic that had snuffed out Kael's life mid-sentence. The Black Moon Pack erupted into controlled chaos. Warriors snapped to attention, swords and axes drawn, forming a tight perimeter around the dais where Elaine and Alphard stood, their fangs bared, growls rumbling low in their chests. Omegas and pups were herded into the palace's inner chambers, while the pack's mages rushed to the windows, their hands glowing with silver defensive magic, trying to push back the encroaching shadow. Alphard's arm wrapped around Elaine's waist, yanking her tight against his chest, his body a solid wall between her and the growing threat outside. His scarlet eyes blazed with cold, unbridled fury, his wolf half-surfaced, fangs bared, claws extended, the cursed rune on his neck throbbing black beneath his skin, pulsing in time with the shadow outside. "Raise the outer barrier!" He roared, his voice carrying the full weight of his Alpha power, shaking the very walls of the palace. "Activate the Lunar Ward! Seal the gates! Now!" The mages nodded frantically, their hands slamming into the rune-carved stone walls, chanting the ancient incantation that had protected the Black Moon Pack for a thousand years. The runes along the palace's foundation flickered to life, glowing silver for a split second—before sputtering out, dimming to a sickly, corrupted black. A deafening crack split the air, and the mages were thrown backwards, screaming, their hands smoking, their wolf cores searing with the backlash of the corrupted magic. "The barrier's broken, Alpha King!" The head mage gasped, scrambling to his feet, his face white with terror. "The core crystal's been poisoned! The ward's been compromised from the inside! There's an intruder in the palace!" A cold, sharp dread settled in Elaine's chest. The Lunar Ward was tied to her own bloodline, to the Lunar Goddess magic that ran through her veins. It could not be broken by outside force alone. It could only be poisoned, corrupted, from within. By someone who had access to the palace's core chamber. By someone who knew the ward's weaknesses. By someone who carried her blood, her scent, enough to slip past the ward's defenses. Someone like Lena. Her Lunar Goddess magic hummed to life beneath her skin, the silver glow flaring in her eyes, the two gifts she'd awakened in the heat of battle sharpening to a razor's edge. She could see it now—the faint, roiling tendrils of black smoke winding through the ballroom, thin, insidious, snaking from the crowd of huddled servants and pack members, coiling towards the broken runes on the walls. She could hear the high, sharp hum of lies, even over the chaos of the room, a steady, thrumming buzz coming from the same spot the smoke originated. Alphard felt the shift in her power, his grip on her waist tightening. "Elaine? What is it?" "An intruder," she said, her voice clear, steady, cutting through the chaos of the room. The pack fell silent at once, every eye locking on her, their future Luna, the woman who'd led them to victory against the Red Moon Pack, who'd rooted out the traitor elders, who'd broken Brian Hale with nothing but her words. "Someone who's been hiding in our midst this whole time. Someone who let the Shadow Moon Coven in. Someone who's been working against this pack, against me, since the day my mother took her last breath." She stepped out of Alphard's hold, her back straight, her chin held high, her silver-blue eyes sweeping over the crowd. The black smoke grew thicker, brighter, as she closed in on its source, the hum of lies growing louder, sharper, until it was ringing in her ears. She stopped in front of a huddle of palace maids, all of them huddled together, their heads bowed, trembling with fear. All except one. A maid with her head down, her blonde hair hidden beneath a frayed linen cap, her shoulders hunched, trying to make herself small, invisible. But Elaine could see it. The faint, familiar shape of her jaw, the way her hands twisted together, the thick, roiling black smoke pouring off her in waves, the same smoke that clung to the Shadow Moon Coven outside. The same smoke that had clung to her the night she'd helped Brian push Elaine off the Howling Peaks. "Lena," Elaine said, her voice cold, sharp, unshakable. "You can stop hiding." The maid froze. The room went dead silent, every eye locking on the huddled figure. For a long, heavy heartbeat, she didn't move. Then, slowly, she lifted her head, the linen cap falling from her hair, revealing the familiar blonde curls, the wide, innocent blue eyes that had fooled Elaine for years. But there was no innocence left in them now. Only rage, hatred, and a wild, unhinged madness. Lena laughed, a high, shrill, bitter sound, as she pushed her way out of the huddle of maids, who scrambled away from her, terrified. "Well, well. Look at you. The big, powerful Luna now, aren't you? The precious Lunar Goddess heir, with the Alpha King wrapped around your little finger. I almost didn't think you'd find me. Not with the Coven's glamour hiding me." The pack erupted into shocked snarls, the warriors stepping forward, their swords drawn, ready to seize her. But Elaine lifted a hand, stopping them in their tracks. She wasn't done with her yet. Not by a long shot. "You were supposed to be in the Northern Ice Outpost," Elaine said, her voice flat, unamused. "Sentenced to work the supply camps for the rest of your life. How did you get here? How did you get past the border guards? How did you get into the palace?" Lena tilted her head to the side, a cruel, mocking smile tugging at her lips. "You think a few frozen walls and a handful of idiot guards could stop me? The Coven found me. They gave me power. Power you could never dream of. Power to break free from that frozen hell. Power to slip into the palace right under your stupid, self-righteous nose. Power to finally take what's mine." "Take what's yours?" Elaine repeated, a cold, sharp laugh escaping her lips. She stepped closer, until she was face to face with Lena, her silver eyes burning with contempt. "What's yours? The title you stole? the life you tried to take? The parents you murdered? Let's not play games, Lena. We both know why you're here. You're here because you're jealous. Because you've always been jealous. Jealous of my bloodline. Jealous of my place in this pack. Jealous that even when you tried to break me, I came back stronger. That the Alpha King chose me, not you. That the pack loves me, not you." Lena's face twisted with rage, her hands curling into fists at her sides, the black smoke flaring around her. "Loves you? They fear you! They only bow to you because you've bewitched the Alpha King with your stupid moon magic! You were nothing! A sad, lonely little girl who begged for anyone to love her! I was the one who was supposed to be the lady of the house! I was the one who was supposed to be the Luna! You stole everything from me!" "I stole from you?" Elaine raised an eyebrow, her voice rising, loud enough for every wolf in the room to hear, every word sharp as a blade. "Let's talk about stealing, shall we? Let's talk about how you snuck into my mother's chambers the night before she died, and slipped the Coven's poison into her tea. How you watched her waste away, day by day, and smiled while I cried in your arms, begging you for comfort. Let's talk about how you pushed my father off that hunting cliff, and lied to the pack, told them it was a rogue wolf attack. Let's talk about how you stole my mother's jewelry, my father's swords, my birthright, while I was still grieving. Let's talk about how you spent two years whispering lies in Brian's ear, convincing him to use me, to drain my bloodline, to kill me, all so you could take my place." The pack gasped, furious snarls rippling through the crowd. They'd known Lena was a traitor, a manipulator. But they hadn't known the full extent of her crimes. That she'd murdered Elaine's parents. That she'd been working with the Shadow Moon Coven this whole time. Lena's face went white, then purple with rage, her facade of calm shattering completely. "YOU'RE LYING! You have no proof! No one saw that! You're just making it up to turn the pack against me!" The high, sharp hum of lies blared in Elaine's ears, loud and clear. She smiled, a cold, cruel smile, and leaned in, her voice low, venomous, only for Lena to hear at first. "Oh, but I do have proof. The Coven's mark on your wrist. The same mark that's on Alphard's neck. The same mark that's on every member of the Shadow Moon Coven. You think I can't see it? You think I can't feel the dark magic pouring off you? I can see every lie you tell, Lena. Every secret you hide. I know you made a deal with them. You gave them access to the Lunar Ward. You gave them a drop of my blood, stolen from my hairbrush the night before my birthday, so they could break the ward. All in exchange for power. All in exchange for a chance to kill me. Am I wrong?" Lena's eyes went wide, her mouth falling open, her body freezing. She'd thought no one knew. She'd thought the Coven's magic would hide it. But Elaine had seen it. Had known it. The hum of lies had stopped. She'd hit the truth dead on. The pack saw the shock on her face, the guilt, the terror. They knew. It was all true. Elaine stepped back, turning to face the pack, her voice ringing through the hall, loud and clear. "This is the woman who murdered Lord and Lady Voss. This is the woman who conspired with Brian Hale to steal my Lunar Goddess bloodline, to kill me, to overthrow the Alpha King. This is the woman who opened our gates to the Shadow Moon Coven, who poisoned our ward, who has doomed us all, all for a taste of power she will never deserve. She is not just a traitor to me. She is a traitor to this entire pack. To every wolf who calls the Black Moon Pack home." The pack roared with rage, a deafening sound that shook the walls, hundreds of wolves snarling, their fangs bared, screaming for Lena's blood. The maids who'd huddled with her scrambled away, terrified to be near her, to be associated with her. She was alone. Exposed. Humiliated in front of the entire pack, every last one of her secrets laid bare, every lie torn apart. Lena's face twisted with a wild, feral rage, her body trembling, the black smoke flaring around her, thick and choking. "You think you've won? You think this is over? The Coven is already here! They're going to burn this palace to the ground! They're going to tear your precious Alpha King apart, and drain every last drop of that stupid moon magic from your veins! And I'm going to watch! I'm going to laugh while you die! Just like you laughed while I was sent to that frozen hell!" She lifted her hand, her fingers curled into a claw, black magic crackling around her fingertips, aiming straight for Elaine's chest. But before she could unleash it, Alphard moved faster than the eye could see, stepping between them, his scarlet eyes blazing with unbridled fury, his hand wrapping around Lena's wrist, squeezing so hard a sickening crack echoed through the hall. Lena screamed, a high, agonized sound, falling to her knees, the black magic fizzling out into nothing. Alphard's grip didn't loosen, his voice a low, deadly snarl, every word dripping with venom. "You dare to raise a hand to my mate? You dare to betray my pack? You dare to let the Coven into my home?" He leaned down, his scarlet eyes burning into hers, his grip tightening, making her scream again. "You will watch the Coven burn. You will watch them die. And then you will spend the rest of your miserable, pathetic life in the deepest, darkest dungeon this palace has to offer. You will never see the sun again. You will never speak to another soul again. You will rot alone, with nothing but the weight of your crimes to keep you company. This is my judgment." He threw her to the floor, and two warriors stepped forward at once, yanking her to her feet, binding her wrists with silver chains that burned into her skin, making her whimper in pain. She spat at Elaine's feet, her face twisted with hatred, screaming curses as the warriors dragged her towards the dungeons, her screams fading into the hallway as the doors slammed shut behind her. The hall fell silent, the weight of what had just happened settling over the pack. The traitor was exposed. The inner threat was neutralized. But the outer threat remained. The wall of black smoke outside pressed closer, the glowing red eyes brighter, hungrier, the sound of distant, inhuman howls echoing through the mountains. Elaine turned back to Alphard, her chest heaving, her Lunar Goddess magic still thrumming beneath her skin. But as she looked at him, her blood ran cold. The cursed rune on his neck was blazing black, the smoke pouring off it in thick, roiling waves. His scarlet eyes were darkening, turning from bright crimson to inky black, his fangs extending, his claws growing longer, his body trembling with the effort of holding back the curse. The Shadow Moon Coven's magic was feeding it, amplifying it, breaking through the walls he'd built around it for three hundred years. He looked up at her, and for a split second, she didn't see the man she loved. She saw a monster. A beast, corrupted by the curse, controlled by the Coven. A low, feral growl rumbled in his chest, his eyes locking onto her, not with love, but with hunger. The Coven's magic wasn't just outside the palace walls. It was already inside. It was in him. And he was losing control.