Chapter 5 - Chapter 5: The Scumbag Throws a Fit, Scared Witless by the Alpha King’s Glare

 The metallic tang of blood and cold mountain air hung thick in the grand ballroom, the deafening cheers of victory having died in the throats of the Black Moon Pack the second Elaine's gaze locked onto the sliver of black peeking out from beneath the collar of Alphard's suit. The entire pack remained on their knees, heads bowed in reverence for their Alpha and their future Luna, unaware of the icy, suffocating tension that had coiled between the two figures on the dais. Elaine's fingers curled into tight fists at her sides, her nails digging into the soft flesh of her palms hard enough to draw blood. The silver glow of her Lunar Goddess bloodline still hummed beneath her skin, awakened fully in the heat of battle against Kael and his Red Moon warriors—and with that awakening had come something new. A gift. A gold finger she had never known she possessed. She could see it now. Malice. Dark, roiling black smoke that clung to the souls of those who harbored ill intent, thick and viscous like tar. She'd seen it wreathing Kael as he'd lunged at her, seen it coiling around the traitor elders as they'd begged for mercy, seen it seeping from Brian's every pore the night she'd rejected him. And now, she saw it. A faint, but unmistakable wisp of that same black smoke curling from the spot on Alphard's neck where his hand now pressed, as if he could hide the mark that had flashed there from her sight. The same mark that had glinted on Kael's wrist moments before the black smoke had poured from his mouth and snuffed out his life. The same mark she'd seen, in the final, fading seconds of her past life, on the hand of the man who'd held her broken body as he'd jumped from the Howling Peaks. Her heart seized in her chest. For three hundred years, he'd loved her. He'd burned the world down to avenge her. He'd died to follow her into the dark. Or so he'd said. But what if it had all been a lie? What if the man who'd sworn to protect her was the same man who'd pulled the strings of every betrayal, every death, every horror that had befallen her? Alphard's scarlet eyes widened as he followed her gaze, his jaw tightening. He dropped his hand from his neck, but it was too late. She'd seen it. His voice was low, rough, edged with a frantic urgency she had never heard from the unshakable Alpha King before, a crack in the cold mask he'd worn for centuries. "Elaine," he said, stepping toward her, his hands raised in a placating gesture, like he was approaching a skittish, wounded animal. "It's not what you think. Let me explain-" The heavy oak doors of the ballroom slammed open before he could finish, cutting off his words with a deafening crash. Two bloodied, battered royal guards stumbled through the doorway, their armor dented, their uniforms torn, their faces white with terror. They dropped to their knees at the foot of the dais, their heads bowed, their voices shaking so hard their words were barely audible. "Alpha King! My Luna!" The lead guard gasped, his hand pressed to a bleeding gash on his forehead. "Emergency from the dungeons! It's Brian Hale! He broke free of his restraints, attacked two of our men, and he's screaming for an audience with you both! He's raving that the Luna has cursed him, that she's bewitched you with dark magic, that the pack has wronged him! He's threatening to send word to outside packs, to bring an army down on the palace if we don't bring him to you at once!" A low, furious growl rippled through the kneeling pack, hundreds of wolves lifting their heads, their fangs bared, their eyes blazing with rage. Brian Hale, the traitorous ex-Beta who'd manipulated their future Luna, plotted to steal her sacred bloodline, and sold out the pack's secrets to their enemies? He dared to throw a fit? To threaten them? After he'd been spared death and sentenced to the kennels, a mercy he did not deserve? Elaine's jaw tightened, the cold, roiling doubt about Alphard's mark pushed to the back of her mind for the moment. There would be time to confront him about the mark, about the black smoke, about the secrets he was hiding. But first, she had a scumbag to deal with. A rat who refused to accept his place in the dirt. Her Lunar Goddess bloodline hummed again in her chest, the new gift flaring to life. She could hear it now, too—the faint, high-pitched hum that rang in her ears whenever someone spoke a lie. A lie detector, woven into the very magic of her bloodline, a gift from the goddess herself, to root out deception and betrayal. A gold finger that would ensure no one ever lied to her again. Not Brian. Not Lena. Not even Alphard. She lifted her chin, her silver-blue eyes cold and sharp as she looked down at the trembling guards, her voice clear, steady, and unshakable, ringing through the silent hall. "Bring him here." The pack erupted in shocked murmurs. The guards' heads snapped up, their eyes wide with disbelief. Even Alphard turned to her, his scarlet brows lifting in faint surprise, though he did not contradict her. "Luna," the second guard whispered, horrified. "He's dangerous. He's unhinged. He hurt two of our men already-" "I said, bring him here." Elaine repeated, her voice sharper this time, leaving no room for argument. "If he wants to speak his piece, he can speak it in front of the entire pack. Let every wolf here hear his lies. Let them see exactly what he is. And if he so much as snarls at me, if he takes one step out of line, you have my permission to break every bone in his body. Do I make myself clear?" The guards nodded frantically, scrambling to their feet. "Yes, my Luna! At once!" They turned and sprinted from the hall, the heavy doors slamming shut behind them. The pack fell silent again, every eye locked on the dais, on their future Luna, who had faced down the Red Moon Alpha and won, who had executed the traitor elders without mercy, who was about to face down the man who'd broken her heart and tried to steal her life. Alphard stepped closer to her, his voice low, for her ears only, his scarlet eyes searching her face. "You don't have to do this, little wolf. I can have his tongue cut out for his insolence. I can have him thrown to the mountains to freeze. You don't owe him an audience." Elaine turned to look at him, her gaze steady, unflinching, as she let her eyes flick back to his neck, to the spot where the black mark had been. His jaw tightened again, but he did not look away. "I want to do this," she said, her voice soft, but firm. "I want him to stand in front of the pack he betrayed. I want him to spew his lies, so I can tear them apart one by one. I want every wolf here to know exactly who he is. And I want him to understand, once and for all, that he will never hurt me again. That he will never hurt anyone in this pack again." Alphard stared at her for a long moment, and then a slow, dark smile tugged at the corner of his lips, a smile of pride, of admiration, of the same ruthless hunger that had burned in his eyes when she'd challenged Kael. He nodded, stepping back to stand beside the obsidian throne, his arms crossed over his broad chest, his scarlet eyes fixed on the doors. "Very well," he said, his voice carrying through the hall, loud enough for every wolf to hear. "The Luna has spoken. You will all remain silent. You will listen to what the prisoner has to say. And you will watch as our Luna delivers the justice he deserves. Anyone who interrupts will answer to me." A deafening chorus of "Yes, Alpha King!" rang through the hall, every wolf bowing their heads again, the air thick with anticipation and rage. The doors slammed open again a heartbeat later. The two guards marched through the doorway, dragging Brian between them. His once-perfect suit was torn and filthy, soaked in mud and blood, his brown hair matted to his forehead, his face covered in cuts and bruises from his fight with the guards. His hands were bound behind his back with silver chains, the metal burning into his skin, weakening his wolf, but his eyes were blazing with a wild, unhinged fury, his chest heaving as he struggled against the guards' grip. The second he saw Elaine standing on the dais, he snarled, a vicious, animalistic sound, spitting onto the marble floor, his voice shrill and ragged as he screamed. "Elaine! You lying, manipulative witch! What have you done to me?!" The pack growled, low and furious, but Alphard lifted a single hand, and they fell silent at once. Brian didn't even spare the Alpha King a glance, his wild eyes locked solely on Elaine, his face twisted with rage and betrayal, like he was the victim here. Like he hadn't spent two years manipulating her, lying to her, plotting to drain her bloodline dry and throw her off a cliff to her death. "You used your dark magic to bewitch the Alpha King!" He screamed, straining against the guards, the silver chains burning into his wrists, making him whimper, but he didn't stop. "You turned the entire pack against me! I did nothing wrong! I loved you! We were supposed to be mated! We were supposed to spend our lives together! You threw it all away for him? For a cold, heartless monster who's only using you for your bloodline?!" A high-pitched hum rang in Elaine's ears, sharp and clear. Lie. Every single word was a lie. She could see the thick, roiling black smoke coiling around him, growing thicker with every lie he spat, every false claim of love, every feigned hurt. Her gold finger was working perfectly. She could see every lie, hear every deception, clear as day. She stepped forward, down the two marble steps of the dais, until she was standing only a few feet from him, her back straight, her chin held high, her gaze cold and empty, devoid of any of the love, the adoration, the softness he'd once taken for granted. The pack held their breath, watching, waiting. "Loved me?" She repeated his words, a cold, sharp laugh escaping her lips, loud enough for every wolf in the hall to hear. "You loved me? Is that why, the night before my 18th birthday, you and Lena were in the east wing storage closet, laughing about how stupid I was? About how easy it was to wrap me around your little finger? About how you'd drain my Lunar Goddess bloodline dry the second we were mated, and then throw me to the rogue wolves in the Northern Mountains?" Brian's face drained of color, his mouth falling open, his eyes wide with shock. He'd thought no one had heard that. He'd thought that conversation had been private. In her past life, it had been. But she'd heard it now, in the memories that had flooded her when she'd died, in the moments before she'd been reborn. And now, she was laying it bare for the entire pack to hear. The pack gasped, furious snarls rippling through the crowd. Elaine didn't stop. She stepped closer, her voice dropping to a low, venomous snarl, every word a blade, every sentence tearing apart the lie he'd built. "Is that why you stole the pack's winter food stores three months ago, and sold them to the Red Moon Pack for gold? Is that why you snuck into the pack's war room and copied our battle plans, gave them to Kael, so he'd know exactly how to break through our borders? Is that why, on the day of my parents' funeral, while I was in the chapel grieving, you and Lena were in my mother's bedroom, fucking in her bed, laughing about how they'd finally gotten out of your way?" The hall erupted. A deafening roar of rage, of disgust, of hatred, shook the crystal chandeliers overhead. The pack had lost hundreds of wolves in the Red Moon raids, had nearly starved through the winter because of the stolen food stores. And Brian had been the one responsible. The traitor in their midst, all along. Brian was shaking now, not with rage, but with terror. His wild eyes darted around the room, at the hundreds of wolves snarling at him, their fangs bared, ready to tear him apart. He looked back at Elaine, his voice cracking, desperate, the facade of rage crumbling to reveal the sniveling, cowardly liar he truly was. "Th-that's not true! You're making it up! You're lying! No one saw that! No one heard that! You're just bitter! You're just mad that I didn't love you back!" The hum in Elaine's ears blared again. Lie. All of it. She smiled, a cold, cruel smile, and tilted her head to the side. "No one saw it?" She repeated, raising an eyebrow. She turned to the crowd, her voice loud and clear. "Is there anyone here who saw Brian Hale sneaking into the war room three moons ago? Anyone who saw him meeting with Red Moon scouts at the southern border? Anyone who heard him and Lena in Lady Voss's chambers the day of the funeral?" A dozen hands shot up at once. A young warrior stepped forward, his head bowed. "I saw him, Luna. I was on guard duty at the war room that night. I saw him sneak in, saw him copy the battle plans. I didn't say anything. I thought he had the Alpha's permission. I'm sorry." A kitchen maid stepped forward next. "I heard them, my lady. I was cleaning the second floor the day of the funeral. I heard them in Lady Voss's room. I ran. I was scared. I didn't think anyone would believe me." A stable hand stepped forward, his voice shaking with rage. "I saw him meet the Red Moon scouts at the border. I saw him hand them a bag of scrolls. I tried to tell the elders, but they told me to keep my mouth shut. They said I was lying." The pack roared again, louder this time, the sound deafening. The truth was laid bare. Brian was not just a manipulative ex-fiancé. He was a traitor. A spy. A man who'd sold out the pack to their sworn enemies, who'd put every single wolf here in danger, all for his own greed, his own lust for power. Brian's legs buckled beneath him. The guards had to hold him up, his body going limp with terror, his face white as a sheet, his mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water, no words coming out. He had nowhere to run. No lies left to tell. The entire pack knew what he was. And then he snapped. With a feral snarl, he wrenched one arm free of the guard's grip, the silver chain snapping like twine, his wolf half-surfaced, his fangs bared, his claws extended. He lunged forward, straight for Elaine, his hand raised to strike her, a scream ripping from his throat. "YOU BITCH! I'LL KILL YOU! I'LL TEAR YOUR THROAT OUT FOR WHAT YOU'VE DONE TO ME!" The pack screamed. The guards lunged to stop him, but they were too slow. He was inches from her, his claws bared, his eyes wild with murderous rage. And then it happened. Alphard moved. He didn't stand up from the throne. He didn't step forward. He didn't even lift a hand. He just looked. His scarlet eyes locked onto Brian, cold, sharp, and utterly ruthless. A glare that held three hundred years of bloodshed, of war, of unbridled Alpha power. A glare that could freeze lava, that could make the strongest warriors drop to their knees, that could break a man's mind with a single glance. The air in the hall froze. The temperature plummeted. A wave of raw, unfiltered Alpha power rolled through the room, so strong it made every wolf in the pack bow their heads, whimpering, their wolf cores trembling in submission. Brian's lunge stopped dead in its tracks. He froze mid-air, like he'd slammed into a wall of solid steel. His eyes went wide, so wide the whites showed all the way around. The snarl died on his lips, replaced by a high, terrified whimper. His body began to shake violently, every muscle locking up, his claws retracting, his wolf half vanishing, leaving him a trembling, human mess. A dark stain spread across the front of his trousers. He'd wet himself. Scared witless, by nothing more than the Alpha King's glare. The pack erupted into mocking laughter, cruel and loud, echoing through the hall. The man who'd thought he was strong, who'd thought he could manipulate and lie and betray his way to power, had just pissed himself at a single look from the Alpha King. Alphard's glare didn't waver. His scarlet eyes burned into Brian, his voice a low, rumbling growl, so deep it vibrated through the marble floor, so dangerous it made the hair on the back of every wolf's neck stand up. "Kneel." Brian dropped to his knees instantly, his body hitting the marble with a sickening thud, his forehead pressed to the floor, his whole body shaking so hard his teeth chattered. He didn't dare look up. Didn't dare breathe too loud. He was broken. Utterly and completely, by a single glance from the Alpha King. "Apologize." Alphard's voice was cold, final, no room for argument. "Apologize to the Luna. To the pack. For your lies. For your betrayal. For your treason. And if your apology is not sincere, I will tear your arms from your sockets and feed them to my hounds. Do you understand?" Brian whimpered, his voice muffled by the floor, tears streaming down his face, mixing with the blood and dirt on his cheeks. "I-I'm sorry, Luna. I'm sorry. I was wrong. I was stupid. I was greedy. Please forgive me. Please. I'll do anything. I'll leave the pack. I'll never come back. I swear." Elaine looked down at him, crumpled on the floor, sniveling and begging, and felt nothing. No pity. No mercy. No satisfaction. Just cold, empty contempt. This was the man she'd once loved. The man she'd once thought was her forever. The man who'd killed her. She stepped forward, until her boots were inches from his forehead, and leaned down, her voice low, sharp, and final. "Your apology means nothing to me. You had your chance at mercy. You threw it away when you plotted to kill me. When you sold out the pack. When you helped murder my parents." She stood up straight, her voice ringing through the hall, loud and clear for every wolf to hear. "Brian Hale, for the crimes of high treason, conspiracy to commit murder, theft of pack property, and betrayal of the Black Moon Pack, I hereby revoke your previous sentence to the kennels. You will instead be sent to the Northern Ice Mines, to work in the tunnels for the rest of your natural life. You will never again set foot in the main pack lands. You will never again speak to a member of this pack unless spoken to. You will be the lowest of the low, beneath even the most newly turned omega. And if you ever attempt to escape, if you ever so much as look at a map of the pack lands, you will be executed on sight. This is my final judgment." The pack roared their approval, a deafening cheer that shook the walls. Brian's head shot up, his eyes wide with terror, his mouth falling open in a silent scream. The Northern Ice Mines were a death sentence. A frozen hell, where the temperature dropped to fifty below zero, where the tunnels collapsed daily, where wolves went to die slow, miserable deaths. It was a fate far worse than death. "NO!" He screamed, scrambling forward, trying to grab her boots, but the guards kicked him back, pinning him to the floor. "NO! PLEASE! ANYTHING BUT THAT! KILL ME! JUST KILL ME!" Elaine turned away from him, not sparing him a second glance. "Take him away. Get him out of my sight." The guards nodded, dragging Brian to his feet, and pulled him from the hall, his screams and sobs echoing down the hallway, fading into silence as the doors slammed shut behind them. The hall fell quiet again, the tension draining away, replaced by a warm, triumphant hum. The pack bowed their heads again, deeper this time, their voices ringing out in unison. "HAIL THE LUNA! HAIL THE ALPHA KING!" Elaine turned back to the dais, to Alphard, who was still sitting on the throne, his scarlet eyes fixed on her, burning with pride and adoration. He stood up, stepping down to meet her, his hand reaching for hers, his fingers brushing against her skin. But she stepped back. The cheers of the pack faded into the background. The triumph of the moment died in her chest. All she could see was the black mark on his neck. All she could hear was Kael's final words, echoing in her head. They're already here. "Now," she said, her voice low, steady, cold, her eyes locked on his. "Explain that mark. The black one on your neck. The same smoke that killed Kael. What is it, Alphard? And don't you dare lie to me. I can hear it when you lie." His face fell. The proud smile faded from his lips. He dropped his hand, slowly lifting his chin, tilting his neck to the side, exposing the mark to her. It was there. A black, intricate rune, burned into his skin, ancient and twisted, oozing faint wisp of the same black smoke that had killed Kael. The same smoke she'd seen wreathing Brian, the elders, every traitor she'd ever faced. "It's a curse," he said, his voice low, rough, broken. "One I've carried for three hundred years. The same curse that killed your parents. The same curse that's been hunting you since the day you were born." Elaine's heart skipped a beat. "What? Who gave it to you?" Before he could answer, a deafening, blood-curdling wolf howl split the night air outside the palace windows. It was not the howl of a Black Moon wolf. It was foreign, twisted, wrong, laced with the same dark magic that clung to the curse on Alphard's neck. The crystal chandeliers overhead flickered, dimming to a blood-red glow. The ancient runes carved into the palace walls blazed to life, glowing bright silver, screaming a warning. The ground shook beneath their feet, the windows rattling in their frames. Alphard's head snapped toward the window, his scarlet eyes blowing wide, his face draining of color, a low, furious growl ripping from his chest. His hand shot out, grabbing Elaine's arm, yanking her behind him, shielding her with his body, his claws extended, his fangs bared. "They're here," he whispered, his voice shaking with rage and terror, the first time she'd ever heard him afraid. "The ones who gave me the curse. The ones who want your Lunar Goddess bloodline. The Coven of the Shadow Moon. They've found you." Outside the window, the night sky turned black, the moon vanishing behind a wall of roiling, inky smoke. And through the smoke, hundreds of pairs of glowing red eyes stared back at the palace, hungry, predatory, and closing in fast.