The howl had turned everything around.
Come morning…
Everybody knew.
The Pack had heard it.
The warriors had sensed it.
And most important of all…
The danger had been understood by those who feared the loss of power.
Seraphina’s influence could no longer be ignored.
It was turning into something that could not be stopped.
Which meant…
Someone had to do something.
The halls of the east were very still.
Too silent.
Seraphina saw it immediately.
The place had a rhythm to it.
Servants passing along corridors.
Guard change.
Echoing footsteps on stone.
Today..
Every sound was fraught with tension.
“She led her through the main hall, Liora walking at her side.
“What’s happened?”
The maid faltered.
“Nothing, My Lady.
Seraphina paused.
Instantly Liora looked down.
“You’ve come to learn something.
The maid sighed, “The servants are nervous.
“Why?” ““They think the Council will push back.”
Seraphina kept on walking.
They’re not wrong.
The question was not whether the Council would strike.
That’s how.
And more importantly .
.
.
.
They’d use.
Throughout the estate…
It was another sort of talk.
Lady Evelyne stood before a mirror, adjusting a silver necklace about her throat.
She was just right.
Lovely.
“Elegant.
No worries.
That was her most powerful weapon.
People expected monsters to look scary.
They seldom suspected the one who smiled at their side.
A maid waited nervously behind her.
“Is it done?
The girl swallowed.
“Yes Lady Evelyne. Evelyne turned. Good.”
The tiny vial of glass was gone into her sleeve.
No mistakes this time.
The maid lowered her head.
I know.
Evelyne gave a faint smile.
““It’s not about revenge. It’s a matter of survival.”
The poisoning occurred before noon.
A young servant named Mira fell down in the dining hall.
One moment she was holding a tray.
The following…
She lay on the floor, struggling to breathe.
Chaos broke out.
Healers were called in.
Servants stood gathered in terror.
“What happened?”
Lord Vale’s voice sliced through the panic.
The healer looked at the unconscious girl.
Then his face changed.
“Poison.”
The hall was still.
““Who had access to her food?”
The question sat heavily.
A servant slowly lifted a trembling hand.
“I saw Lady Seraphina near the kitchen some time ago.”
All heads turned.
Seraphina stood at the door of the hall.
And yet.
Quiet.
Not a surprise.
Not mixed up.
Kael, fresh from his arrival, was the first to see.
Something felt wrong.
Not that she looked guilty.
Because she looked ready.
““Explain.”
His voice was addressed to the servants.
The speaker-servant went forward .My Alpha, I only saw her there.
“Did you see her poison the food?
The servant hesitated.
“No. ” “Then why accuse her?
The maid bowed her head.
“Because…
She looked down at the tray.
““Next to it were Lady Seraphina’s own tea leaves.
Whispers broke out in the room.
Seraphina’s face did not change.
But Kael’s did not.
The guards searched the kitchen.
A few minutes later…
They came back with proof.
Tiny box.
Stamped with Seraphina’s family crest.
The hall was silent.
Lord Vale was shattered.
Seraphina…
She gazed at the jar
Then to the unconscious manservant.
Then to the people watching her.
The anger was expected.
Terror.
No. Rather…
She kept her composure.
Too quiet.
Kael saw.
“What aren’t you saying?”
Their eyes locked.
For a minute…
He noticed it.
She knew something.” You knew this already.
Seraphina kept quiet.
That was answer sufficient.
The guards came up.
“My Lady …”
The commander looked worried.
We have orders to escort you until the matter is investigated.”
Liora stepped forward immediately.
“You’re not serious.”
The commander looked ashamed.
The evidence—” “Is manufactured.
“Interrupting,” said Seraphina.
” “You know that.
Kael inquired.
Her eyes stayed steady.
“I know a lot of stuff.
Then tell us who done this.
Another pause.
Everyone was waiting for it.
But Seraphina did not answer.
“For it would do no good to tell the truth now.
No predator showed itself before the trap snapped shut.
She glanced at the servant lying unconscious.
Then to the veiled faces watching her fall.
And lastly…
To Evelyne.
Her stepsister was among the crowd.
Expression of false concern.
But in her eyes….
Triumph.
Seraphina saw.
And I understand.
Evelyne thought she’d won.
That was her fault.
Kael moved nearer.
“Seraphina.
His voice dropped.
“Say something.
For the first time…
A little sadness came into her eyes.
Not because she was accused of.
For she could remember.
Another time
Another trial.
Another time when they all stared at her like she was guilty already.
The same sensation.
The same sedition.
But this time…
Before them she was not that impotent woman.
This time…
She glanced.
Learning
Waiting.
I have nothing to add.
The hall exploded.
The guards moved forward.
“Lady Seraphina, you will come with us. Liora looked horrified. My Lady!”
Seraphina lifted one hand.
“Stop her”
Then she looked straight at Kael.
Their eyes locked.
He anticipated anger.
He had looked for hatred
Rather…
What he saw was much worse.
Acceptance.
As if she had already made up her mind.
It was as if the accusation had given her exactly what she wanted.
The guards tried to take her arms.
And this time…
Seraphina did not fight back.
Chains clamped around her wrists.
The same cold iron that had held her before she was executed.
The guards thought they were escorting a prisoner.”
They didn’t know they had just carried Luna into the place where her power would awaken.
And when the first crack came in the prison wall…
They would realize their mistake.