Chapter 6

I cradled my pup's lifeless body as I walked slowly through the grand doors of the Pack House gathering hall.

Inside, Ashton held Kathy close, his voice tender as he whispered sweet nothings.

"My delicate little wolf, you're so fragile. What would you do without me to protect you?"

The two flirted shamelessly, completely ignoring the disapproving stares and whispered judgments from the Silver-Moon Pack members surrounding them.

"Elaine! Why aren't you even wearing proper ceremonial robes! Has the Silver-Moon Pack treated you so poorly!" Ashton’s father, Marcus Silver's voice boomed across the hall.

Ashton strode toward me quickly, his eyes landing on the bundle in my arms. He froze for a heartbeat.

"Why does the pup look so terrible! What have you been doing! Is this how you fulfill your duties as a mother!"

I raised my bloodshot eyes to glare at Ashton, my voice hoarse with grief.

"Your son is dead! Murdered by your own hands!"

Ashton stared at the tiny body in stunned silence.

"What nonsense are you spouting! I made sure he was safely settled before I left! How could he possibly be dead!"

Kathy rushed over, linking her arm possessively through Ashton's.

"Luna, you've gone too far!"

"How could you bring a fake corpse here to frighten everyone! How can you curse your own pup like this!"

Ashton's expression hardened. He grabbed the small body from my arms and hurled it across the marble floor like discarded prey.

"Elaine! I've warned you countless times to stop with these dark theatrics!"

The commotion drew Marcus and Eleanor Silver over from where they'd been greeting pack elders.

"Ashton, who is this she-wolf?" Marcus demanded, his Alpha authority radiating through the bond.

"Elaine, why do you look so disheveled? Where's the pup? Bring him here so we can see our grandson!" Eleanor's voice was warm with anticipation.

A sharp, hysterical laugh tore from my throat as I pointed at the crumpled form on the cold floor.

"There's your grandson!"

Eleanor stumbled backward at my wild appearance, her hand flying to her chest.

"Mother! Don't listen to Elaine's ravings! That's just a fake corpse!"

"She's putting on this performance because I exposed her lies about the Moon Goddess's curse!"

"There is no curse! Otherwise how could Kathy be carrying my pup!"

Marcus's hand cracked across Ashton's face with devastating force, the sound echoing through the suddenly silent hall.

"You insolent whelp! What are you saying!"

Eleanor's trembling fingers reached out to check the pup's breath. Her legs gave out beneath her as she collapsed to the floor, a keening wail escaping her lips.

"It's not fake! This is truly my grandson! Oh Goddess, no!"

Hearing his mate's anguished cry, Marcus rushed to confirm what she'd discovered.

Ashton took one step forward, then froze in place as realization began to dawn.

"Impossible! Elaine, you're lying to me, aren't you!"

The gathering hall erupted into chaos, pack members backing away in horror as the truth settled over them like a suffocating fog.

Marcus seized Ashton by the collar, his fists raining down on his son with brutal fury.

"You beast! You've destroyed us all!"

"The Silver-Moon Pack is finished! Everything is lost!"

Ashton dodged his father's assault and lunged toward me instead.

"Elaine, I specifically ordered warriors to guard him! I made sure he'd be protected!"

"Stop this madness and tell me where you've hidden our real pup!"

"You win! I won't hold your deception about the curse against you anymore! I promise—I'll send Kathy away right now if that's what you want!"

Eleanor clutched the tiny corpse to her chest, her sobs wracking her entire frame.

"Deceiving you? Even if Elaine deceived you, what about us!"

"We're your blood parents! How could we possibly help her deceive you? How many times have we repeated to you since childhood the matter of the curse?"

"Look at your father, your grandfather, your great-grandfather—did they ever have other pups?"

"I am one of the rare she-wolves blessed by the Moon Goddess herself, and in all these years I only ever bore you—one single heir! Look around at your uncles and cousins—which of them has even a single surviving pup!"

Marcus fell to his knees, his fists pounding the marble floor as anguish consumed him. Every Silver-Moon Pack member present wore expressions of devastating grief and terror.

"The safety our pack guarded so carefully for a thousand years, destroyed by this fool in a single night!"

I watched their panic with cold detachment as the storm of consequences began to gather, a bitter smile crossing my lips.

"So this is how much you love Kathy, Ashton."

"You can forgive her for murdering your heir—your only chance at continuing the bloodline—and you're willing to sacrifice the Silver-Moon Pack's entire legacy for her."

Ashton whirled to face Kathy, his eyes blazing with sudden suspicion and dawning horror.

"What the hell happened?!"