I start to move forward, but Selene’s voice cracks like a whip.
“Enough!”
Every head turns toward her again. She’s trembling—not with fear, but with anger. Her blue eyes blaze as she addresses Lucian directly, ignoring Draven completely.
“Lord Radrick claims to be my fated mate,” she says, each word ringing clear. “And that part is true. I felt the bond when I first rescued him in the forest.”
My wolf howls in denial. But I force myself to stay silent. Trust her.
“But I don’t want to be with him.” The words are final, absolute. “He gave me a bottle of wine as a gift. When I was about to drink it, I realized something was wrong with it. The scent was off. I had it examined by the palace healers.” She pauses, letting that sink in. “The wine was drugged. Laced with a substance that could have harmed my wolf. Suppressed her. Made her vulnerable.”
Gasps echo through the chamber. Zane’s face goes white, then red.
“The mate bond felt wrong after that,” Selene continues, her voice steady despite the rage I can feel coursing through her. “Twisted somehow. And when I tried to pull away from him, when I tried to distance myself, he became increasingly insistent. Demanding more of my time. More access to my life.”
Around the chamber, nobles burst into furious whispers: “drugged,” “tried to stifle her wolf,” “what was he planning?”
“I am focused on my career as a royal healer,” Selene says, her chin lifted high. “I have no interest in politics. No interest in being tied to a Council member whose loyalties are constantly questioned. I don’t want Lord Zane. I don’t want his attention. I don’t want any of this.”
The public rejection echoes through the chamber like thunder. She is magnificent—destroying him in front of everyone, burning his lies to ash with nothing but the truth.
But Zane isn’t done.
“The wine was a gift,” he says quickly, desperation replacing shock. “From a well-wisher. I had no idea it was contaminated, Selene. Please, you have to believe me.” He takes a step closer, hands spread in supplication. “Someone must have tampered with it before it reached you. I would never—” His voice cracks perfectly. “I love you. You’re my fated mate. We’re meant to be together. You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to. Just be with me.”
He’s good. Even now, even after she has exposed him, he’s spinning it. Making himself the victim.
“I do not want to be with you.” Selene’s voice doesn’t waver. “I don’t love you. I don’t even like you.”
“This is highly suspicious,” Draven says, his voice sharp now. “Your Majesty, what wolf doesn’t want her fated mate? It’s unnatural. Against every law of our kind.” He gestures toward Selene. “She’s clearly under some influence. I must insist my warlocks examine her immediately. For her own protection.”
My wolf snarls, demanding I move. Demanding I protect her.
“Enough!” Lucian’s roar silences every whisper instantly. He rises from his throne, and the temperature drops several degrees. “The woman has spoken. This matteris finished.”
“Your Majesty, with respect—” Draven starts, but then his expression turns desperate. He’s losing control of the situation, and he knows it. “It has to be the Commander. He must be forcing her. Using his position, his authority—”
“Yes,” Zane cuts in, seizing the lifeline. “That must be it. He’s manipulating her, threatening her career, her position—”
“Stop!” Selene’s voice cracks through the chamber like thunder.
The entire assembly goes silent. Even Draven’s mouth snaps shut.
Selene’s blue eyes are blazing with something feral. “I am the one who has been pursuing Commander Rowan,” she says, her words penetrating every corner of the room. “For the past seven months. Not the other way around.”
My heart stops. What is she—
“I liked Lord Zane initially,” she continues, and through our bond, I can feel the calculated precision in her words. She’s destroying any narrative they can spin. “But Commander Rowan understands me better.” She pauses, then drops the final bomb. “He understands my appetites. In bed.”
The chamber erupts. Nobles gasping, councilors shouting, Draven’s face turning purple. Through it all, I stand frozen, my mind reeling.
She just…in front of the entire Council…she—
My wolf howls with possessive satisfaction even as my human mind struggles to process what has happened. She has claimed me. Publicly. Explicitly. In the most scandalous way possible.
And she’s not done.
“So, you can take your concerns about manipulation,” Selene says, her voice rising above the chaos, “and your suspicions about magical influence, and you can shove them—”
