The walls were adorned with ancestral carvings generations of Stone Alphas watching over the proceedings with stone eyes. Only Matriarch Evelyn was absent, having refused to attend what she called a "false ceremony."


    Emma, clearly coached by Victoria, bowed deeply to each ancestral carving. Her forehead nearly touched the ground in exaggerated reverence that seemed unnatural for a child her age.


    Bernard Sheppard, the Stone family''s loyal head butler, stood ready with the ancestral pack records. His weathered hands opened the ancient tome with practiced reverence.


    Victoria''s excitement was palpable, her scent thick with triumph. She pulled out her phone and snapped a photo as Bernard dipped his pen in ink.


    My phone buzzed in my pocket. I didn''t need to look to know Victoria had sent me the image, a final taunt before her victory wasplete.


    Bernard began to write. "Stone..." The first character of Emma''s new surname appeared on the sacred page.


    My wolf surged forward, lending strength to my voice as I called out: "Stop!"


    The double doors of the Stone Ancestral Hall flew open with a bang. Bernard''s hand trembled, and ink sttered across the ancient pack records.


    Elder Richard Stone''s face contorted with rage at the desecration. He grabbed the Ancestral


    Pack Whip from its ceremonial stand andshed out at me.


    "How dare you interrupt a sacred ceremony!" he roared.


    Before the whip could strike me, Ethan moved with Alpha speed, cing himself between us.


    The whipshed across his back, tearing through his formal jacket.


    His amber eyes met mine, confusion evident in their depths. His wolf had responded


    instinctively to protect me, even as his human mind struggled to understand why.


    "Olivia, leave now," he urged, his voice low and intense. "We can discuss thister."


    Victoria clutched Emma to her side, her expression a perfect mask of concern while her scent


    betrayed her anger.


    Chapter 80: An Unexpected C.


    *8 Ports)


    "Please, Olivia,” she pleaded sweetly. "Don''t disrupt this auspicious timing aligned with the moon''s phase. Think of the pack."


    Her words further inmed Elder Richard''s anger. "Remove her!" he ordered the Pack Servants who stood at attention along the walls.


    Ethan ced a hand on my arm. "I''ll add Lily to the records when she returns," he said, though his tonecked conviction. "There''s no need for this scene."


    A coldugh escaped my lips. My emerald eyes fixed on Victoria as contempt surged through our bond.


    I pushed Ethan aside and addressed the pack elders directly. "May I ask what the primary requirement is for entering the pack''s ancestral records?"


    Bernard Sheppard replied with formal dignity, "Naturally, it is to be of Stone pack bloodline."


    I nced pointedly at Victoria, whose face suddenly drained of color. Her wolf whined with apprehension as she realized my intentions.


    She grabbed Ethan''s arm, fear evident in her eyes and scent. "Ethan, don''t let her do this."


    Ethan''s face grew grim, his wolf bristling with territorial aggression. He moved to force me from the hall, but I had anticipated this reaction.


    I evaded his grasp with unexpected agility and presented Emma''s paternity test report to Bernard. The paper trembled slightly in my hand, but my voice rang clear through the sacred hall.


    "Emma Frost is not Ethan Stone''s daughter and therefore cannot be included in the pack''s bloodline records."


    (Ethan''s POV)


    The words hung in the air like a physical presence. Victoria paled visibly beside me, her carefully constructed deception exposed before the entire pack leadership.


    Her wolf cowered within her as the elders stared in shock. My father snatched the report from Bernard''s hands, his face hardening with anger as he read.


    A low growl reverberated through the hall – my father''s wolf manifesting its rage. "This is a DNA analysis," he said, his voice dangerously quiet. "From our own pack medical facility."


    He threw the report at me, his eyes shing with fury. "You''ve made me a fool before the pack elders! Presenting another man''s child as your own!"


    < Chapter 80: An Unexpected C


    I stared at the report, unable to process what I was seeing. The clinicalnguage was unmistakable: blood type ipatibility confirmed between myself and Emma.


    It was gically impossible for me to be Emma''s father.


    +8 Power


    My wolf howled in confusion and betrayal. For seven years, I had treated Emma as my own, showing her the affection and attention that Victoria had convinced me she deserved.


    I looked up to find Olivia staring coldly at me the Alpha who had never trusted her. Her wolf remained unnaturally still as she watched me process the truth.


    How many times had she tried to tell me about Lily''s death? How many times had I dismissed her as delusional or maniptive?


    Now she had presented me with irrefutable scientific evidence, waiting for my realization, my shock, my anger, and eventually, my regret.


    I could see in her emerald eyes that this was only the beginning. She was waiting


    for the perfect moment toplete my understanding of how thoroughly I had failed my true family


    while championing imposters.