Third Person’s POV


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    Heath sighed. “By our currentws, an Alpha in the royal government can have up to four breeders. Styxwarden already has four. He would never allow himself to have that kind of stain on his record.”


    “That’s so stupid!”


    Cami’s face was flushed with anger, her voice trembling slightly. “If he really liked the woman, he could have just brought her back and given her a title. Problem solved. But now, his rtionship with our mother is a joke, and his name and reputation arepletely ruined.”


    Her hands clenched the arms of her chair. Her eyes were full of resentment. “Alpha Lance went too <i>far</i>. Why did he have to tell everyone’s secrets out in the open?”


    Heath’s mind was a mess. He didn’t know how he was going to face his father.


    Hearing Cami, he tried to exin again. “They sent someone to inform usst night, telling our father to wait for them. But he didn’t wait. He left. Alpha Lance waited in the pack for an hour. He just got impatient and left after saying that.”


    A grim smile crossed his face. “We were too arrogant. We never took Adide seriously and refused to give her the respect she deserved. We tried to embarrass her, and it totally backfired. This is all on us.”


    Cami said, “But even so, he can’t just blurt out someone’s secret! Why should our father have to wait for him just because he sent a message?”


    “Lycan Luna Cami,” Heath said, his voice serious.


    “You cannot hold a grudge against Alpha Lance or Gamma Adide for this. If you do, our two packs will be enemies. Alpha Lance is a public hero, and Gamma Adide is a role model for all she–wolves…”


    “A role model for she–wolves? I’m the role model for she–wolves!” Cami snapped, truly offended.


    “You are the Lycan Luna, no one questions that,” Heath said. “Why would you evenpare yourself to an official? Don’t be stupid.”


    There was no one else in the room besides Anya, so Heath spoke to her like a big brother. “You


    И


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    need to remember this: Lycan Erasmus doesn’t truly trust either ckthorn or Styxwarden. As the Lycan Lama, you should stand with him, at least on the surface. You must also respect the people he promotes. Don’t pull any tricks. It’ll only hurt you in the end.”


    Cami had always respected Stanley and Heath. She didn’t talk back. She only said, “I know. Don’t worry. But your mate used to go to Madison’s parties. We should be careful so the Ministry of Justice doesn’t use that against us.”


    “They won’t. If they were going to, they would have already done it. The Capital Guard has investigated many packs that were close with Madison. But today, Alpha Lance only mentioned our father having a secret lover. He didn’t bring up my mate. So it seems that in their eyes, her going to those parties wasn’t a big deal.”


    Heath didn’t say more. His father had probably returned to the pack by now.


    The damage was done. Now they just had to figure out what to do.


    He was worried about his grandfather and his mother’s reaction when they found out.


    Meanwhile, Stanley and his Luna, Hespere, were on their way back to the pack. A subtle chaos was in his scent. The trip back clearly hadn’t calmed him down.


    Robert, his younger brother, asked him to the study. The moonlightmp on the oak desk cast a serious light on both of their faces.


    Robert’s wolf ears trembled with impatience. “Is it true or not, Alpha Stanley? If it’s a lie, I’ll fight to get you justice even if it costs me my life!”


    Before he could finish, the hair on the back of his neck bristled. His knuckles, half- transformed, pressed shallow marks into the desk. He was ready to go to war for his brother.


    Stanley sat in the main chair. Even as a high–ranking Alpha, his aura was all over the ce.


    His scent came in waves, and his vertical pupils narrowed to thin lines in the candlelight.


    The news had hit him like a lightning bolt. His mind went nk. His wolf ws were popping out and retracting uncontrobly.


    “Say something!”


    Robert moved a half–step closer. The frustration in his scent was thick. “Everyone is so worried! Heath went to get answers from Adide. What is going on? Tell me!”


    His wolf growled in his mind. If he wasn’t worried about Stanley’s reputation, he would have already gone to confront the person who started this rumor.


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    “What do you want me to say?” Stanley’s voice was empty. It was like all his strength had been sucked out.


    He slowly looked up. His Alpha aura was so weak you could barely feel it. “If you want to believe it, it’s true. If you don’t, it’s not.”


    Robert froze. His wolf cars dropped. His sulphur scent went still. “What does that mean?”


    He couldn’t understand why his usually decisive brother was being so vague.


    Stanley took a deep breath. The confusion in his eyes faded, reced by his usual calm. “There is a she–wolf. But she’s not my lover. I ced her somewhere. At first, I didn’t know who she was. Then I found out she was a liar, and I knew something was wrong. But I couldn’t investigate further. So I decided to just keep her there and <i>try </i>to figure out what she was really up to.”