<h4>Chapter 60: Chapter 60 Dirty Lies, Dirtier Truths</h4>
Cecilia’s pov?
I sighed in resignation and picked up my burger.
Harper was clearly hypnotized by Alpha Alpha Sebastian.
Not that I could me her—who could resist those piercing eyes gazing at you tenderly while that seductive voice promised extra bacon on your burger? It was practically enchantment.
As we exited the 24-hour diner, Harper was supporting me when Xavier shouldered his way between us, recing her arm with his.
"Would you just stop?" I hissed, yanking my arm away from him.
"Don’t tell me you’re nning to leave with Alpha Sebastian?"Xavie’s voice was low and somewhat aggressive.
"Who I leave with is none of your business," I snapped back. "We signed the divorce papers. If you’re dragging your feet about finalizing it, that’s your problem! As far as I’m concerned, we’re done!"
I wrenched away from him, but Xavier’s reflexes were too quick. His hand shot out, gripping my wrist with that unnatural werewolf strength that made me feel like a prison.
"We’re not done until I say we’re done," he growled, his eyes shing with a hint of gold.
Alpha Sebastian stood watching us, bathed in moonlight. The silver glow highlighted his sharp cheekbones and the cool detachment in his eyes.
"I’ve heard this dialogue at least three times now," he remarked with a slight click of his tongue.
Harper threw her hands up. "If this were a novel, it’d be pure filler. ’I want a divorce,’ ’No, you don’t’—rinse and repeat ten thousand times."
Alpha Sebastian’s expression remained nk for a moment. "How about this—I’ll take Alpha Xavier, you take Cecilia."
Harper nodded enthusiastically, turning to look at Alpha Sebastian.
Her eyes practically turned into cartoon hearts. "So, Alpha Sebastian... if things don’t work out with Ceci... do you think maybe I could—"
Alpha Sebastian tilted his head slightly. "Oh, I’m not interested in women."
His tone was so casual, so matter-of-fact, like someone declining a slice of pie they didn’t care for.
Harper’s jaw dropped.
Was I right? Did he really not like women? Then... did he like men?
Alpha Sebastian strode toward Xavier and me with long, graceful steps. With one smooth motion, he draped his arm over Xavier’s shoulders like he was dealing with a tantruming toddler.
"I won’t take her away. I’ll take you instead. How’s that?" he offered.
Xavier froze, clearly unprepared for this approach.
"Your car’s out of gas, and it’s toote to call another ride," Alpha Sebastian continued reasonably. "As for the divorce situation, debating it another day won’t change the inevitable oue."
As he guided Xavier toward his car, I couldn’t help noticing the stark contrast between them.
Though both were handsome, Alpha Sebastian was taller by a few inches. His features carried an icy, aristocratic beauty, while Xavier had a more rugged, conventionally masculine appeal.
By all rights, Xavier’s traditional Alpha looks should havemanded more presence. Yet standing side by side, Alpha Sebastian somehow dominated the scene.
There was something innately regal about him that couldn’t be matched—the unmistakable aura of an Alpha from one of the oldest, most powerful bloodlines.
Xavier tried to push Alpha Sebastian’s arm away, but when he turned his head, he saw Harper’s car already waiting for me. He moved to intervene, but Alpha Sebastian held him back.
That brief moment was all I needed to escape.
"Cecilia!" Xavier roared after the retreating car.
I knew what angered him wasn’t that I was leaving with Harper, but that I was slipping through his fingers yet again.
...
It was after 2 AM when Harper and I returned to Denver.
At her apartment, I rewrapped the bandages on my wounds that had started bleeding again, then took a quick shower. The moment my head hit the pillow, I was out cold.
I woke up around noon the next day. Harper had already left for work.
Warmth bloomed in my chest. This girl never remembered to eat breakfast herself, but never forgot to get some for me.
I opened the bag, took out the food, turned on the TV, and found a random show to watch while eating. It was a family drama showing a typical mother-inw versus daughter-inw conflict, which immediately reminded me of Luna Dora and Cici.
Yesterday evening, they’d returned to Xavier’s house together.
[United again?]I wondered.
Did Luna Dora seriously forget how Cici embarrassed the hell out of her at the charity g? She wasn’t the brightest bulb, but surely she wasn’t stupid enough to actually want Cici as the Blood Moon Pack’s Luna?
I couldn’t understand Luna Dora’s thought process, but this wasn’t necessarily bad news for me. Another person putting pressure on Xavier could only help my cause.
Though the main force was still Cici... even if her efforts so far hadn’t exactly been impressive.
After breakfast, I curled up on the sofa, contemting my next move. Should I provoke Cici again, try to unleash more of her potential?
On second thought, maybe not. She was already showing signs of unraveling. Push her too far, and who knows what damage she might cause.
My thoughts were interrupted by a ring of the telephone bell.
Yvonne.
The gossip queen herself.
"Hello, beauty queen. What’s up now?"
"Oh my God, Cecilia, have you been living under a rock? Have you seen the statement from the Blood Moon Pack? Your mother-inw is throwing some serious mud at you! I’m absolutely livid!"
"...What mud?" I asked, confused.I told Yvonne to stay on the line while I checked.
My fingers were trembling so badly I almost dropped the phone.
The moment I tapped into the livestream, Luna Dora’s face filled my screen—poised, polished, and terrifyinglyposed.
She was seated at a long table draped in velvet, nked by the Blood Moon Pack’s elders, cameras shing like gunfire all around her.
I watched her borate press conference.My stomach twisted. My blood pressure spiked so fast I could feel the pulse pounding behind my eyes.
She introduced herself calmly as the mother of the man in the now-viral video.
And then she smiled. Not a warm smile, but a cold, calcted one.
She imed she knew the whole truth.
ording to her, the situation wasn’t at all what it appeared to be.
And then she began to rewrite history.
Luna Dora exined—so gracefully, so convincingly—that the Blood Moon and Shadow Packs had arranged a mating bond between their children years ago.
That the families were equal in power and prestige.
That despite the age gap, Xavier and Cici had always been close.
That both sides had simply been waiting for Cici to reach mating age to formalize the union.
And then, she said, I came along.
I felt the breath leave my lungs. My ears rang so loudly I almost missed what came next.
She said I had known about the engagement. That I’d targeted Xavier anyway—determined to marry into power at any cost.
That I had seduced him using "despicable methods." That I had manipted him into marriage.
That the Blood Moon Pack had never acknowledged the union.
I stared at the screen, frozen. My heart was pounding so hard I could barely hear.
She continued, voice honey-sweet, eyes glittering with righteous disdain.
Over thest two years, she said, Xavier had finally seen through my gold-digging ways.
That I was insatiable. Greedy.
That I had even cheated on him while he was away on business.
She said her poor son had been devastated. That he had suffered in silence. That he’d only reconnected with Cici because of a joint project between the packs—and that it had "rekindled the bond that had always been there."
Her conclusionnded like a p across the face that Cici wasn’t the homewrecker.
The room felt like it was spinning. I pressed a palm to my forehead, trying to breathe past the rising nausea.
Of course, she hadn’te unarmed. She presented "evidence."
Text messages—screenshots of me supposedly demanding an outrageous settlement.
A photo of me standing beside a middle-aged man in a hotel hallway. At midnight.
An audio clip—recorded just yesterday at the Blood Moon estate—of me brazenly demanding "ten percent of the pack’s assets."
And most shocking of all... a decade-old mating contract between Xavier and Cici.