Across the table, Kaleb and Kat swallowed hard, their hearts hammering a frantic, erratic rhythm against their ribs as the last drop of color drained from their faces.

Before Rhea could draw another breath to speak, Kaleb jolted from his seat. The heavy wooden legs of his chair screeched against the floor, the sound cutting through the chamber like a whip crack. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

Every eye tracked him as he rounded the granite table, his face twisted into a mask of pure desperation, charging straight toward her.

Rhea didn’t flinch, but her heart slammed hard against her ribs like a trapped beast. Inside her, River roared so loudly that Rhea’s eyes instantly flared a lethal, dangerous silver. Her hand instinctively darted to the cold hilt of the blade hidden at her side.

"Let him come!" River barked savagely, clawing at her consciousness. "Let him come closer! I will tear his throat from his bones!"

Before Kaleb could breach her space, Adam moved with blinding, supernatural speed. His massive, broad-shouldered frame stood abruptly, completely blocking Kaleb from view and casting a shadow over Rhea.

"Where do you think you are going?" Adam rumbled. His dominant Alpha voice bled into his human tone, vibrating the very stone beneath their feet as he planted a heavy, unyielding palm flat against Kaleb’s chest, halting him mid-stride.

"Get out of my way! She is my—"

"She is with me now," Adam interrupted, his jaw hardening. His eyes flashed a dark, possessive amber as he stared down at Kaleb, his physical presence radiating a silent threat.

"Never!" Kaleb spat back, his fangs threatening to push through his gums as he fought against Adam’s crushing grip. "She is my Luna! My mate!"

River growled low and deep in Rhea’s chest, the sound vibrating in her throat. "How dare he claim us?!"

"You drove a silver blade through your Luna’s stomach and ordered your men to bury her alive." Rhea’s voice sliced through the chamber like an iron wedge.

The entire room went dead quiet. Nobody drew a breath. The blue wolf-fire above seemed to freeze in place.

Adam slowly stepped aside, his gaze lingering on Rhea with a dark, burning pride as he allowed her to look Kaleb dead in the eye.

Rhea met his frantic gaze head-on, her expression as cold as a winter tomb. "I am no longer your Luna, Kaleb. And if I were you, I would be deeply worried about what comes next."

"You don’t know what you are saying," Kaleb stammered, his eyes darting wildly between his uncle and the woman he thought he had destroyed. His scent spiked with pure panic. "He has brainwashed you! You would never say those words to me. You love me, Rhea. You love our pack!"

"And yet, your pack murdered me," Rhea shot back, her voice rising. She leaned forward, the metallic scent of his fear filling her nostrils. "You looked me directly in the eyes and pierced your blade through my flesh. You ignored my pleas. And that was after my child disappeared."

Deep inside her soul, River wept, an agonizing howl of pure grief for the baby they had lost. But Rhea swallowed the hot tears burning the back of her eyes, refusing to let her enemies see her bleed.

A collective gasp rippled through the Elder Alphas.

"What is she talking about?" one of the Elders murmured, the heavy scent of suspicion suddenly shifting the room’s dynamic. "Did you kill your own pup?"

"Your wife is dead, Kaleb," Rhea whispered, her silver eyes locking onto his with absolute finality. "The woman who loved you died in that shallow ditch. Standing before you now is someone else entirely, a woman who has looked death in the face and still came back to hunt you down."

Kaleb swallowed hard, his throat bobbing as he stared at her, the frantic, sickly scent of his fear rolling off him in waves. But instead of answering her, he ripped his gaze away and glared at Adam.

"What have you done to my wife?" he demanded, his voice cracking. "Give me back my Luna! Why are you all just sitting there?" he yelled, turning a desperate gaze toward the Elders.

Around the table, the Elders’ brows knitted together tightly. Their heavy, ancient auras shifted, thick with disgust as they watched him unravel.

Kat’s face twisted, her scent turning sharp and sour with jealousy. She stood up, one hand clutching her swollen stomach. "What are you doing, Kaleb? Look at me! You already have me. I am your Luna!"

Inside Rhea’s chest, the beast went wild.

"Let me out, Rhea!" River barked savagely, her phantom claws tearing against Rhea’s ribs. "Let me stretch my jaws! I want to rip that traitor’s tongue straight from her mouth!"

Rhea kept her breathing steady, the cool air of the chamber soothing her burning lungs as she watched Kaleb look at Kat, his frantic anger faltering for a split second. She shook her head in slow, freezing disdain.

"You made your choice, nephew. And she is with me now," Adam said. His deep baritone rolled through the room like thunder. He stepped closer to Rhea, his massive shoulder brushing against hers, wrapping her in his intoxicating scent of cedarwood and winter rain. "It is far too late."

Kaleb looked at the two of them standing side by side, the simmering chemistry between them snapping like a live wire. He lunged toward the head of the table. "High Elder Magnus! Are you all just going to sit there and say nothing while he steals my mate?"

"Actually, no," Elder Rowan cut in, his voice cold and heavy. "We have a few questions of our own."

Elder Seraphina leaned forward, her silver-gray eyes locking onto Kaleb like a hawk. "Did you attempt to butcher your own Luna on the border? And did you slaughter your own pup as well?"

Kaleb stared at them, the air completely leaving his lungs. He stumbled back a step. "Don’t tell me you believe this story," he stammered, his golden eyes darting wildly. "They are just—they are trying to—" He froze as his gaze landed back on Rhea.

Rhea simply tilted her head, watching him back into a corner like a rabid stray dog.

"If you will not speak the truth, then sit down, nephew," Adam rumbled, his amber eyes flashing with amusement. "And stop making a fool of yourself in front of the Council. You have already lost this."

Kaleb gritted his teeth so hard his fangs threatened to pierce his lower lip. He glared at Adam, his wolf surging to the surface in a desperate wave. "I will burn BloodVeil to the ground before I let you keep her!" he snapped.

Rhea’s brows pulled together, a sharp, biting smile touching her lips. "Why do you suddenly want me back so badly, Kaleb? Is the Ironfang pack already bleeding out without your master strategist to fix your messes?"

She shifted her cold silver gaze to Kat, who flinched. "Or did you finally realize that your new Luna cannot save your territory the way your old one did?"

Kaleb’s jaw hardened into stone. "You will come back to your home pack, Rhea, or I will drag your body across the border myself!" he threatened, his Alpha authority flaring in a desperate attempt to dominate her.

Rhea’s eyes went completely dark, the silver irises swallowed by a midnight black as River let out a deafening, bloodcurdling growl that echoed off the stone pillars.

"I will be waiting for you to try," Rhea replied, her voice a promise that made the torches in the room flicker.