Elena's POV

My wolf was restless, pacing frantically under my skin. Anger burned in my veins, hot and unrelenting, but I refused to let it simmer.

I tried to force my wolf calm, especially under Damien’s intimidating gaze, but the mate bond kept slamming into me, pulsing like flames of fire.

I looked up at him and looked away immediately. The ice in his eyes, despite the fact that I knew he could feel the bond, would have shattered me if I kept looking.

But I had more important things to take care of.

One question clawed in my head, who changed out the pills? I glanced at my mother, Margaret, who to my surprise stood shakily behind Elder Hayes, cowering.

Recognition charged at me.

Was she in on this too? How could she do this to me?

A bitter yet silent laugh escaped my lips.

“I can’t believe you would stoop so low to pull off such a stunt!” Damien roared, his aura pressing down on me so much that my wolf began to whimper.

Stay calm…stay calm… I whispered inwardly. There was no way on earth I would let him know he affected me.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I said through gritted teeth.

“Oh?” Damien walked forward, and I resisted the urge to back away. “You have no idea about you trying to seduce me into getting you pregnant just so you can become the next Luna?”

His voice got louder with each syllable, knocking the air out of my lungs. Wolves whispered and snickered in the crowd, all lacing my name with insults they made sure I heard clearly.

I bit my inner lip.

“No.”

Gasps erupted in the hall, people suggesting that I had the guts to call Damien a liar twice in one day.

Stella, gracefully wiping her tears off the lace glanced at me with the tiniest look of contempt in her eyes. Then she switched her pitiful mask back on and began to walk towards me.

My wolf growled inside me, completely forgetting that I was currently the center of humiliation. But I came back for a reason, and I would make sure I fulfilled it.

Stella’s heels echoed off the marble floors as she sniffled, signaling for Damien to calm down. Then she stopped in front of me and lowered herself to her knees so she was at my eye level.

“Stella….“ Damien called out, but she lifted a finger at him. Unsurprisingly, Damien held his peace.

“Oh, Elena…” She began, facing me, the mockery in her voice not going unnoticed. She held my hands and looked straight into my eyes.

To others she sounded like a hurt bride, one who was on the verge of losing everything she held dear. But to me, she was the mightiest of snakes, too selfish and blinded by power to know when to stop.

A small smirked lined my lips. That very trait would be her downfall.

“I know you’re mated to Damien, but why go that far to manipulate him?” She whispered, the fake tears returning.

“The only manipulator here, is you,” I shot back, clenching my fists.

Her eyes switched to her wolf, glowing a faint amber. But she forced it down, and continued with her facade.

“You wanted to use the mate bond to seduce him because you knew there was no other way. Isn’t it?” She went on. This time, I let her speak.

“You knew Damien wouldn’t spare you an ordinary glance, so you dragged the decision of the moon goddess into your filthy little plan, didn’t you?” She whispered with venom, as if she knew she had already won.

I resisted the urge to slap her across the face.

“This is totally unacceptable!” Elder Hayes growled, slamming his hands against the oak table. My eyes flickered to him for a fraction of a second, but I couldn’t care less.

Stella finally let go of my hands, but not before crushing them just slightly. I didn’t flinch.

“Elena, you are a disgrace to this pack. Not only have you committed treason, but you still stand defiant!” Another elder, Elder Thorne roared.

“She should be banished!”

“She cannot live under our protection anymore!”

“Damien, what is your verdict? She tried to usurp our Luna!”

“She is such a shameless whore!”

The jabs kept coming, all wanting to humiliate me further. My wolf howled, desperate to protect her image, but I had to keep her calm.

And through the chaos, in the corner of my eye, I saw a triumphant smile cross Stella’s face. She folded her arms, nodding her head as if she had just won the lottery.

That was when it hit me.

She swapped the contraceptives.

She was the reason I was here. She was the reason they found out.

What did she tell my mother to make her go in on it?

What exactly did this snake stand to gain from doing this?

My hands began to shake as rage filled my blood.

Damien stepped forward, distracting me momentarily. His eyes were still filled with ice, and I looked away before the bond pulled me further to him. He raised his hands and shunned the room.

Then, he looked at me, his expression turning unreadable for a moment, and spoke. “Elena, for your sins, you will…“

I tuned him out, refusing to hear whatever punishment he thought he could give. But then, Stella spoke up.

“Damien, honey..” She interrupted him yet again, her pitiful mask back on. “Please don’t banish her. She is just an over ambitious wolf.”

I scoffed, slightly surprised at her words.

Damien furrowed his brows but let her speak.

“Please, spare her. My reputation means nothing if the pack’s harmony is in shambles,” she continued, her crocodile tears returning.

I laughed inwardly.

Pack harmony?

Reputation?

Stella cared about all that?

Manipulation must be such an enjoyable experience.

“Stella, are you sure?” Damien asked, and the entire hall went silent.

She wiped her tears dramatically one more time, and nodded. “Yes. I’m sure. She isn’t worth the trouble of carrying out a banishing ritual.”

Whispers erupted in the hall again, some praising her selflessness, others wondering how she had such a “good heart “. They all made me laugh.

Everyone was still the same.

Damien looked at me once more, before exhaling. “Fine. She stays.”

It was my turn to smirk triumphantly.

My pulse returned back to normal, all the while thrumming in my ears. I got up and walked forward, ignoring the stares that followed me.

I walked past Stella, making sure to catch her eyes one last time, before facing Damien.

I locked eyes with him, ignoring the overwhelming pull of the bond. He disgusted me so much, that I couldn’t ever see myself being with him.

“Alpha Damien..” I slurred, satisfaction filling me as he shifted slightly.

Good. He could feel the bond too.

“I never expected that you would be this blind to Stella’s manipulation,” I said quietly, but making sure that everyone heard.

Elder Hayes got up from his seat abruptly. “I can see that you’ve refused to learn your lesson.”

I glanced at him, then my mother, who still stood like a coward behind him. “I wasn’t speaking to you,” I spat.

He raised his brows in surprise and opened his mouth to speak again, but Damien lifted his hands and made him be quiet.

Damien looked back at me, the ice in his eyes flickering slightly. I scoffed and turned around, walking back to where Stella stood, fuming.

I tilted my head as I looked at her. “Like mother like daughter, they say. You still have her traits of being a home wrecker.”

Her face turned red, from humiliation or anger, I couldn’t care less.

But I walked past her and headed towards the door, when a thought crossed my mind. I turned back to look at the room, with all eyes on me.

“And what makes you believe that this child is yours, Alpha Damien?”