Chapter 128
Damon
It had taken weeks of subtle questions and late–night searches, cross–referencing old infirmary logs with palace procurement ledgers no one bothered to
secure.
>
I hadn’t told Ronan. I hadn’t even told Jackson. This wasn’t a matter I could trust anyone else with.
The pieces didn’t fall into place so much as collapse, slow, silent, and undeniable.
A coded order for a rare herb extract, delivered in secret to the Ashford estate infirmary over a decade ago. A palace apothecary reassigned after handling “non standard herbal compounds.”
A tonic formula marked with a seal I recognized only because I’d seen it once before, years ago, on a condolence card: Luna Ella’s, as in Lila’s stepmother’s, personal crest.
She hadn’t just known. She had orchestrated it.
Lila’s suppressed wolf. Her fatigue spells. Her slow healing. The fragile thread of her instincts fraying more each day…
It was all Ella’s doing, crafted slowly, invisibly, like rot beneath the floorboards. It was the kind of poison that didn’t kill. Just hollowed you out until you forgot you were ever strong.
I stood alone in the empty diplomatic chamber, the evidence spread before me on a harrow table.
Candlelight flickered over the crinkled papers, half–burnt apothecary orders, and a dried sprig of silverbane I’d found tucked in one of Lila’s discarded
tonic vials.
The fury simmered low and deep, no longer volcanic, just cold and clear. I didn’t want justice. I wanted truth. And I wanted Ella to admit to it so I could destroy her.
So, I had invited her here, privately, under the guise of a diplomatic outreach for the sake of my mate.
The chamber door creaked open.
ད་–
Luna Ella swept in like a shadow, her mourning blue gown trailing over the stone with an elegance sharpened by age. Her silver hair gleamed beneath her veil. Her posture, as always, was impeccable.
“Your Majesty,” she said, tilting her head just enough to show deference, not submission. “You summoned me?”
“I did.”
She glanced at the table but didn’t move toward it. Her hands were folded calmly at her waist. She didn’t even pretend to be nervous.
“To what do I owe the pleasure?” she asked smoothly.
I stepped forward, slow and deliberate. “Lila’s condition is deteriorating. You know that.”
Ella’s expression didn’t change. “Such a shame. The girl always seemed… spirited.”
“She’s been ingesting something designed to suppress her wolf.”
“And you believe I have something to do with that?”
“I don’t believe it,” I said. “I know it.”
I watched closely for the reaction. A blink. A shift. A quickened breath. But she was too good. Only the faintest curve of her lips betrayed her..
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Chapter 128
“Then I hope you’ve come prepared with proof,” she said. “Otherwise, this conversation will reflect rather poorly on the King’s ability to remain Impartial.
“You’re not leaving this room with your mask intact, Ella.”
She lifted her chin. “Then say what you summoned me here to say, Your Majesty.”
Before I could answer, the door opened again behind her and Lila stepped into the room with a soft gasp, stopping short when she saw Ella.
Lita’s hair was unbound, her sleeves rolled slightly from the walk. A flush of color still lingered on her cheeks. She’d clearly come from her somewhere with haste.
“I didn’t realize–” she looked at me, blinking. “I needed to speak with you.”
Not now. Not here. Not with Ella. I gave her the smallest warning glance I could manage. Please, go.
But she hesitated–and stayed.
Ella turned toward her with a slow, graceful pivot. “My dear,” she said, voice full of sweetness and sorrow. “You look pale. Has the stress of palace life been unkind to you?”
Lila froze. And I felt it, that tightening in the air, the slow turn of the trap. The predator’s patience.
Ella hadn’t come here to confess.
She had come to play. And Lila had just stepped onto the board.
S
ね
Lila stepped further into the room, eyes flicking between us. She hadn’t sensed the danger yet. Not fully. She was tired–I could see it in the way her shoulders curved inward ever so slightly, the slight drag to her steps.
But worse than exhaustion was her need for something normal, something steady. Ella smelled it on her like blood in the water.
“I didn’t mean to interrupt,” Lila said, her voice low, polite. “I didn’t realize this was… formal.”
“You didn’t,” I said quickly, though my voice came out tighter than I wanted. “We were just finishing.”
Ella smiled–gracious, warm, perfect. “Oh no, I was just admiring how poised you’ve become. The palace suits you. Though… the demands can be heavy, can’t they?” She tilted her head just so, her voice spun from silk and slow poison. “Especially for a young wolf with so little power.”
Lila blinked. “1–I hadn’t thought about it.”
$
I saw it. The flicker of uncertainty in her eyes. The way her fingers twitched at her sides. She was holding herself back, the way she always did when someone tried to prod at her doubts.
But Ella didn’t prod. She caressed.
“I remember when I was your age,” Ella continued, stepping around the table slowly, like she was weaving a net. “Everything felt too loud. Too fast. Like I had to catch up just to be worthy of the title someone else had already chosen for me.”
Lila’s throat moved with a silent swallow, the words hitting too close to home.
“I’m not trying to be anything I’m not,” she said carefully. “I’m just… finding my footing.”
That was all Ella needed.
She moved closer, clasping her hands loosely in front of her. “And that’s admirable. Truly. But you must be careful not to burn yourself out in service of someone else’s legacy. Even love can become a leash if you’re not careful.”
My hands curled into fists at my sides. “That’s enough,” I said quietly, but Ella didn’t even glance my way.
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Chapter 128
She was locked on Lila now, cooing sympathy into her veins like a snake whispering lullabies.
“You’re not very strong,” Ella said. “I can see it. But you must know when to hold what strength you do have back. When to let others shoulder the weight. Don’t let yourself be consumed by roles that weren’t built for you.”
Lila looked down, just for a second. Her breath caught on something unspoken. Something too close to her own buried thoughts.
Don’t listen to her, I wanted to say. She’s feeding on your doubt. Twisting the truth around it like vines.
But I couldn’t. Not without revealing what I knew. Not without confirming that Ella wasn’t just manipulative, she was dangerous.
Lila straightened slowly. “I appreciate the advice,” she said, her voice soft, polite–but distant now, cloudy with thought. “But I think I’ll be fine.”
Ella gave her a slow, knowing nod. “Of course, dear.”
And then, with the ease of a woman who had just tightened a thread she’d been spinning for years, she turned back to me. “Your Majesty,” she said with a curtsy, shallow and smug. “Thank you for the audience.”
I waited until she left, waited until her perfume stopped clinging to the air, until the door clicked shut behind her, before I turned back to Lila.
She was staring at the floor.
“Lila,” I said gently. “What did you come to ask me?”
She blinked and looked up, startled like she’d forgotten why she came.
“Oh. It… it doesn’t matter.”
She turned before I could stop her, brushing past me with a mumbled goodbye. Her scent trailed behind her–lavender and guilt. A swirl of hesitation I
hadn’t smelled on her in weeks.
I stayed where I was, teeth clenched, heart pounding.
Ella hadn’t poisoned her with a tonic this time.
She’d done it with words.
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