The morning air in Silverstone was crisp, but Eva barely felt it as she walked through the center of the village. Her steps were slow but steady, her back straight, her chin lifted. The frost crunched beneath her boots, and the cold wind tugged at the edges of her dark cloak.
But it wasn’t the cold that made her feel exposed.
It was the eyes.
Everywhere she went, they followed her. Whispers trailed behind her like smoke. Words spoken too softly to catch fully—but loud enough to wound.
“She’s carrying his child…”
“Did she know all along?”
“She let him in. Into her home. Into her bed.”
Eva kept walking. She refused to shrink, refused to look down or hide. Not now. Not when her people needed to see their Alpha walk like she still belonged to the title. Even if her heart was breaking.
Even if everything inside her felt like it was crumbling.
At the bakery, a pair of older women paused their work as she passed. One of them—an elder with silver hair pulled into a tight braid—muttered to the other, loud enough for Eva to hear.
“She let a vampire claim her.”
Eva paused for a moment, her fingers curling at her sides. But she didn’t stop. She just walked on, her jaw clenched tightly, her face unreadable.
Tiana, who had been following a few steps behind, froze when she heard the words. Her eyes widened with disbelief, then narrowed with fury. She turned toward the woman, her voice sharp and trembling with emotion.
“She let someone love her,” Tiana snapped. “That’s more than most of you cowards ever did.”
The elder blinked, stunned. The others nearby fell silent, unsure whether to speak or retreat. No one dared to reply.
Eva turned around, her expression softening as she looked at her sister. “Tiana, it’s okay.”
“No, it’s not,” Tiana said, marching up to her. “They act like you betrayed the pack, but you didn’t. You were trying to be happy. To be seen. And now they act like you’re dirt under their shoes?”
Eva reached out and gently touched Tiana’s shoulder. “Let them talk. We have bigger things to worry about.”
Tiana didn’t argue. But the fire in her eyes didn’t fade.
By the time Eva reached the council chambers, word of her arrival had already spread. The room was packed—council members, warriors, elders, even a few curious onlookers from the pack. The air was thick with judgment. No one shouted. No one accused her directly. But their silence said enough.
She stood in the center of the room, facing the men and women who had once placed a crown on her head and called her Alpha Queen. Now, they looked at her like a mistake they didn’t know how to correct.
Council Elder Thorne, an older wolf with pale eyes and a cold voice, cleared his throat. “Alpha Eva. There are… concerns among the pack. Questions.”
“I’m sure there are,” Eva said calmly.
“The news has spread quickly. That you were involved with a vampire. That you may be carrying his child.” His words hung in the air like poison. “Some feel this compromises your loyalty. Your judgment.”
A murmur rippled through the room.
Eva took a step forward. “Then ask yourselves: has my leadership changed since the truth came out? Have I faltered in my duties? Did I abandon my people when the vampires neared our borders?”
No one responded.
She looked around at each of them, letting the silence build.
“Yes, I loved someone I shouldn’t have,” she continued. “I believed a lie. But I also fought beside you. I bled for this land. I trained when no one believed I could fight. I buried my parents and didn’t break. And I am still standing.”
Tiana stood at the back of the room, her chin high, her eyes locked on her sister with fierce pride.
Elder Thorne’s voice was more cautious now. “That may be true. But perception matters. Wolves need a leader they can trust.”
Eva smiled, but it was a bitter one. “You mean wolves need a leader they can judge.”
A few heads lowered.
Eva raised her voice now, her words ringing clear across the chamber.
“Judge me all you want. But I’ll be the one defending this land when your bones start rattling.”
120
