Chapter 56
Adelaide’s POV
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Lance suddenly reached out and straightened the moonstone lamp that had tilted.
+8 Pearls
The gesture tightened my throat–my father used to flick his wolf claw in front of me when I was distracted.
“On the night the mate bond was formed, an urgent report came from the Bloodscar Border,” I said, staring at my swaying shadow on the tent wall. “Ulrik left for the front, and we didn’t even finish the full mark. He said he’d help me revive the Frostfang Pack after his triumphant return.”
“What happened next?” His voice was as low as a winter night’s snow.
“I waited for a year,” I said. “I took care of the old Luna for him, sold Frostfang assets to support the Bloodmoon Pack. Until he came back with Velda, announcing Lycan King had granted her as his second mate.”
The tent suddenly filled with the sound of armor shifting. Lance’s wolf claw crushed the gilt dagger scabbard.
I realized his pheromones were thick with furious sulfur, like a volcano about to erupt.
“It’s an outrage,” he ground out, his wolf–head emblem gleaming with lethal intent in the firelight. “What does he take you for? A decoration for the pack?”
I watched his taut shoulders and suddenly recalled my mother’s dying words, “In the Alpha’s world, a she–wolf must hide her claws in gloves.”
But now, faced with this Alpha’s blazing fury, it struck me how absurd my habitual restraint had been.
“Actually, this isn’t the worst of it,” I said, my fingers brushing the wolf–head pendant as I recounted how the Bloodmoon Pack coveted Frostfang assets and slandered me as jealous and unfilial.
“The real insult was their plan to drive me out of the Bloodmoon Pack. They didn’t expect Lycan Erasmus to honor my father as the ‘Eternal Night Battle Wolf and let me dissolve the mate bond while keeping Frostfang assets,” I added.
Lance’s cedar scent intensified, his wolf claw creaking against his armor. “How dare they trample on the Frostfang bloodline like this? Adelaide, aren’t you hurt?”
“If I still cared for him, I would feel hurt,” I said, meeting his rage–filled slit pupils.
*But I never liked him. Leaving the Bloodmoon Pack was a relief, especially since their schemes backfired–Velda’s angry stems from the fact that the Alpha she stole means nothing to me.”
Velda sought to humiliate me, yet I left the Bloodmoon Pack with Frostfang assets, not a tear
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3:31 PM
Chapter 56
Basking in the glory of my father’s and brothers‘ achievements, Velda must be seething.
From Velda and Ulrik’s glances, it was clear their mate bond was tattered
+8 Pearls
She thought securing Ulrik would outshine me, unaware that in my eyes, the Bloodmoon Pack’s throne was worthless.
Lance gazed at me for a long moment, then said slowly, “The Davidsons never bow, Adelaide. Stay strong!”
He paused, “The Bloodscar Battle will likely prompt an investigation by Lycan Erasmus. The truth will emerge, and someone will have to take full responsibility–but perhaps not in the way we expect.”
I grasped his implication.
The Western Tribes value honor deeply. They’d never admit their future Lycan King was captured, humiliated, and driven to suicide by wolfsbane and castration.
They’d rather wreak vengeance on the southern border than acknowledge such shame.
Once exposed, not only Velda but Alpha Zander, the Bloodscar commander, would face blame.
Lycan Erasmus, to preserve unity, would likely keep silent.
Since it couldn’t be publicized, Velda couldn’t be held accountable.
The situation was such that mentioning the massacre of the Frostfang Pack was out of the question. Thus, the outcome of the entire event was predictable.
Moreover, how would the public react?
In a war where the Western Tribes hadn’t harmed civilians, our kingdom kidnapped the Lycan King’s son and massacred villages. Would our people see us as the aggressors?
And what explanation would we offer the Western Tribes? If the truth surfaced, the Western Tribes could demand reparations, seeking justice from our kingdom.
What price would we pay to settle this?
I’ve pondered this repeatedly–this was why I didn’t inform Lycan Erasmus.
Not only must I stay silent, but I must feign ignorance before him.
As for the wolf warriors who slaughtered villages with Velda… I could foresee their fate.
But how could the slaughtered civilians, the Frostfang Pack’s souls, and the fallen warriors of the southern border find peace?
“I know what I must do,” I said, gripping the wolf–tooth dagger at my waist.
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3:31 PM
Chapter 56
Army with me. From today on, you’re the Ironthorn Army’s deputy commander.”
+8 Pearls
The Ironthorn Army, the elite of the royal wolf guard, had always answered only to Lycan King and Lance.
The fifteen thousand reinforcements were handpicked from their ranks.
When we reached the camp, the setting sun was blood–red.
Lance leaped onto a platform, the wolf–head flag billowing behind him. “Attention! From this day forward, Commander Adelaide shares command with me. Her orders are my orders. Disobey, and face military justice!”
“Understood!”
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