CHAPTER 215: _ THE “HEIDI’S BOYFRIEND”

The silence in the dining room has weight. It’s that awkward, heavy kind that doesn’t leave space for chewing or breathing or pretending things are normal. Mrs. Castell’s hand rests on the stem of her glass like she’s squeezing the truth out of it. The light reflects on her rings.

"If Sierra says she has evidence, then by all means, go fetch it," she says, without looking at Heidi. "Let’s all be enlightened. I despise rumors. If your story holds, darling, bring your proof."

Sierra’s lips stretch into a grin that could slice a throat. "Of course, Mother." She turns toward the door, hips swaying in fake elegance, like she’s performing for the help. "Just a few minutes."

Heidi’s stomach knots.

Her wolf shifts uneasily inside her, pacing. "She’s planning something," the wolf mutters. "The brat’s about to pull a trick so cheap it smells like desperation."

Heidi’s jaw tightens. She can’t afford to react. She bites the inside of her cheek, trying to keep her frustration and anger at bay.

Mr. Castell, as the diplomat he is clears his throat. "In the meantime," he says softly, "Heidi, please sit. Eat something before it gets cold."

Aww... he’ll even have her sit and eat when his wife and mother have labeled her an immoral little slut. However, before she can thank him, Mrs. Castell’s voice comes snapping like a whip. "Eat? You want us to dine with her when we don’t even know if she’s capable of such filth?"

Heidi feels her throat close up. The insult slides under her skin like ice.

Mr. Castell exhales through his nose. "Clara, please—don’t be dramatic. Heidi is not that kind of girl."

That, right there, should comfort her. But the way Mrs. Castell’s head whips toward her husband kills any warmth left in the room.

"Not that kind of girl?" she hisses. "So you’re saying our daughter is that kind of girl? That Sierra would invent lies about something this serious?"

Her voice rises with every word. The maids nearby shrink into themselves, eyes darting between their employers like spectators at a firing squad.

"I’m saying it could be a misunderstanding," Mr. Castell points out tiredly.

Mrs. Castell laughs bitterly. "A misunderstanding? You think your precious Moon-blessed stray is misunderstood?"

Heidi looks down at her plate—the pattern on the china blurs.

Her wolf’s voice comes flying to her ears before she can get scarred from the humiliation. "You could tear her in half before she even blinks. You’re faster. Stronger. You could..."

And get banished for it, Heidi interrupts silently. End up a rogue before breakfast’s over? No thanks.

The clock ticks. The butter dish gleams. The smell of coffee turns bitter.

Then Sierra returns.

The look on her face announces trouble before her mouth does. Her grin is too wide, too triumphant, and too sure of herself. But the moment Heidi sees who’s following behind her, the air disappears from the room.

Eli.

He’s standing in the doorway, looking like he’s been dragged through hell. His shirt is torn at the collar, his hair a mess, and his wrists... Heidi spots it instantly—it is faintly red where the rope must’ve bitten into his skin.

Her fork clatters onto the plate.

Lucan freezes beside her. The change in him is immediate, sharp as lightning. One second he’s sitting, the next he’s on his feet.

"Sierra," he calls, voice strangled. "What the hell is this?"

Sierra pretends to look innocent. "This," she says sweetly, "is the thief Mother caught sneaking around our property."

Lucan blinks like he didn’t hear right. "The what?"

Mrs. Castell rises with perfect posture, her robe sweeping behind her like a cape. "That boy," she says, pointing a polished nail at Eli, "has been trespassing on our property for weeks. One of the maids caught him. He confessed everything."

Heidi’s heart hammers so hard she feels it in her teeth. She glances at Eli. He’s trembling, eyes fixed on the floor. The sight makes her throat ache.

Lucan’s voice cracks. "You—caught him?"

"Yes," Mrs. Castell says proudly, as if she’s presenting a trophy. "Apparently, he has the invisibility ability, so he thinks we’ll never see him trespassing. However, following the report from the maid, we set up a trap with wolfsbane. He took the bait. Drank from a cup laced with it. Foolish boy nearly died right there, but it served him right."

Lucan flinches like he’s been struck. Heidi sees the twitch in his jaw, the subtle step back, the faint sound his breath makes like something inside him is splintering.

She knows that look. She saw it once before whenever she’s in tight situations and he comes to the rescue.

Oh, it is only sane that he reacts this way as she could still remember the evening she stumbled upon Lucan and Eli in his room, whispering, laughing, touching like the world wasn’t watching. It had been the first and only time Lucan had looked alive.

And now his mother is tearing that secret apart without even realizing what she’s holding. Or maybe she does? Maybe this is all a plan to flush Eli out of Lucan’s life?

Uh... no. Nah. What mother would do that to her own son? Would she rather him a sadist or a man in love, beaming and alive as ever?

Heidi swallows hard. Her wolf growls. "That woman is poison."

"We have his confession about being a thief and trespassing." Mrs. Castell further adds.

Lucan drags his gaze to Eli, his voice barely audible. "Is that true?"

Eli doesn’t answer. He stares at the tablecloth, hands trembling.

Mrs. Castell takes the silence as confirmation. "You see? Even now he can’t deny it. A thief. A liar. And from what Sierra tells us, a disgusting little criminal corrupting the Moon-blessed."

Heidi’s head snaps up. "What?"

Sierra steps forward like she’s been waiting for this line. "Yeah. It wasn’t until Mom showed me his face this morning that I realized I’d seen him before. He’s Heidi’s boyfriend. The one she made that adult video for."