CHAPTER 123: NOT IN THE MOOD...

Emerald didn’t stop to think.

She didn’t even close the door behind her as she stormed out of the fitting room. Her heart raced in her chest as she hurried through the marble halls.

She caught up to Adrien and Seraphina just as they entered the foyer, flanked by two council elders and a few guards preparing to escort them to the ceremonial hall.

"Adrien!" she shouted.

He paused mid-step, his head turning slightly.

Emerald reached them, panting and furious. "Wait. Just... wait, and listen to me."

Seraphina turned with a cool, practised smile. "Emerald, please, don’t cause a scene."

Emerald ignored her. Her eyes were on Adrien. "Whatever’s going on, whatever’s been done to you, we can fix it. We can work through it, Adrien... together."

He didn’t respond right away, and for a brief second, something flickered across his face.

Hope surged through Emerald, but then Seraphina’s voice cut in like syrup-drenched poison. "Adrien, do you see what she’s doing? Laying false accusations on my character again. It’s exhausting, really."

Emerald turned to her sharply. "You make it sound so polite."

Seraphina’s smile didn’t falter. "You’ve always had a way with twisting words," she added.

"Oh, I’ll twist more than that," Emerald muttered, stepping closer.

Her voice lowered to a whisper. "What did you do to him?"

Seraphina’s eyes flickered with something dangerous, but it disappeared too fast. "I beg your pardon?" she asked sweetly.

"I said, what did you do to him?" Emerald hissed again, louder this time.

When Seraphina said nothing, Emerald’s frustration snapped. She reached out and grabbed Seraphina’s wrist.

In a blink, Seraphina gasped dramatically and collapsed backwards with a cry, landing in a heap of lace and pearls on the floor.

A few gasps echoed around them.

"Oh!" Seraphina sobbed theatrically. "Why would you push me like that?! I didn’t even do anything!"

Emerald stared down at her, blinking in disbelief. "Oh, drop the act."

That was all it took for Adrien’s composure to crack. He stepped forward, scolding her in a sharp voice. "Emerald. Enough."

She turned to him, stunned. "You really think I pushed her?"

"I still have a lot of respect for you," Adrien said in a measured but final voice. "Don’t make me lose it by attacking my Luna."

Emerald’s chest went still. "Oh, so she’s your Luna now?"

"She is."

It wasn’t the confirmation that hurt; it was how easily he said it, as if there was no doubt... as if everything they’d shared meant nothing.

"Do you even know who she really is?" Emerald’s voice cracked at this point. "Do you have any idea what kind of person your ’Luna’ is?"

But Seraphina, sharp as ever, stepped in with a graceful smile and a gentle touch to Adrien’s arm. "I think we’ve lingered long enough," she said softly. "The guests are waiting. The ceremony should’ve started by now."

Adrien looked at Emerald once, just once.

Then he nodded.

"Emerald... you should leave."

Emerald opened her mouth to argue, but no words came. She glanced between them: Seraphina in her pristine white gown, Adrien in his perfectly tailored tux, and something inside her just... gave out.

She stepped back without a word.

This time, she didn’t fight; she just walked away.

—

Back in her room, the silence was unbearable.

Her fingers trembled as she reached for her suitcase, barely registering the way her breaths came too fast and too shallow.

This couldn’t be happening.

It shouldn’t be.

What had changed? What had happened to Adrien while she was away? Was this really his choice... or something more sinister?

The door opened behind her.

"I’m not in the mood," she said instantly, not turning around.

Silence followed.

Then: "I didn’t ask what mood you were in."

Emerald turned to see Ares standing there, arms folded, his entire presence like a thundercloud. His expression was unreadable, eyes glinting with that dangerous calm that always came before his storms.

"I said..."

"I heard you, Em."

She sighed and turned away, grabbing her clothes and shoving them into her bag with a shaky hand.

"I don’t want to talk."

"Then don’t," he said simply.

Ares stayed silent; he didn’t move, didn’t say anything. He just looked at her, and that made her feel even more uneasy than she wanted to acknowledge.

She zipped her bag shut and yanked her coat from the hook. Then, out of pure spite, she reached for her phone and ignored the polished fleet of black cars sitting in Adrien’s estate, waiting to take her home.

She called Kieran instead.

He picked up immediately.

"I’m at Crimson Howl. Can you come get me?" she asked. "Now."

"On my way."

She hung up without another word.

When she turned, Ares was still there.

"I’m not using his damn cars," she muttered.

Ares didn’t flinch. "Good. You shouldn’t let a coward’s scent stain your skin any longer."

She stiffened. "Don’t."

"I’m not wrong."

"I said don’t!" she snapped, finally turning to glare at him. "You think this is helpful? You think I need you shoving my face in it?"

His eyes narrowed slightly. "No. But I think you needed to hear it. Adrien was never worthy of you. He never had the strength."

Emerald looked away, fists clenched. She didn’t want to cry, not in front of him, not now.

"You don’t know that," she whispered. "You don’t know if he’s doing this on his own... or if Seraphina did something to him."

"Does it matter?" Ares asked. "The result is the same."

Emerald didn’t answer, and that’s because she didn’t know. She couldn’t tell anymore what was real and what was manipulated.

Had Adrien made this choice with clear eyes? Or had he been poisoned while she was gone?

—

When Kieran finally arrived, Emerald didn’t say anything.

Ares watched her leave, but he didn’t follow.

She climbed into the car without a word, and Kieran, ever the loyal second, didn’t ask. He took one look at her red-rimmed eyes and her pale, expressionless face, and simply drove.

The roads blurred past, trees flying by like ghosts.

Her mind was a war zone.

Adrien’s voice echoed in her head again and again.

"She’s my Luna now."

"Accept it graciously."

"You were always temporary."

It hurt, more than she expected.

She hated that it hurt so much.

When they finally passed through the outer forest and the gates of her own pack appeared, Emerald sat up a little straighter.

Kieran parked near the front steps and turned to her slowly.

"Emerald..."

"Don’t," she said.

He nodded, understanding instantly.

She opened the door and stepped out, inhaling the familiar scent of home. But just as she was about to go inside, a loud voice caught her attention.

Then shouting.

Confused, she moved around the side of the building and headed toward the front gate.

A small group had gathered there, guards were standing at attention, and someone was shouting at them.

Emerald’s steps slowed.

Her heart skipped.

She pushed forward through the crowd of onlookers and guards, and as she broke through the line, her eyes landed on Rick.