?Chapter 121:

“I want her blood now. I suggest strangling her would be equivalent to the crime on her hands. If you go easy on her, I’ll find a way toe to the surface.” Ace threatened, and I knew he was bluffing. We had already sworn to kill the person behind her poisoning.

“Shut the door,” I ordered, my tone icy.

Isabelle obeyed, her hands shaking as she turned back to face me. Her eyes were still lowered.

“You know why I summoned you,” I stated, my eyes boring into hers. She wrapped her arms around herself and looked away.

Isabelle’s gaze shifted, her voice barely audible.

“I-I can exin, Alpha.”

“Speak up,” I snarled, my patience wearing thin. The way she’d gone from lion tomb was irritating. I preferred people who stuck to their convictions instead of cowering with fear when they were faced with the consequences of their actions.

As she hesitated, Ace’s rage intensified, reminding me that I’d sworn to kill whoever harmed Jasmine. But could I kill Isabelle?

She had been part of my pack, under my protection.

Memories of her loyalty, her smiles, shed with the betrayal etched on her face.

“Speak,” I growled, my control slipping. I red at Isabelle, my anger simmering. “Why?” I demanded, my voice low and menacing. Damn it, what was taking her so long to speak?

Isabelle stuttered, her body shivering as she spoke. “I-I saw Jasmine as a contender for… for your Luna position.”

My eyes narrowed. “The Luna position? What the hell?”

Isabelle’s gaze met mine, a sh of anger shining in her eyes, her voice barely above a whisper. “We’re betrothed, so it’s only natural that I got jealous.”

Myughter was cold, harsh. “Betrothed? I never agreed to that. Was that the idea you had in your head all this time?” I scoffed. This was unbelievable, the biggest delusional shit I’d heard in a long time. Isabelle’s face fell, her eyes welling up with tears.

Tears. Now she had dropped the victim act. It was safe to say she looked unapologetic.

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“You never said it,” I continued, my tone unyielding, “but I sure as hell never promised you anything. Least of all, marriage.” Isabelle’s lips trembled.

“But… but I thought—I—”

“You thought wrong,” I cut in, my disgust evident. “You’d kill someone over a position? What kind of sick ambition is that? That’s not the kind of Luna I need.”

Isabelle’s eyes shed with anger, and her lips pulled into a tight line, but I crushed it with my next words.

“Jasmine is my mate. If anything happens to her… You’re only alive because of the debt I owe your father. Pray to the moon goddess or whatever demon you worship that she survives.”

The remaining threat hung in the air, lingering.

“You’ll be banished. You and your family. No pack will take you in. You’ll be Rogues.”

Isabelle’s face paled, whether it was at the news that Jasmine was my mate, that she would be banished, or perhaps both.

Isabelle’s POV

I felt the foundation beneath me wobble, literally. My whole world crumbled around me as Ryder’s words echoed in my mind: “Jasmine is my mate.”

Mate?

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