bChapter /bb182 /b

bI /bsighed bwhile /bwatching her.

ET

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Is bthis /bhow she want to do? By framing me? Okay then…

I held my ground, calm though my pulse thundered, unscare with whatever she’s going to bsay/bb. /b“bThat’s /ba blie/bb./bb” /b

“She lies bto /bsave herself!” Isolde cried, sinking to her knees with a dramatic groan. “She wants me dead because she knows the truth–that Francesco was mine first!”

The room erupted.

Oh God, is she serious with this? I itry /ito not roll my eyes in annoyance.

Within moments, the guards had carried her to the healer’s chamber.

Francesco stormed in, Marlow at his side, his golden eyes zing with fury.

“What is this nonsense?” he demanded, his voice echoing off the stone.

Isoldey on the cot, pale and trembling, clutching her stomach as if the world itself had betrayed her.

“You must see it, Francesco,” she whispered. “She hates me. She wants me gone. She slipped it into my drink.”

Every eye turned to me.

bI /bstepped forward, steady as stone. “King Francesco” I corrected her and added “And I did no such thing.”

—

―

The healer an older woman with steady hands and sharper eyes — bent over Isolde, examining her. After a moment, she sniffed the rim of the cup brought in by one of the guards. Her brows furrowed.

“There bis /bsomething here,” she said slowly. “But not poison. A herb. Bitterroot.”

bGasps /brippled.

Bitterroot caused stomach cramps, nausea – misery, but rarely death.

The healer straightened, her gaze flicking to me. “Did you prepare this

cup, Luna?b” /b

“bI /bbprepare /bbmany /bcups,” I said evenly. “As do half the women in the kitchen. But I did not give this one to her. Why do I do stupid stuff like that?b” /b

“She bdid/bb!/bb” /bIsolde cried. b“/bbI /bbsaw /bher hand it to me!”

bI /bbmet /bbher /bbeyes/bb, /bunflinching. “Lies are heavyb, /bIsolde. They weigh down the one who bcarries /bbthem/b.b” /b

Her bface /bbtwisted/b, but she bforced /bout another groan, clutching her stomach ifor /ibeffect/b.

Francesco’s power surged then, filling the chamber like ba /bstorm bbreaking/b.

His voice was thundering when he spoke. “Enough.”

The room fell silent.

He stepped to my side, his presence wrapping around me like a shield.

55 vouchers

you

think me blind?” he growled, his gaze locked on Isolde. “Do you think I do not know the hands of my Luna? She does not deal in poison. She deals in truth.”

Isolde’s lip trembled. “But-”

“But nothing,” Francesco cut her off. “You im to seek shelter, yet every word from your mouth is venom. You twist whispers, now you twist food. Do not mistake my patience for blindness.”

–

The healer cleared her throat gently. “My King, if I may — Bitterroot grows near the storehouse. It is possible someone mixed it by mistake.”

“Or nted it,” Marlow muttered, his eyes fixed on Isolde.

The tension in the room was a de’s edge.

“I will take this matter and find the truth” he said firmly “Marlow, make sure everyone on their position, I need our trusted member protect and do the investigation”

Malrow nodded in fast and I just calmly walk out with my mate from the room.

*****

Later, in our chamber, Francesco’s fury simmered like fire beneath his skin.

He paced before the hearth, his jaw clenched.

“She dares use you of such filth, in front of them all,” he snarled. “I should cast her out tonight.”

I sat calmly on the edge of our bed, folding my hands in myp. “That is what she wants.”

He stopped, frowning. “What?”

I rose, crossing to him, cupping his face with flour–dusted hands. “She wants us unbnced. She wants me angry, or you rash. If you banish her now, she leaves as a victim. If I rage, she ims truth. But if we remain calm…” I leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to his lips. “She grows frustrated.”

He studied me, his fury softening into something else. Pride.

“You see clearer than I do, sometimes,” he murmured.

“Because I know she cannot win,” I said simply. “Not against what we are.”

His forehead dropped to mine, his hands warm against my cheeks. “I will not let her poison touch you. Not in words. Not in lies. Not in anything.”

18:10 bSat/bb, /bbSep /b20 bT /b

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“And she will not see me break,” I whispered. My eyes searched his. “But tell me… why now? Why suddenly? How did she know toe here, of all ces?”

Francesco stilled, his frown deepening.

“You mean-”

“I think someone told her,” I said softly. “Someone who knew about your past with her.”

“Who?” His voice was rough, dangerous.

I shrugged gently. “Let her y her game. In the end, truth always shows itself.”

He pulled me into a fierce embrace, his lips finding mine in a kiss that tasted of vow and promise.

*****

The next day, whispers ran wild through the pack – but not the way Isolde hoped.

Yesb, /bsome muttered about the poisoning.

But more shook their heads,ughing.

They had seen me in the kitchens for weeks,ughing, serving, living as one of them. They had seen Francesco’s fury, his unwavering defense.

“She lies,” one elder said loudly in the square. “The Luna has no need of poison. She has already won his heart.”

Laughter followed, lightening the air.

I walked calmly through the square, smiling. People bowed their heads, their eyes warm with trust.

From a distance, I caught Isolde watching. Her face was pale, her jaw tight, herposure cracking.

My calm was her greatest defeat.

But calm does not end storms.

It only redirects them.

That night, as I passed the training yard, I heard her voice again, sharp and bitter.

“….if she will not fall to poison, then perhaps to something sharper.”

My blood ran cold.

I spun just as she lunged from the shadows, a de glinting in her hand. The metallic tang stung my senses even before Mika’s voice growled in my mind.

Wolfsbane.

18:10 Sat, Sep 20 bT /b

…

She was nning to kill me.

b18:10 Sat/b, bSep /bb20 /bbT /b