The silence after the butler's death was deafening.
His body slumped on the stone floor, blood seeping in a dark halo. His eyes, once wild with fear, stared at nothing.
Serena stood with a hand delicately pressed to her chest, her silver dress shimmering in the torchlight as if she were carved from moonlight itself. Her smile was gentle, almost sorrowful—but her gaze, fixed on me, burned with triumph.
"She kills men with whispers," she said, her voice soft enough that every wolf had to strain to hear. "And now she dares to stain your hall with another corpse."
I wanted to scream, but the words stuck in my throat.
Ronan's gaze burned into me. He hadn't moved, not once. His claws still glistened red from the butler's blood. And at his feet, the scroll lay untouched, the crimson ribbon fraying.
The room pulsed with tension, every wolf waiting for his judgment.
Finally, Ronan bent. His hand closed around the scroll. He lifted it slowly, as though the parchment were heavier than stone, as though the words sealed within it carried the weight of death itself.
My lungs locked. If the scroll condemned me, I was finished.
Ronan's voice was low, a growl laced with steel. "Everyone out."
The wolves hesitated, exchanging glances.
"Now."
The word shook the air. The guards bowed quickly, dragging the servants with them, until only three figures remained in the wrecked quarters: Ronan, Serena, and me.
The Alpha broke the wax seal.
The sound was small, but it cracked down my spine like thunder.
He unrolled the parchment. His eyes flicked across the words. His jaw tightened.
"What does it say?" I whispered before I could stop myself.
Ronan's gaze flicked to me, sharp and golden. He didn't answer. Instead, he handed the scroll—not to me—but to Serena.
My stomach lurched.
Her fingers brushed against his as she accepted it, her smile curving faintly, as though she had already won. She held the parchment delicately, her eyes scanning the lines.
And then, softly, she began to read.
"The Lady Ayla conspires with rivals of the Bloodfang pack. She intends to weaken the Alpha from within, sowing doubt among his wolves, feeding secrets through the butler to the enemy's hands."
Her voice dripped with satisfaction. She lowered the scroll, her eyes glittering. "Your proof, my Alpha."
My chest constricted. I could barely breathe.
"That's a lie!" I snapped, the words tearing out of me. "I never wrote that, never touched it. You planted it, Serena. You—"
"Do you deny your voice was heard in the butler's last breath?" she cut in sweetly. "He said your name without saying it. He looked at you before he died."
Her gaze flicked to Ronan, sharp and triumphant. "Do you see now? Even fate exposes her."
The world tilted. I turned to Ronan, desperate, every nerve screaming for him to believe me.
"Ronan—"
His eyes locked onto mine. They were not warm. Not kind. But something flickered there. A shadow of conflict, quick as lightning.
He stepped closer. His presence engulfed me, heat and fury pressing against my skin. My pulse thundered.
His hand caught my chin, rough and unyielding, forcing me to meet his gaze. "Tell me why I should not crush your throat here and now."
The room shrank to the span of his grip. His claws pressed lightly against my skin, a warning of how easily they could pierce. My breath trembled, but I didn't look away.
"Because if you kill me, you'll never know the truth," I whispered. "And you know me, Ronan. You know I wouldn't beg for my life if I were guilty. I'd have tried to run. But I'm standing here."
For a moment, silence stretched between us.
His thumb brushed my jaw, not gently, but in that forced grip. Yet something electric passed through me, a sharp pull I couldn't explain. My heart slammed against my ribs.
Ronan's eyes narrowed, and he released me abruptly, turning his back as if the contact had burned him.
"Do not think standing still proves innocence," he said coldly. "Wolves freeze before they're torn apart."
Serena's lips curled faintly. She glided closer, her silver skirts brushing against the stone. "My Alpha, do not waste your time with her lies. The scroll is proof enough. Let me end this for you."
Her hand brushed the dagger at her hip.
Something in me snapped.
"You want me gone because you fear me," I spat. "Not because I betrayed anyone. You can spin webs and whisper poison, Serena, but you can't stand it when someone sees through your mask."
Her eyes flared, sharp as daggers. For the first time, her perfect composure cracked.
Ronan turned. His gaze flicked between us, his jaw tightening. His silence was worse than shouting.
The System hissed in my mind, cold and cruel.
[Mission Update: Convince the Alpha within three days or forfeit your life.]
[Punishment Imminent if Progress Fails.]
My knees buckled. Pain tore through me, sharp as blades slashing my insides. My scream caught in my throat.
Ronan's head snapped toward me. For the briefest instant, his expression shifted—concern flickered in his eyes. But then it was gone, swallowed in cold suspicion.
Serena's smirk deepened. She thought she had won.
I forced myself upright, my palms trembling against the wall. My body shook, but I raised my chin. "If you trust that scroll more than me, Ronan, then kill me now."
The words tore from me before I could stop them. They rang in the air, bold and reckless.
His eyes blazed. Golden, burning, unreadable.
The silence stretched, unbearable.
And then, with a sudden motion, Ronan slammed the scroll into the firepit. Flames devoured it, licking up the parchment until the lies curled into ash.
Serena gasped. "What are you doing—"
"Paper burns," Ronan growled, his gaze locked on me. "Truth does not."
My breath hitched.
His words should have been cold, but there was something else under them. Something that made my chest tighten, something dangerous and unspoken.
Serena's face twisted in fury. "You would risk your pack for her? For this—this traitor?"
Ronan's voice was quiet, but the power in it made the walls tremble. "I will decide who betrays me. Not a scroll. Not you."
The fire hissed, devouring the last fragments of parchment. Smoke curled toward the ceiling.
Serena's hands clenched at her sides. Her eyes met mine, sharp and full of venom. "Then you will regret this, my Alpha."
She turned on her heel, her silver skirts flashing, and swept from the room.
The door slammed. Silence fell again.
Ronan turned toward me slowly. His golden eyes pinned me in place.
I couldn't move. My heart hammered so loudly it drowned everything else.
He stepped closer. Step by step, until his shadow swallowed mine. His voice was low, dangerous, threaded with something I couldn't name.
"Make me believe you," he said. "Or you will not live to see dawn."