Chapter 4

Forrest pressed down on her as though he were in the middle of a heat, kissing her with urgency.

Serena tried to push him away, but he had her pinned in his arms, leaving her no space to move. When he felt her struggling, his voice slipped out unconsciously, low and hoarse.

"Don't leave me… Aurelia…"

Her blood ran cold, and her body trembled.

It was Aurelia again.

Caspian had lied to her for Aurelia's sake, and now even the name Forrest murmured in bed was Aurelia's.

At that moment, Serena couldn't have felt more ridiculous.

She didn't know where the strength came from, but she forced herself out of his arms and met his gaze, making sure every word landed clearly.

"I already told you I'm not feeling well today!"

Forrest looked at her helplessly, as though she were a misbehaving child.

After a long pause, he finally sighed. "Alright, I get it. I won't push you. I'll just hold you while we sleep, okay?"

He didn't wait for an answer. He pulled her into his arms anyway, and before long, his breathing evened out as he drifted off to sleep.

Listening to him breathe, Serena felt a wave of disgust.

She tried to move, but she couldn't get free. In the end, all she could do was lie there silently, tears soaking into the pillow, until the sky outside began to brighten and exhaustion finally took her.

When she woke up again, Forrest was gone. She curled her lips into a mocking smile.

Of course, he was.

Before, she had thought it was because Caspian's responsibilities as Alpha kept him too busy to sit down for breakfast with her.

Now, she finally understood.

He had never been Caspian at all. Leaving early was just a way to avoid raising suspicion. As for the real Caspian, he despised her too much to ever stay close.

She got up mechanically and began preparing to move her belongings out. She had just called the movers when a group of guards rushed in.

"Serena, Mr. Tarantino wants to see you. You'll need to come with us."

Serena's heart sank, and her wolf stirred restlessly.

"I don't like this, Serena. Something feels wrong."

Serena calmed her down, then followed the guards to the Elder Council, her nerves stretched tight.

The moment she stepped inside, she saw Aurelia.

Aurelia stood there looking perfectly composed. When she noticed Serena, she lifted her brow slightly, her expression smug, as if she already knew what was coming.

Fallon Tarantino, who was usually gentle and even-tempered, now wore a stormy expression. He glanced at both of them before slamming a report onto the table.

"Why did both of you submit the same wolfsbane antidote? What exactly is going on? The ingredients, the dosages, and even the ratios are identical. So tell me, which one of you plagiarized the other?"

He continued, "Research on wolfsbane is one of the most important projects in this pack. Successfully developing an antidote would be a major achievement, but deceiving the Elder Council is something we will not tolerate.

"Tell the truth now, and I might still show mercy. Otherwise, I'll have you expelled from the Mystic Moon pack."

Aurelia spoke up at once, her voice tinged with grievance. "Mr. Tarantino, I have no idea how this happened. I developed this antidote myself, and I put everything I had into it. I absolutely did not plagiarize anyone."

Serena stared at the report, her heart sinking as she remembered Caspian coming into her lab a few days earlier and asking to review her research.

Even so, she insisted, "Mr. Tarantino, I developed the antidote by myself."

Fallon's gaze darted between the two of them before he closed his eyes briefly. "Then we'll submit this to the Elder Council for review and figure out who's the liar—"

Before he could finish, a firm, authoritative voice sounded from outside. "There's no need to go through all that. I can vouch for Aurelia."

Serena looked up instinctively and met Caspian's gaze.