Chapter 53

Mira’s POV

Always knew Elora was trouble. People act like the shy ones are harmless, but timid was just her decoy. There’s way too much calculation hiding in that girl’s eyes for my liking. She puts on that Luna act, all docile and tragic, but I see through it. Every time Dominic tosses some praise my way, her eye does this twitch thing, then flicks over to Dante like she’s hiding something spicy. Pretty sure the girl could set the palace on fire just by looking at it.

And yeah, she was snooping. Real subtle, Elora. If you’re gonna play cat burglar, maybe try not to do it when I’m, you know, awake? She nearly tripped over Dante’s nightstand, all quiet fingers and pockets stuffed with crumpled notes. Must’ve thought she was invisible. Bless her heart.

But me? I notice everything.

She wants a shadow war? Honey, I’ll string up spotlights and sell tickets.

So yeah, I made my move that night. Pretty moonbeams everywhere, the palace floors looked like they had been scribbled on with silver chalk. Dominic was hunched over his war maps, looking about two steps from passing out face-first into the parchment. Poor guy. My Alpha, my everything, is stuck halfway between running this circus and trying to hold himself together.

“Dominic,” I said, and the door clicked shut softly behind me.

He glanced up, all dark-eyed and tired. “Mira. You shouldn’t be up. Go to sleep.”

Like hell I’d leave him alone right now. I crossed the room, pressed my hand to his arm. Just enough pressure, I know how to play this. “Couldn’t sleep. Not with you carrying the world on your own.”

He lets out this sigh, tired enough to drain the room. “That’s my job. Stability and all that.”

I squeezed tighter. “Exactly. Which is why you need to hear this, even if you hate it.”

He studies my face, all suspicious. “Spit it out, Mira.”

Dropped my voice, shook it a little. “It’s Elora. She’s not the Luna you think, Dom.”

His jaw went granite. “Mira...”

I didn’t back down. “Listen to me. She’s got feelings for both you and Dante. I catch her staring at you when she thinks we’re all blissfully oblivious. Then she slips off to Dante the second your back’s turned. She’s setting you two up. Making you her little puppets.”

His expression closed off, but I bulldozed on. “Sure, she defends Dante like he’s the last puppy on earth. But you really think it’s loyalty? She’s sabotaging you. She wants you off balance, wants the pack doubting you until it all crumbles.”

He glared at his map, hands balled up tight. Just carving splinters into his palms.

I caught one of his hands, pressed it to my chest. “I don’t tell you this to be cruel. I love you. I don’t want to watch her destroy you. If you keep trusting her, you’re letting her wreck everything.”

He didn’t say a word. Silence just stretched, sharp and heavy.

Then a flicker. Doubt. Saw it knife across his features, faster than a snakebite.

Inside, I wanted to laugh. She was done. Just a matter of time before Elora buries herself with her own tricks.

Dominic’s POV

I swear, Mira’s words stuck in my head like burrs you can’t shake out.

Elora, tangled up with both me and Dante? Hell, I almost laughed when Mira first said it. It sounded so… typical. Jealousy, right? What did I expect? But try as I might, I couldn’t let it slide off.

Hadn’t I caught Elora looking at Dante with that… tether? Whatever the hell you wanna call that look. She never denied him. Never drew a clear line. And with me? She got quiet, too fragile, like she wanted to say something and choke on it. Never felt quite right.

Palms flat on the table, I stared at those useless maps. “You’re saying my Luna, my wife, is playing me with my own brother.”

Mira ghosted a touch across my back. “Not asking you to believe me, Dom. Just for once, look at what’s right in front of your face. You know I’m not wrong.”

I clenched my jaw so tight it ached.

And then, the memories started marching out, one by one. Elora is arguing for Dante in the council. Fighting me behind closed doors, calling me blind. Even after I tossed Dante in the cells, she didn’t cut him loose.

There had to be a reason. Some twisted loyalty, or something worse. Mira’s words dug in. Maybe Elora really did want us to tear each other apart, right down to the bones. And maybe I’d been too stubborn to see it till now.

I dragged my hand through my hair, trying to shove down the knot in my chest. Rage. Shame. Something worse. Could’ve punched a wall, honestly.

And after all the crap, the suspicion, the weird distance, I’d kinda started to respect Elora. She never folded, not once, even when I nearly lost it. She’s the one who held everybody together, not me. Wild to admit, but, for a minute, I thought maybe she was choosing me, you know? Me. Of all people.

Or maybe...Maybe I was just another piece in her game. Just a damn pawn.

That’s when Mira spoke up, her voice all soft and almost shaking. “I don’t want to see you destroyed, Dominic. Please… keep your distance from her. Don’t give her the power to break you.”

I glanced over. She looked breakable herself, eyes all glassy, desperate. And right then, some part of my brain started kicking up dust. Elora’s warning. She’d told me about Mira. Whispers about poison, lies, all that lovely paranoia.

I swore under my breath and tried to shut it all out. Mira was my mate, for gods’ sake. She was my first real bond, before all this duty-junk with Elora. If not her, who could I trust?

But the doubt was in there now, scratching at the walls. And, honestly, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t tear it out.