Chapter 77

Elora’s POV

The rain just would not quit. It’d been coming down since, like, forever soaking the courtyard stones, flooding every damn gutter, turning the whole world that ugly, washed-out gray. Packhouse reeked of wet fur and old smoke, but underneath all that, there was something worse clinging to the air. Fear. It was everywhere now, thick as blood, crawling up my nose every time I breathed in.

Dante was off doing the southern patrol thing, so I got left holding the bag. The proof had shown up that morning. A crusty old vial, half-full, glass all cloudy from years of god-knows-what. Healer dug it out of a busted satchel buried in Mira’s junk, foxbane residue caked at the bottom, same poison that just about finished Dominic off.

I turned it over in my hand, fingers twitching. The poison looked almost pretty, just a thin line of glittery dust. Wild how something so small could nearly kill a guy.

Dominic was up now, sort of. Weak as a kitten. Asked for tea, then passed right back out, breathing all shallow but steady. I sat there with him, waiting for his pulse to stop acting crazy, waiting for my own eyes to stop leaking.

I knew what had to come next.

The council would tap-dance, the healers would mumble excuses, and Dante would tell me to wait, to be clever, to plan every little detail. Well, screw that. I was way past subtle. Mira’s poison-tongue had already shredded this pack.

I camped at her door, two guards stiff as boards on either side.

“Out. Now,” I muttered.

They traded looks. Mira’s reputation could make grown men reconsider their life choices.

“Luna, the Alpha said...”

“Dominic’s not giving orders. I am. Wait outside.” Cold as the rain, that’s how I sounded.

They scattered.

Inside, Mira’s room smelled like dying roses and something rotten, like expensive perfume over mold. Curtains shut tight, no fire. She stood, brushing her hair like she was expecting a parade. She clocked the vial in my hand and a flicker of real fear before the fake smile slapped itself back on.

“Elora. You look like hell. Maybe leadership’s not your look.”

Cute. “You poisoned him.”

Her brush stopped. Her hand shook a little. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

I rolled my eyes. “Drop the act. We found the vial. Same foxbane as what nearly killed Dominic. The healer confirmed it. You left it in your bag, Mira.”

Her eyes sharpened. “And just where did you find this bag?”

“In your room.”

She gave a little hum, all ice. “Isn’t that convenient? Planting evidence now, Luna?”

“I’m cleaning up your mess.”

She laughed, sharp, glassy, almost painful to hear. “You really think anyone’s buying this? You, the Luna who couldn’t even keep her mate? You, who let his brother out of prison? Half the pack thinks you’re in Dante’s pocket already.”

That stung but I tried not to show it. “Enough.”

She wasn’t done. “You want the throne. Just say it. Dominic’s weak, and you finally see your opening.”

“I want this pack safe,” I shot back. “I want peace. You’re the one who’s been playing games with everyone’s lives because you can’t stand not getting what you want.”

“Jealousy?” She laughed again. “You think I wanted to be second place? To be the spare? He was mine. He should have been mine. Then you waltzed in, perfect Luna, golden girl, and I became nothing. The mistake.”

Her anger was a living thing now, shaking her words. “You stole him from me.”

I inched closer, close enough to see the anger in her eyes. “I didn’t steal anything. You poisoned him. You almost tore this pack apart.”

That broke something in her. She dropped the brush, lunged at me, nails flashing. She was fast...way faster than I expected from someone who spent her life behind a cloud of perfume and lies.

We slammed into the vanity, mirror exploding, glass raining down like stardust. She screamed, raw and animal, shoved me so hard my shoulder almost popped. Pain lit me up.

“You ruined everything!” she yelled, grabbing a broken bit of mirror.

“Mira...don’t...”

She swung, wild, as it sliced the air right where my throat had been. I caught her wrist, twisted hard, and she yelled and dropped the glass. We struggled, rolling in silks and broken glass, both of us panting.

Then, the door crashes open.

“Elora!”

Oh, fantastic. Dominic’s voice, raw and too loud, echoed off the walls.

Mira froze mid-breath, wild-eyed. I turned just as he lurched through the doorway, clutching the frame like he might drop any second. He looked like death’s understudy, but he was standing. Mira looked like she’d just seen a ghost, the angry line of blood on my cheek.

“Dominic...” I tried, but Mira had already started her show.

“She attacked me!” she wailed, waterworks on point. “She’s lost it, she’s trying to kill me!”

Dominic’s eyes landed on the vial in my fist. For a second, old scars flickered across his face, doubt, hurt, all that baggage. But then, something shifted behind his eyes. A little bit of the fog cleared.

He looked at me, back to Mira. “Elora?”

“She poisoned you,” I blurted, heart hammering. “We found foxbane in her things.”

Mira’s mouth quivered, the perfect act crumbling at the edges. “She planted it...she...”

“Enough.” Dominic’s voice snapped like a whip. He straightened, somehow remembering he was Alpha, even if he looked like he needed a nap. “Both of you. Stand down.”

I stepped back. Mira’s eyes darted, and for a split second, I saw straight-up panic.

“Tell me the truth,” Dominic said, just staring her down. “Did you do it?”

Her voice dropped to a whisper, all tragic. “I loved you. I never meant to poison you.”

Dominic went even paler, which honestly seemed impossible. “So you’re admitting it.”

Her mouth opened, but nothing came out. Awkward silence. You could practically hear the universe holding its breath.

“Guards,” Dominic croaked.

Doors banged open. Two warriors in, both looking like they’d rather be anywhere else.

“Take her,” he ordered. “No harm...yet.”

Mira lost it. “Dominic, no! She’s lying! You can’t...don’t trust her...”

He glanced at me. Quick, but enough. And in that split second, I saw it..the old trust. The thing I thought she’d killed.

“I trust her,” he said. Quiet, but solid.

Mira screamed as they dragged her out, nails raking red down the doorframe. Real horror movie energy.

When the door slammed shut, Dominic shook, legs giving out. I barely caught him before he hit the floor.

“Easy,” I muttered, lowering him into the battered chair. His skin was cold and slick, pulse rabbit-fast. “You shouldn’t be out of bed.”

He tried to grin, but it looked more like a grimace. “You were right… about her.”

I blinked back tears. Not now, not in front of him. “Just rest, okay? I’ll get the healer.”

“Elora…” His hand fumbled for mine, shaking but determined. “Thank you.”

That did it. All those months carrying his doubt, the way he wouldn’t even look at me...gone. Two words, and it was like the sun came up inside my chest.

He drifted off, finally, and I just sat there, hand in his, the stupid vial between us like proof of everything, fragile, but real.

The rain finally let up outside. The quiet felt sharp, unnatural.

I had the worst feeling Mira’s disaster wasn’t over. Not by a long shot.