chapter 5

Chapter 5 : The Lies We Swallow

Desmond

I stepped deliberately into the courtyard, and the already heavy air seemed to slice against me like multiple knives.

Every single maid immediately froze in place. Ana stood rigidly at the back of the line, her skin pale as death, her eyes wide and fixed desperately on the ground. When my gaze inevitably landed on her, she flinched sharply as though I had physically struck her already.

Vera spun around to face me, clutching that small scrap of black lace like it was unassailable evidence of a terrible crime.

“Desmond!” Her voice cracked under the weight of her mixed emotions—a blend of fierce triumph and uncontrollable fury. “Explain this immediately! I found this under your very pillow. We aren’t even mated yet, and you are already bringing whores into your bed?”

The sheer audacity of her words hit me harder than I had expected. My inner wolf snarled deep inside my chest, furious at her nerve for calling Ana that vile name. I violently forced the reaction down. I forced myself to maintain a cold, absolute calm.

I began walking forward slowly, deliberately allowing the oppressive silence to stretch out tautly, like a drawn-out blade.

“I would never cheat on you, Vera,” I stated, my voice coming out colder and more detached than even I had intended. I then stopped directly in front of Ana. “You. Step forward right now.”

Her body began to tremble uncontrollably. She lifted one foot, her chin tucked tight against her chest, her shoulders folding inward as if she desperately wished to disappear completely from sight.

I slowly raised my hand.

The resulting slap echoed harshly against the courtyard’s stone walls.

Her head jerked violently to the side. A vivid, blossoming red mark instantly appeared across her cheek, falling right over the faint bruise I had unknowingly left a few nights ago—a bruise not from anger, but from a moment no one, especially not Vera, could ever begin to understand.

Some maids loudly gasped in shock. Ana herself did not utter a single sound.

I pointed sharply at the black lace clutched tightly in Vera’s hand. “I specifically asked you yesterday to procure suitable gifts for my future Luna. Silk. Lace. The very best garments we possess. Instead, you leave this piece of cheap trash carelessly in my room as if it were some kind of crude joke?”

Ana’s eyes snapped up to meet mine, wide and absolutely stunned. For a fraction of a second, I saw it clearly—the raw betrayal flashing there. Hurt. Confused. Then, with a painful sigh, she dropped her gaze again, accepting the blow.

Vera blinked quickly, visibly startled by the unexpected turn. “What… what exactly do you mean, Desmond?”

I turned fully to face her, allowing a calculated wave of irritation to bleed openly into my voice. “I wanted to surprise you, Vera. I instructed this utterly useless maid to lay out everything I owned so I could select a gift. Instead, she makes a total mess and disappears without finishing the job. And now you leap to the ridiculous conclusion that I am sneaking behind your back?”

Vera’s intense anger instantly shifted targets, like a sudden storm changing its inevitable course. Her blue eyes immediately locked onto Ana with fresh venom.

“So this was your plan all along?” she hissed, her voice rising. “To deliberately make me doubt my mate? To make me look like a pathetic fool in front of the entire staff?”

“No, Luna, I—” Ana’s voice cracked, sounding small and desperately shaky.

“Liar!” Vera screamed, her rage boiling over. “Guards! Get over here now!”

Four powerful wolves appeared instantly, moving like dark shadows sprung from the ancient stone.

Vera’s finger stabbed fiercely at Ana, sharp and precise as a dagger. “Ten lashes. Right now. In the yard. Everyone will watch what happens to scheming, filthy little bitches.”

Ana stumbled backward slightly. “Please, I truly didn’t—”

The first guard immediately grabbed her arm with a rough, unforgiving grip.

My stomach twisted violently. My wolf roared inside, a sound of desperate, blinding fury, momentarily blurring my vision. Protect her. Stop them. She’s ours.

But I didn’t move.

If I were to interfere now, Vera would immediately smell the possessive truth. My father would sense the transgression. The Council would certainly notice the slip. And Ana would suffer a far slower, more agonizing death than any whip could manage if anyone suspected my true involvement.

They dragged her roughly past me. For a split second, her dark, pleading eyes met mine—accusing, breaking, and desperately begging. Then she was gone through the archway, towards the unforgiving whipping post.

I immediately forced a smile onto my face. Calm. Smooth. The flawless mask of the heir.

“I am truly sorry, my love,” I said, gently cupping Vera’s cheeks, my thumbs brushing away tears that were definitely not shed for me. “I should have managed the servants with more authority. Will you forgive me for this lapse?”

She instantly melted into my touch, pressing tightly against my body. “Of course, darling. But I don’t want that cursed rag anywhere near me. She probably spat on it or worse, the witch.”

She contemptuously tossed the piece of underwear to her beta assistant. “Burn it. Completely.”

The beta scurried off quickly, and the damning black fabric soon disappeared into the rising flames of a nearby brazier.

I watched it vanish and felt a distinct, internal crack deep within my soul.

If my father had not brutally ordered this essential alliance, if the Council had not been holding a metaphorical blade to my throat, I would have snapped Vera’s pale neck right there in the courtyard and let her empty body bleed out onto the stones.

But I didn’t.

I smiled flawlessly.

And deep inside, I quietly bled.