CHAPTER 4: Ghosts of past

Eileen’s pov

"You married exactly who you think you married," I replied, forcing each word out with measured calm despite the frantic pounding of my heart. "Or perhaps marriage has made you paranoid, Supreme Alpha."

Alaric held my gaze.

One heartbeat.

Then another.

His silver eyes searched my face with unnerving patience, as though waiting for the mask to crack. For one dreadful moment, I was certain he'd press me further right here, before every Alpha and elder in the kingdom.

Instead, the officiant raised his voice.

"The bonded pair will now proceed to the reception hall."

The spell broke.

Nobles surged forward with cheers and applause, swallowing us in a tide of silk, jewels, and congratulations before Alaric could say another word.

Only then did I realize I'd been holding my breath.

I let it escape in a slow, silent exhale.

I had survived.

For now.

The reception hall somehow managed to feel even more suffocating than the ceremony. Gold shimmered from every wall, every chandelier, every intricately carved pillar. Crystal glasses caught the candlelight until the entire room glittered like a treasure vault.

Rows of powerful wolves bowed as we passed, offering smiles that never reached their eyes.

None of them were truly congratulating me.

They were evaluating me.

Judging me.

Waiting to see whether the Supreme Alpha's new Luna measured up to the woman they'd expected.

I kept my shoulders straight and my expression serene while Alaric guided me through the sea of nobles, his hand resting lightly against the small of my back.

The touch looked gentlemanly.

Protective.

Possessive.

Every time his fingers shifted, my skin prickled beneath the fabric. "You handle attention well," he observed quietly. "Especially for someone who collapsed only this morning."

"I recover quickly."

"So I'm beginning to notice."

His gaze drifted across the room.

"My mother used to say you can learn everything about a person by watching how they behave in a room full of people who all want something from them."

I followed his eyes.

"And what does this room want from me?"

"Proof."

The answer came without hesitation.

"Proof that the North Pack chose wisely."

His hand remained at my back as he leaned slightly closer. "Relax," he murmured. "You look like you're walking toward your execution."

My smile barely moved.

"Maybe I am."

For the first time...

A genuine reaction flickered across his face. Gone almost before I saw it but it had been there. We reached the elevated head table. Without a word, Alaric stepped ahead and pulled out my chair himself.

A ripple swept through the hall.

Whispers erupted from nearby tables.

The Supreme Alpha didn't serve anyone.

Certainly not his bride.

I lowered myself into the chair, smoothing my skirts with practiced grace while instinctively mapping every exit, every guarded doorway, every possible escape.

Old habits.

Even if there was nowhere left to run.

Alaric remained standing beside me. "There is something I should have told you before the ceremony."

I looked up. "What?"

"I invited one of your former lovers." His attention remained fixed on the guests instead of me. "Alpha Lucian."

Everything inside me stopped. For the first time since he'd watched me fall. Since he'd chosen someone else's hand instead of reaching for mine.

"You... did what?"

"He has long been an ally of the West Pack." Only then did Alaric turn to face me. "Not inviting him would have been viewed as an insult to your father."

I couldn't answer.

Somewhere in this room stood the man who had watched me die. The man whose betrayal had shattered my world. And I hadn't been given so much as a single second to prepare myself.

Then—

The massive doors at the far end of the hall swung open.

Conversation faltered.

Music faded.

One by one, every head turned toward the entrance.

I didn't need to look.

I felt him like the oppressive weight in the air before lightning tears across the sky.

Slowly...

I raised my eyes.

Lucian entered the hall with effortless confidence.

Beside him walked Alice.

My step-sister.

She wore flowing emerald silk that caught the candlelight with every graceful step. A warm smile curved her lips as she laughed softly at something Lucian had said, her hand resting comfortably around his arm with an intimacy that twisted something deep inside me.

They looked...Perfect. Like two people who belonged together. Like the future I'd once imagined for myself had simply been handed to someone else.

Every step they took toward the head table tightened the invisible knot around my lungs. When they finally stopped before us, Lucian bowed with flawless courtesy.

"Supreme Alpha," he said smoothly. "Congratulations on your union."

"Alpha Lucian." Alaric's voice remained calm. "I believe you've already met my Luna."

Lucian straightened then his eyes found mine. His expression froze for the briefest fraction of a second.

Recognition?

Shock?

Disbelief?

It vanished almost instantly beneath years of disciplined control.

But I had seen it.

He knew something about me. There wasn't even the instinctive pause of someone searching an old memory. Only the polite, impersonal smile one stranger offered another.

"I don't believe we've had the pleasure, my lady," Lucian said with an elegant bow.

For one impossible moment, I simply stared at him.

The man I'd once loved.

The man who had watched me fall.

The man who had let me die.

And he looked at me as though I'd never existed. Slowly, I rose from my chair, smoothing the folds of my gown.

Then I smiled.

Not the careful smile Madam Ferra had taught me. Not the obedient smile my father had begged me to wear. This one belonged entirely to me. The first genuine smile I'd worn since waking in this stolen body. "No," I said softly.

"I don't suppose we have."

Beside him, Alice dipped into a graceful curtsy. "The West Pack sends its warmest congratulations, Luna Eileen."

That voice.

Sweet enough to soothe a child.

Poisonous enough to destroy a life.

For one heartbeat, the reception hall disappeared. A cliff's edge, her hands against my chest. The tiny shove she'd later call an accident. The sound of my own scream swallowed by the wind.

Then reality returned.

"How thoughtful of you both to attend," I said pleasantly. My gaze drifted between them. "Tell me... do you often travel together for celebrations that have nothing to do with either of you?"

Lucian answered before Alice could. "Alice and I have been close since childhood, my lady." His smile remained perfectly composed. "We rarely miss an opportunity to celebrate an alliance together."

"Close?" I let the word linger between us. "What an interesting choice."

Alice's smile never faltered. "Is something troubling you, Luna Eileen?"

"Nothing at all." I lifted my wineglass, studying the deep crimson liquid as though the answer might be hidden inside it. "I simply find it fascinating how easily some people survive tragedy."

Silence settled over the nearby guests.

I looked back at Alice.

"You lost a sister, didn't you?" Her fingers tightened almost imperceptibly around her goblet. "So I've been told. They say she fell from a cliff."

I tilted my head. "How unimaginably heartbreaking."

Alice swallowed.

"You've heard that story?"

"Rumors have an unfortunate habit of spreading."

I took a slow sip of wine, never looking away from her. "I heard she died believing the two people she trusted most would save her." My smile deepened. "How tragic."

Lucian's expression shifted.

Only slightly.

But enough.

"That seems an unusual topic for a wedding reception, my lady."

"Does it?" I met his gaze without blinking. "I merely find it interesting that some debts refuse to stay buried." A long pause. "No matter how much earth people throw over them." My eyes held his. "Don't you agree... Alpha Lucian?"

For the first time that evening...

Neither of them answered.

The silence stretched just long enough to become uncomfortable. Then Alice laughed. "What grim conversation for such a joyful celebration."

She slipped her hand through Lucian's arm. "Come, before our gracious Luna frightens the rest of the guests."

They turned and disappeared into the crowd. I watched them go without moving. For the first time since my death, the ache inside my chest eased.

Not because I'd forgiven them.

Because I'd finally watched uncertainty creep into their eyes. They had no idea who sat before them. No idea how close the past had come to reclaiming them.

I lowered myself back into my chair and lifted my wine once more, hiding the satisfied curve of my lips behind the crystal rim.

"That," Alaric said quietly beside me, "was cruel."

I glanced at him. "Was it?"

"It was deliberate." There was no accusation in his voice. Only observation. "You weren't making conversation."

"No?"

"You were hunting." His eyes never left my face. "They simply didn't realize it."

A chill crept slowly down my spine. I forced myself to take another measured sip. "I enjoy court gossip."

My tone remained light.

"Every kingdom has its favorite tragedies."

I could feel him watching me when he finally spoke, his voice was barely more than a whisper. "Careful, Eileen."

I looked at him.

"That wasn't the smile of a woman repeating rumors." His gaze sharpened. "It was the smile of someone savoring revenge."

A beat of silence.

"So now I find myself wondering..." He leaned just close enough that no one else could hear. "...whose debt you're so eager to collect."