Chapter 5 The Same Blade

Elone's POV

I wiped the corner of my mouth with the back of my hand.

"Tell her I'm unwell," I said coldly. "I won't be attending."

Silence stretched for two beats.

The maid's voice dropped, shedding its thin veil of politeness. "Luna Isolde told me to remind you: today is Astoria's birthday. If you don't show, the world will think the Moonsilver pack is fractured. The Council might reconsider their—mercy—toward you."

She leaned in, her voice a sharp warning. "Remember, the silver chains in Hollowstone are always hungry for more."

"In this entire pack, when have Astoria and I ever been at peace?" I let my aura flare—a cold, jagged aura that made the omega maid flinch and pin her eyes to the floor.

I didn't wait for her response. I headed downstairs.

In the grand hall, Astoria was a vision of perfection, surrounded by the daughters of high-ranking Alphas. She held a crystal flute of crimson deer blood wine, tilting it elegantly toward her lips.

Suddenly, a shrill scream pierced the air. "Astoria, don't drink that! It's spiked with wolfsbane!"

Astoria's pupils contracted, a flash of predatory amber light gleaming in her eyes. "What did you say?"

The maid who had shouted cast a frantic glance in my direction. "I saw Elone slip into the infirmary earlier! She put something in your vintage!"

The room went deathly still. Alphas and Lunas from across the North froze, the air instantly thick with the scent of impending violence.

Three years ago, the exact same scene played out.

Astoria had drunk spiked wine on a full moon. She had become so weak she couldn't even shift her claws, leading to her being dragged away like prey by the Redfang Syndicate. The Moonsilver pack was humiliated. My father had been so enraged he'd nearly leveled the Great Hall.

After she was rescued, she stood before the Council and pointed at me.

"Elone hates me," she'd sobbed, shaking with feigned terror. "She conspired with the Syndicate to murder her own sister."

There was no proof. No investigation. But because I was the "unlikable" daughter, everyone believed her.

Now, history was repeating itself. Astoria went deathly pale, and the crystal glass shattered in her hand. Dark red deer blood dripped between her fingers like a fresh wound.

The sound of shattering glass brought the hall to a standstill. A hundred pairs of wolf eyes snapped toward me.

Astoria stumbled back into Luna Isolde's arms, her eyes brimming with tears. "Mom... I'm scared... it's happening again..."

Isolde knew exactly what her "precious" daughter was remembering. A low, guttural growl vibrated in her throat as she turned to me, her pupils narrowing into slits. "Have you learned nothing?"

With so many powerful Alphas present, Isolde tried to maintain a facade of control, but her fury was palpable.

I wanted to laugh.

"The same trick twice? Do they really think I'm that predictable?"

"It wasn't me," I said, my gaze dropping to the remaining wine in the decanter.

It was a blend infused with evening primrose—Astoria's personal favorite.

Oh, she's prepared.

"I went to the infirmary for healing herbs to treat my scars. I didn't touch her wine."

The maid raised her voice, shrill and desperate. "I swear on my wolf spirit! I saw Elone adding Root-Rot powder with my own eyes!"

The wolf spirit Oath. The most sacred vow a shifter could take. To lie under such an oath was to invite the Moon Goddess to strip away your soul.

Low growls rumbled through the room. Claws began to unsheathe; the air grew sharp with aggression.

Isolde looked between us, her nerves fraying. She didn't want a public scandal to ruin the night.

Sensing Isolde's hesitation, Astoria looked up, offering a pale, saintly smile. "Mom, please... there must be a mistake."

"Elone has suffered so much for three years in Hollowstone. Surely she wouldn't make the same mistake twice. I... I believe she's innocent."

The silence that followed was absolute.

The guests whispered frantically. Everyone thought I'd been studying abroad. A daughter of the Moonsilver Alpha, locked away with nameless criminals?

Being sent to Hollowstone meant you were a pariah. It meant your bloodline was tainted, your rank stripped, and your future heirs denied any claim to power.

The murmurs spread through the hall like rotting moss.

Astoria gasped, as if realizing she'd "accidentally" let the secret slip. She covered her mouth in faux horror, her eyes wide with guilt. "Oh no... I'm so sorry. I'm just so shaken I'm talking nonsense... please, forget what I said. Elone would never have been in Hollowstone..."

The more she tried to "fix" it, the more she hammered the truth into their minds.

"Elone, you just got back from overseas. Maybe you should rest? It's my birthday, but I have a gift for you too," Astoria added, trying to sound sisterly.

The commotion reached the upper floor. Marcus, who had been playing cards, descended the stairs with his entourage.

He arrived just in time to see Astoria standing fragile and broken in the center of the crowd, her hands wringing nervously as she looked at me with "fear."

I turned to look at her.

How many times had this happened? Astoria always had the talent for playing the victim while holding the knife.

The judgmental stares of the high-ranking wolves stabbed into me like needles.

What did I ever do to deserve this?

To be framed again? To be set up by this fraud of a sister?

Weren't three years in hell enough?

By exposing my imprisonment in front of the entire North, she wasn't just trying to hurt me. She was trying to erase me.

Fine.

"If she wants a massacre, we'll both burn."