Demotion

Moon thought it couldn’t be any worse than this situation, but reality proved that things could be worse than this.

Just after a few moments, the brothers went to meet the Alpha. Axe returned with a set of clothes. He rushed Moon to put on the clothes before anyone could see him. The ridiculous thing was, he bought a maid dress for him—a man!

As it turned out, when the LUNAR brothers reached the hall, a collective gasp spread through the crowd.

Everyone knew they were stuck in a half-wolf state before, and usually, a werewolf who can’t shift properly or is stuck in between was called a defective werewolf. They can't shift back into human form again.

Everyone was waiting for a great show of their demotion and humiliation. But when the five brothers arrived in a normal human form, many people couldn't believe their eyes.

The Alpha shifted on his throne, his brows knitted together.

Beside him, his Luna squinted her eyes and whispered something in the Alpha's ear that the brothers could not hear.

But they soon knew what she said.

The Alpha coughed to draw attention as his commanding voice resounded through the hall.

“By the rules of our pack law,

Leo Vaelis, Ugo Vaelis, Nox Vaelis, Axe Vaelis, and Rio Vaelis—since you failed to awaken your wolf at the ceremony, your Heir rights will be revoked. From this day on, you will live as omegas on the outskirts of the pack territory. However, …”

He paused, his sharp eyes sweeping over the five men kneeling in the middle of all the judging, disdainful eyes, and continued,

“However, your current state proves you have taken some kind of measure last night. The court demands your explanation before the final verdict.”

Leo’s eyes flashed with ferocity while Ugo remained calm. Rio, as usual, had a cold expression, as if it had nothing to do with him, and Nox was restless.

Axe was afraid Nox might say something out of fear, so he stepped in front and bowed politely.

“Lord Alpha, we don’t know why this happened, but we had already shifted back to normal last night after coming back. As for specific details, I am not sure why.”

The Alpha swept his gaze at Nox’s shifty eyes before chuckling softly.

The people in the hall all felt a chill sweep through them. They held their breath and waited eagerly to see the drama. They were all curious to know the method they used.

The Alpha's reverberating voice vibrated through the hall.

“Axe, you disappointed me.”

He signaled the guards, who instantly shoved Axe to the ground, his head slamming on the hard floor’s carpet with a thud!

Nox cried out in alarm, while Ugo gave Nox a warning gaze.

All of this came into the view of the Alpha and the Luna.

“Ah, guards, don’t be hard on our son. They are just ignorant. Let go of him,” the Luna said with concern.

Some high-ranked alphas couldn't help but laugh silently.

“Are you going to confess, or should we use our own method to know?” The Alpha asked again.

Axe’s mind was racing. They couldn't say they just mated a human whose origin was suspicious. They knew something was wrong with the man.

That man could use strange powers and could draw their attention; he made an impossible thing happen in one night—shifting them back to normal.

More or less, the brothers were sure they had fallen into a witchcraft trap. If the Alpha knew this, their chance of survival was zero.

“Call the physician,” the Alpha commanded the guard.

As the guard moved hurriedly, the hall buzzed with chatter.

“Did they use a potion?”

“Oh! Goddess, how despicable! It must be a forbidden poison they took for shifting.”

“Are they messing around with a witch?”

Leo’s fingers clenched tightly. Although they all remained silent and calm, they were nervous.

Rio whispered in a low voice that only the brothers could hear, “We did not take a potion.”

It took Nox some time to understand his meaning. Right, they didn’t take any potion, so the physician can't find any fault. His tight jaw loosened as he relaxed.

But at this moment, Leo's sneer made him chill again. “Don’t be so sure. You have been fucking all night—who knows which enchantress, and what if he fed something indirectly?”

“The person who kissed the most was you,” Ugo pointed out to Leo.

Their low banter only dissatisfied the other Alpha Heirs, who were eagerly waiting for them to break down and cry for mercy.

Their shifting back was already a blow for them.

The eldest Heir sneered; he deliberately hugged the beautiful, curvy girl beside him. Looking at Leo, he said loudly, “Speaking of which, while we wait for the physician, why not let the brothers show their sister-in-law?”

The hall fell silent for a moment, then erupted with laughter.

The girl was not shy at all. She looked at Leo with soft eyes and said with heartache, though her smiling face said otherwise, “Ah, Leo, the Moon Goddess bonded me with Alpha Silas.”

She looked at Silas and smiled sweetly, then looked at Leo again.

“You see, we are not fated, so you should not interact with me again. I don’t want anyone to misunderstand.”

Leo’s red eyes flickered a few times. Then he said sarcastically, “Really, Ellen? That’s great. A huge burden has fallen off my shoulder.”

Hearing this, the girl, Ellen’s eyes filled with tears.

Before she could say anything, Silas rebuked Leo, “Leo, I know you had feelings for Ellen, but you shouldn’t insult her like this. She meant well; she has been crying since last night for your failure.”

His tone rose at the end, rubbing in their failure.

At this moment, the air shifted again.

“The physician is here,” a member announced.

With the Alpha's signal, the physician took the brothers' pulse, his brows knitting tighter and tighter. His gaze became strange.

He looked at their eyes and marveled at how these defective Alphas came back to normal.

He faced the Alpha and announced, “The five brothers have no physical problem, but I need to draw blood to check further.”

“Go ahead, do it here,” the Alpha ordered.

With permission, the physician drew their blood into a tube and shook it a few times. But the blood remained crimson red.

He turned to the Alpha and declared again, “They did not take any potion, my lord.”

The people who were sure they would find crucial evidence choked on their breath. Even the Luna shifted worriedly. That’s not right. She was sure they must have taken some potion.

“Impossible!” the 2nd Alpha heir shouted. He stood up and knelt in front of the Alpha.

“My Lord, it's impossible for them to shift back without external help. We all saw it with our own eyes; they became defective wolves. Please investigate more. They must have used some witchcraft!”

The hall filled with a collective gasp. Witchcraft inside the pack territory and becoming an ally with a witch is tantamount to treason.

The Alpha was silent; he only looked at the physician, who seemed to have something to say.

“Say it!” His voice immediately stopped all chatter, and all stared at the physician.

The physician felt a huge pressure fall on him, but he had to continue.

“They didn’t take any potion, but…” His gaze shifted meekly to the brothers. His ears turned red. He hesitated to say it out loud.

“But… they…”