By the time Talassa and I stormed into the Avalora Pack territory, Griffith was just about to step out. He looked up, startled, then
his expression shifted into something close to delight.
“Ellia, you’ve come back? I swear, if you—”
“Shut up,” Talassa cut him off. “We’re not here for you. Where’s Giselle? Tell that wretched woman to get out here!”
As if on cue, Giselle appeared from behind Griffith, her belly swollen with child. She rested a hand on it, a smug smile curling at
the corners of her lips.
“Luna,” she said sweetly, “have you returned to witness the birth of Alpha’s child?”
I ignored the taunt. Instead, I raised my bow and aimed it directly at her. “Giselle, for three years, you sent lilies to the castle. But
the moment you became pregnant, you switched to violets.”
The smile on her lips faltered.
“Why?” I pressed. “Was it because you were afraid? Afraid that the poison you hid in the lilies would harm your own child? So you
changed the flowers?”
A flicker of panic flashed in her eyes. “I… I don’t know what you’re talking about…”
My throat tightened. My vision blurred at the edges, but I held my ground.
“Was it you?” My voice cracked, raw with grief. “Did you kill my children?”
The certainty in my words made Giselle recoil. She stumbled back, seeking refuge behind Griffith.
But she hadn’t expected what came next.
Griffith didn’t shelter her. Instead, he wrenched her forward and struck her across the face.
“You vile woman,” he spat, his voice trembling with fury. “You dared to harm my children–Ellia’s children?”
