Chapter 7
1015words
Cassandra's desperate shriek still echoed across the sacred site, but something in my stillness had begun to unnerve the crowd.
I wasn't panicking. I wasn't defending myself.
I was waiting.
"Sienna Sterling," Elder Whitehawk said, his voice cutting through the chaos, "these are serious accusations. How do you answer—"
"I don't."
My voice cut through the air like ice, stopping every word, every breath in the sacred circle.
The crowd fell silent, shocked by my audacity.
I smiled, and I felt the expression transform my face into something predatory and sharp.
"I don't answer accusations," I said, my voice carrying clearly across the stunned gathering. "I let the truth speak for itself."
I took a single step forward, and the ancient runes carved into the Recognition Stone began to glow.
Not the soft silver light of the ceremony.
Brilliant, searing red.
The detection runes Damon and I had woven into the sacred space blazed to life, revealing traces of what had been hidden.
The crowd gasped as dark shadows became visible around the Recognition Stone itself, and strange energy pulsed around Fenrir's magnificent form.
"What—" Elder Whitehawk started, but his words died as the runes grew brighter.
"Oh," I said conversationally, as if I'd just noticed something mildly interesting. "Look at that."
The red light intensified, showing residual traces of dark magic clinging to the ancient stone and swirling around the spirit wolf.
"It seems," I continued, my voice perfectly calm, "that someone has been using forbidden magic during the ceremony."
Cassandra's gasp of shock seemed genuine as she stared at the swirling dark energy.
"This is impossible," she whispered, then her voice grew stronger. "Sienna, what have you done? Everyone saw you approach the stone, everyone saw you place your hands on it!"
She turned to the crowd, tears streaming down her face.
"Don't you see? She's been planning this! These... these are her detection runes! She could have woven any spell into them!" Her voice broke with apparent anguish. "She's using dark magic right now, trying to steal Fenrir from me!"
The crowd murmured uncertainly. The evidence was confusing—dark magic was present, but who was responsible?
"Look!" Cassandra pointed desperately. "The dark magic traces are concentrated exactly where Sienna touched the Recognition Stone! And around Fenrir only after she summoned him! I never touched the stone—only Sienna did!"
Elder Whitehawk frowned, studying the magical traces. "The child has a point. The magic appears concentrated where Miss Sterling made contact."
Fenrir still stood beside Cassandra, his golden eyes clouded but showing no signs of distress from the supposed "chains" binding him.
"You see?" Cassandra's confidence grew as doubt spread through the crowd. "I would never hurt Fenrir. But Sienna... she's desperate, jealous of our bond. She'd do anything to take him from me!"
"That's enough," a deep voice cut through the chaos.
Ethan strode into the circle, his Alpha presence commanding immediate attention. Without hesitation, he moved to stand protectively in front of Cassandra.
"I've seen enough," he declared, his voice ringing with absolute certainty. "These runes prove nothing except that Sienna is willing to use dark magic to frame an innocent girl."
He gestured toward Cassandra with tender protectiveness. "Look at her! Does this look like someone capable of forbidden magic? She's pure, untainted. She saved my life when rogues would have killed me."
His eyes blazed as he turned toward me. "But you, Sienna... you've always been jealous of what Cassandra and I have. A real bond. True love. Not some political arrangement forced on us since childhood."
The crowd buzzed with uncertainty. The evidence before their eyes warred with the passionate conviction of an Alpha they respected.
"You can't stand that the Moon Goddess chose her over you," Ethan continued, his voice growing colder. "So you resort to dark magic, trying to steal what was never meant to be yours."
"Ethan," I said quietly, but he cut me off.
"No, Sienna. I won't let you destroy an innocent girl because you can't accept that I found my true mate. Your jealousy has made you dangerous."
The accusation hit like a slap.
But before I could respond, another voice spoke—deep, steady, and absolutely certain.
"Then let me make this simple."
Damon stepped into the circle, his presence commanding immediate attention.
I felt the shift in him—the careful restraints he'd held for so long finally falling away. His true Alpha power blazed forth, no longer hidden behind the mask of the "cursed" half-brother.
The force of it was overwhelming, driving every wolf in the gathering to their knees—everyone except me.
I felt our mate bond strengthen, responding to his unleashed power. The connection we'd discovered last night blazed brighter than ever.
"You want to talk about fated mates?" Damon asked, his voice carrying easily across the silent gathering. "Let me show you what a real bond looks like."
He reached out his hand to me.
The moment our fingers touched, the air around us shimmered with pure, golden light—visible to everyone now, no longer hidden in the shadows.
Our mate bond. Real, undeniable, beautiful.
Ethan's face went white. "That's... impossible."
"Not impossible," Damon said, his fingers interlacing with mine. "Just carefully hidden until now."
The crowd stared in stunned silence at the proof before their eyes.
"This changes nothing," Ethan snarled, but I could hear the uncertainty creeping into his voice.
Elder Whitehawk raised his staff, ancient authority gathering around him.
"Dark magic has been detected, but its source remains unclear," he announced, his voice carrying to every corner of the sacred circle. "We have competing claims and accusations from all sides."
He turned his ancient gaze on all of us.
"By sacred law, I declare a formal investigation. All claims will be held in suspension until the truth is determined."
Cassandra sagged with relief, still believing her magic could withstand scrutiny.
Ethan's arm tightened protectively around her.
But I smiled, because I knew something they didn't.
The investigation would reveal more than they bargained for.
And some bonds truly weren't as permanent as they appeared.
