The screams coming from the Ash Creek pack house grew louder as Ivan, Asha, and I burst through the front doors.
Ivan led the way down the hallways toward the throne room—it was where the chaos seemed to be coming from.
The halls were empty, which was weird. Since yesterday, the house had been a beehive of activity, teeming with servants, elders, and general guests.
Ivan took quicker steps, hurrying to get to the bottom of whatever was causing the commotion. I brought up the rear, albeit warily, holding Asha tightly to my chest.
After what felt like forever, we entered the throne room—and found Lydia throwing a tantrum right in the middle of it.
She was still bald and more furious than I had ever seen her. Her eyes were bloodshot, and there was saliva frothing at the corners of her mouth.
She looked rabid—like she belonged in a psych ward rather than playing the role of Luna in a pack house.
I lowered my gaze to her legs. The swelling had gone down; it was the only reason she could walk right now.
"Where is she!" Lydia shrieked loudly, startling the small crowd that had gathered to witness her meltdown.
Her voice sounded like chalk scraping across a blackboard—annoying, aggravating, and headache-inducing.
I instinctively stepped away from Ivan, angling backward toward a secluded corner.
I had barely taken a few steps when I felt a warm presence ease into the space next to me. It was Nina.
"Hey," I whispered to her. "What the hell is going on?"
Nina winced and shot me a hesitant look.
"The Luna woke up a few minutes ago and has been asking for you. Did you cut her hair off?"
"Maybe," I said vaguely, a smirk curling on the edge of my lips.
Nina snorted, clearly amused. "She’s very pissed. She says she’s planning to murder you."
"Really?" I chuckled. "I’d like to see her try."
"Huh." Nina’s lips curved up just slightly. "Before that happens, you may wanna hand Asha over to me. I’d hate to see him involved in your spat with crazy pants over there."
She had a point. The last thing I needed was for Asha to get caught in Lydia’s crossfire.
I handed him over to her without hesitation, relieved that he wasn’t fussy. We both turned to look at Lydia again.
She now had a maid gripped by the neckline of her uniform, glaring down at her like she meant to rip her apart.
"Maeve," she spat my name like it was venom. "Where is she?! Where the hell is that scheming little whore? Where are you hiding her?"
"I—I don’t know," the maid whimpered, trembling on the verge of tears. "I really don’t know. Please, Luna. Let me go. You’re hurting me."
Lydia abruptly released her, and the maid stumbled backward, slamming her hip into the tiled floor with a dull thud.
Lydia cast her one last withering glare before turning toward the rest of the room, which was filled with a strange mix of shock, fascination, and secondhand embarrassment.
I caught a few palace maids trying (and failing) to hide their laughter behind gloved hands as they stared at her bald head.
But no matter how unhinged Lydia acted, no one dared to intervene.
"Mother," he called out, loud enough to snap her attention toward him. "You should be in bed. What are you doing out here? What’s going on?"
He sounded exasperated, but it didn’t stop him from stepping forward and reaching out to her. She flinched away from his touch immediately.
"Don’t touch me," she snapped, glowering at him. "Where the hell is Maeve?"
Ivan took a long breath, visibly trying to stay calm.
"You need to relax. I checked in on you earlier—you’ve been asleep for several hours. What you need now is a bath. Maybe a hot meal."
"I don’t want any of those things!" she shouted, raising her voice several octaves. "What I want is for you to bring that gold-digging scum here, right now!"
She jabbed a finger at him, trembling with rage. "All of this is your fault, you know? If you’d just sent her away like I asked, I wouldn’t be bald right now. You’re the reason I look !"
She stamped her feet like a child, throwing an unhinged tantrum in front of everyone.
It was so painfully out of character that several house members averted their eyes, visibly uncomfortable.
Ivan sighed and reached for her again, his tone gentler this time.
"Come on, Mother. You know why I asked Maeve to stay. She’s the Moon Healer. Without her, you would have died. And about your hair—she had to cut it in order to properly diagnose your illness."
At the sound of that, Lydia threw her head back and laughed maniacally.
"Really? Is that what she told you? Tell me, son—was it before or after she spread her legs wide open for you?"
Ivan’s eyes darkened to a scowl, a dangerous tick to his jaw. Soft murmurings swirled around the hall—gossip, no doubt, spreading like wildfire.
At that point, I’d had enough.
"Do sit down, Luna Lydia," I drawled, stepping forward with all the patience of a queen done sipping tea at a rabid dog’s banquet. "I think I speak for everyone when I say you’re embarrassing yourself."
Gasps followed. Lydia scanned the room quickly. I saw the exact moment she recognized me—her eyes narrowed into murderous slits.
"You bitch!" she snarled, lunging at me without warning.
A collective new round of gasps rose as she raised her fist, fully intending to strike me.
I watched the descent of her blow and waited until the last possible moment before shooting my hand out to stop it.
I wrapped my fingers around her wrist, freezing her hand mid-air.
Lydia glared at me like she could set me on fire.
"What do you think you’re doing? Let go of me if you know what’s good for you."
"There’s no need to play the victim, Lydia, when you’re the one who just tried to attack me."
"I attacked you?" she scoffed, trembling with rage. "You’re the one that assaulted me first."
"Let go of her," Ivan cut in, his voice sharp and cold enough to cut through the tension.
I let go immediately, turning to him with a mocking bow of reverence.
The Luna turned to him, jabbing a trembling finger at her bald head.
"Take a good look at me! This whore-trash cut off every last strand of my hair out of spite. And then she knocked me out with the hilt of a dagger. She’s no healer—she’s a vindictive bitch, and her only goal is to see her bastard son seated on the Alpha throne!"