FIA
I stared at Elara. My cheek still burned from the slap. The world tilted slightly but I forced myself to focus.
"My father told me everything." Her voice cracked with rage. "How you cornered him at breakfast after I left. How you threatened him. Told him you could spin any story you wanted now that you’re close to Cian because he dared to question your involvement with what happened to my aunty."
My mouth opened but nothing came out. The accusation was so absurd I couldn’t find words.
"Don’t just stand there looking stupid." Elara’s hands shook. "Say something. Defend yourself if you can."
"I never—"
"Liar!" She screamed it. The sound echoed across the pool. "You think I don’t know what you are? What you’ve always been? You’re nothing but an opportunistic bitch who saw a chance and took it."
The Omega behind me shifted. I heard her take a step forward.
Elara’s head snapped toward her. Her eyes narrowed to slits. "If you want to scrub dungeon grounds for two months with a toothbrush, take a step forward."
The Omega froze.
Heat flooded my chest. I moved between them. "You have no right to talk to her like that."
Elara laughed. It was sharp and cruel. "Why not?" She tilted her head. "I am a Luna. Born and bred. I have every right." She took a step closer. Her breath hit my face. "If it makes you feel some kind of way, it’s because you still recognize where you belong in the pyramid of things."
I swallowed. The familiar sting of classism wrapped around my throat like a noose. She reminded me of Hazel. That same entitled superiority. That same belief that birth determined worth.
But I couldn’t focus on that. Not now.
"I made no threat to your father." My voice came out steady despite the trembling in my hands. "I never said any of that."
"He told me—"
"If he saw what I did say as a threat, then that is his business. Not mine."
Elara’s face twisted. "You’re calling him a liar?"
"Your father is a monster." The words ripped out of me. "A murderer. And you stand here and defend him?"
Her hand moved before I could react. The second slap landed harder than the first. My head whipped to the side. Stars burst across my vision. I tasted copper. My lip had split.
I held my face. Shock rippled through me in cold waves.
"You weren’t kidding when you said if you were given an inch, you would run a mile." Elara’s voice dripped with venom. "This is why Omegas do not deserve nice things. My father? A murderer? A monster?" She laughed again. "Says the whore who stole her sister’s place because she craved Alpha dick?"
Something snapped inside me. A cord pulled too tight for too long finally breaking.
"I suggest you watch it." My voice dropped low. Dangerous. "You are starting to overstep."
Elara closed the space between us. She was so close I could see the flecks of gold in her dark eyes. "And so?" She smiled. "What will you do? Am I wrong?"
Her hand shot out. She grabbed at my collar. I slapped her hand away but the movement pulled my dress down slightly. Just enough to expose the low side of my throat.
Where Cian’s bite mark sat.
Elara’s eyes locked on it. She scoffed. "Just stick to fucking my cousin." She released my dress and shoved me back. "Get your grubby hands away from my aunt and stay the fuck away from my father." She leaned in. "Or I will fuck you up, whore."
Then she spat in my face.
The warm saliva hit my cheek. Slid down toward my jaw.
"That is too much, Luna Elara." The Omega’s voice shook.
"I told you to shut the fuck up, bottom feeder!"
I closed my eyes. Everything inside me went still. Quiet. Like the moment before a storm breaks.
I had spent my entire life gentling my anger. Being the bigger person even when I wanted to scream. Even when I wanted to fight back. Even when every fiber of my being demanded I defend myself.
But I was tired.
So tired of swallowing my rage. Of letting people like Hazel and Elara walk all over me because I was supposed to be better. Supposed to be above it.
Hazel had humiliated me for years. Aldric had threatened my life this morning. And now his daughter stood here spitting in my face and calling me a whore.
Something inside me fractured. Split open. All that carefully controlled anger poured out like water through a broken dam.
I opened my eyes.
Elara was still standing there. Still smirking. Still so certain of her superiority.
I grabbed the front of her dress. My fingers twisted in the fabric and yanked her forward.
Her eyes went wide. "What are you—"
My palm connected with her cheek. Hard. The sound cracked through the air like a gunshot.
Her head snapped to the side.
I pulled her back. Hit her again. Harder this time. My hand stung. The impact jarred up my arm but I didn’t stop.
A third slap. This one was the hardest. My palm burned. My fingers throbbed.
Elara’s face turned bright red. Handprints bloomed across her cheeks. Her mouth hung open. Her eyes were huge with shock.
I shoved her back. She stumbled. Her hands flew to her face.
"You—" Her voice cracked. "You hit me."
"Yes." My hand throbbed. The pain was sharp and immediate. "I did."
"You can’t—"
"I just did." I stepped forward. She stepped back. "You came here and put your hands on me. You spat in my face. You called me a whore." My voice rose. "What did you think would happen?"
Elara’s shock was shifting. I could see rage building behind her eyes again. Her hands dropped from her face. They curled into fists.
"You’re dead." Her voice shook. "You’re fucking dead."
"Am I?" I laughed. It sounded wrong even to my own ears. Too high. Too sharp. "Your father said the same thing this morning. Told me to run or kill myself. Said today was the only day I would matter to Cian." I moved closer. She backed up another step. "But I’m still here and I will remain here. Still standing. Still breathing."
"My father would never—"
"Your father admitted he poisoned Luna Morrigan." The words poured out. "He admitted he did it because he wanted to punish me. He deleted a recording I tried to make but he said it. He said it all."
Elara’s face went pale. Then red again. Then pale. "You fucking Liar."
"Ask him." I gestured toward the estate. "Go ask him right now. See what he says."
"He told me you threatened him."
"No." I shook my head. "He told you a story. He manipulated you. Used you. Because that’s what he does. He lies and manipulates and destroys people." I stopped moving. "And you’re letting him use you as a weapon right now."
Elara stood frozen. Her chest heaved. Her hands trembled at her sides.
For a moment I thought she might actually listen. Might actually consider what I was saying.
Then her face hardened again.
"You’re poison." She spat the words. "You came into this pack and everything went wrong. My aunt, the grand Luna Luna is hooked up on machines and fucked. My father is upset and hurting himself. Cian is acting different and currently betraying one of my closest friends. It’s all you." She pointed at me. "Everything was fine before you showed up."