Everyone except me was floored.
Another bombshell.
At the dining hall, Alpha Gideon lingered after his meal, scrolling through his wolfstone.
He was engrossed, a faint smirk tugging at his lips.
His rich, smooth voice carried a low chuckle. “She’s got some serious grit.”
Elliot, standing nearby, was hooked too, offering a fair assessment.
“Better than any pack tale. Vivian’s got courage and brains.”
“She’s not acting for a show–she’s fighting for real,”
Alpha Gideon said, his tone casual, almost detached.
He watched a bit longer, then pocketed his wolfstone and stood.
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In the elevator, Elliot had already pressed the button for the parking level when Alpha Gideon spoke up. “This
is too good to miss. Wanna catch the live version?”
Elliot blinked. “…Uh, yeah.”
Not like he had a choice.
Back at the banquet hall, Evelyn stared at Vanessa, dumbfounded.
She never imagined Vanessa would throw her under the bus like that.
“No, no, that’s not true! I didn’t force her. She said she had a way to get Vivian to sign the compensation deal, so I… I just lured Vivian to the den. I didn’t know she’d pull this kind of stunt. I thought she’d just scare her a
bit, get her to sign!”
Evelyn’s frantic explanation only confirmed she was in on it, her wolf aura flickering with panic.
Vanessa, sobbing, fired back, “Evelyn, how could you? You were the one crying to me about how greedy Vivian was–agreeing to a billion, then jacking it up to one–point–five! I felt bad for you, for Alpha Adrian, so I helped! You said you were scared Alpha Adrian would hate you, so you had me deal with those rogues!”
Evelyn’s fingers trembled with rage, her claws extending slightly. “You… you’re full of it!”
“I’m not lying, Evelyn. For my future with Alpha Adrian, just take the fall!”
Evelyn nearly choked, her heart seizing–this pup dared to twist the truth so brazenly?
The Quinn pack jumped in, too focused on saving Vanessa to care about right or wrong.
Every word shifted the blame squarely onto her.
Evelyn and the Blackwood pack dropped all pretense of civility, bickering with the Quinns.
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< Chapter 24
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The guests were stunned.
They’d underestimated just how wild this showdown would get–wave after wave of twists, pure chaos from start to finish.
Vanessa, at this critical moment, had turned on Evelyn, and now they were tearing into each other like rabid wolves fighting over a scrap.
I glanced at Alpha Adrian.
His face was frozen.
“Vivian, I’m sorry! I’ll pay for your injuries, your sickness–whatever it takes! Medicine’s advanced now; the rot might even be curable!”
Vanessa’s fake remorse cut through, her crocodile tears flowing as she put on a show of guilt and begged for forgiveness.
But I caught the venomous glint in her eyes.
Even exposed, Vanessa didn’t care–she’d sold out Evelyn and was still spreading lies about me being ruined, diseased.
“First, I don’t forgive you. I’ve already called the enforcers. Second, sorry to disappoint, but last night, a kind soul saved me. Your goons didn’t get what they wanted. I’m not sick, and I’m not dying. But you? You’re headed for the pack’s isolation cells.”
Vanessa, who’d been playing the repentant pup, froze.
Her mask of regret and sorrow peeled away, revealing the ugly darkness beneath.
Alpha Adrian’s eyes lit up, a flicker of relief breaking through his icy exterior.
He stepped toward me, voice urgent. “Really? Is that true?”
I didn’t even glance at him.
Vanessa, stung by his reaction, shrieked like a wounded fox.
“No way! No one would’ve been there! Who could’ve saved you? Some fairy–tale alpha?”
I smirked. “If you wanna call him a fairy–tale alpha, sure. He did seem like one.”
The memory of his calming scent, his gentle voice assuring me I was safe–it was like a god stepping out of the moonlit woods, tall and striking, radiating power.
Vanessa scoffed.
“I don’t buy it. There’s no such wolf. You’re just scared Alpha Adrian’ll think you’re tainted, that your bond’s irreparably broken.”
My laugh was icy.
“I don’t care what he thinks. If I had been attacked, the filth and sin would be on those wolves–and you, the
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< Chapter 24
one who set it up. A bond’s broken by betrayal, not by force.”
Vanessa faltered, her face twisting with rage, her wolf aura spiking.
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“Enough with the high talk! You say someone saved you? Call him out! Summon your fairy–tale hero! Let’s all
see this so–called savior!”
I stayed silent.
I couldn’t name Alpha Gideon.
A wolf like him wouldn’t want to be dragged into this messy drama.
“Can’t name him, huh? Knew you were lying!”
Vanessa pounced, growing bolder.
The spark in Alpha Adrian’s eyes dimmed, but he didn’t stop her questioning.
He wanted to know too–whether the bond we’d shared was truly beyond repair…
“Not quite a fairy–tale hero, but I did save her.”
A smooth, rich voice rang out from the back of the crowd.
Every head whipped around.
There, unnoticed until now, stood a wolf so strikingly handsome he stole the breath from the room–his presence, his build, pure perfection, his alpha aura rolling off him in gentle waves that still commanded
respect.
Someone gasped, whispering, “It’s Alpha Gideon!”
“Which Alpha Gideon?”
“How many Alpha Gideons are there? Use your head! The Hartley !”
“No way, the Hartley pack’s Alpha Gideon? Why’s he here… Wait, what’d he just say?”
The hall buzzed with excitement.
The Blackwood and Quinn packs didn’t have the clout to pull him in.
Yet there he was, and from his words…
The guests sucked in a collective breath. He was the one who saved me?
Had he come just for me?
Alpha Adrian locked eyes with Alpha Gideon, his gaze dark and hostile.
Vanessa didn’t know Alpha Gideon personally but knew of the Hartley pack and the power he carried.
Jealousy clawed at her heart.
This she–wolf had already latched onto another powerful ally?
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<Chapter 24
“Alpha Gideon,” I said, stunned.
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“I was just grabbing a bite here, heard the commotion, and thought I’d check it out,”
Alpha Gideon said lightly, as if he were just a curious passerby with a full stomach, his gaze brushing over me briefly–warm, steady–before sweeping the room.
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