Marked for Betrayal, Born for Vengeance

Chapter 3

Eira returned, placing the heavy, leather-bound Hearthstone asset list on the vanity. The sheer weight of the ledger felt like the responsibility of a fallen nation. “You’ve covered nearly six million in Obsidian Pack operating costs this year alone, Arcelia. The mining contracts, the timber estates, the trade routes? Untouched. All of Luna Aveline’s bank accounts and property deeds are secured in the Hearthstone vault.”

I stared at the list. My mother, Aveline, had painstakingly prepared all this to ensure my happiness and stability. The heartbreak my current situation must be to her memory was a physical weight on my chest. My wolf let out a low, mournful whine, a sharp ache lancing through me.

"Where can we possibly go, Arcelia?" Eira asked, her voice laced with desperation. "Return to the Hearthstone ruins?"

The memory of the Hearthstone Clan's main plaza, slick with the metallic scent of fresh blood, flashed before my eyes. My heart clenched, a spasm of old pain. "Anywhere is better than here," I stated flatly.

"But won't Lycanus be ecstatic if we just pack up and leave?" Eira fumed, her resentment palpable. "Doesn't that just hand him everything he wants?"

"Let him," I said, a cold edge to my voice. "Staying here would mean a lifetime of watching them fawn over each other while I manage their declining affairs. Eira, the Hearthstone Clan is down to me. I need to live well to honor my parents and my brothers. The Moon Weaver will watch over our choice."

"Arcelia!" Eira sobbed, collapsing onto a nearby seat.

I understood her pain. Everyone she had ever loved had died in the Hearthstone m******e.

"Is there truly no other path at all?" she pleaded, looking up with tear-streaked eyes.

"There is," I said, my voice gaining a low, wolfish rasp.

I reached up, tracing the faint, fading gesture-mark on my neck. The moonlight streaming through the window cast wolf-shaped shadows on the stone walls. "I will go to the Conclave." I pricked my finger on the temporary mark, a drop of silver-blue Alpha blood welling up and staining my tunic. "I will use my family’s merits to ask Lycan Erasmus to issue a decree of mutual rejection."

Eira paled, the color draining from her face. "Don't! The Lycan King will refuse; he will be furious that you seek to undermine a Conclave decree. He wields powers beyond all Shifters. Don't risk facing him!"

"Do you think I am that foolish?" I managed a faint, chilling smile. "If the Lycan King was willing to allow Lycanus and Rhyon to bond through a decree, he can certainly allow me to leave the Obsidian Pack through another."

I would not leave as a deserter, nor as an exile. As the last of the Hearthstone Alpha bloodline, once one of the mightiest and wealthiest Clans in the Shifter Kingdom I would leave with my head held high, securing my freedom and my fortune through the very law Lycanus used against me.

A formal knock sounded at the door. "Luna Arcelia, Luna Varda requests your immediate presence at her residence," came the male voice from outside.

I suppressed the urge to snarl, smoothing my expression, and rose gracefully. "Let's go, Eira," I said.

Sunset painted the Obsidian Pack's plaza in hues of violent orange and dark purple, the storm having ceased. A brisk, cold autumn wind swept toward the nearby Packhouse. Obsidian territory, a strategic gift from the previous Lycan King, was once a thriving trade hub. Now, its status was slowly fading.

The Tenar family, Lycanus's lineage, held no significant sway with the current king, nor did they hold permanent seats in the Royal Council. Only Alpha Lycanus and his younger brother, Solan, actively fought under Lycan Erasmus’s banner. Solan, the former Alpha's brother, remained within the pack, refusing to branch out or start a new lineage. With their numbers dwindling and their wealth failing, the Obsidian Pack was weakening daily.

Eira and I arrived at Luna Varda's former residence. She looked robust, yet strangely frail. She sat lounged on an obsidian sofa, her polished claws tapping a slow rhythm on the armrest as a gesture of greeting.

Others were present: Solan and his mate, Tamika; Lycanus's sister, Sabira; and even the elder Alpha's estranged brother.

"May the Moon Weaver bless you, elder kin, loyal companions," I intoned, giving a formal bow deep enough to briefly expose the fading mark on my neck.

"Come closer, Arcelia," Luna Varda beckoned, her silver fur shimmering in the low light. "The northern winds have finally returned your mate. The Hearthstone debt shall now be fully settled."

I remained calm. "Have you had the pleasure of meeting Rhyon today?"

Luna Varda’s forced smile faltered for a fraction of a second before resuming. "Met her? She's as rough and unrefined as a mountain slate, though I must confess her looks cannot compare to yours."

I held her gaze. "So, I take it you do not approve of her presence here?"

Luna Varda forced a light laugh. "Likes and dislikes bloom with time. Since the Lycan King has spoken, it is settled. Rhyon will ride with Lycanus on campaign, and you will remain here to manage the pack as Luna. How perfectly balanced."

"Perfect indeed," I said, my smile sharp and utterly humorless. "A warrior of her renown reduced to a figurehead and a 'breeder' what a spectacular waste of the Conclave's resources."

Luna Varda's voice cooled instantly. "You have managed well enough, Arcelia, but a Luna's ultimate duty is to support the Alpha's choices. Not question the Conclave."

"With Rhyon present, she can easily take over my daily duties," I retorted, letting my eyes drift meaningfully towards the ledger in Eira’s hands. "She has the title now."

"But Rhyon is always away at war," Luna Varda countered, dismissive. "You are the one who is here, managing the resources and the daily life of the pack."

I turned my attention to Tamika, Solan's mate. "You are a Beta's daughter, trained from birth for this role. You are more than capable."

Tamika visibly paled, clutching Solan's arm. "No, I am not fit, Arcelia. Everyone is pleased with how you run things. Let's maintain the peace."

My lips curled into a silent, bitter sneer. 'Happy' because I was the one funding their existence.

But times had changed. Once, I genuinely wanted to be Lycanus's perfect mate and solidify the alliance.

Now? I would not play the fool a moment longer.

"Enough," I said, rising to my full height, the silver of my hair catching the torchlight. "I will be passing on my duties tomorrow. From then on, the Obsidian Pack's problems are entirely yours."