Chapter 74

Gideon’s POV

After a long, quiet and tense moment, no one dared to move. The heavy silence that lingered in the room felt wrong—too still, too charged. My wolf stirred nervously inside me, he growled like he knew something bad was about to happen, seeing my wolf so tense made me feel nervous too.

Justin kept on trailing the scent. His wolf was on edge but also excited as he reacted to an unseen pull. I genuinely assumed no, hell I hoped—whatever he was sensing was something minor and thought that his weird reaction was just a fluke, or thought he was sensitive to the scents of my pack members.

But then, again, he changed his expression. His eyes looked around darkly, it was glowing faintly, that telltale shimmer of recognition that every wolf dreaded and longed for at once.

He slowly turned his head, and scanned the room again.

“Please, Not again,” I muttered quietly under my breath, as my body froze tensely.

Justin took a hesitant step forward, his gaze darting between faces until it stopped… on her. Daphne.

My blood felt cold.

For a moment, I thought it was some kind of sick joke—the Moon goddess was playing some kind of bad joke, maybe the Moon Goddess was mocking me for not getting rid of Daphne sooner. Daphne just stood near the edge of the room, her hands were still tied, there were marks of tight rope on her wrist, she had worn during her punishment, her expression tight and bitter as usual.

Her scent was sweet but also sharp,which was deceptive as poison. She still carried that mask of false innocence that had fooled me once, long ago.

Justin’s eyes widened in surprise, and I could see it, there was an unmistakable spark of recognition in his eyes. His pupils blew wide, his chest rose sharply, and his entire body locked in place as his wolf finally spoke through him.

“Mate…” he whispered again, his voice trembling with disbelief yet happiness. Every muscle in my body froze.

“No way,” I breathed, not able to believe what he heard. My hands curled into fists, nails biting into my palms. “Tell me you are joking.”

Daphne blinked,as she looked at Justin startled, her breath hitched. “Mate? It's really you..” she asked with a shaky voice, her tone a mix of shock and curiosity.

Justin took another step toward her, his breath quick and unsteady as he was trying his best to hold his emotions. “Yes you…” His voice broke. “You are my mate.”

She looked at him with wide eyes, her eyes were filled with hope and delight. “Mate?” She repeated the question slowly yet softly as if to confirm, her lips curling upward as she let out a small smile. “Me?”

Justin nodded slowly and he looked at her almost reverently, as though afraid of ending this moment.

And just like that, the room spun with chaos.

My wolf growled, pacing angrily inside me. The Goddess must be blind. The woman who had betrayed her pack, who had almost destroyed me, who had schemed and poisoned and lied—that woman was being given a second chance through the mate bond?

I clenched my jaw, barely holding back the fury building in my chest. The irony was suffocating. The woman I had made sure that she had her powers taken away now stood in front of her mate who will return her powers to her.

Daphne just kept on looking at him stunned at first but then her expression changed slowly. She covered her smirk with her faint smile and stepped closer to Justin. Her body language softened, her shoulders lowered, her lashes fluttered in a way that told me she already knew how to play the role of a delicate, destined mate.

The same stunt she pulled on me.

“Oh..Moon Goddess,” she whispered softly while placing a trembling hand over her chest sadly. “I thought I would never be able to see my mate, I almost gave up.”

Justin’s eyes softened immediately. “Then I am glad you didn't give up, thank the mood goddess, I finally found my mate.”

I had to turn away because I felt disgusted seeing Daphne act like this.

She found her mate? The thought itself made bile rise in my throat. Daphne was acting so mad I wanted to slap her right there but I controlled myself. She had chosen cruelty, jealousy, manipulation. She had tried to kill the woman I loved. And now, she was being handed an Alpha from one of the strongest neighboring packs?

The irony burned so hard it hurts my heart.

My Beta shifted uncomfortably beside me. “Alpha…” he murmured under his breath, careful not to draw attention. “Do you want me to—”

“No don't,” I said flatly and annoyed. “Let them be.” He frowned and looked at him confused. “But—” “Don’t bother, let them be.”

I needed to know where all of this was going. I needed to understand just how deep this madness would go.

Justin, oblivious to the tension around him, stepped even closer to Daphne. “What’s your name, my love?” he asked softly, as though he didn’t already know.

She smiled faintly as she continued playing pitiful and innocent. “My name is Daphne. I was once… this pack’s Beta’s daughter.”

His expression softened further with concern. “Once? What really happened?”

Her lips trembled as she pretended to be scared as she opened her mouth to speak. “I–”

My wolf snarled at her deception as I finally used my Alpha voice to shut her up “Stop it Daphne.”

Liar. Every word out of her mouth was laced with performance. My wolf’s growl deepened in warning, the sound vibrating in my chest. I could feel every eye in the room flicking toward me, waiting for my reaction.

Daphne looked away from him, acting pitifully as I scolded her, “Alpha, I am sorry, please don't hurt me.”

Justin, however, seemed utterly enraptured. He reached out and gently lifted her chin, making her look at him. “He won't dare hurt you in front of me.”

Her lips curved into a small, trembling smile. “Do you mean it?” “Yes, I mean it,” he said firmly.

I exhaled slowly, forcing down the fury that clawed its way up my throat. The last thing I needed was to create another scene. If the mate bond was real—and there was no denying the reaction of both their wolves—then there was nothing I could do to stop it. The bond was sacred, chosen by the Moon Goddess herself.

But that doesn't mean every bond will be a good one.

I stepped forward firmly as I spoke to Justin calmly as I slowly tried to convince him. “Alpha Justin,” I said evenly, “I suggest you don't rush to make this decision, the matter of this bond is very important, think about it.”

He turned toward me, still dazed but still aware of the situation, his expression stubborn and determined. “I can't wait anymore, you don't know how much effort I put into searching for my other half.”

I wanted to speak more but I knew, the more I tried to stop him the more conflict would increase.

And deep inside, my wolf whispered the truth I didn’t want to hear.

The Goddess may have bound them, it growled, but she bound fire to dry wood. When they burn, they’ll take everything down with them.