Chapter 45

Elroy’s POV

My fingers trembled as I loosened his tie, the camera flashes still burning behind my eyelids. The press conference had been a crucible, every word scrutinized, every gesture analyzed. But I’d done it.

Olivia made it look so easy—definitely a talent I didn’t have. I’d stood tall as the new Alpha of Eclipse, projecting strength and unity, but I couldn’t help but spend the whole time on edge. It was like walking through a field knowing there’s landmines, but not knowing where you might trip one.

I knew I’d hid it well, though, so as I slumped into the leather of the driver’s seat I let myself release some of the tension. Unfortunately, it came right back when the car door suddenly opened, and Sam slid into the passenger seat. I could tell from the look on his face that whatever he had to say wasn’t something I wanted to hear.

"What's wrong?" I demanded, adrenaline surging anew.

Sam's eyes met mine, hard and simmering with anger. "It's Rita. She's made her move."

The world seemed to tilt on its axis. Now? Really? I had to give it to her, she’d picked a strategic moment; with me in the press conference, Olivia had no one by her side to defend her.

That wasn’t true, I thought, Astor would definitely step up to bat for her. Unfortunately, that didn’t make me feel much better. There was a very real possibility him opening his mouth would just make everything worse.

My exhaustion evaporated, replaced by a searing panic. Without a word, I jammed the key into the ignition and floored the accelerator. The tires squealed as we peeled out of the parking lot.

"What exactly did she do?" I asked, weaving through traffic with reckless speed.

Sam gripped the dashboard. "She's presented evidence to the council, claiming Moonshadow is behind the missing Omegas. Fabricated, obviously, but it’s casting enough doubt on Luna Olivia to have her pulled in front of the council.”

My mind raced, picturing Olivia standing alone, facing the council's accusations. “Without me?” I asked, infuriated.

“They’re using the press conference as an excuse not to notify you,” Sam frowned thunderously. I pressed down hard on the gas.

"We'll fix this," I vowed, more to myself than Sam. "We have to."

Just hang on, Olivia. I’m coming.

I burst through the council chamber doors, my chest heaving and eyes blazing. The scene before me was chaos: council members shouting over each other, their faces contorted with anger and suspicion. In the center of it all stood Olivia, her posture rigid but composed, while Astor gesticulated wildly beside her.

He was clearly arguing in her favor. Good—at least she hadn’t been completely alone the whole time. Still, I was here now, and it was time for Astor to step back.

"Enough!" I roared, my Alpha voice cutting through the din. The effect was instant; the room fell silent as my aura pressed down on them, all eyes turning to me as I stalked forward, placing myself between Olivia and the accusatory glares of the council.

"Sam told me everything," I snarled, my gaze sweeping the room. "And you’re all out of your minds if you think someone who has already framed her Luna for attempted murder holds any credibility.”

Astor nodded vigorously. "That's what I've been saying! It's a witch hunt, plain and simple."

“Rita Blackwood has produced evidence—” one councilman said.

“Possible evidence,” another cut in, clearly one of the more reasonable ones. “We haven’t verified it yet, and I doubt it will pass muster.”

“So you elect we ignore this?” Councilman Thorne hissed.

“Of course not, it’s far too serious an accusation for that,” the second councilman snapped back. “But we have to go through the proper channels, not just assume Luna Olivia is guilty and act accordingly.”

“Don’t straddle the fence, coward!” Astor growled. I shot him a deadly look.

“That’s not straddling the fence, it’s investigating without bias,” Olivia said, voice steady and measured. I could see the rage simmering under her skin, though, and I couldn’t say I would begrudge her an explosion right about now.

“Luna Olivia is correct,” I admitted begrudgingly, even though I just wanted to wring these ancient fools’ necks once and for all. “That said, I will remind this council that investigating without bias means taking all facts into consideration, including Rita’s personal vendetta against my Mate.”

“Meaning what, Alpha Elroy?” Thorne asked venomously. He acted less like a wolf and more like a snake, and my mother always told me to cut the head off a snake and bury it.

“Meaning,” I growled, “that anyone with two brain cells to rub together can see that Rita is fabricating evidence against Luna Olivia, just like she did at the banquet a month ago. That said, if you’re willing to actually ascribe to due diligence for once and do a real investigation, I won’t stop you.”

Olivia finally spoke up, her voice steady and measured. "I will, of course, fully cooperate. You can have total access to my investigation—"

"How can we trust your investigation?" a councilmember demanded, face mottled with rage. "For all we know, you could be covering for Moonshadow!"

“What?” I snarled lowly, my wolf howling for blood. "How dare you?!”

“Olivia went in front of the Moon Goddess herself to dedicate her life to this pack,” Astor shouted, taking a step forward as the council members twitched. Good—it seemed it was finally setting in for them that they could lose their throats for speaking of their Luna this way. “Besides, Elroy and I are both part of that investigation too. Are you accusing us of a cover-up as well?"

“Councilman Argo does not speak for this council,” a councilwoman said sternly, shooting Argo a warning glare. “We will conduct a thorough investigation and determine the accuracy of Rita Blackwood’s accusations, and guilty parties will be punished. That is all.”

“And the Omegas?” Astor asked. “What’s going to happen to the investigation while you do your own? Are you going to leave your own pack members out to dry for your own political pride?”

“Well we can’t leave a potential traitor in charge of it!” Thorne said loudly. I felt my rage spike.

“And yet you have no evidence to remove her!” I shouted. “Or are you saying a clearly fake accusation is worth derailing the search for thirteen missing people?”

The council chamber erupted into chaos, voices raised and tempers flaring as factions fought back and forth. Some were saying the investigation should be halted entirely—which Astor correctly pointed out was incredibly suspicious—while others were saying Olivia just had to be taken off the case. My heart pounded in my chest.

If they took Olivia off the case then the only people who would know anything about it were Astor and myself, and neither of us could dedicate the kind of time and effort needed to head the investigation. Omegas were still going missing—we couldn’t take the only expert away now!

My voice grew hoarse as I defended Olivia’s honor and integrity, desperately offering up alternative options. They could place a new head investigator but leave Olivia as a secondary investigator, so we wouldn’t lose her completely, or add more oversight so that she could stay the lead anyway. They weren’t listening.

Through it all, Olivia was quiet. Until she wasn’t.

"Enough."

The single word, laced with authority, cut through the din and silenced the room. I could sense the shift in energy behind me, and it made me shiver. Her aura was dangerous, cunning and sharp, and when I turned to look Olivia stood tall, her eyes gleaming with an intensity that made even the most vocal council members shrink back.

She had made a decision, it was obvious on her face. My heart dropped. What was she planning?

"I'll save you the time," Olivia continued, her voice eerily calm. "I'm leaving the investigation."