Chapter 117

Aurora's POV

The walk back to the Alpha King's stronghold stretched on forever. Kane and I didn't speak much. What was there to say? We didn’t complete the mission, and now Raymond was in worse shape than before.

Every footstep felt like we were abandoning him to Giana's claws.

"We made everything worse," I finally said when the stronghold's gates came into view. My voice came out flat. Dead. "That artifact got stronger after we messed with it. Whatever piece of Raymond was still in there..."

Kane's jaw tightened. "We used the intelligence we had and made the best tactical decision possible."

I understood what he was saying but the guilt still sat in my stomach like a stone. Raymond had been my friend once. Before Giana twisted him into something unrecognizable. Now he was becoming a monster, and I'd helped push him over the edge.

The Alpha King was waiting in his study when we arrived. His expression told me he already knew the mission had gone sideways. Kane delivered his report while I filled in the details about the artifact's enhanced power.

"The magical conditioning is accelerating," I explained. "Our interference didn't break anything. It fed more energy into whatever's controlling Raymond's mind."

"Which means he's going to get more unstable and dangerous," Kane added. "The reasonable Alpha who might've listened to evidence? He's long gone."

As if the universe wanted to prove Kane's point, urgent reports started flooding in from Blood Moon territory. Raymond's behavior had escalated dramatically in just the few hours since our failed mission. His questioning of pack members who might be loyal to me had turned into something much darker.

"He's torturing people for information about our relationship," Kane said. His voice carried barely controlled rage as he read through the intelligence reports. "Not interrogating. Actual torture. Guards are saying his orders have become completely irrational."

The reports painted a picture that made my skin crawl. Raymond wasn't just paranoid about my supposed betrayal anymore. He was obsessed. Seeing conspiracy and disloyalty in every shadow.

"He's ordered public executions," I read with growing horror. "Pack members who showed sympathy for my situation are being charged with treason."

Kane moved closer. His protective instincts kicked in when he saw my distress. "This isn't on you, Aurora. The artifact was already corrupting him before we ever tried to destroy it."

But guilt gnawed at my insides anyway. Every person Raymond tortured or killed was someone I'd failed to protect. Someone who suffered because I couldn't find a way to break Giana's hold over him.

The Alpha King studied the reports with that professional calm he wore during crises. "The enhanced magical conditioning makes Raymond more valuable to the Rogue King's strategy. An unstable Alpha who sees enemies everywhere serves their purposes perfectly."

"It also makes him more dangerous to us personally," Kane observed. "His fixation on our relationship isn't political anymore. It's pathological."

Right on cue, a new message arrived that made my blood run cold. Raymond had created what looked like a comprehensive intelligence report about Kane's and my supposed conspiracy. Complete with doctored photos and fabricated evidence.

"He's distributed this to every pack leader attending the Alpha Council meeting," the Alpha King said grimly. He held up the document like it was contaminated. "Look at these accusations."

Reading Raymond's twisted version of events made me feel sick. According to him, Kane had infiltrated Blood Moon territory specifically to seduce me away from my marriage. Our investigation was just a cover story for an affair. Everything we'd discovered about Giana was fabricated to justify my betrayal of the mate bond.

"Listen to this garbage," Kane said. His voice was tight with anger as he read from Raymond's report. "'Kane's assignment to investigate Blood Moon was planned from the beginning as an opportunity to corrupt my mate. His reputation as a seducer made him the perfect weapon to turn Aurora against her rightful Alpha.'"

The manufactured evidence was sophisticated. Convincing. Doctored photographs showed Kane and me in intimate situations that had never happened. Fake communications suggested we'd been planning Raymond's downfall for months before any investigation began.

But the worst accusations went beyond personal betrayal. Raymond was using our supposed misconduct to attack the Alpha King's judgment and authority.

"'The Alpha King's support for this deviant behavior reveals his complete failure of leadership,'" I read with growing dismay. "'He prioritizes personal loyalty over the moral foundation of werewolf society. Aurora is clearly a disturbed woman whose judgment cannot be trusted, and Kane is taking advantage of her mental instability for his own advancement.'"

Kane had gone pale. The implications were hitting him like a freight train. "He's not just attacking us. He's using our relationship to undermine the Alpha King's credibility with the council."

The political strategy was brilliant. Manipulative as hell, but brilliant. By portraying me as mentally unstable and Kane as opportunistic, Raymond positioned himself as the rational voice of moral authority. Any evidence we presented about the conspiracy would be dismissed as fabrications created to justify our supposed betrayal.

"He's calling for a formal investigation into the Alpha King's fitness to lead," the Alpha King said grimly. He read from the final section of Raymond's report. "'The corruption of his representatives proves that his judgment is compromised by favoritism and poor character assessment.'"

The manufactured scandal was designed to fragment the council before it could unite against the real threat. Raymond's accusations would force other Alpha leaders to choose sides. Creating exactly the kind of division that served the Rogue King's purposes.

"This is sophisticated psychological warfare," Kane analyzed with grudging professional admiration for the enemy's tactics. "They're using our genuine partnership against us while positioning Raymond as the moral authority defending traditional values."

I felt overwhelmed by how completely we'd been outmaneuvered. Not only had we failed to save Raymond, but our failure had given the enemy powerful ammunition to use against us. Every moment of trust and cooperation between Kane and me was being weaponized to destroy our credibility.

"The timing isn't coincidental," the Alpha King observed. "This report will reach council members just before they evaluate our evidence about the Rogue King's conspiracy."

Kane's tactical mind immediately grasped the implications. "They'll be predisposed to see our investigation as personally motivated rather than professionally conducted. Everything we've discovered will be tainted by suspicion about our motives."

"And Raymond appears rational and concerned rather than magically compromised," I realized with growing despair. "The artifact's influence doesn't show in written communications. It just makes him seem like an Alpha dealing with legitimate betrayal."

The war room fell silent. We all processed how completely the enemy had outmaneuvered us. Our failed mission hadn't just strengthened the artifact controlling Raymond. It had provided him with perfect ammunition to destroy our reputation at the moment when credibility mattered most.

"The Alpha Council meeting has been moved up," the Alpha King announced grimly. "We have two days to prepare our defense instead of the week we'd planned for."

Kane and I exchanged glances. We both understood that we were walking into a political battlefield where the odds were now heavily stacked against us. Raymond's manufactured scandal would dominate the council's attention. Making it nearly impossible to focus on the real threat.

"How do we counter this kind of character assassination?" Kane asked. His military training was struggling to adapt to political warfare.

"The same way we planned to before," I replied, though uncertainty crept into my voice. "We have solid evidence about the Rogue King's conspiracy. We just need to present it in a way that focuses on facts rather than personalities."

But even as I spoke, I knew how difficult that would be. Raymond's report had poisoned the well. Everything we said would be viewed through the lens of suspected misconduct and questionable motives.

The Alpha King studied us with a mixture of concern and determination. "The next two days will determine not just your futures, but the fate of werewolf civilization. The Rogue King has forced this confrontation while we're vulnerable, but we'll meet it with everything we have."

Evening shadows stretched across the stronghold as Kane and I began preparing for a battle that would be fought with words and evidence rather than weapons. Our partnership had survived combat, failure, and personal trauma. Now it would face the ultimate test.

Convincing a room full of powerful, suspicious leaders to look past manufactured scandal and see the real threat to their survival.

Raymond's enhanced madness had given our enemies exactly what they needed to destroy us. But Kane and I refused to surrender without a fight. Whatever the Alpha Council threw at us, we'd face it together as partners who knew the truth was worth defending.

Regardless of the personal cost.