Chapter 90
Raymond's paranoia reached new heights as Giana's magical influence grew stronger, twisting his thoughts into increasingly dark patterns. What had started as subtle suggestions had evolved into full-blown conspiracy theories that painted me as the enemy.
The change was most apparent during pack meetings, where Raymond's behavior became erratic and hostile. He would stare at me with undisguised suspicion, as if waiting for me to reveal my true treacherous nature.
"You went behind my back to steal authority that belongs to me," he accused me publicly during a pack meeting. His voice carried across the assembled wolves with venomous intensity. "The Alpha King's appointment was meant to humiliate me, wasn't it? To show everyone that my own Luna doesn't respect my authority."
The accusation hung in the air like poison. I could feel the pack's confusion as they witnessed their Alpha and Luna in open conflict. The gathered wolves shifted uncomfortably, unsure whether to intervene or pretend they weren't witnessing this public breakdown.
Elder Morrison cleared his throat nervously. "Alpha, perhaps this discussion would be better held in private—"
"No!" Raymond's voice cracked like a whip. "I want everyone to hear this. I want them to understand what kind of Luna they've been following."
The public humiliation was designed to break me, and it was working. Every eye in the room was on me, judging, weighing, wondering if their Alpha's accusations held any truth.
"The Alpha King made that decision based on merit," I replied calmly. Though inside I was crumbling under the weight of public humiliation. "I had no input in his choice. I was as surprised by the appointment as anyone."
"Because you manipulated him!" Raymond's voice rose, drawing uncomfortable stares from other pack members. "You and your lover have been plotting against me from the beginning! This is all part of some elaborate scheme to steal my pack!"
The reference to Kane as my lover sent murmurs through the crowd. Whispers that would spread through the pack like wildfire. I could already see the way people were looking at me, their expressions shifting from confusion to judgment.
Kane witnessed the entire exchange but said nothing. His professional mask was firmly in place despite the personal attack. He stood against the wall like a statue, giving no indication that Raymond's words affected him in any way.
His silence cut deeper than Raymond's accusations. I stood there, publicly humiliated and accused of betrayal, while the man who claimed to be my partner watched without lifting a finger to defend me.
"These are serious accusations, Alpha," Elder Morrison said carefully. "Perhaps we should consider the evidence before—"
"The evidence is right in front of us!" Raymond gestured wildly at Kane and me. "Look at them! Look how they stand together, how they plot together! My own Luna has been conspiring with an outsider to undermine my authority!"
The paranoia in his voice was unmistakable now. This wasn't just magical conditioning—this was a complete break from reality. Giana had succeeded in turning Raymond into a weapon against his own pack.
Later, when I sought Kane out for comfort, his response was brutal in its detachment. I found him in the study, reviewing documents as if nothing had happened.
"We need to focus on the mission," he said coldly. As if Raymond's public humiliation of me was merely a minor inconvenience to our professional relationship.
"The mission?" I laughed bitterly. "Kane, he just accused me of treason in front of the entire pack. He called you my lover and suggested we're plotting to overthrow him. How is that not relevant to our mission?"
Kane didn't look up from his papers. "Raymond's behavior is regrettable, but it doesn't change our responsibilities to the Alpha King."
The casual dismissal of my pain was like a slap in the face. "Is this how it's going to be?" I demanded. My hurt finally boiled over into anger. "Professional partners and nothing more? You'll let him destroy my reputation while you stand there doing nothing?"
Kane finally looked at me then. His expression was carefully blank, but I caught a flicker of something—pain, maybe, or regret—before he shuttered it away.
"That's all we ever should have been," Kane said. Each word was like a knife to my heart.
The casual dismissal of everything we'd shared felt like a betrayal worse than Raymond's magical conditioning. At least Raymond had an excuse for his cruelty—Kane was choosing his.
"Then stop looking at me like you care when you clearly don't," I snapped back. Unable to hide my pain any longer.
Kane flinched at my words. A crack appeared in his professional facade, but his emotional walls remained intact. "I'm here to do a job, not get involved in personal drama."
Personal drama. He'd reduced our entire relationship to personal drama that was beneath his notice. Everything we'd shared and suffered together—the investigation, the danger, the nights in each other's arms—all of it was just personal drama to him now.
Raymond's restrictions on my movement grew more severe each day. The magical conditioning made him increasingly paranoid and controlling. He limited my access to pack facilities, assigned guards to monitor my activities, and treated me like a security threat rather than his Luna.
"For your own protection," he said when he announced the new restrictions during dinner. Giana sat beside him, her expression carefully concerned. "Until we can be certain of your... stability... I think it's best if we limit your interactions with certain pack members."
The certain pack members he was referring to included anyone who might support me or question his increasingly erratic behavior. I was being systematically isolated from any potential allies.
When Kane accepted the assignment to help monitor me, choosing duty over our bond, I felt the last piece of my heart break. He was actively participating in my imprisonment, all in the name of professional objectivity.
"I understand you need to maintain appearances," I said quietly when he took his first shift as my guard. He stood in my doorway like a stranger, his face carefully neutral. "But please don't pretend this doesn't hurt you too."
Kane's jaw tightened almost imperceptibly. It was the only sign that my words had any effect on him. But his voice remained steady, professional, cold. "My personal feelings are irrelevant to my duties."
The man who had held me through magical agony, who had made love to me under the stars, who had promised to be my partner in everything—that man was gone. In his place stood a professional operative who viewed me as just another assignment.
During his shifts, Kane maintained perfect professional distance. He stood guard outside my quarters, monitored my movements, reported my activities. If the situation affected him emotionally, he gave no sign of it.
But sometimes, when he thought I wasn't looking, I caught him watching me with an expression of such profound sadness that it took my breath away. Those moments were almost worse than his coldness, because they proved that somewhere beneath the professional facade, the real Kane was still there—and he was suffering too.
The investigation that had once been our shared passion became a series of formal briefings and status reports. Kane would update me on developments with the same detached professionalism he might use with any other pack member.
"The surveillance on Giana's activities has yielded no additional intelligence," he would report in his measured tone. "I recommend maintaining current observation protocols while exploring alternative investigative approaches."
The way he spoke about our work—our work—as if it were just another assignment, as if the countless hours we'd spent together meant nothing, was perhaps the cruelest cut of all.
I felt completely alone, betrayed by both men I'd once trusted. Raymond's betrayal was artificial, created by magical manipulation, but Kane's was a choice. He was choosing fear over love, duty over partnership, safety over our bond.
The isolation was crushing, but it also hardened my resolve. If I was going to survive this conspiracy, if I was going to save the pack from the forces working against it, I'd have to rely on myself alone.
Every day brought new restrictions, new accusations, new evidence that I was losing the battle for my own life. But I refused to give up. Too much was at stake, and too many people were counting on me—even if they didn't know it yet.
Kane watched me with professional detachment as I planned my next moves. His presence was a constant reminder of what I'd lost. But I refused to let his rejection break me completely. I had work to do, and I'd do it with or without his support.
