Chapter 212

Ella’s POV

By the next morning, the news had already spread throughout the pack like gasoline hitting a fire amidst a strong wind. The flames had immediately licked up the walls of the house like it had a mind of its own, consuming everyone within. By breakfast time, it was all everyone was talking about.

“Did you hear the news?”

“Of course I did! Isn’t it incredible?”

“I was there! I overheard the whole thing! He was so angry, so decisive!”

“Ugh… So romantic!”

I hadn’t been there to witness it myself—I’d been comforting Anya and helping clean the black paint that had been splattered all over her floor—but apparently Alexander had punished Sophia last night.

And not just for the crime she had committed last night.

Apparently, a mild truth serum had loosened her tongue enough to force more confessions out of her than Alexander had expected. She had not only confessed to trying to sabotage Anya out of jealousy, but she had also confessed to working with Gabriel—delivering the fabricated evidence that I was a spy and, most importantly…

Letting me die during childbirth.

Sophia had medicine that could have kept me alive. She had had the means to keep me from dying.

But she had withheld it at the last moment out of her own selfishness. She had let me die. She had let the curse take me, whether she knew it or not. She had held my son in her arms and let him be born without a mother because she wanted my husband for herself.

If it weren’t for the curse, I would have remained well and truly dead. Sophia didn’t know that—yet.

But… Oh, how satisfying it would be to someday, hopefully, reveal my secret to the world. To look her in the eyes and tell her that her cruel, selfish schemes hadn’t completely gotten rid of me.

If I had been the same cruel person she was, I might have even told her the truth now, just to watch her wither and die like the others. But I wouldn’t stoop to her level.

Unsurprisingly, though, this whole ordeal just further solidified my desire to break the curse once and for all. Perhaps spite wasn’t the healthiest of reasons, but it definitely helped to stoke the fire of hope in my chest once more.

“You heard the news?” I heard one of the Omega servants saying to another that afternoon in the banquet hall as we dusted the furniture—I still performed my Omega duties even though Alexander knew my identity. It was effective in keeping suspicions at bay, and honestly, I’d grown to enjoy the tasks.

The other Omega giggled. “Of course. Who hasn’t?”

“It’s so romantic,” another girl sighed dreamily. “Finally, Alpha Alexander avenged Luna Ella’s death… He must still love her deeply, even now.”

I suppressed a snort at that. They had no idea.

“As he should. She was a good Luna, and she deserved better! And that poor little boy, too, will grow up without a mother because of Sophia’s schemes… I hope she rots for what she did.”

As the others murmured in agreement, admittedly, I was touched by the kind sentiments that seemed to be swirling around the pack this morning.

Everyone seemed to be of the same mindset—that Sophia got what she deserved, that I definitely didn’t deserve what had happened to me, and that Alexander had done well by my memory to finally put a stop to Sophia’s scheming once and for all.

Even Sophia’s parents couldn’t talk him out of his decision now. He’d sentenced Sophia already to six months in the Ashclaw prison without parole, followed by three years of community service and probation. Many even said that it wasn’t enough of a sentence.

“Oh, you’re just all saying that because she’s dead,” someone pointed out, waving his feather duster around. “None of you liked her very much when she was alive. Rebecca, I think I specifically remember you saying that all she did all day was mope.”

My hands stilled as I straightened the table linens. He was right, of course, even if it was a bitter truth; even as I’d initially heard these kind words being said about me, a tiny voice in the back of my head had been wondering if they were only saying them because I was dead.

Few in the pack had truly respected me during my time as Luna. For five years, I had been the unwanted Luna, the pathetic woman who slept all the way on the opposite end of the house as her husband.

When I’d died, most people still saw me as the unwanted Luna.

But people often turn tender when someone dies. They put on rose-colored glasses and suddenly start saying that the person who passed was a saint, that they always loved them, and so on.

Even if these people didn’t entirely mean what they said now, though, it was still nice to hear. But it did make me wonder what life might be like if I ever got to tell the truth—would they still look fondly upon me, or would they take it all back?

And most of all, would I even want to be viewed as the Luna at the center of everyone’s attention again? I’d become so used to being invisible like this, and honestly, living without the scrutiny had been sort of nice.

Of course, if we broke the curse and got married, I wouldn’t ignore my Luna duties. In fact, I’d probably throw myself into them with even more fervor, intent on being a better Luna than I had before.

Still, it was strangely bittersweet to think that everything might change soon.

It was in the midst of these swirling thoughts that I heard the sound of a commotion out front. Curious, I made my way over to the front window where some of the other Omegas had gathered, watching as a man dropped to his knees in the center of the driveway.

“Open the window!” someone said, and I flung the window open. We all squeezed together, leaning out the window, to listen better.

“—Alpha, please forgive me!” I realized, with a start, that it was Gabriel’s voice. He was kneeling on the gravel, hands clasped together as he pleaded up at Alexander. “Please, I’ll do anything. I’ll tell you whatever you want. I was only ever trying to help you—”

“Take him to the cells.” Alexander’s voice was curt and decisive, cutting through the quiet air like a gunshot. The Omegas around me gasped, scattering like cockroaches as two warriors cuffed Gabriel and dragged him toward the house.

Without thinking, I surged toward the front door, flinging it open. Alexander’s gaze briefly met mine, and I saw the fire in his eyes as he walked past. He couldn’t talk to me now, not with so many people watching, but he would certainly fill me in later when we crept into bed together.

A moment later, the warriors came through the door with Gabriel between them. His head was hung, and he didn’t look up at me as they dragged him past.

But I felt something stir in my pocket. Something… vibrating.

My breath lodged in my throat like a shard of glass as I slipped my hand into my pocket and felt the talisman buzzing. It faded the moment he was gone, filling me with certainty.

Gabriel was surrounded by black magic.