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<Chapter 106
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Chapter 106
FAYE
I had just stepped out of the car, heading toward the house, when Bella appeared in front of me. The way she positioned herself…blocking my path with that smug little smirk…told me this wasn’t by accident. She was waiting for me.
I sighed inwardly. Of course she was.
She thrived on moments like this, swooping in when I was least in the mood for her nonsense. And today? Today I wasn’t in the mood for anything. My chest was already tight from the stares I’d endured all day, the whispers that followed me everywhere. I knew exactly why she was here. To taunt me. To make sure the whole pack remembered just how much of a “traitor” I was.
Bella wasted no time. She raised her voice deliberately, loud enough to carry across the compound to the few people milling about. She wanted witnesses.
“Well, well,” she began, her tone oozing with mockery. “I can’t say I was surprised when I heard you’d finally been caught. I always knew you were dangerous. Dangerous to Alexander. Dangerous to this entire pack. Honestly, what were they thinking, bringing a replacement with no business being here? No business leading Blood Crescent as Luna? It was bound to be a
disaster from the start.”
Her words didn’t even sting as much anymore. And I also refused to give her the reaction she wanted. My face remained calm as I walked closer to the entrance.
“Are you done?” I asked flatly, meeting her eyes. “So you can move aside and let me pass, don’t have time for this.”
For a moment, I thought I saw her flinch at my indifference. But Bella was nothing if not relentless. She took a deliberate step closer, her lips curling with that false sympathy that made me want to spit.
“Oh, don’t worry, Faye,” she continued, her voice dripping with exaggerated pity. “I don’t blame you. Really, I don’t. If it were left to me, you’d still be in the dungeon, curled up with the rats where traitors like you belong. But Alexander, ever so merciful, still spares you. I’m sure you know he’s only protecting that little alliance with Silver Hollow. But that won’t save you forever, justice will come. And when the trial begins? I’ll be front and center, waiting for everyone to finally see you for what you really are.”
Her words pushed at me, harder this time, trying to force me into the corner she’d built. I clenched my fists at my sides, refusing to let her see me bothered.
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< Chapter 106
“Like I said, I don’t have time for this,” I muttered, stepping sideways to move past her.
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That’s when her hand shot out. She grabbed my wrist, her nails digging slightly into my skin, and yanked me back.
“I’m not done talking, you dungeon rat,” she hissed.
Something inside me snapped.
I had endured the stares, the muttered accusations, the weight of suspicion pressing down on me since yesterday. I had bitten my tongue, lowered my head, swallowed my pride. But this…this deliberate humiliation, this insult spat at me…was the last straw.
I never tolerated being grabbed disrespectfully like that, it didn’t matter who was crazy enough to try it, I’d put them in their place real quick.
Before I even thought about it, my hand moved.
The slap cracked through the air, loud, echoing through the compound. Bella stumbled backward, her eyes wide, nearly slamming into the side of the house. Shock flashed across her face, raw and unguarded, as though she had never considered that I might fight back.
I took a step forward, my voice low, vibrating with anger. At this point, I could comfortably take out all my frustrations on her if she pushed me further. “Touch me again, Bella, and I’ll show you exactly what I’m made of.”
The entire place froze. For a breathless moment, no one moved, no one spoke. Even the breeze seemed to halt, waiting. Good!
Then Bella’s expression shifted. Her shock melted away in a moment. Her eyes darted past me, and I realized what she had seen. Alexander. I had left him in the car while he was making a phone call.
He was crossing the compound walking towards us. Bella, ever the opportunist, clutched her cheek dramatically and stumbled further back, raising her voice so it carried to him.
“Alex!” she cried, her tone trembling with mock outrage. “Did you see that? She attacked me! This is exactly what happens when you let traitors roam free. They lash out at innocent people! She’s violent, unremorseful, dangerous…how much longer before she hurts someone else?”
Her performance was perfect. I could see the way her voice cracked at just the right moment, the way her eyes watered on cue. And I hated her for it. Hated how easily she could spin the truth, twist it, make herself the victim. But I really had nothing to lose at this point.
Alexander didn’t respond until he got close enough. “Apologize to Faye.”
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For a second, I wondered if I had misheard. Around us, the pack members who had been watching exchanged stunned looks, their shock mirroring mine.
But Bella–Bella’s reaction was priceless…it was almost funny.
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Her mouth dropped open. Her eyes widened, flicking between me and Alexander as though the world had just tilted off its axis. She looked betrayed, humiliated, undone in a way that her composure couldn’t mask.
“W–what?” she stammered, her voice cracked.
“You heard me,” Alexander said, his tone calm.
The silence that followed was deafening.
Bella’s mouth opened and closed like a fish gasping for air. The shock that had silenced her for a moment quickly hardened into defiance. She straightened, shoulders back, her hand still pressed to her cheek as if displaying her wound would somehow justify her rage.
“You want me to apologize?” she demanded, her voice rising an octave. “Alex, are you serious? She just slapped me! Right here, in front of everyone. And you’re telling me to apologize to her?”
I could hear the stirrings of murmurs from the onlookers gathered around the edges of the compound. They leaned closer, hungry for the drama, whispering behind their hands, their eyes darting between Bella’s outrage and Alexander.
I didn’t move. My palm still tingled from the force of the slap I’d delivered, and part of me wanted to smile at Bella’s audacity. Even now, she was scrambling to twist the narrative, desperate to make herself the victim again. But another part of me was tense, uncertain, watching Alexander, waiting to see which way he would lean.
He didn’t keep us waiting long.
His gaze fixed on Bella. “You know I hate repeating myself, Bella.”
Bella laughed. “This is ridiculous! She…” she jabbed her finger at me, her voice trembling with outrage… “she assaulted me. And you’re siding with her?”
Alexander’s expression didn’t change, but I could see it in his eyes: his patience was thin.
“I heard you call her names. Dungeon rat? Despite my warnings…repeated warnings…not to disrespect her. She’s my mate and your Luna. I’m sure you know what that means.”
Bella flinched, and I swear the entire compound seemed to lean back at once, as though the air had just shifted. I wanted to ignore the scene and walk into the house, but this was
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