The Alpha's Forbidden Vow novel Chapter 74

POV: Selene

The aftermath of the Heartvine rite was a swift and brutal reckoning.

The truth, once revealed, was an unstoppable force.

Elder Malachi’s face was a mask of thunderous, humiliated fury. He had been played, his authority used as a weapon in Isabella’s pathetic scheme.

He stood, his ancient frame trembling with a righteous rage.

“Isabella of the House of Laurent,” he boomed, his voice echoing with the full weight of the Elder Council’s authority. “You have been found guilty of high treason against the Volkov pack. You have lied about a sacred heir. You have attempted to poison the Alpha bloodline with your deceit. You have shamed your ancestors and your pack.”

He pointed a trembling finger at the door.

“You are hereby stripped of all titles and protections,” he declared. “You are banished from these lands, effective immediately. If you are ever seen in Volkov territory again, you will be hunted down and killed as a rogue.”

Isabella, who had been a sobbing heap on the floor, seemed to snap. Her despair was replaced by a final, venomous surge of pure hatred.

She scrambled to her feet, her beautiful face twisted into an ugly, snarling mask.

Her wild, hate-filled eyes found mine across the room.

“This isn’t over, you little bitch!” she shrieked, her voice a raw, unhinged sound. “You think you’ve won? You think you get to have him, and the power, and a happy little family?”

She let out a crazed, bitter laugh.

“You have no idea what you are,” she hissed. “You have no idea about the curse that runs in your veins.”

Zane took a protective step in front of me and Leo, his body a solid shield, a low growl rumbling in his chest.

A curse.

I looked at my crescent moon pendant, the symbol of the Silvermoon pack, which was now hanging openly around my neck.

I thought of the strange, calming power I possessed, a power I did not understand.

And I looked at Zane, at the man who had just risked everything for me, the man who was my mate.

Isabella’s final threat was not just an empty boast.

It was a prophecy.

And it had just planted a seed of pure, cold fear in the very center of my heart.