Christina’s POV
Finn pulled a face."Please don’t remind that, as a fully grown, gainfully employed Alpha, my big Friday night plan is sharing reheated lasagna with my judgntal cat." He flashed another grin at ."You’re at least better company. And less judgntal, I hope."
I laughed, feeling so of the tension leave my body. "Alright then. Thanks. You’re a lifesaver."
We got in the elevator. Seeing a familiar face here felt like a little cosmic pat on the back from the Moon Goddess herself. Perhaps she hadn’t completely abandoned after all.
Once we were settled in a conference room, I handed him my phone. "Soone’s been spreading lies about through pack channels. Can I take legal action?"
Finn scrolled through the screenshots, his jaw tightening with each swipe.
"Moon Goddess rcy, these pack brothers are savage. Yeah, if all this is fabricated, it’s definitely defamation. You can go civil, or even pursue criminal charges through the Elder Council if you want to push it. That kind of slander isn’t protected under pack law."
"I can assure you it’s all lies. Every single word," I said firmly while Akira growled in agreent inside my mind.
Finn scrolled again, slower this ti, then frowned. "Wait. The guy who sent all this... Niall Granger?"
I nodded.
His head snapped up. "The sa Niall who...?"
Another nod from . This ti with a wave of sha washing over .
Back then,I hadn’t exactly been broadcasting my relationship with Niall,but everyone in the Northern packs knew. Hard not to, especially after Beatrice uploaded parts of my private journal entries to the pack network like it was breaking news.
Boom. Instant humiliation.
Everyone suddenly knew I had supposedly been pathetically obsessed with my sister’s "boyfriend" and had sohow "stolen" him through our mate bond.
Pack politics could be brutal. Especially when you were the headline.
Still, I had allies. Including Finn.
We were in the sa university program years ago, and he’d been kind to from day one. He never pried when others wanted gossip, just quietly made sure I was included in all the activities and listened whenever I needed to vent.
If he hadn’t graduated early to take his place as the Ravenclaw Pack Alpha, we probably would’ve stayed close.
Even now, seeing soone who knew during my "supposedly desperate for Niall" era made want to crawl into the nearest hole.
Reluctantly, I elaborated."We got engaged, then we, ah, broke up. I completed the rejection. He didn’t take it well. So now he’s playing petty, spreading rumors to make look bad. But he’s the one who cheated with my sister, honest."
Finn blinked.
"Send everything," he said, voice low with an Alpha’s authority. "I’ll handle the lawsuit personally."
"The comnts are ongoing and getting worse. His pack brothers are still attacking . I’ll send you more as they co in."
"The worse, the better. If he keeps this up, the Elder Council will be eager to discipline him for violating pack law about rejected mates."
"I appreciate it more than you know."
Ysolde was basically living on her phone at this point, refreshing like it was her sacred duty.
Every ti Niall dropped a ssage in their group chat, one of her pack brothers screenshotted it, sent it to her, and she passed it to .
I forwarded the entire ss to Finn.
But formal Elder Council proceedings took ti.
Ysolde didn’t have that kind of patience.
Her birthday was coming up.
"I invited Niall and Beatrice to my birthday party," she mind-linked later that day. "Watch how I ruin their reputation for you."
I tried to be reasonable. "Don’t let those scheming wolves ss up your birthday. It’s not worth it."
"Making them squirm in front of half the Northern packs is the only gift I want."
I yielded to her determination.
Sunday afternoon, I turned up at her house with a tiny, ribbon-wrapped box.
"Custom-made,"I said,handing it over."Only one in the world,just like our friendship."
"By the Moon! I love it!" Ysolde was already clasping the silver wolf necklace around her neck, twirling in front of the mirror,snapping selfies.Her happiness radiated from her.
Then Cassian Langford walked in.
Ysolde blinked. "Wait, what are you doing here, Alpha Cassian?"
He lifted black gift bags like it was a peace offering."Your brother’s stuck overseas handling business negotiations. Sent to play the charming stand-in."
"Ooh, what did he get ?"
He held up two bags. "One’s from your brother. The other’s from . Guess which is better."
She pointed to her neck. "Neither. This is the best."
Cassian looked at and nodded respectfully.
While Ysolde greeted the incoming guests, Cassian stood next to .
Several tis, he opened his mouth like he wanted to say sothing, but in the end decided not to. He was restless, like he was keeping secrets.
I was tempted to ask him to spit it out when the party proper started.
The place was packed with wolves from various packs.
Ysolde had enough energy to power the city grid,and half of Highrise’s social climbing wolves were here showing deference to her family’s position.
The gift pile had mutated into a three-tre-high tower in the corner.
I was halfway through my mocktail when Niall finally showed up.
And of course, he brought her.
Niall glanced around the room and stared straight at .
He knew I’d be here.
Showing up with Beatrice was part of his whole pathetic power play.
ssage received, loud and clear.
You rejected , but I’ve moved on too.
Childish. Predictable. And not even original for an Alpha trying to save face.
Murmurs rippled through the crowd at the sight of those two, especially Niall.
He still hadn’t healed completely from the beating Hudson gave him last week.
He’d probably snuck out of the hospital against doctor’s orders, with a bruised jaw and stitched-up lip just so he could try to make jealous.
I squared my shoulders as Akira growled protectively inside .
Ysolde touched my arm. "Let handle this first. Co on, I’ve got a whole thing planned. Even rehearsed it with my pack sisters."
Her smile was feral.
I gave her the floor.
She mind-linked one of her pack sisters and flicked her chin in their direction.
That was the signal.
Near the door, I caught soone disguised as a party photographer filming Niall and Beatrice.
Definitely another part of Ysolde’s plan for retribution.
I eased closer for a better view.
The cara caught them at just the right mont.
One fra even looked like they were kissing—pure illusion from the angle, but it didn’t matter for what Ysolde had planned.
A second later, my phone vibrated with a ssage.
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