Karl froze, head snapping towards his mother. "W– what did you say?" He turned towards Reana, "I– is it true? D–did you kill Vivian...?"
His throat turned dry. He knew his mother wouldn’t tell such a lie in front of everyone. Not to ntion, no one, except those of them who just returned to the pack, looked shocked.
"She killed your sister, Karl." Madam Katherine wailed, slipping down beside her son. The woman looked nothing of what she used to be. The fate of her children has left her brittle, ragged, almost unrecognizable.
The carefully composed forr Luna, who once ruled the won’s court with pride and arrogance, spine and a silver tongue now looked like a crumpled shadow of herself, clinging to the last shreds of power through her children.
"She poisoned Vivian," Katherine gasped, clutching Karl’s arm. "And at her funeral, she and her lover caused a scene and the goddess responded with a thunder that destroyed your sister’s body and grave!"
The silence that fell over the courtyard was suffocating.
Karl’s face crumbled. "Vivian... she’s dead?"
Reana didn’t speak. She didn’t defend herself. Her silence thundered louder than any denial could have.
She was waiting. Sothing inside her was willing to give Karl a second chance.
But Karl wasn’t stupid, not anymore. He’d been a pawn for too long. Seen what his siblings were capable of. He knew Reana. She had the strength, the power, the reason to kill them a long ti ago, yet she didn’t.
So, why now?
He looked back at Reana. She was staring back at him.
"D–did she deserve it?" he asked, voice raw, eyes shining with tears. He was in pain, knowing what had happened to Vivian, but he also knew that Reana was not unreasonable. "Tell , Older sister. Did she deserve to die?"
Reana’s gaze t his, unflinching. Cold. Tired. Honest.
And then, she gave a small, curt nod.
"She brought a poisoned wine to the Luna in the guise of seeking forgiveness. Vivian wanted to die with the Luna to avoid facing the pack’s wrath. The Luna drank with her, but unfortunately for your sister, Luna Reana is immune to poison." Kira explained.
The Luna had refused to expose Vivian’s cris, and now, Kira couldn’t let her reputation be tarnished any further. It was already bad enough that the elders blad her for the pack’s troubles.
Reana’s gaze drifted away. She wasn’t immune. That poison was still inside her right now. She didn’t even know when it would activate and kill her.
Gasps filled the courtyard. So cried out in disbelief, others in horror, but most... in stunned realization.
"LIES FROM THE PIT OF HELL!!" Katherine thundered like a lunatic. She turned to her son, clawing at his arm with desperation. "Don’t listen to them, Karl! They’re twisting everything! Reana’s always hated us! This is all part of her ga, can’t you see that?"
Karl’s breath hitched. His lips parted, but no sound ca out. His hands trembled against the snow.
"She..." he whispered. "She tried to take Older sister’s life?" He was speaking to himself more than anyone else, trying to rewrite what he thought he knew. "Vivian...?"
They’d always plotted against Reana – how to sabotage her, remove her from being the Luna, make her unhappy, and rejoice when she was defeated and in pain... but Karl never for once thought of killing her. He wasn’t even aware that his mother and Kael wanted her dead. He only thought they shared the sa goal of stripping her off her title and crowning Kael. That was what he was told, what he grew up believing.
But Vivian...she tried to kill Reana? Why? Vivian was everything but a killer. She didn’t have it in her. And the girl loved her life more than anything in the world.
What exactly happened in his absence...? And Kael. What happened to Kael?
He turned to Reana, "W–what about Kael?"
"He’s been banished." Kira replied again.
"He’s a rogue now?!" Karl panicked.
"Yes," Kira said firmly, stepping forward. "Stripped of his title, his pack, and his rights. He went berserk, hard and killed lots of pack mbers and fought the Luna. He’s lucky he wasn’t executed on the spot."
Karl blinked, like he’d been punched in the gut. "No... No, that’s not... Kael wouldn’t..."
He knew Kael. His brother would never do sothing so foolish. His brother was the master of calm, of sches. He was the most intelligent and calculating person Karl knew.
This was hard to believe.
"They’re lying, Karl. Don’t you see? Your brother will never—"
"We saw it!" soone yelled in the crowd. "Your brother went berserk, he killed many in the pack’s sacred funeral grounds, including my brother! Why are you lying to your son?!"
"He attacked the warriors, wounded the beta, and fought the Luna, who put him in his place, then he ran off, avoiding judgent!"
Voices rose in the crowd, all narrating what they saw. Katherine felt like sinking into the grounds. She’d been living in denial, unwilling to accept what had happened over the weeks.
"I didn’t know," Karl whispered. His voice cracked. "I didn’t know they were trying to kill her."
Reana didn’t answer. She didn’t move. She just stood there, queenly and untouchable in her silence, as if she’d given up expecting anything good from anyone left in this family.
"Older sister," he breathed, tears sliding freely down his cheeks, "I swear, I didn’t know. I was wrong. I was so wrong."
Katherine screeched beside him. "Don’t you dare! You ungrateful, weak little—"
"Mother, please! That’s enough!" Karl cried. Facing his mother, "She saved ." He choked out. "She asked Yaz to keep safe. She asked him to watch over ! If not for her, I would have been dead by now!"
"She sent you there in the first place!!" Katherine scread. "If she hadn’t sent you away, none of this would’ve happened! She separated you from us! From your family! She didn’t save you, she tried to kill you!!"
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