Rhea let out a soft, tired sigh that tasted of annoyance and calculation. If this had been any other place, she would have ignored him. If it were a normal setting she would have walked away and let their fools squawk. But this was not her world. Whether she liked it or not, obedience will buy her ti to adjust—or she’ll risk being cast out of the pack.
She didn’t know enough about this world to survive on her own. The debts of the old Rhea were still unpaid, and until she settled them, she would have to endure this nonsense.
"Stop keeping the Alpha waiting."Nikki said, her voice syrupy with mock sweetness.
Rhea’s eyes flicked toward her. Nikki imdiately flinched, shrinking behind Ares.
Rhea drew another slow breath and said, voice low and careful, "I do not even know how to start. And even if I told the truth, you probably would not believe ."
Ellie’s brow furrowed. What is she saying? Was she admitting to Eberhard’s ridiculous accusations, he wondered for the fraction of a second. No, that could not be right.
Try , Ares said simply.
Rhea let out a ragged exhale and muttered, "Okay. Here goes nothing." Every head in the hall leaned closer. Pack mbers pushed forward a little, murmurs dying to a brittle hush. Eberhard straightened, Nikki perched, Ares folded his arms and waited.
Rhea slowly let go of Tavian hand. The boy eyes was wide with worry, silently begging her not to make things worse for herself.
She lifted her chin. "I died," she said simply. "And I t the Moon Goddess who blessed with the ability to fight."
Silence hit like cold water. Ares’s eyes widened and then narrowed as if he were trying to find a rational fault in the sound of it. People blinked. Ellie’s face went skeptical in a blink.
"Did she just say she t the goddess?" soone hissed. "She has really gone insane."
A bark of laughter rolled out of Eberhard, loud and mocking. "What kind of absurd fairytale are you trying to feed us, girl?"
Rhea shrugged as if she had warned them. "I told you. You will not believe ."
"She’s lying!" Nikki cried.
"Obviously," Eberhard said still chuckling.
"She’s trying to make herself sound special again!" Nikki stepped out of Area’s back."First, she plays victim, now she’s pretending to be...favored by the goddess? She has lost her mind."
Ares’s voice cut through the jeers like. "You want us to believe that you died and t the moon goddess?" his tone low and dangerous.
"Yes," Rhea answered without flinch.
"Then tell ," Ares pressed, voice dripping disbelief, "why didn’t anyone in this pack know when you died?"
"Because I was brought back before anyone could notice," she replied evenly.
"Are we seriously listening to this?" Eberhard mocked.
"Rhea." Ares’s jaw tightened. "Do not test . Don’t play with my patience or you will not like what I do."
Eberhard’s face went hard. "Arrest her for making a mockery of us," he said. "She’s clearly making a fool out of all of us and disrespecting the Moon Goddess and the Alpha while at it."
"Calm down everyone," Ellie said, stepping forward with palms slightly raised as if to smooth the heat from the room. " Let’s not lose our minds over this." He turned to Rhea, his tone softening with disbelief. "Rhea, be serious please. This Moon Goddess thing is not sothing we joke about. Tell us plainly what happened to you."
"But I’m not lying," Rhea said, firmly.
"I have had enough of this nonsense." Ares lowered his folded arms, his tone firm and final. "You will be punished..."
"Do you rember when you barged into my room yesterday?" Rhea cut in, voice steady and unyielding.
Ellie’s gaze flicked between them, unease knotting in his gut. He hadn’t been with the Alpha yesterday; he had refused to. Eberhard and that desperate daughter of his had stord into the Alpha’s study, ranting that Rhea wouldn’t wake up, claiming she was pretending to be dead to skip her chores. He rembered rolling his eyes and leaving the room before the nonsense could irritate him further. But now, hearing her words... a chill crept up his spine. Could it be? Did she actually die?
Ares frowned. "What has that got to do with this?"
Rhea tilted her head slightly, her calm cutting through the tension. "Do you rember the first thing you asked when you entered my room?"
Ares hesitated, brows drawing together. "What?"
"You asked if I wasn’t dead," Rhea said, her was tone quiet. "Which ans soone must have reported that I was."
Ares’s eyes darted toward Eberhard, and the older man stiffened under his gaze. His mouth opened, but no words ca.
"Whoever told you wasn’t lying," Rhea continued evenly. "I actually died then."
Ellie’s hands clenched at his sides, the sound of his knuckles cracking faintly in the silence. His heart pounded.
"What are you saying?" Ares whispered, his usual composure slipping, disbelief threading his tone.
"You can’t buy her nonsense, Alpha," Eberhard blurted, his voice sharp with desperation.
"She’s trying to play victim again, like usual," Nikki added.
"Will you two shut up," Ellie barked, his patience snapping. His glare lingered on them a second longer before he turned back to Rhea, expression softening but voice still firm. "Continue, Rhea. Are you saying the truth? Did you actually die?"
Rhea t his eyes and nodded slowly. Her pulse beat steadily, though inside her mind was running through every word before it left her lips. So of this would be a made up story, the part about the Moon Goddess, the blessing, but not all of it. The girl who owned this body before her truly had died. And if she could twist that truth into sothing useful, sothing that bought her leverage in this rotten pack, then so be it.
"I was starved for weeks," Rhea began, her tone trembling just enough to sound pitiful. "No food. No water." Her voice caught as she glanced around the room. "And I was beaten half to death by this evil man and his daughter." She lifted a shaking finger toward Eberhard, whose jaw fell open in outrage.
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