The liquid splashed across her fingers. She let out a pitiful yelp, and the cup slipped, shattering against the stone floor of the great hall.
Ronan's gaze cut toward me like a blade.
"Lyra, it's Midwinter Turning Night. What the hell are you trying to do?"
I spread my hands, my expression saying it all—I didn't do anything.
Why was I the one being blamed?
But in their eyes, I was already the villain.
Raven cowered behind Ronan, trembling as she stared at me. Her scent turned sharp with fear, designed to pull at any Alpha's protective instincts.
He shielded her with his body, his dominant aura flaring, and said to me, "Go back to your quarters. Leave the main den. Now."
Outside, the sky hung low and heavy. Snow fell in thick, relentless sheets across the territory. The brutal cold had already caused disasters throughout the surrounding packs—wolves caught in the open, supply routes frozen shut.
I pulled up the weather readings from the den's communication crystals. "It's deadly cold out there. The kind that kills even shifted wolves. You want me to leave the central den?"
"Tomorrow marks the new cycle. I've spent every Turning Night here for years, as your bonded mate. You're really casting me out now?"
Raven's face went pale. She let out a soft whimper, clutching her stomach where she claimed to carry a pup.
"I don't feel well," she murmured, her voice thin and pitiful. "Something's wrong with the pup."
My in-laws rushed to her side, faces creased with worry. Rowena's hand went to Raven's back, steadying her.
"What's wrong? Where does it hurt?"
"My stomach... I feel awful. I'm scared for the pup."
As she spoke, her frightened gaze fixed on me, her voice quivering. The performance was flawless.
My mother-in-law abandoned all pretense. She turned and murmured something to Ronan, her words too low for even my sharp hearing.
He strode toward me, hostility radiating off him in waves. His Alpha dominance pressed against me, trying to force submission.
"Leave. There's nothing for you here. You're just making everyone miserable. Your presence is stressing the pup-bearer."
I froze. He was actually throwing me out of the pack den.
My throat burned. I tilted my head back and laughed, refusing to bare my neck. "And if I don't?"
"This is my den too. Your parents are my pack elders too. You're my bonded mate. What gives you the right to cast me out?"