Chapter 163: Friendship and Love

Seraphine's POV

"You traitor—" The slap came before I could finish.

My head snapped to the side, pain exploding across my cheek. The metallic taste of blood filled my mouth as I stumbled, my hand flying up to my face. Through the ringing in my ears, I heard Vespera's ragged breathing.

When I looked up, the careful mask she'd worn for so long was gone. What stared back at me was something raw and ugly, twisted by years of festering resentment.

My wolf surged with a roar of fury. Gold bled into my vision. Every instinct screamed to shift, to tear her throat out. But I forced myself still, meeting her wild eyes with cold rage.

Lucian. Orion. They're coming.

I'd heard them shouting behind me before I crashed into Damien. They couldn't be far. I just needed time.

"Feel better?" I asked, my voice flat despite the blood trickling from my lip.

Vespera's face contorted. "You have no idea what you've done to me."

Her voice shook, each word cracking with suppressed rage. She took a step closer, her hands clenching into fists at her sides.

"That night at the bonfire—you humiliated me in front of everyone. And then in the forest, you fucked him. You marked what was mine."

I wiped the blood from my lip with the back of my hand, never breaking eye contact. Keep her talking. Keep her focused on me.

"He was never yours."

"Liar!" The word came out as a shriek. "He was mine for years. We had an understanding. And then you crawled into his territory, half-dead and pathetic, and he threw everything away for you."

Behind her, Damien shifted his weight. Impatient. I needed to hold his attention too. Needed them both distracted.

"You took everything," Vespera hissed. "My position. My future. My Alpha."

I pressed my tongue against my split lip, tasting copper. My wolf paced beneath my skin, but through the anger, a pattern crystallized. Something I'd suspected before but couldn't prove.

"No one can take him from me," Vespera continued, her voice dropping to something almost reverent. "No one. I've worked too hard. Sacrificed too much."

The fervent certainty in her tone sent ice down my spine. My wolf went still, listening. And buying me time.

"You did this before," I said quietly.

Vespera's expression flickered. Just for a heartbeat.

"What are you talking about?" Too sharp. Too defensive.

I took a small step backward, angling myself so I could see both of them. Damien's eyes narrowed but he didn't move yet. Good. Keep them engaged.

"Isolde." The name fell between us like a stone. "You were friends. You both wanted Kaelen. But she won."

Vespera's face went white. Then flushed dark red.

My mind raced. The sketches in Kaelen's room—two distinct styles. He'd said Vespera helped Isolde with her art. That they were close. Close enough to have access. Close enough to plant evidence.

"You framed her," I breathed, letting genuine shock color my voice. Make it real. Make her want to defend herself. "You destroyed your best friend because she got what you wanted."

"Stop." Vespera's voice cracked. "You don't understand. You weren't there."

Perfect. She wanted to explain. Wanted to justify herself.

"Then explain it to me." I took another small step back, putting more distance between us. My ears strained for sounds in the forest. Footsteps. Voices. Anything. "Tell me how you could do that to someone who trusted you."

Vespera stared at me, her face twisting with rage and grief and something that looked almost like shame.

She laughed. Sharp. Bitter. Broken.

"Isolde and I grew up together. We were inseparable. Shared everything—secrets, dreams, stupid crushes." Her expression softened briefly. "And then Kaelen became Alpha."

She met my eyes, nothing soft there now.

I nodded slowly, encouraging her to continue. Every second was another second for help to arrive.

"We both fell for him. How could we not?" Vespera's hands clenched. "But Isolde was everything I wasn't—kind, talented, genuine. Of course he chose her."

My stomach twisted but I kept my expression neutral. "That must have hurt."

"She was so gracious about it," Vespera continued, venom dripping. "Always inviting me over. 'Vespera, could you finish this sketch?' Like she wasn't rubbing my nose in it every day."

She started pacing. Good. The more agitated she got, the more she'd talk.

"I smiled. I helped. I pretended to be happy." Her voice rose. "And I hated myself for the jealousy eating me alive."

"So you destroyed her." Keep her talking. Keep her angry. "Because you couldn't stand watching her be happy."

"It wasn't like that!" Vespera spun to face me. "I didn't plan it. Not at first. But then he announced the wedding. Said he was going to mark her publicly."

Her voice broke.

"That was when I knew. If I didn't do something—anything—I was going to lose my chance forever."

Behind me, I heard it. Faint but there. The crack of a branch. Someone moving through the forest.

Closer. Just get closer.

"The letters were easy," Vespera continued, her tone almost conversational now. "I'd been in her house a thousand times. All I had to do was forge her handwriting and plant them where the council would find them."

She smiled. The expression made my skin crawl.

"I bought off an elder. Convinced three wolves to lie." She looked proud of herself. Proud. "Created just enough doubt that even Kaelen questioned her."

"He loved her," I said, my voice hollow. Another rustle in the trees. Closer. "He trusted you."

"I didn't have a choice!" Vespera's composure cracked. "The wedding was three days away!"

"So you framed an innocent woman for treason." I shifted my weight, ready to move. "Made Kaelen exile the woman he loved."

"She found out." The words burst out. "I was planting another letter. She came home early."

Vespera's face twisted.

"She saw me. The look on her face..." She shook her head. "I panicked. Started screaming at her. Told her I loved Kaelen too."

My chest tightened but I pushed forward. "What did she do?"

"Nothing." Vespera's laugh was jagged. "Just stood there crying. Didn't tell anyone. Just... let them exile her."

The clearing closed in. I thought of the lynx attack. The massive jaws. Kaelen appearing just in time.

"The lynx," I said slowly. "Isolde died at the border. Killed by a lynx."

Vespera's shoulders tensed.

"Lynxes don't usually hunt wolves," I continued. "Not unless the wolf is already weakened."

Her silence was answer enough.

"You killed her." Flat. Final. "You made sure she died out there."