Chapter 52

Isla POV

I tried to remain patient, thinking that someone would update me regarding Kieran's well-being, but no one ever did, so I took matters into my own hands.

But it failed spectacularly as my requests were ignored at every turn.

Every time I asked where Kieran had been taken, I was met with vague answers. “He’s with the healer, my Lady,” or, “The Alpha will see to him, my Lady.”

And when I tried to go myself, the guards at the infirmary door bowed politely and did not move aside.

Despite my orders and pleas.

“I'm sorry, Luna, but it's the Alpha’s orders,” one of them murmured, eyes fixed on a spot above my head, as though looking at me would break his composure.

Orders. Tristan’s damn orders!

I clenched my fists, forcing myself to breathe.

It was as though I was no longer the Luna but some insignificant person, powerless within walls that I was supposed to be in control of.

But I decided to bide my time…so I walked away, choosing to wait.

By late afternoon, I was restless, prowling the corridors like a caged wolf.

I couldn’t eat. I couldn’t sit still.

Every thought circled back to Kieran….his bloodied face, the way he had shielded me without hesitation, and the way Tristan had looked at him like he was the threat.

Which was ridiculous as the problem was pretty obvious.

I decided to take a stroll and upon reaching a corner, I turned down the side hall that led to the kitchens, hoping maybe a warm drink would settle the storm in my stomach.

My steps slowed, though, when I heard low voices ahead.

They were feminine and hushed, but sharp with curiosity.

“Did you hear what happened this morning?” The first lady whispered.

“Of course I did. Everyone knows. The Luna was caught in the garden with the Alpha’s brother.

My breath caught, my legs freezing in place.

The other maid let out a gasp of disbelief. “Surely that can't be true!”

“It’s true. One of the guards said she was sitting with him, and then the rogues attacked. You know how people gossip. Some think Kieran orchestrated the entire thing.” The maid with all the Intel kept talking. “That it was all a plot, that I he led them here to prove himself useful… or to humiliate the Alpha.”

My hands went cold as I leaned forward to catch every piece of news.

“That’s dangerous gossip,” the second maid whispered, though I heard the intrigue in her tone. “And what of the Alpha?”

“They say he’s meeting with the elders right now,” the first replied. “They want Kieran banished once and for all. He’s too much of a danger to keep around, and too much of a temptation to the Luna. We wouldn't want bad things to happen, you know…”

A soft, scandalized laugh followed, muffled quickly by the scrape of a pot as they got busy with their chores.

I stood rooted to the floor, heart hammering against my ribs.

Banished. The word echoed in my skull.

They were going to get him banished.

For what?

The hallway tilted, the ground becoming unsteady under my feet.

I had to force myself to move, to step away before they saw me standing there like a ghost.

My hands trembled as I clutched my skirts, my mind spinning with the weight of what I’d overheard.

Tristan hadn’t just dismissed me.

He had already started deciding Kieran’s fate…

without me, without hearing what really happened.

And the worst part?

The pack believed the worst. They believed I had been “caught” with him.

That I had invited the danger into my own garden.

It sounds ludicrous, but since it was me, I guess it sounded plausible.

I didn't even know what to focus on.

By the time I reached the nearest window, my lungs refused to draw air. I pressed my palm against the glass, staring out at the forest beyond the walls.

Somewhere in this place, Kieran was bleeding, restrained, possibly already condemned.

And I was helpless to stop it.

I sank onto the bench beneath the window, my body trembling, as I arrived to rally my thoughts together.

Things were just spinning out of control.

One moment, I was having tea, and the next, Kieran might be banished.

If the elders voted to banish him, Kieran would be cast out… alone, wounded, easy prey for the same rogues who had nearly killed me this morning.

And if that happened, it wouldn’t matter that he had saved me. His blood would be on Tristan’s

hands.

And mine.

That sickening thought made my chest rise too fast as my fists pressed against my knees, and a single, unshakable thought clawed its way through the panic….

I cannot let them banish him.