Unstable

Unstable
I spent the day avoiding people. Stayed in Elizabeth's guest room. Pretended to sleep when anyone knocked. Couldn't face questions. Couldn't face sympathy. Couldn't face anything.

The sun moved across the sky. Hours passed. My mind wouldn't stop.

Tomorrow. Darian would be back tomorrow. Maybe tonight if they pushed hard.

And I still didn't know what to say.

Around midday, Elizabeth brought food. Set it on the bedside table without comment. Didn't push me to eat. Didn't ask how I was feeling. Just squeezed my shoulder once and left.

I picked at the food. Forced down a few bites. My stomach protested but I kept trying. The baby needed nutrients. Needed me to be stronger than I felt.

By late afternoon, I couldn't stay in the room anymore. Couldn't keep staring at the walls. Couldn't keep drowning in my own thoughts.

I got dressed. Pulled my hair back and braided it. Made myself look presentable. Or at least functional.

Outside, the settlement was busy. Normal afternoon activity. People working. Training. Living their lives like everything was normal.

Like my world wasn't about to implode in the next twenty-four hours.

I walked toward the market. Needed to pick up a few things. Needed to do something normal. Something that didn't involve thinking about Darian or Celeste or the Council.

The market was crowded. Vendors calling out their wares. Pack members browsing. Conversations overlapping into comfortable noise.

I moved through the stalls. Picked up dried meat. Some fruit. Things I could stomach. Things the baby might tolerate.

Then I heard her voice.

Celeste.

She was at the fabric stall. Talking with one of the pack women. Laughing. Touching a bolt of silk like she belonged here. Like this was her home.

My wolf snarled. Pushed forward. Wanted blood.

I turned to leave. To walk away before I did something stupid.

"Lyra!"

Celeste's voice. Bright. Cheerful. Calling out across the market.

Everyone turned. Looked at me. At her. Waiting.

I stopped. Couldn't walk away now. Not with everyone watching. Not without looking like a coward.

I turned slowly. Celeste was walking toward me. Smiling. Arms open like we were friends. Like she was happy to see me.

The pack woman from the fabric stall followed. Curious. Interested in the drama everyone knew was brewing.

"I'm so glad you're back," Celeste said. Still smiling. Still playing the role. "We were all so worried about you. Darian especially. He was devastated when you left."

My claws extended. I forced them to retract. "I'm sure he was."

"He barely ate. Barely slept. Just trained constantly and talked about finding you. It was heartbreaking to watch."

The pack woman nodded. Sympathetic. Like Celeste was telling the truth. Like she actually cared about Darian's suffering.

"And yet you were there to comfort him," I said. My voice was flat. Cold. "How convenient."

Celeste's smile didn't falter. "Someone had to be. He needed support. Needed someone who understood what he was going through."

"Did he."

"Yes. We spent a lot of time together. Talking. Reminiscing. Remembering better times."

She was baiting me. Deliberately. Trying to provoke a reaction. Trying to make me lose control in public.

I wouldn't give her the satisfaction.

"That's nice," I said. Started to turn away.

"I heard congratulations are in order," Celeste continued. Louder now. Making sure others could hear. "You're pregnant. How wonderful."

More pack members stopped. Listened. The market got quieter. Everyone wanted to hear this.

"Yes," I said. "I am."

"Darian must be thrilled."

"He doesn't know yet."

Her eyebrows rose. Perfectly performed surprise. "He doesn't? But you've been back for a whole day. Surely you've told him by now."

"He's not here. He left to find me."

"Oh that's right. He went after you." She tilted her head. Sympathetic expression. Fake. "That must be difficult. Being pregnant and alone. Without your mate to support you."

"I'm not alone. I have my pack."

"Of course you do. But it's not the same as having your partner. Having the father of your child present and committed." She paused. "If he is committed. Sometimes these things are... complicated."

My wolf pushed harder. Snarled. Wanted to shift. Wanted to tear out her throat right here in the market.

I held back. Barely.

"There's nothing complicated about it," I said. My voice was low. Dangerous. "Darian is my mate. This is his child. We're together."

"Are you? Because he seemed rather uncertain about that before he left. Rather conflicted."

"He was conflicted because you've been manipulating him. Lying about the debt. Making him think he had obligations he doesn't actually have."

Celeste's expression shifted. Just for a second. Anger flashed in her eyes. Then the mask returned. Smooth. Perfect. Unbothered.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Yes you do. You lied about the blood oath. Exaggerated what his family owed yours. Made him feel trapped."

More pack members gathered now. A proper audience. Everyone watching. Listening. Judging.

"That's a serious accusation," Celeste said. Her voice was cooler now. Less friendly. "Do you have proof?"

"Marcus has the original documents. He's seen the actual agreement. And it doesn't say what you claimed it said."

"Marcus." She said his name with disdain. "Of course. Darian's friend who would say anything to help him. Who has no objectivity. No credibility."

"He has more credibility than you."

"Does he? I'm the one Darian was engaged to. The one his family chose. The one who helped him when he had nothing. When he was exiled and desperate and alone." She stepped closer. Voice rising. "I'm the one who stood by him. Who vouched for him. Who risked my family's reputation to save his."

"You're the one who's been using that to control him."

"I'm the one who loves him!" Her voice cracked. Real emotion finally breaking through. "I've loved him for years. Waited for him. Supported him. And then you appeared. Some wolf he barely knows. Some stranger who happened to be his mate bond. And suddenly I'm supposed to just disappear? Just accept that years of history mean nothing?"

"The mate bond isn't nothing."

"Isn't it? It's just biology. Just instinct. It doesn't mean love. Doesn't mean compatibility. Doesn't mean he should throw away everything for it."

"He chose me."

"Did he? Because from where I stand, he's been choosing duty. Choosing honor. Choosing to handle this carefully instead of just throwing me out like you wanted."

"Because you made him think he had no choice!"

"I gave him perspective! Gave him time to think clearly instead of just following his instincts like an animal!"

The word hung in the air. Animal. She said it with such disdain. Such contempt. She didn’t even care being in the middle of a wolf settlement surrounded by wolves that could tear her apart just in seconds.

My wolf exploded forward. I felt the shift starting. Felt my bones beginning to crack.

"Lyra." Connor's voice. Alpha command. Cutting through the rage.

I stopped. Froze mid-shift. My body trembling with the effort of holding back.

Connor pushed through the crowd. Elizabeth beside him. Both of them looked at me. At Celeste. At the gathered pack members.

"What's going on here?" Connor asked. His voice was calm. Controlled. But I heard the steel underneath.

"Nothing," I said. My voice came out rough. Inhuman. "Just talking."

"It didn't look like talking."

Celeste stepped forward. Her expression shifted. Concerned. Worried. Perfect victim. "She attacked me. Almost shifted right here in the market. In front of everyone."

Murmurs from the crowd. Shocked. Disapproving. Pack members looking at me with disappointment.

"I didn't attack you," I said.

"You were about to. Everyone saw it. You were shifting. About to hurt me just because I was talking about Darian."

"You were baiting me. Deliberately. Trying to make me lose control."

"I was just being honest. Expressing my feelings. And you responded with violence."

Connor looked at me. "Is that true? Were you about to shift?"

I wanted to lie. Wanted to deny it. But I couldn't. Not to Connor. Not to my Alpha.

"Yes," I said quietly. "But she was—"

"It doesn't matter what she was doing. You don't shift in the middle of the market. You don't threaten violence against a guest in our territory. You know better."

The words stung. Because he was right. I did know better. Had been trained better.

But Celeste had pushed every button. Had known exactly what to say. Had manipulated the situation perfectly.

And I'd fallen for it. Had given her exactly what she wanted. Evidence that I was unstable. Violent. Dangerous.

"I'm sorry," I said. To Connor. To the pack. To everyone watching.

"Apologies aren't enough," Celeste said. "She threatened me. In public. What's to stop her from actually attacking me later? When there are no witnesses?"

"She won't," Connor said firmly. "Because I'm ordering her not to. And my pack members follow orders."

He looked at me. Alpha eyes. No room for argument. "You're to stay away from Celeste. No contact. No confrontation. Nothing. Is that understood?"

Every instinct screamed at me to argue. To defend myself. To explain that Celeste was the real threat.

But Connor was right. I'd lost control. Had almost shifted in public. Had proven exactly what Celeste wanted me to prove.

"Understood," I said.

"Good. Now go home. Cool off. We'll discuss this later."

I turned and walked away. Through the crowd. Past pack members who wouldn't meet my eyes. Past their judgment and disappointment.

Behind me, I heard Celeste's voice. Soft. Concerned. "Thank you, Alpha Connor. I was really frightened. She looked so violent. So unstable."

Playing the victim. Perfecting the narrative. Making herself look reasonable and me look dangerous.

And it worked. I heard the murmurs. Heard pack members agreeing. Sympathizing with her. Questioning me.

This was what she wanted. What she'd planned. To turn my own pack against me. To make me look like the problem.

And I'd given it to her. Had played right into her hands.

I made it back to Elizabeth's house before the tears came. Angry tears. Frustrated tears. Tears that came from rage and helplessness and the knowledge that I'd fucked up.

Elizabeth was waiting inside. She pulled me into a hug without comment. Let me cry. Let me rage. Let me break down.

"She set me up," I said when I could finally speak. "She knew exactly what to say. Knew exactly how to provoke me."

"I know."

"Connor's right though. I shouldn't have let her. Shouldn't have lost control."

"No. You shouldn't have. But she's good at this. Good at manipulation. Good at playing victim."

"What do I do now?"

"You stay away from her like Connor ordered. You focus on Darian coming home. On telling him about the baby. On preparing for the Council."

"The pack thinks I'm unstable now. Violent. They'll tell the Council."

"Some of them will. But others saw what she was doing. Saw how she baited you. They'll testify to that too."

I pulled back. Wiped my eyes. "This is a mess."

"Yes. It is. But it's not over yet. You still have a chance to fix this. To show everyone who you really are. Who Celeste really is."

I wanted to believe that. Wanted to trust that truth would win.

But Celeste was smart. Careful. Good at this game in ways I wasn't.

And tomorrow Darian would be back. Would walk into this mess. Would have to choose between me and duty and debt and everything else.

And I'd just proven that I couldn't control myself. Couldn't be trusted. Couldn't be the stable partner he needed.

Tomorrow everything would come to a head.

And I had no idea if we'd survive it.