Last Chance

Last Chance
I woke to shouting. Loud. Urgent. Coming from outside Elizabeth's house.

Darian was already up. Moving toward the window. "Something's wrong."

We dressed quickly. Rushed outside. A crowd had gathered near the guest quarters. Pack members. Some of Connor's warriors. All looking at something.

Someone.

Celeste stood in the center. Her face was bruised. Split lip. Clothing torn. She was crying. Actually crying. Real tears streaming down her face.

My stomach dropped.

"What happened?" Connor's voice cut through the noise. He pushed through the crowd. Elizabeth beside him.

Celeste looked up. Saw him. Her face crumpled. "I was attacked. In my room. Last night. Someone broke in. Tried to—" She stopped. Sobbed. "Tried to hurt me."

The crowd murmured. Shocked. Angry. Someone had attacked a guest. In pack territory. Under Connor's protection.

Connor's expression was stone. "Who?"

"I don't know. They wore a mask. But they were strong. Fast. They knew where I was staying. Knew I'd be alone."

She looked directly at me. Just for a second. Just long enough for me to see the calculation in her eyes beneath the tears.

This was a setup. Had to be. But her injuries were real. The bruises were real. Someone had actually hurt her.

Or she'd hurt herself.

"We need to find who did this," one of the pack warriors said. "Search the settlement. Find evidence."

"No." Connor's voice was firm. "We wait. We investigate properly. We don't jump to conclusions."

But eyes were already turning toward me. Suspicious. Remembering the market incident. Remembering my loss of control. Remembering Connor's order that I stay away from Celeste.

"It wasn't me," I said. My voice was steady. Calm. "I was with Darian all night. He can verify."

"Of course he'll verify," someone muttered. "He's your mate."

"I was there too," Elizabeth said. "In the house. I would have heard if Lyra left."

"The window," Celeste said quietly. "They came through the window. Not the door. Someone who could move quietly. Who knew the settlement layout. Who had reason to want me gone."

She didn't say my name. Didn't have to. The implication was clear.

Darian stepped forward. "Lyra was with me. All night. She never left. Never moved. This is a lie."

"Are you calling me a liar?" Celeste's voice broke. More tears. "Someone attacked me. Look at my face. Look at what they did. And you're defending her?"

"I'm stating facts. Lyra couldn't have done this. She was with me."

"Then who?" Celeste looked around. At the gathered pack. At Connor. "Who would want to hurt me? Who's been threatening me since I arrived? Who almost attacked me in the market?"

The crowd shifted. Uncomfortable. Some looked at me with doubt. Others with anger. The seed was planted. Growing.

Marcus appeared. Pushed through the crowd. Looked at Celeste. At her injuries. His expression darkened.

"This is convenient timing," he said. "The Council arrives in hours. And suddenly you're attacked. Suddenly Lyra looks violent and dangerous."

"Are you suggesting I did this to myself?" Celeste's voice rose. Hysterical. "Look at me! Look at what happened!"

"I'm suggesting someone wants the Council to see exactly this. Wants them to believe Lyra is unstable. Dangerous. Unfit to be a mother."

"That's insane."

"Is it? You've been manipulating this situation since you arrived. Lying about the debt. Spreading rumors. Baiting Lyra. This is just another move in your game."

Celeste's face shifted. Just for a second. The victim mask slipped. I saw rage underneath. Cold. Calculated. Then it was gone. Hidden behind fresh tears.

"I came here in good faith," she said. "Came to resolve things peacefully. To give Darian a choice. And I've been attacked. Threatened. Accused. By all of you."

She looked at Connor. "I want protection. From her. From anyone who thinks violence is acceptable. And I want the Council to know what happened. To know what kind of person they're dealing with."

Connor's jaw was tight. "You'll have protection. Warriors will be posted outside your quarters. No one gets near you without permission."

"Thank you." She touched her split lip. Winced. Perfect performance. "I just want this to be over. Want the Council to decide fairly. Based on truth. Not violence."

The crowd began to disperse. Slowly. Reluctantly. Still murmuring. Still looking at me with suspicion.

When most had left, Connor pulled us aside. Me. Darian. Marcus. Elizabeth.

"This is a problem," he said quietly.

"It's a setup," I said. "She did this to herself. Or had someone do it. To make me look guilty."

"I know. But we can't prove that. And the timing is perfect. The Council arrives in hours. They'll see her injuries. Hear about the attack. Hear that you threatened her before. It builds her case."

"What do we do?" Darian asked.

"We stick to the truth. We present our evidence. We show them the documents. The timeline. The proof that she's been lying."

"It won't be enough," Marcus said. "Not with this. Not with physical evidence that someone attacked her. They'll see violence. Instability. Everything Celeste has been claiming about Lyra."

"Then we prove it was staged," Elizabeth said. "We investigate. Find evidence. Find whoever really did this."

"We have hours. Not days. The Council won't wait."

We stood in tense silence. The trap was closing. Perfectly timed. Perfectly executed. And I had no way to prove my innocence. No way to show this was staged.

"There has to be something," Darian said. "Some evidence. Some proof. We just have to find it."

"Where do we start?" I asked.

Marcus looked toward the guest quarters. "Her room. If this was staged, there will be signs. Things that don't add up. We just have to look."

"Connor?" Darian looked at our Alpha. "Can we investigate? Officially?"

Connor hesitated. Then nodded. "Do it. Fast. Before the Council arrives. Find whatever you can find."

We moved quickly. Toward Celeste's quarters. Toward whatever evidence might save us. Toward our last chance to prove the truth before the Council arrived and decided our fate.