Chapter 34 CHAPTER 35

Chapter 34 CHAPTER 35
Bronte's POV

The great hall is already full when Irina and I arrive.

Pack members crowd every available space, talking in hushed voices, all of them turning to look when I walk in.

I can feel their eyes on me, judging, whispering.

Alexander stands at the front on the raised platform, his face like stone.

Sebastian is there too, flanked by two warriors, his hands bound in front of him.

My breath catches.

"What is this?" I whisper to Irina.

"I don't know."

We're directed to stand near the front, close enough that I can see the blood still dried on Sebastian's face, the rope burns on his wrists.

Alexander raises his hand and the hall goes silent.

"I've called you all here tonight because there's been a betrayal," he says, his voice carrying across the room. "A betrayal that affects not just me, but this entire pack."

Murmurs ripple through the crowd.

"As you all know, I was engaged to be mated to Bronte of the Red Stone Pack. An alliance that would have strengthened both our territories, secured trade routes, and brought prosperity to our people."

He pauses, letting the words sink in.

"But that engagement has been broken. Because my mate-to-be has been carrying on an affair with my brother."

The hall erupts in shocked gasps and angry muttering.

I want to disappear, to sink into the floor, to be anywhere but here.

"Silence," Alexander commands, and the room quiets. "I discovered them together this afternoon. In each other's arms. Kissing."

More gasps, more whispers.

Sebastian keeps his eyes on the floor.

"And when confronted, they both admitted to having feelings for each other. Feelings that go beyond simple attraction. They claim to be in love."

The word "love" comes out bitter and mocking.

"So I have made a decision," Alexander continues. "One that I believe is best for this pack and for our future."

He turns to look at Sebastian.

"My brother will be banished from Blue Moon Pack territory effective immediately. He is stripped of his rank, his titles, and his place in this family. He will leave tonight and never return."

"No," I breathe.

"As for Bronte—" Alexander's eyes find mine. "She will return to her pack in the morning with the engagement officially broken. The alliance between Blue Moon and Red Stone is dissolved."

The hall explodes in noise, everyone talking at once, arguing about the alliance, about the consequences, about what this means for the pack.

"Alexander, please," I try to speak but my voice is drowned out.

"However," Alexander raises his voice over the din. "Before we proceed with the banishment, I want everyone to understand exactly what happened here. I want them to see the kind of man my brother truly is. A man who would betray his own Alpha, his own blood, for—"

"Stop!"

Everyone turns.

Irina is pushing her way through the crowd toward the platform.

"Alpha, please, you need to stop," she says, breathless.

"This doesn't concern you, Irina."

"Yes it does. It concerns everyone here because you're about to banish your brother for something that isn't his fault."

Alexander's expression darkens. "What are you talking about?"

"The feelings. Between Sebastian and Bronte. They're not real."

The hall goes silent.

"Explain," Alexander says slowly.

Irina climbs onto the platform, her hands shaking.

"I did something terrible," she says, her voice breaking. "Something I never should have done. And now I need to confess before you destroy your brother for my mistake."

"What did you do?"

"I cast a spell. A love spell. On Sebastian and Bronte."

The crowd erupts again but Alexander silences them with a gesture.

"You cast a love spell," he repeats, his voice flat.

"Yes. I made them believe they were in love with each other when they weren't. I manipulated their feelings, their emotions, everything."

"Why would you do that?"

Irina's eyes fill with tears. "Because Serena asked me to."

The name drops like a bomb.

"Serena asked you to make my brother and my mate fall in love?" Alexander's voice is dangerous now.

"She said she wanted to break up the engagement. She said if Bronte fell for Sebastian, you'd call off the wedding and—" Irina stops, her voice catching. "She promised me something in return. Information about my parents' death. Who was responsible. And I was so desperate to know that I agreed."

"You're lying."

"I'm not. I swear on my magic, I'm telling the truth." She turns to face the crowd. "The feelings Sebastian and Bronte have for each other aren't real. They're the result of my spell. And I can prove it."

She pulls something from her pocket. The cloth bundles with the strings.

"I did a seeking spell to confirm the bonds between them. And I manipulated what I found to make them believe they had a dual mate bond. But it was all a lie. A spell to confuse them, to make them think their attraction was fate when it was just my magic."

She unwraps the bundles and holds up the strings.

"These should show two strong bonds if the feelings were real. But look."

She pulls at the red and silver strings and they fall apart easily, no resistance.

"The spell made them appear connected. But without my magic feeding it, there's nothing there. No bond. No connection. Just confusion that I caused."

Alexander stares at the strings, then at Irina, then at me and Sebastian.

"You're saying none of it was real," he says quietly.

"None of it. The attraction, the feelings, the love they think they feel. It's all my magic. And now that I've confessed, now that I'm breaking the spell, it will fade. They'll go back to how they felt before."

She closes her eyes and murmurs something in a language I don't understand.

A warm sensation washes over me, like being wrapped in a blanket, and then it's gone.

"There," Irina says, opening her eyes. "The spell is broken. They're free."

Alexander looks at me. "Do you still have feelings for my brother?"

I open my mouth to say no, to confirm Irina's story, to make this all go away.

But the words won't come.

Because I look at Sebastian and my chest still aches.

I still want to go to him.

I still love him.

The spell didn't change anything.

"I—" I start.

"She needs time," Irina interrupts quickly. "The effects don't fade instantly. But in a few days, maybe a week, she won't feel anything for Sebastian at all."

Alexander studies my face for a long moment.

"And you?" he asks Sebastian. "Do you still think you're in love with her?"

Sebastian finally looks up, his eyes meeting mine across the distance.

"I don't know," he says quietly. "Maybe it was the spell. Maybe it wasn't real."

The words hurt more than they should.

"Then we wait," Alexander says. "We wait to see if the feelings fade like Irina says they will. If they do, the engagement stands. The alliance continues. And my brother stays."

He turns to his warriors. "Untie him. Put him under house arrest in his quarters until we know for certain."

They untie Sebastian's hands and lead him away.

He doesn't look at me again.

Alexander addresses the crowd. "You're all dismissed. We'll reconvene in a week to determine the outcome."

The pack disperses slowly, everyone talking, everyone staring at me as they leave.

When the hall is mostly empty, Alexander approaches me.

"One week," he says. "If you still have feelings for him after one week, then we'll know Irina is lying and the spell story is fake. But if the feelings fade..." He takes my hand. "Then we can fix this. We can go back to how things were."

"And Serena?" I ask. "Irina said she's responsible."

"I'll deal with Serena." His expression hardens. "If what Irina says is true, Serena will pay for trying to sabotage our engagement."

He leaves and I'm alone with Irina.

"What did you just do?" I ask quietly.

"I saved you. I saved Sebastian. I saved the alliance."

"By lying."

"By giving you time." She takes my hands. "One week, Bronte. In one week, when your feelings haven't faded, when you still love Sebastian just as much as you do right now, everyone will know the spell story was fake. That your love is real."

"And then what?"

"Then you'll have to choose for real. But at least you won't be doing it with Sebastian banished and your packs at war."

She's right.

But it doesn't make any of this easier.

Because now I have to spend a week pretending my feelings for Sebastian are fading.

When the truth is, they're stronger than ever.