Chapter 25 Oh No!
Isabella’s POV
“You may now kiss the bride.”
The elder’s voice rang across the courtyard.
Clara tilted her face up with the most delicate, perfect, fake smile I had ever seen. Edmund leaned in… slow at first, then with all the eagerness of a man who truly believed he was marrying the love of his life.
Their lips touched.
The crowd erupted.
Cheers, applause, whistles—everyone celebrated as if the world hadn’t ended months ago, as if a Luna and a child hadn’t died, as if they weren’t clapping for a woman who opened their gates for a massacre. Only I knew what Clara did to the entire pack.
Only I heard the silence beneath all that noise.
Only I remembered the blood.
The moment Edmund pulled back, smiling down at her, Clara turned slightly so everyone could soak in her triumph. Her eyes swept across the crowd again.
For a split second they landed on me.
She didn’t know who I was.
But she felt something.
I saw the flicker of unease in her smirk before she fixed it back into sugary sweetness. A perfect little Luna-to-be.
The elder raised his hands once more.
“And now, the coronation shall commence!”
Two warriors stepped forward carrying the Luna crown. Gold. Encrusted with diamonds. My crown. The one that had once sat on my head as I carried Magnus proudly beside Edmund.
My lungs felt too tight to breathe.
Clara turned and sank to her knees gracefully, hands folded, chin up like she had rehearsed this pose a thousand times in the mirror.
Edmund lifted the crown. For a moment he looked around the courtyard, soaking in the attention and admiration. Then, slowly, he lowered it onto Clara’s head.
The courtyard exploded with cheers again.
“Luna Clara!”
“Long live our Luna!”
“Beautiful!”
“Chosen by the Moon Goddess!”
The last one was so laughable I nearly snorted.
If only they knew the truth.
If only they knew this woman betrayed them all.
If only they knew what she had done to Magnus.
But they didn’t.
And I couldn’t tell them.
Not yet.
Not like this.
Clara rose to her feet with the grace of a queen, holding Edmund’s hands. She waved at the crowd as if she had been born royal. Edith, one of the old she-wolves, even wiped tears.
Tears for the woman who murdered my son.
I steadied myself. My wolf snarled inside me, pacing, furious, clawing at my insides.
Not now, I warned her silently. Not here.
After what felt like months, the elder finally closed the ceremony. “You may now proceed to the after-party celebration!”
Music started immediately. Guests rose, eager to mingle and eat. Servants rushed around preparing tables of food. Wine bottles popped open.
I turned slightly to Leon...
But he was already watching me.
His golden eyes glowed faintly behind his mask. Not with anger or impatience… but something else. Something unreadable.
“We’re not staying,” he said lowly.
I blinked. “What? But everyone else—”
“Not us,” he cut in. “Too many eyes here. Too many ears. We leave in twenty minutes.”
He turned slightly, facing one of his elite guards. “Keep her beside you. I need to handle something.”
Of course he did.
I didn’t need anyone to spell it out.
He was going to Clara.
To whisper with her.
To exchange information.
To continue whatever poisonous arrangement they’d been playing behind Edmund’s back.
My jaw clenched.
Clara. That poisonous bitch!
The way Leon said handle something made my stomach twist. It felt too private. Too familiar.
I stood there while he walked away with purpose, three elite guards following him like shadows. My wolf paced again, angry and restless.
He’s going to her, she hissed.
He’s using her.
He’s working with her.
He trusts her—
Stop, I muttered internally. We don’t care.
But we did.
More than I wanted to admit.
I tried to distract myself by scanning the crowd. Warriors. Elders. Lunas from Bluewind and Ironvile Pack... not only from these two packs, but also from many other packs. Young warriors laughing near the pond. Children playing near the lantern trees.
Memories tugged at me, heavy and unwanted.
Magnus running through this exact courtyard with his little wooden sword.
Edmund smiling at me from the training ground when we were younger, before ambition and frustration changed him.
Everything felt too loud. Too close.
I needed to breathe.
I stepped back a little, just enough to get away from the crowd but still in sight of Leon’s guards. One of them nodded at me, keeping watch.
I exhaled and looked around again.
And then—
Someone bumped into me.
Hard.
I gasped and stumbled backward.
“Sorry,” the person muttered quickly, reaching out instinctively to steady me.
My breath caught.
I froze.
Edmund.
He was in front of me.
My... husband.
My mate.
My betrayer.
He still smelled the same... that scent I once clung to. That scent I used to fall asleep beside before everything shattered.
His mask was a simple black one, hiding half his face, but his eyes… those eyes… I knew them instantly.
He looked shocked that he had bumped into me. “I… didn’t see you there. Sorry.”
Then his eyes dipped lower—
To my mask.
And time… stopped.
His hand brushed against the edge of it, trying to steady me… but his touch made the mask loosen.
It tilted.
Slipped.
Almost fell.
His eyes widened.
My heart plunged into my stomach.
No.
No.
No.
Not here.
Not now.
Not in front of everyone.
If Edmund saw my face—
If Edmund recognized me—
If Edmund realized Isabella was alive—
Everything would explode.
My cover.
My plan.
My life.
The mask slid down my cheek…
And Edmund’s breath hitched.
He reached toward it—