Chapter 19 The Truth
We made it back to the hospital in fifteen minutes. Lycian drove like death was chasing us.
Maybe it was.
The fourth floor was quieter now. Past visiting hours. Just a few nurses at their stations. They looked up when we passed but didn’t stop us.
Madison’s room. Door closed. No guards. No Marcus.
Lycian pushed it open without knocking.
Madison was awake. Sitting up. Looking at her phone. She dropped it when she saw us.
“Get out,” she said.
“No.” Lycian closed the door behind us. Locked it. The click echoed. “We need to talk.”
“I have nothing to say to either of you.”
“Really? Because I just watched security footage from Rosewood Bar.” He pulled out his phone. “Saw you get attacked by a man. A tall man. Definitely not Elowen.”
Her face went pale. Actually pale.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Yes, you do. You were meeting someone. On the phone with them. Arguing about a plan.” Lycian moved closer to her bed. “Who was it, Madison? Who did your father hire to attack you?”
“Nobody. I told you. It was her.”
“Stop lying.”
“I’m not…”
“Then explain the video. Explain the man who was clearly six feet tall.” His voice dropped. Dangerous. “Explain why you’re protecting whoever actually did this.”
Tears filled her eyes. “I can’t.”
“Yes, you can.”
“You don’t understand. If I tell you, he’ll…” Her voice cracked. “My father will destroy me.”
“He’s already using you,” Lycian said. “Using your pain for his political games. You think he cares about protecting you?”
“He’s my father.”
“He’s a manipulator. And you’re his pawn.” Lycian pulled out his phone. Started recording. “Tell the truth. Right now. I’ll protect you from him. But you need to tell the truth.”
Madison looked at the phone. At me. At Lycian. Her whole body was shaking.
“It was supposed to be fake,” she whispered finally. “Just supposed to scare her. Make her look dangerous so the pack would reject her.”
My stomach dropped. “What?”
“My father hired someone. Told me to meet him at Rosewood. Said he’d rough me up a little. Nothing serious. Just enough to blame on you.” Tears spilled down her cheeks. “But he hit me too hard. I blacked out. When I woke up in the ambulance, my father was there. Telling me to say it was you. That this was our chance to get rid of you.”
“So you lied,” Lycian said. His voice was ice cold.
“I was scared! My father said if I didn’t go along with it, he’d cut me off. No money. No pack support. Nothing.” She sobbed. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”
“Who did your father hire?”
“I don’t know his name. Just some wolf from out of town. My father paid him five thousand dollars.”
“Where is he now?”
“Gone. My father sent him away right after. Told him to disappear.”
“Say that again,” Lycian said. “All of it. For the recording.”
Madison’s hands trembled as she looked at the phone, then at me. Her eyes were red and swollen, streaked with the marks of tears. For a long moment, she didn’t speak, her lips quivering as if she might turn away. Then she began. Her voice was barely above a whisper at first, cracking under the weight of everything she had kept hidden. She told the truth. Every detail came spilling out, as if releasing it would lighten her own burden. Her father’s plan, the hired wolf, the staged attack, the lies she had been told to repeat. She spoke of fear, of manipulation, and of the moments she had hated herself for believing her father’s version of reality.
When she finally stopped, the room was heavy with silence. The only sounds were her quiet, hiccuping sobs and the steady beeping of the hospital machines. I wanted to speak, to tell her it was okay, but my throat was tight. She had almost gotten me killed, yes, but she had also been a pawn in her father’s cruel games. I did not blame her.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered to me, her voice raw and trembling. “I’m really sorry.”
My hands clenched into fists at my sides. Words failed me. How could I tell her that I understood without pretending it had not nearly cost us everything?
“We need to go,” Lycian said, his tone firm. He stopped the recording and tucked his phone away. “Twenty minutes until midnight.”
We left Madison behind, curled into herself on the hospital bed, tears still falling freely down her cheeks. Outside, the Valor estate loomed, imposing under the pale glow of the moon. Cars were packed into every available space, a sea of headlights and blacked-out windows. Every member of the pack had come. My hands shook violently, betraying my nerves, but Lycian’s grip around mine grounded me, reminding me that I was not facing this alone.
Inside, the great hall was alive with movement. Hundreds of wolves filled the space, their eyes glinting gold in the low light. The murmurs ceased abruptly when we entered, and every gaze turned toward us. At the front, Marcus stood beside Thaddeus, both of them radiating anger. Marcus’s jaw was tight, his hands clenched at his sides. “You’re late,” he spat, venom dripping from each word.
“We have evidence,” Lycian said calmly. He stepped forward, connecting his phone to the projector. The room darkened slightly as the footage flickered to life on the wall. Madison appeared on the screen, the hired man, the attack. Gasps rippled through the crowd.
“That is not Elowen,” someone shouted.
“It is a man,” another voice added. “Clearly a man.”
Marcus’s face darkened to a shade of purple, veins visible along his temple. “That does not prove anything. She could have hired him herself.”
“Really?” Lycian said, pressing play on the recording. Madison’s voice filled the hall, shaky, tearful, undeniable.
“It was supposed to be fake. My father hired someone. Told me to meet him at Rosewood. Said he would rough me up a little. Nothing serious. Just enough to blame on her.”
The room erupted. Shouts, accusations, and outrage echoed off the stone walls. Marcus opened his mouth to speak, but the crowd would not let him. Thaddeus raised a hand, and instantly, the hall fell silent. His voice was cold, sharp, and absolute. “Marcus Blackthorn. You staged an attack on your own daughter. Lied to this pack. Tried to frame an innocent girl.”
“I was protecting the pack from…” Marcus began, but Thaddeus’s eyes flashed gold, cutting through the room like lightning.
“You were protecting your own ambitions,” he said. “You are stripped of all positions. Effective immediately. Leave my territory.”
“You cannot—”
“I just did,” Thaddeus interrupted. He gestured toward two warriors standing at the edge of the hall. “Escort him out.”
They grabbed Marcus. He struggled, screamed, fought, but it was useless. The warriors dragged him toward the doors, and the sound of the heavy doors slamming shut echoed like a final verdict.
Thaddeus turned to me. “Elowen Hale. This pack owes you an apology.”
I could barely breathe. My chest felt heavy, my hands numb. I wanted to speak, but words failed me.
“However,” Thaddeus continued, sweeping his gaze across the assembled wolves. “Questions remain. About your place here. About your future with this pack.” My stomach twisted in anxiety.
“Therefore,” he said, voice steady and commanding, “I propose a ninety-day trial. You will live here. Learn our ways. Prove you belong. At the end of the trial, we will vote again.”
“And if the vote goes against her?” Lycian asked, his hand brushing mine.
“Then she leaves peacefully, with our blessing,” Thaddeus said.
It was not perfect. It was not a complete victory. But it was something.
“I accept,” I said, my voice quiet but firm.
The pack murmured among themselves. Some were relieved. Others skeptical. But not one looked like they wanted to harm me. Thaddeus banged his staff against the floor. “Meeting adjourned. We reconvene in ninety days.”
As the wolves dispersed, their eyes followed us. Curiosity, respect, suspicion, everything reflected back at me. We left the estate after midnight, exhausted but alive.
“Ninety days,” I said, voice low.
“Ninety days to make them love you,” Lycian said, squeezing my hand. “Easy.”
“You are insane,” I said, though a laugh slipped out despite myself.
“Probably,” he admitted, pressing a gentle kiss to my knuckles. “But I am actually kind of insane
I laughed again, the sound shaky but real. We had survived tonight. Now we just had to survive ninety more days.